By the time we finished, the sun had already set. I was thinking that father would be the only one who’s going to talk, I did not expect my mother to join in as well. But thanks to her, I was able to get some information that my father didn’t know about. I’m glad I got to talk to them, albeit for a different reason, we managed to get together.

“So you’re saying that this man might be the same person Master Faram Valter has been searching for decades ago?” I asked father,

He immediately gave his affirmative nod. Mother did so as well as supporting father’s claims.

“There’s no other way to explain the extent of trust he put at that man,” father added,

“But still, his age and physicality doesn’t add up. You said it was decades ago, but that man doesn’t look like he’s any older than me.”

“That’s why I told you earlier, that dungeon that man was trapped in must be the reason for his youthful appearance. You’ve seen what he’d done during the spar, didn’t you? That’s not something anyone can pull without proper training and experience.”

Father’s right. His movements were precise and powerful that even the power of regeneration from a ‘War Troll’ couldn’t keep up with. But still, we cannot make conclusions without confirming it to the person in question himself.

“That may indeed be the case, father. But that doesn’t mean we can make our own assumptions. The best thing we can do is confirm it from either one of them. I think that’s the best course of action.” I told my father.

Mother doesn’t seem to disagree with me. Although my mother and I did not have much interaction with each other recently, I can tell that she supports my suggestion.

“Well, I don’t really mind if that’s the truth or not. As long as it doesn’t cause any harm to our family, that’s more than enough for me. No, aside from that, I would be more delighted if we can make a connection with that man. I think it’s about time for you to make your move, Aira.”

There he goes again trying to push me to do something I don’t even want to do. Father has always been telling me to make a move on Jakob. I admit that he is an exceptional person, but that doesn’t mean I should just jump whenever my father tells me to. I am my own person, after all.

“Allow me to apologize, father. But I’ll decide that on my own when I deem him worthy of my hand in marriage. I will not be tied down by your greed.” I told my father, frankly.

Although my words can be considered rude to some people, especially towards my father and they may condemn me for that, however, I cannot just blindly allow anyone to dictate how I go with my life. My life is mine, after all.

“Is that so? Then I guess I’ll have to wait and see whoever gets close to that man first. However, you may need to make up your mind sooner. As far as I can tell, there are countless people aiming for him.”

Father flashed me a mischievous grin. He does that whenever he finds something amusing that’s worth wasting his time for.

With that cleared out of the way. I excused myself since I have already gotten what I wanted. The information about Master Faram Valter and the possibility of his connection with Jakob Reavers from a long time ago. I need to confirm it with that man himself.

As I was about to walk out of my father's office, I heard my mother's soft and gentle voice calling out to me.

“Aira. Don’t mind your father and go at your own pace. If it’s you, I’m sure you will arrive at the answer you’re looking for eventually. So take your time and relax. This is not a race, after all.”

It’s just as mother said. Marriage is not a race. I need to take my time and get to know him myself better before arriving at the conclusion.

I bowed my head in response to my mother’s words and she replied with a smile. My mother has always been like that. She never tells anyone to hurry. She is considerate and caring. The complete opposite of my father, who wants his orders to be followed and carried out immediately. I’m surprised he didn’t pester me this time, but I’m sure his daily reminder will just keep coming and coming everyday.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

That night I went out as usual. I waited until the time when most people in the city had gone to sleep. 11 PM is usually the time when the streets are empty but for some reason, it seems like it's not one of those days.

I avoided the streets where most drunkards, soldiers on patrol, and people going home from work use. Because of the unusual number of people this time, I'm forced to use the alleys to reach my target destination.

Walking in the dark alleys of the city in the middle of the night poses some danger of getting ganged up by people living in the shadows. When the sun sets, darkness crawls and covers the entire city. It is the time when criminals crawl out of their lair and proceed to do their criminal acts. It's especially dangerous for someone like me, a woman.

I know the risk by walking right in the playground of such people. Even so, I'm confident I avoided their gaze. I made sure not to get spotted by a single living soul while sneaking out of the estate. That's what I firmly believe. But there are times in life where not everything goes according to plan.

"Yo~ little miss. What do you think you're doing in this place in the middle of the night?"

A voice called out to me in the darkness as I was about to get out of the alley. My heart stopped for a moment along with my body, I froze up in fear. The person's voice who called out to me is not particularly pleasant. If anything, his voice is oozing with unpleasant intentions.

Without hesitation, I ran away. There was no time for me to turn back and look. I know if I did so, I would only get caught without being able to do anything.

"Help! Somebody, Help!" I yelled.

I was only a few blocks away from my target location. I figured I only need to get closer, even for a little bit and I might be able to reach a safe place. It was a gamble, the only solution I could think of at the moment.

"Catch her before anyone comes!"

"Shit! Don't let her run away!"

I didn't even need to turn back to see if they're running after me. The sound of their footsteps was enough to confirm everything I needed to know.

"All I need to do is reach that a-! Ouch!"

Something pulled my leg, stopping me from running away and I ended up stumbling on the ground.

"Caught you~ little missy~ Boys, tie her up and get ready to leave immediately!"

I tried to crawl away, grasping on everything I could get a hold off on the ground. The surface of the pavement is not even, giving me the chance of pulling myself away. But it all seemed useless as I heard their footsteps closing in on me.

"Help! Somebody! I cried. "Don't come near me! Get away!

"There's no one here who'd help you, little miss. Hurry up, you fools!"

It's strange. No matter how much I screamed and called for help, no one's coming. There should be a lot of people around here despite being on the edge of the city, yet no one opens their windows to see what's happening.

Just then as the people coming after me grabbed my arms and legs, I saw it. I saw one of the windows opened, revealing a person holding a lamp looking straight at me. It was then that I realized why no one came to help, they were terrified.

It hadn't been long since the incident and the people of the city are still recovering from their losses. It all makes sense now. They are afraid to lose anything more than they already have.

"...No way."

What they're doing is understandable. This is the result of my actions. I knew wandering around the city in the dead of the night has its fair share of troubles. I knew about it and still sneaked out of our estate. And right now, I'm just raking in the result of my actions.

"Shocking, right? Because of the incident, many people will turn a blind eye to any criminal activity. Isn't that great?" The man said, pulling my hair back to face his direction. "They are willing to sacrifice anyone as long as it doesn't involve them. Thanks to their cowardice, people like me get to enjoy things like this."

I felt his hand caressing my cheeks. I tried biting him out of anger, but he immediately pulled his hand away right away. He must be expecting me to pull something like that.

"A feisty one~ I thought you already resolved yourself after you got caught. I guess nobles sure are different from commoners since they have to uphold their pride." the man chuckled.

"...Noble? Who? Me?" No matter what the situation is, it'd be stupid to admit such a thing. I admit I was shocked when he said I was a noble, but there's also a chance that he's just taking a wild guess. "..I think you got the wrong person!" I persisted.

I thought for sure he wasn't certain of his claims then out of nowhere, his face cracked a smile.

"Heh~ Are you sure about that? Well, I can't blame you for denying that but you can't trick me. We've been observing you for a while now, after all." He patted my head, "You're a bad girl, sneaking out of your estate just to observe a guy wandering around the city. Looks like we're birds of the same feather." He smiled again.