“Why are you sighing? You look just as dejected as you did when I saw you at Mount Chillad,” Xavier teased. Veronica was standing under a towering tree, looking at the river further down the mountain.
Memories of everything that happened back at Mount Chillad the last time resurfaced. “Back then?” She chuckled. “I wasn’t just dejected. I was also pretty pathetic.”
Now that she thought about it, it had been two years since then. “Hah. You were with Matthew, but he didn’t even keep you safe.” Xavier scoffed as he crossed his arms and stared out into the distance.
He knew Veronica liked Matthew, but he couldn’t accept the fact that Matthew didn’t do a good job protecting her. “He can’t be blamed for what happened at Mount Chillad.” Veronica wanted to stand up for Matthew, so she explained, “At the time, I-”
As she spoke, she spotted Nelson limping over with a few fruits in hand, His silhouette matched perfectly with the one that popped up in her mind. Veronica felt her head buzz.
She turned a little pale as her hair stood on end, and chills ran down her spine. That’s him! It’s that guy! She finally realized why Nelson looked a little familiar to her. All this time, she couldn’t recall. where she’d seen him before.
After carefully searching her memory, she came to a revelation. Isn’t he that man from Dawnpol Village back at Mount Chillad two years ago? The one who had half his face covered in a
mask and walked with a limp? However, he’d merely pretended to have a limp. back then, but his limp was real this time. If Veronica was right, his leg was indeed. permanently injured after she fired a bullet into it back then.
And if I’m right about this, does it mean… Tanya knew about my true identity two years ago and sent someone to assassinate me but had to give up because the plot failed? Or was it someone secretly protecting me?
The thought terrified Veronica. In just a few moments, her forehead was covered in sweat. “Roni? What’s going on?”
Xavier found that Veronica was staring unblinkingly at Nelson, so he shoved her lightly. Veronica immediately snapped out of her reverie and withdrew her gaze. “Oh. It’s nothing.”
Xavier didn’t believe her. He glanced thoughtfully at the three people over there. ‘Come. Let’s all eat something.” Nelson came over and passed the fruits to Veronica and Xavier. His piercing gaze flickered over Veronica. It was probably because she’d stared at him a little too long earlier.
“I’m… not hungry.” She shook her head and found a place to sit. She began wondering whether Nelson was the person who’d showed up at her tent last night.
Alas, she had to admit that she was nervous right now. There were hundreds of people up in the mountain, and she didn’t know who a friend or a foe was.
“We’re not in a rush to head off, anyway. Why don’t I take you down to catch some fish?” Xavier walked over to Veronica and tapped on her shoulder before asking.
“Hahaha. That sounds fun! What a good idea. Count me in!” Liam wasn’t interested in the competition in the first place but had been forced to join.
Zac had broken his hand, and it hadn’t fully recovered yet. He was also exhausted from all the traveling. “You guys go ahead. I’ll smoke a cigarette first and join you later.”
He waved them off. “Sure. Nelson, Veronica, Xavier, let’s go!” Liam was getting pretty excited as he called the other three to follow him down the mountain.
Zac sat on a rock and watched as the four of them disappeared into the forest. Once they were gone, he mimicked the cry of a cuckoo bird three times.
