Self-Reliance

Tales stood somewhat awkwardly beside the desk on the third floor, fishing a towel soaked in hot water out of the wooden basin.

He was still wearing his sweat-stained, foul-smelling training clothes. His skin was sticky and greasy, his scrapes and bruises still faintly burning, and the soreness throughout his body made him extremely uncomfortable.

It was as though he had returned to his days as a beggar.

But Tales said nothing.

He merely wiped his face and neck in silence, carrying a trace of anticipation and nervousness as he occasionally glanced toward the spirited figure by the window, who stood gazing into the distance with her arms folded.

Jinnie silently watched the setting sun nearing the horizon. She watched the servants in the courtyard busy themselves lighting lamps, her profile calm and profound, as if lost in thought or memory.

"You shouldn't have let them do that."

Jinnie's voice was cold and forceful, carrying several traces of the resolve forged through years of hardship.

Tales's arm stiffened as he twisted the towel.

"Just now, you shouldn't have let the guards behave so recklessly."

The Female Official slowly turned around. She was as straight-backed and unyielding as she had been six years ago, like a cedar in winter.

"Boy."

Her gaze was as sharp as ever, and her tone as stern as ever. Tales was reminded of their first meeting six years ago.

Back then, she had also stood with her arms folded, silently scrutinizing him with an inscrutable expression.

Six years later, Tales instinctively wanted to turn his head away and evade his former instructor's scrutiny.

"Perhaps."

He spoke in a low voice, carrying a hint of helplessness and faint emotion.

Tales quickly grabbed the towel and covered his eyes, pressing his dirty face and uncontrollable expression into the