Chapter 65: Reunion (Part I)

Everything in the room remained largely unchanged, preserved much as the master had left it, save for the faint, disordered footprints on the floor, likely left by investigators who entered after the Hegel family’s departure. Over time, the dust had blurred the once-clear footprints, and a thin veil of haze now covered the rest of the room as well.

Cécile slipped free from her mother’s support. Perhaps fatigued by the journey, she looked somewhat weary, yet even so, her arresting beauty could not be concealed.

She traced her fingers over things one by one until she reached her former bedroom. Everything was still the same, except for the small plush bear.

As if sensing something, she whirled around to find Wei Wuji standing quietly behind her.

"Mr. Wei."

Wei Wuji gave a gentle nod. "You should rest here for a while. I will go see Armango and bring him to you. I am sure he will be overjoyed to know you have returned."

Cécile nodded gratefully. For this man from the Far East who had escorted her and her mother thousands of miles back to Valencia, even her mother was now moved to tears.

"Mr. Wei, after this... once this matter is over, will you leave this place?" Cécile asked.

Wei Wuji paused for a moment before answering, "Yes, I plan to travel across this continent for a while, perhaps even visit the New Continent your friend spoke of, and then return to the Far East."

The friend Cécile mentioned was the female Smai knight who had fled with them from the orc territories to the city of Gaul. However, before Hegel’s death, Lady Indira had already left Gaul for other places. Ever since returning disappointed from the orc lands, she seemed to have developed a deep interest in understanding this continent.

Yet in the region of Gaul, with formidable figures like Grant and individuals like Leonardo beneath him, not to mention shadow mages and half-orc warriors who were no pushovers, Indira could not stir up much trouble; at best, she could only observe. This was one of her secondary tasks for the journey. If an alliance with the orcs could not be forged, taking the opportunity to observe the true strength of the continent was useful nonetheless.

Wei Wuji turned and slowly walked toward the door, but at that moment, Cécile suddenly called out to him.

"Mr. Wei!"

"Is there anything else?" Wei Wuji stopped, looking slightly surprised.

"Will you tell Armango everything about what happened to me?" Cécile hesitated before finally asking.

Wei Wuji did not answer. His gaze suddenly brightened as he looked quietly at Cécile, saying nothing.

"No, Mr. Wei, I beg you, please do not tell Armango what happened!" Madame Serra, who had been cleaning another room, overheard the conversation and rushed over. She hurried forward, grabbed Wei Wuji’s arm, and pleaded.

Cécile stepped forward to pull up her tear-stained mother, looking straight into Wei Wuji’s eyes. "Mr. Wei, I do not wish to hide anything from him. I just do not know if it is better for me to tell him everything that happened with my own lips."

Wei Wuji’s face twitched before softening considerably. After a moment of hesitation, he frowned and said, "If you are worried that the shock will be too great for him to bear, I can break some of the news to him first."

With a slackening of the arm, Madame Serra’s grip on Wei Wuji loosened. With a complexion of ashen despair, she slowly slumped to the floor, covering her face with both hands and sobbing quietly.

Undoubtedly, her current emotional state was one of utter despair. In her view, if Wei Wuji were willing to help keep things from Armango, the chances of her daughter reuniting with him would still be quite high; but if he refused to help, everything would become unpredictable. And unlike before, she no longer cared about her daughter stepping into high society; she now simply wished for her daughter to marry someone who loved her.

Cécile gently bit her lower lip. "Please bring him to see me. I will tell him everything myself. No matter what he decides in the end, I will hold no resentment toward anyone."

A flash of admiration crossed Wei Wuji’s eyes. At that moment, it was as if he were once again looking at the outspoken girl who had stood in this very room long ago.

Yet he could only let out a deep sigh and say, "Very well, if that is the only..."

Suddenly, his expression shifted, and he shouted, "Who is there?"

At that moment, footsteps echoed from outside. The three people in the room looked out to see a man and a woman. The man looked as though he were carved from stone—dark and rugged—walking silently behind the woman. When Wei Wuji first laid eyes on him, he was momentarily stunned, and then filled with both shock and delight. As for the woman walking ahead of him, she wore attire in the very latest fashion of Valencia. Particularly striking were the pieces of jewelry she wore; while their craftsmanship was remarkable, the materials themselves were exceedingly rare. Paired with her tall stature and stunning countenance, she appeared utterly peerless.

"What are you doing here?" Wei Wuji asked in astonishment.

The approaching woman immediately showed a mix of shyness and joy, assuming Wei Wuji was pleasantly surprised by her appearance. She stopped and lowered her head. "I... I always remembered the stories and experiences you shared with me. I wanted to see them with my own eyes, and I wanted to see you again, so..."

Crowne pointed at Princess Helen from behind her, and only then did Wei Wuji notice Helen. However, with his remarkable memory, he recognized her immediately.

"Ah, the little mermaid."

"What little mermaid?" Hearing Wei Wuji’s form of address, Princess Helen unhappily raised her head in protest. "I am already an adult of the Siren race."

Wei Wuji smiled faintly and walked over. Seeing that they were acquainted, Madame Serra and Cécile finally set their minds at ease and slowly approached as well.

Wei Wuji and Crowne exchanged glances before Wei Wuji finally spoke in a calm tone, "You have been away from the Far East for nearly four years. I never thought we would meet here again."

Crowne nodded slightly, deliberately steering away from the subject as he asked, "I heard you escorted the fiancée of a man named Armango back?"

Only then did Wei Wuji introduce the two parties. Upon hearing—confirmed somewhat nervously by Madame Serra—that the stunning and captivating woman before her was the fiancée of the honest young man she had once met, Princess Helen finally felt at ease. Truth be told, when she heard from Fahrenheit that Wei Wuji had escorted two women back from a very distant place, it had felt as though an indescribable fire was burning in her heart.

"So you are Armango's woman." Though somewhat relieved, Helen still felt that lingering, inexplicable twinge of feminine instinct regarding Cécile's breathtaking beauty.

"You know him?" Cécile asked, slightly surprised. She practically knew everyone Armango had associated with before he took to the sea, and such a beautiful and lavish woman certainly did not feature in her impression of his social circle.

However, Cécile's attention was immediately diverted; she no longer cared why this stranger knew the young man, for the words spilling from Helen's lips brought her shocking news.

"Of course I know him. The last time I saw him, he had just begun serving in the military. I hear he is currently trapped in the Benisa Fortress."