The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1731

His belt also contained a clever mechanism. By touching a button on its side, he could quickly draw a small handgun that was capable of firing four bullets.

That wasn't an original invention of theirs—At the end of the 19th century, military units from other nations had been taken such weapons onto the battlefield. But Arabella had improved the performance of these older models, to create a safer secret weapon suited for their outfit, the Mafia Flame.

His shoes were no less ingenious. Martha's goons had only thought to check under the insoles. But the crucial part was in the tiny metal buckle on the shoelaces—By pressing and holding this clasp for two seconds, it could be detached and thrown to the ground to create a thick smokescreen.

It was one of their secret weapons—a smoke grenade.

That’s why, when their car was swarmed by Martha's lackeys, Horace wondered why Boss Bella was even considering surrender.

With the arsenal they both carried, the odds of escaping were more than good.

Later, as Boss Bella kept grilling the hag with questions and tipping Horace the wink, Horace started to realize Bella was setting a trap for Martha.

But even though it was a trap, seeing Boss Bella being slapped still hurt him.

His Boss, who was worshiped by them as God, was tormented by this old crone!

"That's quite a lot of gimmicks." Martha snorted upon hearing this. Raising her gun, she fired into the air and bellowed, "Listen up, everyone! Catch them, tear off their skins, and pull out their tendons—I want them to die so,"

She hadn't finished her sentence when “bang”—a shot from Arabella sent Martha's weapon flying.

Arabella was a crack shot. As her last bullet was spent, she threw down her own gun and moved toward Martha with the grace of a swallow.

Without her gun, Martha was forced to fight hand-to-hand.

But it was clear, Martha was no match for Arabella.

Arabella's skills were forged in countless battles, a far cry from Martha, who had only managed to secure a minor post in Doom.