Chapter 302

Just as Warfarin had said.

When Maria encounters something that confuses her, she always does some very cute things with a blank expression...

Thinking of this, she came back to her senses.

"Come to think of it, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?"

As the girl spoke, she took a slight step back and bowed deeply.

Her gentle body resembled a blooming white flower.

"My name is... Theresa."

"Theresa ..."

Maria, her eyes lowered.

She mentioned that name in the letter she sent to Lamaline yesterday...

Theresa is one of the rising folk heroes in Kazdel.

Her Theresis was once a royal guard of the Demon King Lesh, and went to war with the Demon King. When the Demon King died suddenly, he and his sister were on the front line. After the disaster, the two of them almost single-handedly rebuilt the defeated army into a force of 10,000 people, withdrew from the front to Kazdel, and conveyed the Demon King's situation.

Although neither side has a particularly impressive track record, this one incident alone demonstrates their strong leadership.

In the midst of their rout, they were still able to quickly regroup their ten thousand soldiers and lead them back to the capital in an orderly manner, without any supplies...

This is considered hellish difficulty.

But with the brother and sister working together, they actually managed to do it!

This earned them the respect of many Sarkaz soldiers.

Even after returning to the capital, they spontaneously rallied under the brother and sister's command.

In the past, this would have been considered an act of usurpation.

But now that the Demon King is dead, nobody cares anymore.

However, these are not the main points. The main point is that Maria is curious about the other party's existence.

Maria never denied that there was a group of people who, even among ordinary people, could not hide their brilliance.

They possess vision, resilience, and sharp minds; they only need one opportunity to transform their entire lives.

Even so, the speed at which these two siblings are growing up is indeed quite astonishing.

Especially Theresa... when she relayed the message back to the Demon King, she had to face the panic and unease of the entire city.

But now it seems... Kazdel hasn't panicked at all because of the Demon King's departure.

From this perspective, we can deduce what kind of magic the girl possesses to soothe people's hearts.

There are even rumors that this girl has the potential to become the next Demon King.

Of course, such claims are just rumors.

Ultimately, the selection of the Demon King depends on who Black Crown chooses.

No one can clearly explain the selection criteria for this.

All I know is that it will appear at the right time and on the right person.

There has been no sign of the demon king Yelesh appearing since his death.

After pondering for a moment, Maria nodded slightly in agreement.

After carefully observing the woman in front of her, Theresa also became somewhat curious.

"You're out so early, is there something you need?"

"I just wanted to see the city."

"Just want to see the city?"

Theresa pondered for a moment, then a slight smile appeared at the corner of her eye.

"If that's the case, would you like me to show you around? I've lived here for many years and know a bit about it."

"Won't that be troublesome?"

"No, it won't."

Theresa seemed very interested in Maria; she spoke gently, her voice soft and ethereal.

"You might have to wait a moment while I go get some fabric..."

"Fabric?"

"Yes... I am a tailor."

The girl smiled and spoke, seemingly without any embarrassment about her identity, readily admitting it.

Maria took an even closer liking to him because of his open-minded attitude.

She had seen many monarchs who had done despicable things before they rose to power, but after they became powerful, they would all try their best to cover up their past, as if they felt that it was unworthy of their current noble status.

But the girl in front of him... didn't seem to think that way.

After thinking for a moment, Maria nodded slightly.

"Can..."

The two began to travel together.

As it turned out, Theresa was indeed very familiar with the city, just as she had said.

She's like a ghost, always able to find side streets to cross amidst the main roads, saving herself time.

Many of the roads were so narrow that Maria could only pass sideways... Their confinement once took Maria by surprise.

How did they discover this alleyway?

Of course, such operations are not always successful...

"Forehead..."

Looking at the increasingly narrow gap in front of her, Theresa raised her fair face and gave Maria a mischievous, wry smile.

"It's stuck..."

"..."

Maria didn't say much, but gently reached out and carefully pulled the girl out of the gap without hurting her.

During this process, Maria also realized why the girl was stuck.

She may have forgotten that she has already begun to grow up.

"Thanks."

The girl blushed, somewhat embarrassed.

In her memory, she used to walk this way quite often not long ago.

But today, for some reason, I can't leave.

It's only because Maria is with her that she can get out; if she were alone, it would be much more difficult.

No wonder Theresis wasn't comfortable with her going out alone.

Fortunately, despite the some troublesome situation, the two of them arrived at their destination quickly.

It was a remote little wooden cabin.

There should have been a lock on the door, but the lock had been violently broken open at some point.

Although she was prepared for this, Theresa couldn't help but feel a little downcast as she watched all of this.

Push open the door.

Just as she had expected, the room where she and her brother had lived as children was now completely empty.

The furniture they salvaged, crafted, and modified are all gone...

The empty room still harbored several filthy crevices...

The girl sighed, then came to her senses.

She carefully moved a wobbly stool from the side, then stepped on it, straining to stand on tiptoe, and stretched her hand high to open the barely noticeable hidden opening above her head.

Soon, a whole piece of exquisite fabric appeared before the two of them...

"It's still there!"

Seeing this, the girl's eyes lit up.

But this moment of dejection caused her to sway suddenly.

Then he fell backward.

The sudden feeling of weightlessness made her instinctively put her hands over her chest and close her eyes in fear.

Prepare to face the heavy blow of a fall.

But how could Maria allow such a thing to happen before her eyes?

She didn't speak, but simply moved her feet lightly and quietly cradled the girl in her arms.

Theresa, like a princess, did not experience the expected pain; instead, she herself fell into Maria's arms.

Feeling that softness...

"Huh?"

The little girl stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

She blinked, looking at the slightly cold face in front of her, somewhat taken aback.

After a long while, she came to her senses, picked up the cloth from Maria's embrace with both hands, and carefully bowed to her.

"Th... thank you..."

She stammered a little, and her face flushed slightly.

Maria didn't say much, but simply nodded slightly and stopped what she was doing.

His calm and gentle demeanor made Theresa feel a little embarrassed.

Is this all?

Maria tilted her head, her expression serene.

For her, helping someone was just a small favor, not worth paying any attention to at all.

Theresa, however, simply stared blankly at the woman in front of her.

After a moment, she nodded slightly.

That's all...

She looked at the expensive fabric in her hand, her eyes filled with thoughts.

Perhaps these fabrics weren't even as nice as the casual clothes the Banshees would see Maria wearing, but they held a great deal of meaning for the girl, for her, and for her brother...

It embodies the longing of two people who, many years ago, huddled together in this single room.

Gently stroking the small strip of cloth, a hint of reminiscence appeared in the girl's eyes.

Maria did not disturb her, but silently watched her.

Some time passed before Theresa came to her senses and, looking at the woman in front of her, bowed shyly.

"Sorry."

"Um?"

"Actually... when we met, I wasn't entirely without suspicion towards you..." Theresa said, her eyes slightly lowered, seemingly apologetic for her wariness of Maria. "I was actually... trying to understand your thoughts..."

"I have a... rather special ability, which allows me to know what people around me are thinking. I was just using this ability to test you, I'm really sorry!"

"I know."

Maria nodded. How could she not be aware of the girl's perception of her?

Only...