(4)FIRST MEETING

'Wham_'

"Hey, Can you not walk properly? You should use your eyes when you walk on a road.....Agh" Lily was already pissed and now this. Yesterday's events were still hunting her. Though her aunt was a lot better than yesterday and the doctor told them that it was going to be okay but only Lily knew the truth.

Now it was her turn to return the favor of all those years but she didn't know how to start. This time the wall in front of her was too tall. She was caught in a bind. She was someone who understood her place and position perfectly but now she was determined to do anything to protect her happiness.

Lily was still grumbling at the stranger who only stood there as a statue but unknowingly she peeked under his hood. It was a simple reflex action that any person who had lived in the slum would possess.

A mistake.

The moment she saw him, she comprehended her mistake.

A good build, perfect posture, an authoritative aura, a composed self, and a neck as unbending as iron and still with everything a cloak to hide himself. To sum it all up, a suspicious person. But he gave away the feeling of being a person of a high position and someone to whom other nobles might be afraid of.

But the worse thing was that she recognized him. Even though Lily's past work sometimes included nobles' networks and information, she herself had no interest in them, and after completing her task, she would forget about them. She knew that knowing too much will attract unwanted attention.

However, he was not someone she could just wipe off from her memory.

She still remembered the first time she saw him and wished that it would be the last.

At that time, she had gone to the capital for some work. And it just happened to be the time of the victory parade.

The capital was preparing for the victory celebration. The scale of the celebration matched the Spring festival, one of the most important festival of the Empire.

The street was filled with the laughter of people. They were enjoying themselves, celebrating the victory in the war, and waiting for the safe return of their family members.

Various shops with a variety of colorful things decorated the roadside, and the sweet aroma filled the air. It was a sunny day with a cool breeze. A perfect day for celebration.

Lily was not someone who would enjoy festivals. But the scale was so big that many people from different regions were there to sell their items. Many unique things were displayed in the market.

Lily decided to look around and bug gifts for her parents. They would be happy if she bought something. Not because of the gifts but because of the thoughts attached to the gifts.

Just thinking about them brought a smile to Lily's face. She happily started to sought out gifts for them. Doing so made her happy.

As she finished shopping, she heard a loud sound from the bell tower followed by the sound of cornets.

It was a sign that the parade had reached the capital's gate. Everyone gathered around the lane from where the parade would go.

Everyone was cheering, and fireworks filled the air. There was a smile on everyone's face.

It seemed as if the real celebration had started.

But the moment they entered the area, a heavy silence fell over the place. It was as if someone had cut off all of their senses, rendering them unable to move or speak.

The commander was covered in blood. His sword was drawn. Rather than a victory parade, they seemed more like looters. Had it not been for their badges with the Empire symbol, everyone would have misunderstood them.

Not a soul dared to move. Everyone must have feared that the next drop of blood on the sword would be there.

Now the celebration had turned into a funeral.

The commander looked over. It was a face of a hunter. Lily was far back but she still wished that his eyes would not reach her.

But their eyes met and a shiver of horror went down her spine. The cold stare pierced her whole being and it appeared as if he knew all her secrets.

Lily's senses came back as she realized that the person had moved from there. After seeing that he had left, she also decided to go to her destination and forget about today's incident.

××

Ray was waiting for John when he bumped into someone. 'An insolent person' that was his first thought. It was clearly her fault but she rather started to shout at him.

The more audacious thing was that she tried to look at his face. But the moment he saw her, his mind went blank.

For some reason, she looked familiar, specifically the look in her eyes. Unconsciously his thoughts went back to his yesterday's conversation with John.

Though she looked like a weak little girl, he was sure that she was agile. Her eyes had determination in them.

But what was more surprising was that his first thoughts didn't come as such.

Rather he thought of her as a great beauty. Her eyes were like a blooming forest. A slim and delicate figure. Her lips were alluring. He almost kissed her.

'Kiss?'

Ray didn't believed his own thoughts. How could he think of doing such a thing and that to some stranger?

He never had any interest in the opposite sex. He never looked for someone and hence this was very disturbing.

He looked at her once more and then decided to move from there. John still had not come back but there was no reason why Ray should wait for someone.

He made his way to the club where he was going to meet that person. John was sensible enough to go to the meeting point if he did not find Ray there.

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