The Stonehearted Knight-Chapter 448: Jade and Hex

"Jade?"

When Jade received the order to deliver food to an important person inside the library, she hadn’t expected it to be someone familiar.

Seeing Hex, she was reminded of things she rather remained forgotten. She tried her best. Honestly. But deep in her heart, the betrayal from the woman she considered her second mother pained her.

She remained strong because of Cyantha. Her friend, who had treated her like a sister. Her friend, who had been willing to sacrifice herself to save her.

But then things changed. Not drastically. Slowly and insignificantly. She, however, noticed those little changes. As they were significant to her.

Cyantha started to change. Yes, she still talked to her. They laughed. They shared a common burden of being prosecuted. To be brought over to a distant city.

Jade had been afraid. She felt hurt and on top of that she had to leave her home and everything she had managed to scrape together. She didn’t break, though. Her friend was there. They would manage it together. Or so she had hoped.

The changes started as soon as they had left their home. Cyantha started to hang out a little more with Hex. She hadn’t known his true identity at that point. It had been subtle at first.

But she had seen how Cyantha behaved around him. How their gazes met. How she appeared a little restless the one time he had gone to scout when they had seen the billowing pillars of smoke.

Only when they arrived at the heart of the country and were sentenced to manual labor in the city, up in the trees and down below, did her behavior revert. A little. To her happiness, they were both assigned to the same place. She at the front. Cyantha in the back.

And the cherry on top? Hex wasn’t anywhere near. Not one visit or meeting while they worked and lived together.

There was some issue at work, though.

She heard the rumors. The whispers of the staff. The soft curses and prayers of the owner. She ignored them all. People treated everyone who differed from the rest, a little different. She heard her friend being called a witch behind her back.

It infuriated her. She wished to confront those morons but her friend stopped her. Cyantha wasn’t upset. Always a smile. Never a frown on her face. She even joked that she might really be the witch. After all, they had a ceremony and all.

Jade didn’t think it was funny but she didn’t say anything. Her friend was happy. So she was too. She would allow no one, absolutely no one, to ruin it.

’Good things never last, do they?’ She sighed, seeing Hex smile at her.

...

Hex hadn’t expected to see Jade. He remembered her, however, she wasn’t important enough to pay much attention to her. In fact, the sole reason she made an impression on him was because of her relationship with Cyantha.

And Cyantha only made an impression because she was the one his mother’s soul was possessing at the moment. He pitied them. Both girls had it rough. No responsible parent in sight. And the one that was around, embroiled them into cult shenanigans.

He hoped that once everything was done, and his mother’s remnant soul left Cyantha, she would have a chance to live a normal life. As normal as one could live in a world on the verge of destruction.

He remained oblivious to Jade’s mindset at seeing him. Not that he would care about her feelings of warriness against him. He had experienced far worse in his life.

’I bet she knows where her friend is. If I find Cyantha, I will have found my mother.’ Hex mused. But he wouldn’t ask it out loud. If there was a chance of meeting in secret, he would rather take it.

Even with his sharp senses, he feared being discovered. Wrixia didn’t lack people at higher stages who could hide their presence from Hex’s senses. Better safe than sorry.

"How have you been?" Hex started off light.

"Good." Jade’s reply was a little too short for his liking. She stared at her bag for a second and then placed it before him on the table. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Here is the food you ordered. The payment has been done. I hope you enjoy it...Sir." She spoke fluently. No stops. She had a smile that didn’t feel right. And her eyes....they were in his direction but at him.

’She is scared. Or nervous,’ Hex realized.

"Wait." Seeing her about to leave, he stopped her. "Don’t be in a rush. Tell me. Has everything been okay? Have your people settled in? Do you work at a hotel?"

Hex didn’t know how much his last question put Jade on her guard. And that the amount of wariness against him increased. By leaps and bounds.

"Yes. Everything is alright. We have a roof over our head. There is food on the table. And there is some coin in our pocket."

She shrugged her shoulders at him as if to say ’What more can a person ask for?’ and it made sense. They had just arrived at a new place. They were bound to be punished far more worse than they had been. All things considered, they were in a better place than they could have hoped for.

"That’s nice to hear. Maybe you can build a new life in this place. Maybe even study and open up your own place." Hex tried to get Jade open up a little.

"Maybe. Yeah." It didn’t work. "I should really be going. There are more deliveries to complete. If there is anything else, please let the shop know."

"What shop?" Hex asked.

"Huh?"

She froze and stared blankly at him.

"What shop?" Hex repeated. "You told me to take it up with the shop if there is anything, so which shop should I contact?"

"Ahm...Uh," Jade hesitated. She clearly didn’t wish to say the name. "Ahm. Let the handler know. They know how to reach us. We are a small food stall. No name. Okay? Bye." She rushed out. This time, Hex didn’t stop her.

She didn’t wish to talk. That was okay. And he had her answer, even if she didn’t wish to tell him. As she rushed out, the bag moved a little. And he caught the imprint on it.

The Simmering Broth – the number one brewer of magical soup of Wrixia.