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However, Hamilton wasn’t even listening to her. He was busy looking around with his sharp eyes as though he was looking for someone.

And as though that wasn’t enough, he ran around the street while looking at each and every corner and turn.

If this was Sorvando, then he would have run around at his full speed. But because he was in another Kingdom, he was running around at the speed of a normal human. And that fact made him extremely anxious.

‘If only I could run at my normal pace!’ he screamed in his mind and kept on looking.

Ruby didn’t know who Hamilton was looking for. But she was relieved that the paper had nothing to do with her.

‘I hope they won’t issue a warrant to look for me,’ she thought to herself. A chill shiver ran down her spine at the thought of being captured and taken back to Sorvando again.

‘I will have to get as far away from Sorvando as I can.’ She looked towards the south and clutched her hands together. ‘And find him faster. I can sense him there... I hope it is him that I am sensing.’

After about five minutes of running here and there, Hamilton returned to the spot where Ruby was.

.....

He looked agitated and angry for some reason. And he was still clutching that piece of paper. He looked at the content of the paper one more time. And a frown formed between his brows when he looked at it.

“Is something important written there?” Ruby couldn’t resist asking.

Hamilton took a deep breath in, neatly folded the paper, put it safely in his pocket, and finally replied, “It’s not what’s written here that caught my eyes. It’s the ‘who’ that caught my attention.”

“Who?” Ruby asked out of reflex even when she had decided she wouldn’t probe further.

Hamilton didn’t mind the questioning though. Being a historian, he did that a lot himself.

So he answered as he began walking in the direction of the carriage, “That’s what made me confused. Who. I happened to know someone who had the exact handwriting. But that person died a few hundr- a few years ago.”

Ruby nodded understandingly. “And you hoped to see the person you knew?”

Hamilton pressed his lips together and nodded. “Yes, a part of my heart hoped to see him alive. But I guess, that’s just one of my wildest fantasies.”

“He sounds like someone you really cared about. I’m sorry for your loss,” Ruby expressed her sympathy to the kind man.

Hamilton lightly touched the pocket in which he had tucked that sheet of paper. And he replied in a melancholic voice, “He was my cousin. He was much older than me. But he was a good friend of mine. And...” He shakily breathed in and added, “His death came as a shock to all of us. It’s been years. Everyone moved on from his death, almost everyone. But I can’t quite seem to move past it.”

“I hope he is in a better place now,” Ruby uttered under her breath.

The two of them then walked the rest of the path in silence.

The coachman was already waiting for them with the door of the carriage open. He had a shocked expression on his face when he saw an elegant lady walking side by side with his master instead of a beggar.

Hamilton hopped inside the carriage and also helped Ruby to get in.

“Where are you going again?” Hamilton asked Ruby so that he could drop her off at the right place.

Ruby had no idea where she was going. So she simply replied, “I don’t know the town’s name. But I will recognize it once I see it.”

“Alright. Tell me when you need to get off,” Hamilton replied and comfortably adjusted his position for the long journey ahead.

—

‘Why am I even here?’ Alexander thought to himself while giving a repulsed look to the new pair of friends.

Lorenzo had invited both Everard and Alexander to the Chamber of Sallust for a dinner.

Alexander was against the idea. But in the end, Everard convinced him and dragged him along.

As Alexander had expected, Everard and Lorenzo instantly hit it off. They began to talk about Xanmar and their clans. And Alexander felt like an outcast again.

Everard tried to include Alexander in the conversation as well. However, Alexander would immediately start to question Lorenzo’s intentions and indirectly attack him. So, in the end, Everard ended up avoiding his friend so as not to make his new friend feel offended.

And Alexander could only hope for the dinner to be over soon so that he could get up and never follow Everard again if he was going to meet his new friend.

He munched on some grilled chicken and took a sip of delicious wine. Though the food was tasty, the bad company was successfully making his mood sour.

“I am telling you, Everton,” Lorenzo sounded intoxicated while he was talking with Everard, “When you find your mate, you will feel this intense fire inside your heart. I heard it from the ones who already found their mates. You always feel worried about them, you always want to be by their side, and you – hic – get intoxicated by their love.”

Everard wasn’t as drunk as Lorenzo. But he was greatly affected by Lorenzo’s words. He beat his chest with his palm and then said, “I know! I’ve felt that way for a beautiful lady. I know exactly what they are talking about.”

Alexander rolled his eyes at those drunkards and took a sip of wine. He knew who Everard was referring to when he said ‘beautiful lady’.

And he didn’t like it that Everard still felt that way about his sister even when she was already married.

So he butted into the conversation, “I am no expert in love. I’ve never fallen in love. But my father had once shared why he agreed to marry my mother only after a few meetings with her.”

“Why?” Everard turned to face Alexander.

And Alexander answered, “He told me that when you meet the right person for you, your mind, your heart, and your whole existence will somehow know it.”

“And there’s no fire or ice inside your heart.” He threw a subtle satire at Lorenzo and continued, “He told me that the ones who make your heart restless and anxious will never be the one for you. They give you nothing but troubles.”

Everard was swayed by Alexander’s words as well. So he eagerly asked, “Then how do we find out who is ‘the one’ for us?”

Alexander was happy that his friend was finally listening to him. So he imparted the great knowledge, “Your heart will be as calm as the sea when you finally stand in front of your soulmate. There is no burning desire or fiery flames in you. There is just peace and only peace.”

Everard nodded his head. “I see.”

He then looked at both Alexander and Lorenzo with somewhat drowsy eyes. And he jokingly said, “Then none of you are my soulmates because...” He slammed his fist on his chest and his voice suddenly changed from sarcastic to serious, “Because my heart is really anxious and restless right now. I am not at peace at all.”

Lorenzo laughed out loud while slamming the table. And he mumbled in his drunken state, “I don’t want to be your soulmate... I want a beautiful lady.”

Alexander rolled his eyes and thought, ‘Oh, I hate him so much. I think I should hook him up with some lady and send him home.’

Everard abruptly got up from his seat.

Alexander looked at him and asked in surprise, “What happened?”

Everard looked out of the window. It was dark. But he could clearly see a carriage in a distance and he could hear the rhythmic sounds of the hooves and wheels.

He walked towards the window and replied, “I... I don’t know. Something feels... different.”

“Different how?” asked Alexander.

Everard kept on glaring at the carriage and answered, “I mean... it’s hard to explain. I feel danger approaching. But I think I like it? Ugh! I don’t know.”

He then placed his palm over his chest and thought to himself, ‘But why is it so still?’