Chapter 152: The Woman They Abandoned

Reinhard and Emily did not go home after leaving the doctors. They had already spent most of the afternoon walking through Aurelius, and Reinhard decided there was little point in ending the day there.

"We’ve already come this far," he said as they walked down the busy street. "We might as well enjoy the city."

"Is this still part of your revenge plan?" Emily glanced at him.

"No." He paused before pointing toward a large restaurant ahead of them. "This is the important part."

Emily followed his finger and smiled. "Food?"

"Exactly."

The restaurant was one of the more popular establishments in Aurelius, and Reinhard barely made it through the entrance before the manager recognized them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ashcroft!" The manager hurried toward them with a smile. "It is an honor to have you here."

"See? They already know we’re married," Reinhard looked at Emily.

"Everyone knows," she said.

"Good."

The manager hesitated before gesturing toward a private dining room. "We prepared a private room for you."

Reinhard looked around the restaurant, then back at him. "Why?"

The manager froze. "I thought you would prefer privacy."

"I’m handsome enough to eat in public," Reinhard said, genuinely confused.

Emily immediately covered her face. "Please stop."

The manager stared at Reinhard for a moment before deciding the safest response was to smile. "Of course, sir."

They were seated near the center of the restaurant instead, and Emily was still trying not to laugh when Reinhard opened the menu.

"This place has good desserts."

"You haven’t even looked at the menu."

"I can sense them."

"You’re ridiculous," she shook her head.

"I prefer charming."

"You prefer yourself."

"That too."

They had barely started eating when someone stopped beside their table. "Emily?"

She looked up, her expression changing. "Claire?"

The woman standing beside them had shoulder-length brown hair and a surprised expression that slowly turned into disbelief. "It’s really you."

Claire Voss had been one of Emily’s teammates during her earlier career, someone who had known the old Emily before the accident, before the shattered Gnosis, before everyone began speaking about her as though her life had already ended. She pulled out a chair, then stopped herself. "Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt."

"It’s fine. Sit," Emily smiled.

Claire sat down and looked at her for several seconds. "You really came back."

"I did."

She laughed softly, though there was emotion behind it. "I heard the news. Then I saw the rankings. Then someone told me you reached the Top Five, and I thought they were lying."

"They weren’t."

"I can see that." Her gaze shifted toward Reinhard. "And you’re Reinhard."

"Handsome husband, investor, occasional hero," he raised his hand slightly.

"Don’t encourage him," Emily sighed.

Claire laughed. After a moment, her expression grew more serious. "I visited you once after the accident."

"I remember," Emily nodded.

"I wanted to come again, but..." Claire lowered her eyes. "I didn’t know what to say."

Emily was quiet for a moment. "Neither did I."

Claire looked at her, surprised that there was no anger in her voice. "I thought you’d hate everyone," she admitted.

"I did for a while." Emily looked down at her plate. "But not anymore."

"Are you going back to the old team?" Claire smiled.

"No." There was no hesitation.

She nodded slowly. "I thought you’d say that." She stood. "I’m glad you’re happy, Emily."

"Me too," Emily smiled.

Claire walked away, and Reinhard watched her disappear into the crowd. "She was nice."

"She was."

"Should I have threatened her?"

"No," Emily laughed.

"Good. I wasn’t sure."

They continued eating, and for several minutes the afternoon stayed peaceful. Then someone from Emily’s past approached again, this time an older academy official, his expression brightening immediately when he recognized her. "Emily Ashcroft! We always believed you would return!"

"I’m sure you did," Emily smiled politely, and walked past him.

The man remained standing there. A younger employee beside him quietly muttered, "That was brutal."

"What was brutal?" the older official frowned.

"Nothing."

Reinhard looked back at them while walking beside Emily. "I liked that one."

"What?" she glanced at him.

"Your answer."

"I wasn’t trying to be rude."

"I know." That was exactly why he liked it. She didn’t need to scream at anyone. She didn’t need to tell them how wrong they had been. She had simply returned without them.

The next group was waiting only a few streets away. Tournament organizers. The moment they saw Emily, they approached with almost embarrassing enthusiasm. "Miss Ashcroft, we would be honored to have you return for the next Grand Awakener Tournament. We can offer you an exclusive appearance contract. Priority access to the main events. Your own promotional segment. Honorary tournament ambassador. And an appearance fee of—"

"How much?" Reinhard asked.

