"Ah?" Glen, who had just finished attending to the customer, was taken aback for a moment. "I was just making a wild guess."
However, Leila had already started to speak: "She was truly terrified that day. May God bless her. Poor Bonnie. Ever since that day, she has become taciturn and often sits there in a daze all by herself. We've all tried to cheer her up, but to no avail. Her mother is even more worried about her. She has come to the school to see her more than once. Sometimes, I've seen her hiding in the corner, silently shedding tears."
"If I hadn't dragged her along, none of this would have happened. It's all my fault..."
As she spoke, the compassionate young girl's eyes welled up with tears. Glen quickly smiled wryly and consoled her:
"How can this be your fault? You're a wonderful girl, and we all know that, don't we?"
As he spoke, he cast a meaningful glance at the three young men behind him. After a few seconds of hesitation, they chimed in one after another, expressing their agreement.
Glen was satisfied and continued to console her: "So, it's not your fault. If anyone is to blame, it should be..."
It's my fault! Damn it! Glen suddenly realized that he was the one responsible for all of this! Clearing his throat twice, he stopped himself from speaking further. "In any case, everything will be fine. Time will heal all wounds. Trust me..."
I should go and visit that little girl today. It's all my doing... Glen reproached himself inwardly.
"Yes, Leila, don't worry too much. Bonnie will be all right," Pock, the red-haired youth, interjected at the right moment to offer his comfort.
The others also joined in to console her.
Even Pernas seemed to want to come over, but she merely stretched out her hand and ultimately did not move.
When Leila's mood improved a little, Glen glanced in the distance and teased, "Well, it seems that the young lady dressed in such fine clothes is losing her patience. You'd better go to her."
His voice was quite loud, and of course, the blonde girl could hear it. Glen did this on purpose.
However, upon hearing these words, Pernas raised her chin haughtily and let out a disdainful snort, behaving like a proud swan.
Leila felt even more ashamed at this moment. But since Glen had already said this, it would be inappropriate for her to stay any longer and disrupt his business.
"I'm sorry. I'll have a good talk with her. Please don't hold a grudge against her because of this," Leila curtsied and then left with her friends.
Glen smiled and waved his hand before lowering his head to continue with his business.
After they had walked some distance away, Pock couldn't help but ask, "Leila, how did you get to know that gentleman? And what exactly happened to you and Bonnie? You've been keeping it a secret no matter how much we ask..."
Leila pursed her lips. She had been extremely reluctant to go out in the first place. The threat from her father still loomed large, and she didn't feel safe going out like this. Although there had been frequent patrols by the constables in the town recently, and it was unlikely that anything would happen on the street, that sense of unease still lingered in her heart and refused to go away.
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If it hadn't been for the concerned looks on her friends' faces and her desire to put their minds at ease, she wouldn't have agreed to go out with them.
Now that Pock had asked, she knew she couldn't keep silent any longer. So, she quietly recounted the incident of encountering her father.
Her friends couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Pernas even stepped forward and took her hand, her eyes filled with pity and concern. "This is terrible! How could you not tell us about such a thing? You must be feeling very uneasy now, right? Come and stay at my house for a few days. Bring Bonnie with you. The guards at home will protect you."
Leila felt the genuine concern from the other girl, and her resentment towards her dissipated a great deal. She shook her head and said, "I won't go. My mother needs me. You can take Bonnie instead. She needs it more."
"It doesn't matter. Your mother can also..." Pernas wanted to persuade her further, but since the other girl clearly didn't want to talk about it anymore, she had to drop the subject.
...
After seeing off the young boys and girls, Glen's meat business continued as usual.
During some casual conversations with his customers, Glen also learned about the recent events in the town.
It turned out that there had been several cases of children going missing, which had caused great anxiety among many families. The families of the victims often went to the police station to voice their grievances. Under the pressure, the scene he had witnessed when entering the town earlier that day had come about.
It seemed that this matter was inextricably linked to Leila's father. If they could, they might not even spare the boys and girls of sixteen or seventeen years old. Were they human traffickers? It was not uncommon for such criminals to be rampant in this era... Glen pondered over this incident during his break, his mind somewhat distracted.
"I'll pay more attention to it if I get a chance," he yawned and murmured to himself in a low voice.
In his previous life, he had deeply loathed these human traffickers. If he ever encountered them, he would surely take decisive action and show no mercy.
"Boss, how much does this meat cost?"
A melodious voice interrupted Glen's thoughts and brought him back to reality.
"Four bellas per..." Glen replied instinctively, but when he saw the person standing in front of his stall, his expression froze.
It was an extremely beautiful woman. She wore an exquisite wide-brimmed ladies' hat, a low-key yet luxurious long dress, and black lace gloves on her hands.
Her skin was an unnatural shade of white, and her lips were a vivid red. Standing there, she seemed completely out of place in the surroundings.
At that moment, she was looking at Glen with a faint, ambiguous smile on her face.
"Miss, you seem rather unusual," Glen said, raising an eyebrow.
The unusual miss's smile froze upon hearing the question. She had anticipated countless reactions from the other party, but this one left her stunned.
She tidied the strands of hair beside her ear, maintaining her smile. "Well, do tell me, in what way am I unusual?"
It wasn't just her appearance; even her scent gave Glen an extremely strange feeling. Moreover, the blood in his body was faintly stirring. If she had the aura of Bayek Town, Glen might not have been surprised, for there were all sorts of oddities there. However, she didn't.
"Everything about you is unusual," Glen replied with a rather unhelpful answer.
"You..." The unusual miss's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, as if she were trying to see through Glen. Suddenly, she leaned on the counter with one hand, brought her scarlet lips close to Glen's ear, and said softly, "You're not normal either, Mr. Werewolf."
"Oh, you've figured it out. I'm so surprised," Glen said, pursing his lips.
The miss opposite was once again taken aback by Glen's reaction. To her annoyance, this mere werewolf was putting on airs in front of her.
However, she managed to suppress her irritation. Losing one's temper in the face of an enemy was truly unwise. One must maintain one's elegance.
"A werewolf selling pork in a human town. Has your leader stopped providing for you?" The unusual miss teased as her fingers glided over the pieces of pork.
What exactly was this person? She looked like a vampire, but it was broad daylight, and vampires were supposed to be afraid of sunlight, weren't they? Was she a powerful vampire? Glen observed her every move and casually asked,
"Leader? What leader?"
"Are you a stray dog?" The unusual miss's eyes widened, and this time, she made no attempt to hide her surprise.
"Say that again, and you'll regret it!" Glen glared at her.
But she ignored his threat and instead covered her mouth and giggled, her shoulders shaking with laughter.
Glen's gaze towards her immediately turned to one of disbelief, as if he were looking at a madwoman.
After laughing for a while, as if she had had her fill, the unusual miss looked at Glen again and uttered a seemingly random remark:
"The old werewolf king would be furious if he knew what you're doing now."