"Annie! What's wrong with you?! Why are you so absent-minded? With this attitude, how are you supposed to beco a warrior? Do you have any idea how much effort I've put into you?!"
Leonhart grabbed his daughter by the shoulders and scolded her harshly.
Facing her father's fury, Annie lowered her head in panic. She understood that her father wanted her to beco a warrior so she could beco an Honorary Marleyan. Maybe, to her father, Annie was just a tool—but Annie only had this one father.
After readjusting herself, Annie punched the wooden post again and again, yet her gaze still drifted from ti to ti toward a stone not far away.
The boy who brought sweets every day hadn't co for several days now. Annie would never admit that she missed that clingy guy—at most, she was just thinking about the sweets he brought!
Children of seven or eight are actually very pure, especially soone like Annie, who lived every day in an emotionless household. Children like that often cherish every bit of affection even more.
At the sa ti, such children also easily seal themselves off at an early age, becoming cold outsiders in the eyes of other kids.
Yago entered Annie's world before she completely shut herself away.
Bang! With one punch that cracked the wooden post in front of her, Annie's father finally nodded, then turned and went back into the house.
Sweat beaded on Annie's forehead as she sat on the ground, panting.
Suddenly, between Annie's high-bridged nose, there seed to be a fleeting hint of sweetness. Her eyes lit up, and when she turned around—sure enough—it was the familiar Yago, and the familiar paper-wrapped package.
Although joy surged uncontrollably inside her, Annie still stayed calmly where she was. Rarely, Annie rembered that girls were supposed to be reserved.
With the delicious sweet stuffed into her mouth, Annie pretended to be casual and asked,
"What have you been up to these past few days?"
After not seeing him for a few days, Yago's complexion looked a bit pale. He yawned and said,
"Oh, that? I ran into a Marleyan scientist a few days ago and went to be his assistant. I make a lot of money in a day. Oh right, I even went outside the internnt zone—outside is huge! There's this really, really big bridge too..."
When it ca to the scenery outside the Eldian internnt zone, Yago grew animated, waving his hands as he enthusiastically described it to Annie.
Annie nibbled on the sweet biscuit, quietly playing the role of listener. Even though she wasn't particularly interested, she treated it as the price of eating the sweets.
Annie didn't notice that when Yago raised his arm, his sleeve slipped down, revealing faint bruises and several scabbed-over needle marks.
"Oh right! I have a surna now! Doctor Ebson gave it to —it's Norman! Sounds good, right? I have a surna now too—Yago Norman!"
Yago looked at Annie eagerly.
Annie froze for a mont. Norman? She had never heard of such a surna, but it didn't really matter.
"It sounds nice."
Receiving Annie's approval made Yago even happier.
Ti flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three years passed. Children grow quickly—two kids who were little runts three years ago were now both eleven, already considered big kids.
Crack! With a sharp punch from Annie, the wooden post actually snapped cleanly into two pieces.
"Whoa, amazing! That's incredible—just as expected of Annie!"
Annie looked at the admiring Yago and felt a bit sentintal. Three years ago, she'd been about the sa height as him—how had this guy kept shooting up these past few years? He was already half a head taller than her.
Originally, Annie wouldn't have cared about sothing as childish as height, but under Yago's influence, the once-cold Annie gradually beca more cheerful.
Over three years, Annie and Yago grew so close their relationship could be described as childhood sweethearts. In Annie's original world, there had only been grayness and deathly silence. After Yago entered her world, that gray world was dyed with color.
"Here, Annie, try this newest kind of sweet. Only Marleyans outside can buy it!"
Yago eagerly handed over the paper-wrapped package, but the bruises and needle marks on his arm were exposed once more.
Annie felt worried, but Yago insisted it was nothing. Being an assistant to a scientist, these things were unavoidable. Besides, Doctor Ebson treated him pretty well—nothing bad had happened over all these years.
Annie had asked her father about the Doctor Ebson Yago ntioned and learned that he was a strange Marleyan noble who often ca to the Eldian internnt zone, yet unlike other Marleyans, he didn't discriminate against Eldians.
Annie could only bury her worry deep inside. As Yago inhaled the scent of the sweets, he felt slightly suffocated. He really admired Annie—just slling these sweet foods for three years had almost made him nauseous, yet Annie never got tired of eating them?!
"Oh right, tomorrow's the warrior candidate selection, isn't it? Um, I might..."
Yago said cautiously beside Annie.
Annie imdiately bristled.
"What?! Didn't you say you'd co watch? Are you backing out?!"
Yago scratched his head awkwardly.
"Tomorrow Doctor Ebson has a really important experint, so..."
"Then don't co! Liar!"
Annie turned away in a huff, but then a shiny ring in Yago's hand caught her eye.
"I believe Annie will win easily. How about this ring as an early gift? It's very precious—your na and mine are engraved on it. There's only one like it in the whole world!"
Yago held the ring out to Annie.
It really was exquisite, and Annie liked it at first glance, but she still stubbornly asked,
"Why engrave our nas on it?"
Yago smiled. "It represents our friendship, and my blessing for you. Do your best, Annie! Do you like it? Can you forgive for not having ti to watch the selection tomorrow?"
Annie took the ring and showed a faint smile.
"It's not bad. I forgive you."
...
Creak. Pushing open the heavy wooden door, Yago frowned slightly, but still entered the dim underground space. He walked through a long corridor, with many oil paintings he couldn't understand hanging on both sides.
At last, he reached the end. The fluorescent light cast a yellow halo, illuminating a girl standing guard at the door. She looked a bit older than Yago, her brown hair appearing almost black under the light.
"You're finally here. You're the last one."
The girl opened the door calmly and led Yago inside.
The spacious basent was filled with all kinds of bottles and jars, a dazzling array of glass laboratory equipnt.
Yago inhaled the strong disinfectant sll of Doctor Ebson's underground lab and found it unpleasant, but Ebson had always treated him well.
Several children about Yago's age were already there in the basent—without exception, all of them Eldian orphans.
After waiting a while, Doctor Ebson arrived, humming a strange tune, looking to be in a good mood.
"Sa rules as always, kids," Ebson said playfully.
Several children, including Yago, lay down on wooden beds one by one. Elsha—the girl from the entrance—securely bound their hands and feet, one by one.
Yago and the others were used to it. Every ti, Doctor Ebson would first draw a small tube of their blood. As for tying them up, he said it was to keep them from moving and having the needle miss the vein. After the blood draw, they would help Doctor Ebson with so nial tasks.
It had been like this for three years, and everyone had grown accustod to it. But today, Yago felt that Doctor Ebson seed a bit off—there was sothing about the smile on his face that seed… mad?
While fiddling with rows of test tubes, his back turned to Yago and the others, Ebson suddenly revealed a sickly smile.
"Heh heh… as expected, science is the final answer."
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