Emily slowly turned toward him. "Reinhard."

"What?"

"You were about to negotiate."

"I was listening."

"You were smiling."

"I smile naturally."

The organizer gave them the number, and even Reinhard raised an eyebrow. Emily answered immediately. "No, thank you."

"I didn’t even say anything," he looked at her.

"You were about to."

"I was." She laughed, and they politely declined and continued walking.

A few minutes later, another familiar face appeared. Serena Vale had been one of Emily’s old rivals, someone who had spent years competing against her. She smiled awkwardly. "I always knew you’d come back."

Emily stared at her. "You told everyone I’d never awaken again."

Serena’s smile disappeared. Reinhard slowly turned toward her. "Oh."

"You did," Emily smiled.

Serena rubbed the back of her neck. "I was wrong."

"That is becoming a common phrase today," Reinhard nodded.

Emily laughed, and even Serena smiled despite herself. After a short conversation, Serena asked if Emily would ever consider fighting her again.

Emily thought about it. "Maybe."

"I’ll remember that," Serena smiled, and left soon afterward.

Reinhard watched her go before looking at Emily. "You’re collecting rematches now."

"Apparently."

"You should charge them." Emily laughed.

Then a man in an expensive suit approached them. Unlike everyone else, he wasn’t smiling. He looked nervous. "Miss Ashcroft." He bowed slightly. "We would like to renew our previous support arrangement."

Reinhard looked at him carefully. The man’s eyes kept moving around the street. He wasn’t behaving like someone excited to gain Emily’s business. He was behaving like someone afraid of refusing her.

"You seem nervous," Reinhard said.

The man forced a smile. "It’s been a busy week."

"Sure." Reinhard accepted his business card, and the man thanked them before leaving.

"Something wrong?" Emily looked at Reinhard.

"Maybe."

"What is it?"

"I’m not sure yet."

They continued walking.

A wealthy family approached them later that afternoon, offering dinner, private training facilities, rare resources, relic access, political connections, and investment opportunities.

The Family Leader spoke with careful politeness. "We would be honored to have the Ashcroft Family as a close partner."

"Interesting," Reinhard smiled.

The Family Leader expression tightened slightly. "Where were you two years ago?"

Silence. Emily looked toward him.

"There were circumstances," the Family Leader hesitated.

"What circumstances?" The man didn’t answer.

"Let’s go," Emily gently pulled Reinhard’s sleeve. He looked at the Family Leader for another second before letting her lead him away.

Once they were several streets away, Reinhard glanced at the business card in his hand. He hadn’t used his ability yet. He decided now was a good time.

Mind Glance. The ability had already been enhanced. Instead of simply hearing surface thoughts, he could now dig deeper, reaching memories and suppressed information while also seeing the images associated with them.

He found the sponsor representative from earlier. A dark office appeared, several wealthy men standing around a long table, a figure sitting in the shadows. Reinhard couldn’t see the person’s face. The voice was calm. "Do not support Emily Ashcroft."

Another man swallowed. "But she has already returned to the Top Five. Supporting her now would be extremely profitable."

"No support."

The scene changed. A contract was placed on a table, the words clear. NO SPONSORSHIP.

Another memory surfaced. The sponsor’s executive sat across from the same shadowed figure. "You don’t understand," he said nervously. "Our organization has worked with the Ashcrofts for years."

The figure remained silent. "If you continue funding Emily Ashcroft, we’ll consider your organization hostile."

The executive’s face went pale. "Who are you?"

"You don’t need to know," came the quiet answer.

The memory shifted again. Reinhard saw a room covered in blood, several guards lying dead across the floor, the same figure standing in the middle of the room, the executive on his knees. The figure, in a black suit, a black mask that displayed nothing, carrying a black-white sword that seemed to shift and static like a broken image, looked down at him. "You were told not to support her."

The image disappeared. Reinhard opened his eyes. The sponsor representative was still standing in front of him. "Mr. Ashcroft?"

"Nothing," Reinhard smiled. The man quickly left.

His expression stayed calm, but his thoughts had changed. Someone had been preventing people from helping Emily, and it hadn’t started recently.

He used Mind Glance again, this time following the memory deeper. The executive’s boss was trembling in an office, the pressure filling the room overwhelming. Reinhard recognized it immediately. SS-Rank. The man couldn’t even move as the mysterious figure stood in front of him. "Stop supporting Emily Ashcroft."

