Chapter 218: Years Later

A woman was walking in the streets, with the warmth of the sun showering her completely, its light almost reflecting from the spectacles that adorned her face. She was carrying two bags, each seemingly filled with bread and meat.

But even though the sun was shining brightly, the streets were seemingly empty.

Only a few here and there walk, with a street of this size, one would expect more. And some of those who do walk, their eyes were as empty as the streets.

After a few more minutes of walking, a group of children suddenly circled around the spectacled woman, their faces dirty and their clothes made out of rags.

"It's Miss Sofia!"

"Miss Sofia is here!"

"Please… please food!"

"Do we get something today, please?"

"I found something, I can trade it! Please!"

The woman was none other than Sofia, her hair was now shorter, only reaching the top of her shoulders. She clumsily adjusted her spectacles as she took in a deep and huge breath.

And after a few seconds, she opened her mouth and yelled.

"Line up!"

Her yell echoed throughout the streets, and as soon as it reached the children's ears, they all scurried to form a line. Not even fighting for the front as they positioned themselves by their height, with the shortest one in front.

Sofia then slowly crouched down, placing her two bags on the paved ground. She then handed out the contents of one of the bags to the children, giving them bread one be one.

"Don't finish it too fast, okay?" Sofia said as she patted the child in front of her, "I won't be back until tomorrow."

"Hm!" the little child nodded as she quickly took a bite of the bread.

Some of the people walking around the street all looked towards Sofia, whispering and murmuring with each other, quickly bringing the empty streets back to life.

"That's her, isn't she? Did you hear that she's from a noble family? But she left her husband for a much younger man?"

"Really? Just because she's beautiful she thinks she can do that?"

"Shh. She can hear you!"

"Let her! Our husbands are fighting in the war. Her old husband is probably doing the same, while she is out here frolicking with a younger man!"

"Hm. But have you seen her lover, though? If you did you would probably do the same."

"What? Why would I do that to my husband? What does her lover look like anyway?"

"Haa. No wonder she left her husband. The first time I saw her lover…"

"Oh my… really?"

"Hm… even I was tempted to leave my husband right there."

"Oh, you!"

"..." Sofia could not help but roll her eyes as she heard the women's loud whispers. At first, she was a bit apprehensive of their gossip and wanted to confront them. But after a while, she just let them be. It was probably their only entertainment.

She let out a sigh as she continued to hand out food to the children. And with her bag now empty, the last of the children also dispersed, thanking her with a huge smile on his face.

There seems to be more of them again, Sofia thought as she looked at her empty bag. The first time she provided charity for these kids, the bag she had was still half full.

And so, with another sigh, Sofia picked up her other bag and proceeded to continue her walk. She was, however, not going deeper into the city, but outside to the gates.

"Ah, Miss Sofia. Going home already?"

"Yes, Ted."

One of the guards quickly greeted her. The guard's bright green eyes glimmering as he looked at Sofia's face.

"Okay, please be careful out there, Miss Sofia. We received a report that someone saw what looked like a Demon God's minion flying around near the city."

"...They have already reached here?"

The guard, Ted, did not fail to notice the worried look on Sofia's face as she turned her head slightly downwards.

"Ah! Don't worry!" the guard quickly waved his hand, "It might also just be a monster from a Portal somewhere. We're still confirming it!"

"Hm… Okay, thank you for informing me, Ted."

"Okay, please do still take care, Miss Sofia!"

Ted waved his hand excitedly, and even when Sofia's back was already turned, his hands still remained slowly waving in the air, only dropping down as he heard a loud sigh whispering in his ears.

"Fuu… Why not tell her how you feel already? The men are getting irritated looking at you like some cuckold young boy."

"S...sir!"

Ted quickly stood up straight and saluted as he heard the words of the old man that suddenly sneaked behind him.

"Don't you like her?"

"Sir?"

"That woman, Sofia. Don't you have feelings for her?"

"D… don't be ridiculous, sir. She has a husband!" Ted quickly shook his head, denying his superior's words vehemently. But alas, the red tint that was currently plastering his face has failed to hide what he really feels.

"A good for n'thing husband is what she has! I have only ever seen him once in their house and he did not even bother standing up to greet me! He doesn't even assist his wife to buy stuff in the city!"

