The wind of Aiden City, in the end, carried away the last warmth of autumn.
On the third day after Tulia left, the pigeons in Central Park were still cooing, pecking at the bread crumbs on the ground.
A woman in a plain maid’s uniform, her figure still upright despite her age, sat quietly on a bench, tearing the bread in her hands into small pieces and scattering it at her feet for the greedy little creatures.
But her gaze would drift from time to time toward the Stone Table not far away.
Beside the Stone Table, another old man was playing chess with someone, and the battle on the board was already at a fever pitch.
“Checkmate!”
The old man called out in a loud, strong voice, completely crushing his opponent’s last hope for a comeback.
Twisting his grizzled beard, he beamed, his whole body brimming with irrepressible pride.
“That’s five games, Hank the Elder,” his opponent helplessly toppled his king and gave a wry smile, “What miracle tonic did you have today to be in such good form? Normally after the third match, you’d be complaining of back pain and wanting to go home.”
“Hahaha, that’s just because your chess is lacking!” The old man known as Hank the Elder waved his hand, the wrinkles on his face crinkling with laughter.
The old woman who’d been feeding pigeons stood up and walked over slowly. Even in her always-calm eyes, there was now a hint of surprise.
“Hank the Elder, did you find a gold coin today? Look at how happy you are.” She spoke, her voice steady, yet with a subtle hint of inquiry.
When Hank the Elder saw her, his smile grew even wider. He glanced left and right, then beckoned her over with a mysterious air. “Selina, come here, I have something to tell you.”
He was not the sort who could keep things to himself, but this matter, he hadn’t meant to tell anyone else. Still, considering the old woman before him—Selina—was the longtime housekeeper of the Noerstein Family, who had served them her whole life, and that family was deeply entangled with the person he had met… he felt it would be fine to tell her.
“Now, don’t think I’m making things up,” Hank the Elder lowered his voice, full of boastfulness, “Yesterday—no, wait, the day before—bah, I’m getting old, mixed up the days again—well, I ran into an old friend from out of town!” He slapped his forehead.
He cleared his throat and finally revealed the name that had him excited all day:
“I ran into Law Enforcer Tulia!”
“Tulia?”
That rare, slightly exotic name made Selina suddenly freeze. Her mind raced, searching for that pronunciation. In all her years serving the Noerstein Family, she only knew one person with a similar name, but… it was a bit different from the one in her memory.
Hank the Elder saw her confusion and waved his hand, “Oh, right, it’s Law Enforcer Tulia. She said she changed her name now.” He added carelessly, “Tuling, Tulia, the pronunciation’s almost the same.”
He didn’t care about such details, and fell into the excitement of his memory. “She came to buy horses from me! I recognized her at a glance! I still remember that business from decades ago! You don’t know, the Sheriff’s in town tried to stop her, but I scared them off with my Portable Mana Cannon! I told them—”
Hank the Elder launched into his tale, spittle flying, boasting about his heroic clash with the Law Enforcers of the town.
But Selina couldn’t hear a word of it anymore.
Tuling…
After decades, she never imagined she would hear that name again!
The girl whom Miss had pulled from the mud, who then fled the estate in despair! She… appeared near Aiden City?
“Old friend from out of town, nothing!” Selina could no longer keep calm. She suddenly stepped forward, both hands gripping Hank the Elder’s rough arms, her voice so anxious it was nearly frantic. “Hank the Elder! Where did you see her!?”
“Oy! Selina, easy, easy!” Hank the Elder was startled by her sudden reaction, “Just thirty kilometers away, in Southheart District Town! She even came to my Blacksmith Shop!”
Southheart District Town… thirty kilometers…
Selina instantly connected all the pieces. She knew it could not be a coincidence.
It was her. No doubt.
The runaway Miss… had returned.
Selina let go, her always-calm eyes now surging with complicated emotions. She could no longer pay attention to the still-cooing pigeons, nor Hank the Elder’s ongoing tales.
A thought exploded in her mind.
She had to get this news to Sophia at once.
“Hey, don’t leave in such a hurry, I haven’t finished!” Hank the Elder called out desperately after her. “She even brought her daughter! Looks just like her, even taller than her mother!”
But this tidbit, enough to cause even greater shock, was already left far behind by the sound of Selina’s hurried footsteps.
When Selina finally returned to the estate, panting for breath, what she saw was a scene completely different from the past.
The once-busy estate, always bustling with servants, was now somewhat empty. Sophia was alone in the garden. She wore no fine dress, just a simple work skirt, carefully tending to a newly planted Rose.
Ever since Tulia left, Miss had sunk into despondency for a long time, dismissing most of the servants. She never spoke of that name again, but Selina knew, in secret, she never stopped searching. But that search was no longer frantic as before, more like… as long as she knew she was safe, it was enough to look on from afar, content.
It seemed as though time favored Sophia especially. As a Legendary Mage skilled in alchemy, her appearance had barely changed from a century ago.
“Miss!” Selina’s voice quivered with urgency.
Sophia looked up and, seeing her, gave a helpless smile. “Selina, how many times have I said, there’s no need to—”
“I saw her!” Selina cut her off, every word firm and unmistakable.
The smile froze on Sophia’s face.
She set down her small trowel, slowly stood up, brushed the dirt from her hands, and spoke as calmly as if soothing a child in a dream. “Selina, don’t joke. I know you want to comfort me, but—”
“It’s true!” Selina took a step forward, her always respectful and calm face now filled with undeniable seriousness. “Hank the Elder, Lyon Hank, do you remember? The blacksmith from Aiden City decades ago! He saw Miss Tuling with his own eyes—no, Miss Tulia! In Southheart District Town!”
Sophia’s pupils shrank sharply.
She stared quietly at Selina, at the certainty in her eyes.