"Why?"

"She isn’t ready yet."

The executive swallowed. "What does that mean?"

"She needs to be completely lost." A pause. "She needs to lose all hope." Another pause. "She needs to become desperate."

Reinhard’s eyes narrowed. The figure continued. "Until then, no one is allowed to help her."

The memory ended. Reinhard stood quietly for several seconds. That wasn’t normal. Someone hadn’t simply wanted Emily weak. They had wanted her desperate. They had deliberately isolated her, and they had been doing it before her recovery.

Reinhard looked toward the street. Then something else caught his attention. The memory had included the figure’s clothing: a long, dark coat with a high collar, the material reinforced around the shoulders and chest, narrow silver lines running along the edges, the sleeves fitted, a dark metallic clasp holding the coat closed near the throat.

He had seen that clothing before. Two months ago, when he had infiltrated the meeting where the Baal Family, Silent Night, and the Collectors had gathered. The Baal guards had worn similar dark coats. Not identical, but close enough. The same high collar. The same reinforced shoulders. The same silver-edged design.

Reinhard’s smile disappeared. Interesting. He immediately changed direction.

"Where are we going?" Emily noticed.

"I need to check something."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Probably."

She stared at him. "Reinhard."

"I’ll be fine," he smiled.

"That wasn’t my question." He looked at her, and she folded her arms. "You’re going to investigate this alone, aren’t you?"

"Probably."

"Tell me before you do something stupid."

"I can promise the first part."

"And the second?"

"No promises." Emily sighed.

They eventually reached the sponsor’s headquarters. The guards outside were dead, though not dozens of bodies scattered across the street. There had been no battle. The guards had simply been killed efficiently.

Reinhard walked through the entrance, Emily beside him, the building almost completely silent. They reached the executive’s office. The man was still there, terrified when he saw them. "Mr. Ashcroft."

Reinhard looked around. "Did they come here?"

The executive nodded. "Yes."

"What did they want?"

"The same thing."

"Emily?"

Another nod. Reinhard’s expression hardened. "Why?"

"I don’t know."

Before he could ask another question, the pressure he had sensed through the memory vanished. The SS-Rank was gone. No confrontation, no warning, nothing.

"They left," Reinhard looked toward the empty hallway.

"You think they’ll come back?" Emily looked at him.

"Maybe." He reached for her hand. "For now, we’re going back to our date."

"After all that?" Emily blinked.

Reinhard looked at the clock. "Our food is probably cold." He looked genuinely troubled. "That would be a tragedy."

Emily laughed, and they returned to the restaurant. Their table was still waiting, the food cold.

"Tragedy," Reinhard stared at it.

Emily covered her mouth as she laughed. "It’s fine. We can order more."

"That’s what I was hoping you’d say."

They ordered another meal, and once it arrived, Reinhard noticed Emily’s hands were occupied. Without thinking much about it, he picked up a piece of food and held it toward her.

She stared at him. "I can eat myself."

"I know."

"Then why are you feeding me?"

"Because I’m your husband."

"That isn’t an answer."

"It is when I’m handsome."

Emily laughed before opening her mouth and accepting the food. A moment later, she picked up a piece herself and held it toward him.

"See? Marriage is wonderful," Reinhard smiled, leaning forward.

"You’re impossible."

"Yet you married me."

"I know."

He wiped a small spot of sauce from the corner of her mouth with his thumb, and her cheeks warmed slightly. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The noise of the restaurant continued around them, but Emily simply leaned closer until her shoulder rested against his. After everything that had happened that day, she looked strangely peaceful.

"I don’t care anymore," she said quietly.

"About what?" Reinhard looked at her.

"Whether those people regret abandoning me." She looked down at their joined hands. "I used to think that if I became strong enough, everyone would finally understand that they were wrong." She paused. "But I don’t need that anymore."

He squeezed her hand. "And now?"

She leaned against him a little more. "Now I just want to live."

"Good answer," he smiled.

She looked up at him. "You’re staying, right?"

"Obviously."

"Even if someone stronger comes after us?"

"Then I’ll annoy them too," Reinhard smiled.

Emily laughed softly and rested her head against his shoulder. For the first time in a long time, she didn’t need anyone else to tell her that she had made it. She already knew. And Reinhard was right beside her.