"But--"

"And if he really does care for his wife, then he should have bought a house inside the walls, where we can protect them!"

"...Maybe I will escort Miss Sofia to her house." As soon as Ted's superior was done with his blabbering, Ted quickly stepped away from his post.

"Oi, where are you going!?"

"Please cover for me for a while, sir! I'm going to walk with her and help her with her bag!"

"Oi!"

Ted's superior could only shake his head as he let out a loud sigh. If he knew that Ted would suddenly go off like that, he wouldn't have encouraged him. Well, this works, he thought. Now he has a reason to cut his pay for this week.

Ted first met Sofia 6 months ago when they bought a house outside the walls. There were a lot of vacancies in the unguarded settlement as people moved inside the city walls 4 years ago. As soon as the people heard that another Demon God emerged, they all quickly left their houses.

At first, Ted thought that the people buying the house outside the walls were crazy, but as soon as he saw Sofia, his heart instantly skipped a beat. It was as if the armor he was wearing almost suffocated him due to the loud beating of his heart.

But alas, she was already married. There were rumors going around that her husband was good for nothing, some say he just laze around all day.

And some even say he abuses her. A man that was only good for his looks. If these rumors were to be proven true, then Ted would do everything to steal… no, to rescue her from the arms of her husband.

Sofia was too good of a person to be stuck with a deadbeat like that, he thought. And so, Ted chased after Sofia, gently grabbing the bag she was holding and assisting her home.

Sofia, of course, refused at first. But Ted insisted, saying it was his duty as a guard to protect her, a citizen of Taucher City.

And so, finally, after 6 months… Ted was finally able to walk beside Sofia and not only look at her from the distance. He could, however, feel the thumping of his chest, enough to hit the metals of his armor, growing stronger and stronger.

And so, afraid that his heart might whisper into Sofia's ears, he had no choice but to open his mouth. "S...so, Miss Sofia?", he stuttered.

"Hm?"

"I hope you don't mind me asking but… did you escape here from the war?"

"...I suppose you can say that."

"So… you… you and your husband… how long have you been married!?"

"..."

Ted could not help but wince to the side as he suddenly blurted out a question that was only supposed to be inside his mind.

"More than 5 years now."

"5 years!?" Ted felt his whole body almost drop down like noodles as he heard Sofia's words, accidentally raising his voice. And when he noticed that Sofia was looking at him weirdly, he quickly cleared his throat as he continued walking, now keeping his mouth shut.

Surely, if her husband was as worse as the rumors make him out to be, Sofia would have already left him. He thought.

And so, the two continued to walk until they reached a tiny settlement. Not even the sound of a whisper could be heard lingering in the neighborhood. Until now, Ted could still not fathom as to why Sofia and her husband would even move to such a secluded place.

The price of the houses here was not really that far from the prices inside the city. They also bought the smallest house, but all of the guards knew that they couldn't be poor.

Sofia was handing out food every day to the children, and even without the war looming above their skies, this kind of charity was scarce.

"Thank you for escorting me, Ted."

Ted's thoughts were then disrupted as Sofia grabbed her bag from him. She then handed him fruit from the bag, saying it was a token to repay his kindness.

"N… no, I couldn't possibly accept this."

"I insist."

"Okay." Ted could only utter a single word as Sofia grabbed his hand and placed a piece of fruit on his hand. "Thank you very much", he then said before turning away, his whole body stiff as he started to march.

"Sofie, you're home?"

"Ah Vi, don't move around! I'll go to you!"

"Hm?" However, as soon as Ted heard another voice, he could not help but turn around. But as soon as he saw the owner of the voice, his eyes could not help but very slowly widen on their own.

A young man came out of the house. His golden hair seemed to be reflecting the sunlight even as the shade covered his body. The young man's hair was abnormally long, hanging in front of him on his left, with its ends tied up into a bun and resting on his lap.

His eyes were as deep as midnight, completely contrasting from his bright golden hair.

If Ted did not know that the one stepping out of the house was human, then he probably would have assumed that he is a spirit.

No, stepping out was probably not the right word to use.

"Let me help you with the bags, Sofie."

"No, stay there. I'll just place the bags here for now."

"..."

The young man…

...he was in a wheelchair.