“Okay, I am going to check outside to see what the situation is there, and then I will come back,” Leo said. She nodded.
He went out and started racking his brain. He had been avoiding her which might have made her this distant to him, but it didn’t explain why she was very unresponsive to him. Normally she was very cheerful, but she seemed very gloomy today.
He went to the inn like he normally did and checked the situation out. When he got there, the inn was almost deserted. There was nobody there. He walked in and saw Miller cleaning up the inn as if he was closing up. Miller saw him and smiled.
“Hello Leo, did you hear? The city is now under lockdown. We are now preparing for the Beast Wave,” Miller said.
Leo sighed. He had expected this, but now what Miller said confirmed it.
“I just wanted to know. Thanks, Miller,” Leo said. He turned back.
“Stay home!” Miller shouted behind him, but Leo just nodded. He wasn’t planning on following those instructions. He went back home and saw Daphne waiting there. To his surprise, she had a bag in her hand with all of her stuff packed up in it.
“What’s wrong?” He asked her. “Why are you all packed up as if you are going somewhere?”
“I’m leaving. I recovered my memories, Leo.” Daphne said.
Leo took in the information. When he met her, she didn’t know her name or anything about herself. But now she was saying that she recovered all of her memories. This was definitely because she broke into the 2nd Circle. That was the only thing that changed.
He smiled. “That’s great news! Are you going to your family?” He asked her.
She nodded. “Yes. But it means that some things change. From now on, I don’t know you. You don’t know me. Daphne is gone. I am Anna Whitmore. I am a noble from the capital. We are from different worlds…”
As she was talking, her voice was slightly breaking, but she kept going. Leo realized that it was painful for her, but she was forcing herself to cut ties with him.
“Are you a noble?” He asked her. She nodded.
“You don’t have to leave. You know that right?” He said.
“What age is that?” He asked her.
“14.” She said.
He sighed. “Well, this doesn’t have to be goodbye. We can still meet up after you go back to your family. Maybe I will come to visit you wherever you are going,” he said.
“The Whitmore Family is a Duke family. We aren’t allowed to associate with commoners. They will kill you if they find out about you,” She said.
He sighed. “Fine. I will become strong enough to become untouchable, and then I will come to visit you. Okay?”
She smiled a little. She was starting to cry but Leo’s words cheered her up. “Okay. Promise?”
He nodded. “Promise. How are you going to go?”
“I already found a merchant who is leaving the city to go to the Capital. I am planning on going there with them.” She said.
He nodded. He took out a few jewels from his ring and handed them to her. She was shocked by his actions.
“How do you have a-“
“We all have our secrets,” he cut her off. “Keep the jewels. They will come in handy. And also, join the Royal Academy. I will see if I can join it and I will visit you there. No matter how strong your family is, they won’t be able to make the academy bend its rules and stop you from seeing my face.”
She nodded.
“Stay safe, Daphne. To me, you will always be Daphne. I wish you a safe journey.” He said. She started crying and walked forward to hug him tightly. After a minute, she moved back and took her bag. She walked out of the door.
As she walked out, Leo called out.
“And congratulations on your breakthrough!”
Daphne’s eyes widened. By the time she looked back, the door was already closed. She didn’t know how he had found out that she had broken through. She purposefully didn’t tell him because she thought he would feel bad.
He had started almost an entire month before she did and was still behind her. She was afraid that he would feel demotivated if he found out that she was already stronger than him. But clearly, he already knew for some reason.
She walked to the place where the merchant was supposed to be waiting. When she got there, she saw that the merchant was waiting for her. The minute he saw her, he welcomed her.
“Hello, Miss! How are you? Do you want water or anything?” He asked her.
What Daphne didn’t know was that the merchant was already visited by a guest just before she got there.
Leo wore a mask and a cloak and got to the merchant quickly before Daphne could. He gave him a nice warning about how if even a hair fell from Daphne’s body, the merchant would face a dangerous death. He disappeared into the shadows immediately after.
He then proceeded to show his 3rd Circle Mage skill in the form of a sound transmission right after Daphne showed up.
“Remember. Even if a single hair is harmed, you are responsible for that.” He said.
The merchant was scared shitless after that. He knew that only 3rd Circle Mages could achieve Sound Transmission. This meant that the girl had a personal bodyguard who was in the 3rd Circle. He couldn’t afford to offend this person at all.
He didn’t want to know why a noble was using him to go to the capital. It must be something quirky that nobles do. He just had to make sure nothing happened to the girl. As he was walking to the caravan, he felt something in his pocket. He brought it out and saw a big jewel that he knew he didn’t put there.
“Thank you, Lord Mage.” He muttered under his breath.
Leo heard that and smiled. He knew that this would guarantee her safe passage to the capital. He went back to his house after.
Meanwhile, Daphne was confused about why she was being treated so nicely. Just an hour back, she was being treated like just another customer. But now he treated her like a noble. She didn’t mind the treatment though.
She was still upset that she had to leave the place that she lived in for so long. Solhaven might be a place of poverty to her, but it had so many fond memories. Especially because of Leo. She had lost her memories and would have starved if not for him. She was very sad that she had to leave him, but she had no choice.
The Whitmore family wasn’t just a normal noble family, after all.