Chapter 180: Past And Present Collide [2]
Chapter 180: Past And Present Collide [2]
Hector stared at him for a long moment, his stern eyes searching Soren’s face before he grunted. "Why don’t you just ask her?"
"Well..." Soren rubbed the back of his neck, looking down slightly. "I was afraid of hurting her. If she had to recall what happened back then, I was worried it might uncover old wounds."
Hector raised his brow slightly, the harsh lines around his eyes softening into a faint smile. The President nodded in approval at Soren’s protective consideration for his wife.
"You’re a good husband," Hector said, his gravelly voice remarkably quiet. "Fine. But I must warn you. I don’t know the intricate details of her personal life. We mostly crossed paths during gate raids, official missions, or other work-related matters. Which was why I called her an acquaintance."
"Don’t worry, and please tell me whatever you can," Soren said, looking ready to listen. "It’s even better if you start from when you two first met."
"Our first meeting, huh?" the Emperor muttered, staring into his teacup as his eyes reflected the distant memories. "I first encountered her when she was still an academy student. If I remember correctly, there was a tournament happening at the time, and I was attending as a guest judge. That was when I first caught sight of her and witnessed her talent."
Hector paused, the memory clear in his mind.
"I watched her utterly dominate her opponents, using ice with a level of control that was far beyond her peers. Intrigued, I approached her afterward and asked who her master was. To my surprise, she told me she didn’t have one. That was the moment I decided on the spot to take her in as my personal disciple. However, she turned me down without a second thought. Even after learning exactly who I was, she didn’t change her mind."
A faint smile touched the old man’s lips.
"I still vividly remember her words. She looked me straight in the eye and said, ’Thank you for the honor, Senior, but I want to forge my own path. Besides, I’ve already chosen the sword as my primary weapon.’"
Hector shook his head slightly at the memory. "I reluctantly backed down, assuming her stubbornness would cost her. But over the next few days, I watched her matches closely as she began incorporating her weapon. Her swordsmanship was still raw, definitely past a beginner level, but unrefined. Yet, there was a strange beauty to her movements. More importantly, she was significantly stronger with a blade in her hand."
"Oh!" Soren leaned forward, listening with clear enthusiasm. "Did she win?"
"Mmh," Hector nodded. "She defeated every opponent in her path and reigned as the tournament champion. Still, I couldn’t simply walk away after seeing that kind of potential. I wanted to help her grow, so I decided to offer a bit of guidance to a future hero. During the remainder of my stay at the academy, I took some time out of my schedule to teach her the fundamentals of ice manipulation, showing her how to synchronize her energy with her movements without overriding her own style."
"Shortly after the tournament ended, my obligations required me to leave," Hector continued, his voice steady. "We crossed paths a few times at the academy before my departure, but it never went beyond greetings. She was focused on her training, and I had my own duties to attend to."
"I didn’t see her again for several years. However, during that time, she completely shattered every expectation I ever held for her, skyrocketing through the ranks until she became the youngest seventh-circle awakened in the last century. Witnessing that kind of growth made one thing absolutely clear to me: she was the greatest prodigy I have ever seen in my whole life."
Soren smiled faintly, the pride he felt for his wife warming his expression. He knew her records since it was almost common knowledge in the capital, but hearing it from a living legend gave the achievements a completely different weight.
"Later on, I had the opportunity to meet her again when I was asked to oversee her first Seventh Circle gate raid. It was actually her guild that reached out to me, but that operation ended up being our last major interaction. Probably because she was always buried under a mountain of guild work and high-stakes missions, or so I heard. And the last time we met in person was about a year and a half ago."
Hector paused, staring down into his cup as if checking to see if he had missed any details.
Soren tilted his head, waiting for more. "That’s all?"
"Yes," Hector replied simply. He then gestured slightly with his hand as the detail returned to him. "Oh, right. She had become the Vice Master of her guild around that time. She had come to visit me because she found out about my upcoming seclusion and came to wish me a successful breakthrough."
Soren nodded slowly, absorbing the timeline, before leaning in to ask again.
"Senior... You really don’t know anything about her enemies? Or even her friends? What kind of impression did she give you back then? What was her personality like during those years?"
Hector paused, turning the teacup slowly in his hands as if pondering how to accurately summarize the girl he had known. The silence stretched for a moment before he spoke again.
"As I mentioned, I don’t know much about her personal life, nor do I know who she associated with outside of official duties. As for her personality, she was exceptionally quiet, detached, and fiercely focused on getting stronger. In my view, she was a woman of few words who rarely let anyone close enough to understand what she was thinking."
He looked up, meeting Soren’s gaze directly.
"On the battlefield, she was calm, precise, and entirely unshakeable, but off it, she carried herself with a heavy solitude. I never saw her with friends, only subordinates, colleagues, and guild officials who looked at her with a mixture of reverence and fear. If she had enemies back then, they were the kind that hid their malice behind polite smiles and respectful bows, because no one would have dared to cross her openly."
"But..." Hector set his teacup down with a soft click. "I did hear she crossed paths with a certain organization a few times."
Soren straightened up, his focus sharpening instantly. "An organization?"
"That is right," the old man replied, his expression turning cold. "A secret terror organization."