So Xinghuai was still intact, it just bore the scars of the last battle that had not yet been repaired, making it appear somewhat dilapidated.

"Alright."

Arnold Simmons finished tying his hair, suppressed the urge to rub Hannah’s head, lowered his hand, and obediently sat waiting for Hannah to turn around.

Hannah turned around, thought for a moment, then turned again, and sat face to face with Arnold.

She asked, "Do you always remember our past?"

Arnold honestly nodded, meeting Hannah’s gaze with an especially sincere look.

The Realm of Loss showed no sky, but swathes of shahua emitted a faint halo of light that, from a distance, looked like countless crushed starlights floating mid-air.

And those starlights also fell into Arnold’s eyes.

Hannah recalled her seven-year-old self, who had given Arnold the nickname "Beautiful Eyes" the first time they met.

Indeed, her judgement had never changed over the years.

"Where did you go after the starship exploded that time?"

Hannah continued with her questions.

The starship explosion back then was due to an attack aimed at Arnold, so he had no choice but to leave Hannah behind and lure the attackers away.

"I was taken back to the Nine Realms," Arnold said.

The Nine Realms was the shorthand for the Nine Realms Kingdom.

Back then, they were only children of eight or nine, too young and inexperienced to stand against those truly powerful and influential people.

They had no power to stop those forced separations.

"Hannah, I’m sorry," Arnold suddenly spoke.

He lowered his gaze to the girl in front of him, his eyes filled with deep remorse and regret.

That time, he had broken the promise of never leaving her, not once, but twice.

Hannah quietly watched him, then shifted her gaze away.

It had been too long since those days, so long that no one even knew if the planet Brie still existed.

Hannah didn’t want to cry, but for some reason, she felt like she had returned to her young self who, after losing Archer, hid under the covers and wept loudly.

"Though you’ve said sorry, I’m not ready to say it’s okay," she managed to hold back her tears, but her voice was already quivering with them.

She looked up, her eyes seeming already moist.

Arnold wanted to hold her to offer comfort, but he restrained himself, "Okay, if you don’t want to say it, then don’t say it."

No matter the reasons back then, a broken vow is a broken vow, a mistake is a mistake, with no justification or excuses.

In this moment, Arnold was restrained, driven by unease.

But Hannah didn’t want him to be so restrained, so she extended her hand.

Arnold hesitated for a moment, then quickly responded by pulling her into his embrace.

Hannah leaned into his chest, clutching the hem of his shirt, and she snuggled up, just right at his ear.

Her voice was soft and hoarse with a sobbing tone, "Arnold, will you leave me again?"

Arnold tightened his hold on her, his downcast eyes shimmering differently.

He said, "No, not ever again."

He had resolved all matters in the Nine Realms, and no one would be able to threaten him in the future.

But there was one thing.

He dared not, like Hannah, ask her the same question.

Would you leave?

Arnold feared to see Hannah’s hesitation and didn’t want to see her in a dilemma.

He had always known that the burdens of hatred weighing on Hannah were far heavier than his.

But no matter, as long as he could stay by her side, it was enough.