*Clang*

Blades collided as Allen and Aries faced off in the arena.

Allen gritted his teeth while Aries wore a wide grin, pushing him back before swinging her mace straight at his face—no holding back.

Allen panicked and leaned back just in time, but Aries took the chance to kick his knee and knock him off balance.

*DHAK*

"Guh!" Allen groaned, hitting the ground for the seventh time in their spar.

"Come on, get up! No time for breaks!" Aries called out, twirling her mace as she prepared to attack again.

Off to the side, Adrian watched the fight closely.

There's no better way to learn each other's strengths and weaknesses than through a fight.

"Sir," a soft voice broke through his focus. Elana walked up to him slowly. "I was wondering… could you make me a new armament for training? I can pay for it."

Her last one hadn't held up well. One more tough battle and it would shatter.

She could've asked the runesmith where her family usually went to, but instead, she chose to approach the man she was sure would reject her—

"Okay," Adrian said simply.

Elana blinked in surprise. "Really?"

Adrian gave a small nod. "The headmistress asked me to take care of you all during the tournament. It only makes sense you train with the best gear."

He sounded a bit full of himself, didn't he?

But judging by the sparkle in her eyes, she didn't seem to mind.

"Then… should I come to your workshop today?"

Adrian nodded again. "After I finish my class with Thalia, I'll make one for you."

.....

After finishing the morning training, Adrian made his way into the forest.

It was the weekend, so he didn't have any classes today. Still, he needed to be back by the afternoon—he had promised to give Thalia an extra lesson on the Second Thread.

She had been picking up the theory well, absorbing all the knowledge with ease. But when it came to practical work, her progress felt… slow.

Sylvie claimed Thalia was improving quickly, especially in hands-on work. But to Adrian, she still seemed behind.

Maybe it's because of the crash course in runesmithing, he thought. After all, he carried the memories and soul of the greatest Runesmith in history. That alone could be skewing his expectations—what felt slow to him might be incredibly fast for anyone else.

Even so, he had made a promise.

He would help Thalia create her first second-grade weapon. After that, she would have to continue her journey on her own.

Right now, Adrian wasn't walking through the forest for fun or adventure.

He was going to meet someone.

And that 'someone' soon came into view—sitting casually on a tree log.

"Hey-ah!" he called out, lifting his hand to wave.

But before the gesture could even finish, he found himself being pulled into a hug.

She had leapt into his arms, wrapping both her arms and legs around him like she never wanted to let go.

Adrian steadied himself just in time, a gentle smile forming on his lips as he walked toward the log she had been sitting on earlier.

"You missed me?" he asked softly.

"That's too obvious a question," she replied with a pout in her voice. "You should be asking 'how much' I missed you."

She had only just reunited with her beloved after such a long time—only to be told to keep her distance again. It was slow torture.

A constant ache. Every moment without him stung... and yet, the hope of freedom—the promise that they would someday be together again—kept her going.

"Circumstances, Bella," Adrian said calmly. "We need to take things slowly and think clearly. This world... It's not like the one we were part of before."

"Life back then was far harsher than it is now," Bella replied, her gaze firm. "But back then, you never cared about all that."

Adrian hummed softly. "Well, now I have people I care about. So yes… I need to make this world a better place."

Annabelle's brows furrowed as she silently hugged him again.

He didn't need to ask what caused the sudden reaction. He already knew.

Instead, he asked something else.

"Hey, Bella… my memories are still scattered. Can you tell me something about myself? Or about the place we used to live?"

Annabelle slowly pulled back and tilted her head. "What brought this on?"

Adrian shook his head. "I've just been thinking about where I came from. It's strange—I can use independent magic even though I've never followed the Fallen God."

Annabelle nodded. "Same here. That's probably the reason you saved me in the first place, isn't it?"

He didn't answer. But yes, that must have been why.

With a sigh, Annabelle sat down beside him. Her voice softened.

"You never told me anything about your past. You just stayed in your workshop all day, making armaments. You only came out to eat, and that too barely. I remember asking you so many times why you never joined the celebrations—why you never spent time with the people you'd saved. But you never listened."

She glanced at him from the side.

"I always felt like making armaments was your way of running away from something."

He had heard something similar before—from the system.

But still, he asked, "Running from what? What past?"

Annabelle shook her head gently. "I'm sorry, I don't know. Other than your identity as the legendary runesmith, I don't know much about who you really were. I even asked the neighbors, but it turned out you had only moved into that place a few weeks before you met me."

Adrian sighed. "I'm sorry... for pushing you away all that time."

Annabelle shook her head. "You don't have to be. The fact that you let me stay by your side... that alone showed me you trusted me. And that was enough."

Adrian gave her a soft smile, and for a moment, the two sat in silence.

Annabelle's thoughts were spinning. She searched her memories, wondering if there was something—anything—that could help him reconnect with his past. And then, suddenly—

"Oh, yes. Once a year, you would leave the house for the whole day. But before going, you'd always lock me inside your workshop."

Adrian's brows lifted in surprise. "I… I vaguely remember something like that. But why would I lock you inside the workshop? I never even liked you being in that place."

Annabelle gave him a dry smile. "You placed so many barriers and spells in that room just to make sure I couldn't escape and follow you. I tried many times. But your security was… extreme."

Adrian rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah. Well… sorry about that too."

Annabelle chuckled. "You don't need to be. You clearly didn't want me to see anything related to your past. You were always careful... always guarding something."

She looked at him for a long moment, and added softly, "You were protecting me from whatever hurt you back then—even if you never told me what it was."

A soft audible breath escaped his lips, "Well, I will eventually regain all my memories. And when I do...I will tell you about it."

Annabelle seemed surprised, "You will?"

Adrian nodded, "Yes, of course. There are only two people whom I blindly trust. And you are one of them."

Annabelle lowered her head before mumbling, "Wish it had just been me."

Adrian wryly smiled, "Alright then, it's time we go our ways."

He got up and, following suit, a disappointed Annabelle got back up on her feet too.

"Why this soon?" She complained.

"This meeting was anonymous, so I couldn't get enough time. Next time, we will spend a whole day together. I promise."

Annabelle got the promise. Annabelle happy.

Just as they started walking, Adrian remembered something and told her, "Ah, yes. I am going back to my hometown."

"Oh, really? For a vacation?" A smiling Annabelle asked.

Adrian shook his head, "No. To get engaged with Ariana."

The smile faded.

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.