Paranoia

For a minute or two, we kept staring at each other, dumbfounded. She was the first to break the awkward silence by coughing lightly, after which she apologized promptly,

"It seems that I lost my composure a little. You're full of surprises. Don't worry, I won't do anything to harm you as long as you don't talk about me to anyone. Can you promise me that?"

She might have lost composure for a moment, but her tone was still easy-going and friendly. It was as if she saw through my fear when she told me that she wouldn't harm anyone. I promptly nodded upon hearing that and 'promised' her.

She took my words at face value and continued to ask,

"So, if you don't mind, can you tell me how you gleaned all that information?"

At that point, there was nothing else I could have done other than being truthful about my intentions and past. Moreover, it wasn't as if I had any huge secret that she wouldn't be able to know if she tried to find information about me.

In addition, I was also hoping that once she knows everything, she would help me convince her 'father' to help me awaken.

And so I began telling her my story, which wasn't that long but it managed to drag out when I tried to describe Sister Hin and her condition.

All that time that we stood at the side, taking a rest by a street lamp, she didn't interrupt me as I talked about my 'struggles' and my 'past'. Her silence prompted me to take it easy and alleviated my nervousness.

When I was done, she straightened her clothes and gave me a small bow, "It's quite rude of me that I've been listening to your story for so long and haven't even introduced myself yet. I'm Anne Sullivan, the daughter of the eldest heir of the Sullivan family, Robert Sullivan, who's also the Mayor of this border city, and an Apprentice Teacher."

By this time, I was already familiar with Ms. Anne's temperament. She was a friendly and easy-going lady that would put people at ease with her charm and mannerisms. That she was an Apprentice Teacher was an eye-opener for me but I was able to digest that fact when I mulled over how she had that special aura around her that made her stand out from the crowd.

Although the title 'Apprentice Teacher' didn't seem as prominent at first, if anyone in our city was able to become one, they would instantly become an 'elite'. This was because even Apprentice Teachers earned enough gold and fame that they could proudly walk with their chin pointing at the sky anywhere within the Kingdom.

As for Mayor Sullivan, since his daughter was an 'Apprentice' with such a special aura around her, he was bound to be a very adept teacher.

In addition, there was another critical piece of information that she revealed in her introduction. The unfathomable Mayor that stood above the rest in the city I spent my life in wasn't the leader but merely the eldest heir of the mysterious Sullivan family.

I shuddered inwardly when I considered it a little deeper. The implications of that little piece of info were terrifying but I didn't show any extreme emotion on my face, conveniently ignoring it.

After that, I tried to ask her to recommend me to the Mayor for awakening. I had already told her almost everything about me and my motivation for becoming strong, and she had looked supportive as well.

But upon hearing my question, she shook her head and explained why she couldn't help me. As I had expected in the beginning, her existence was taboo, and for her protection no less.

According to what she told me, if the Mayor came to know that she had given me so much information, or even that I had interacted with her after knowing her identity, he might even try to 'remove' me to lessen any risk of information leakage.

'He has become paranoid over the years.' was what she said about the Mayor. I didn't ask how he would go about 'removing' me, because I was afraid it would give me quite a few sleepless nights if I inquired.

We talked some more, mostly just me asking her questions before she removed her glove to shake my hand again and left after giving me a deep look and an invitation to meet her if I ever happened to go to the capital.

I stood there for a minute after that, digesting the information she had just given me.