Annis...
In Zoya's mind, the memory of fighting side by side with He Xi in Mist Cave instantly overlapped with the elaborately dressed human girl before her.
So it was her... the human who had been betrothed to He Xi.
Used to be.
Zoya silently added those last three words in her heart.
Everything He Xi had once told her echoed in her ears, word for word.
That young lady from the Tidal Trade Union gave me the first Gold Shield of my life.
I only found out later that she had come to Rose Town to escape the marriage. It was quite unexpected...
...but the person she had run away from marrying was actually me.
I heard she ran into danger afterward. If I get the chance, I hope I can save her.
At the time, He Xi had seemed afraid she would misunderstand, and had deliberately added, "To be honest, I'm not doing this solely for that generous reward. She's also one of the few people I know. But I don't have those kinds of feelings for her."
Later, after He Xi returned from Hord, he had also told her about the rescue.
I found her in an abandoned old house. It was obvious she was very weak then. She said her life was worth more than a hundred Gold Shields. Since she was willing to pay more, I let her.
Oh, and she still seemed not to know that I was the He Xi whose marriage she had run away from.
But like I told you, our engagement was a ridiculous mistake to begin with. So it's better that she doesn't know. It saves us both the awkwardness of meeting.
Though the little elf instinctively believed every word He Xi told her, believed that he truly had