Sheffield Benedict stood in the center of the crowd, seemingly very patient, listening to the matters proposed by the two guild leaders.

It was still about lifting the border restrictions.

The royal family would never agree.

However, at this critical juncture, they didn’t want trouble in District Nine, a city near the border, teeming with ruthless criminals beyond the reach of law.

Therefore, sending Sheffield was most appropriate.

He was an expert in negotiation, whether for peace or war declaration, he always maintained a demeanor as gentle as a spring breeze.

...

The crowd was pushing forward.

Hannah needed to head back.

She didn’t want to encounter Sheffield here.

Yet the man in the crowd seemed to sense something and looked her way.

Hannah slightly furrowed her brows, intending to hasten her departure, but as she turned around, she bumped into someone’s embrace.

Just as she was about to step back, she heard a familiar deep voice above her head.

"It’s me."

"Arnold Simmons?"

"Yes."

Hannah sighed in relief, her hand instinctively tightening around the fabric at his waist.

Arnold extended his arm to protect the girl in his embrace and looked up, meeting Sheffield’s gaze.

Their eyes clashed mid-air.

One gentle, the other indifferent.

Two distinctly different temperaments.

Sheffield nodded slightly, as if to greet.

Even though they didn’t know each other now.

Arnold nodded in response, his courtesy evident, yet his gaze remained cool and emotionless.

Sheffield’s eyes lowered to the girl clinging tightly in the man’s arms.

A vaguely familiar silhouette.

His gaze paused for a moment, but before he could continue looking, Arnold had already left with Hannah.

...

Almost everyone from District Nine had gathered at the center of the market, so it was very quiet outside now.

The streets were empty.

Hannah walked ahead, Arnold habitually followed behind her.

He appeared to quite like being by her side.

Like a guardian.

There was no sunshine during the day; clouds scattered like willow catkins, hazily covering the whole sky.

A little further was the last defense line between District Nine and the border.

The restrictions weren’t lifted yet, no one could get out.

Hannah stopped under a tree, looking towards the direction of the Darkwood Forest from afar.

The Darkwood Forest was vast, and even crossing it via the shortest straight line would take at least half a month.

That’s assuming one wouldn’t encounter any mutant beasts.

Hannah was troubled.

Arnold stood beside her, lowered his gaze to watch her, then followed her line of sight, "Do you want to go to the Darkwood Forest...?"

Realizing something wasn’t quite right in his sentence, he added the last word on the fly,

turning his statement into a question.

Hannah turned to look at him, paused for a few seconds, then stepped forward.

The distance between them lessened.

The girl’s smile was brilliant, her eyes curved like a fox’s.

She tried reaching out, gently touching the back of his hand.

The touch was warm, like feathers.

It made him feel ticklish.

Not the back of his hand, but in his heart.

"How did you know I want to go to the Darkwood Forest?"

Word by word, she spoke very slowly, very softly.

Arnold shifted his gaze away, turning his head to look at their shadows joined together on the ground, "I guessed."

It wasn’t a guess.

He had overheard it.

The desire to be close to her was growing wildly in his heart; he couldn’t suppress it.

Hannah grabbed his hand, then tilted her head to look at him, her eyes clear and bright, "Did you eavesdrop on my conversation with someone else?"