Orion walked forward slowly, facing the couple across the rusty chain-link fence of the court. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"You two came here for me?" she asked.

Her face remained utterly expressionless, cold, her voice flat and without inflection.

It was as if greeting ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Leon and Rosvisser was nothing more than a matter of basic courtesy, or perhaps... the fulfillment of an obligation to say hello.

It reminded Leon of the days when he and Rosvisser had first met. Back then, she too wore that frozen expression every day, never uttering a single unnecessary word to him.

Yet, from the way Orion had just played ball with the children, she seemed like a perfectly competent and affectionate guardian.

"No, Miss Orion, my wife and I were just strolling around and happened to pass by here," Leon explained.

Orion nodded.

"If there’s nothing else, then I’ll continue playing with Anton and the others."

"All right."

Orion said no more, turning back toward the court.

Watching her play with the children, Rosvisser murmured:

"I think she’s actually quite a good person—at least much easier to talk to than City Lord Fuyuan and the old city lord."

Leon raised a brow, smiling as he asked:

"And why do you say that?"

Rosvisser smiled gently, tipping her chin toward the group of children.

"Someone who wins the hearts of children must be a good person."

As she spoke, the queen turned her gaze to Leon, her eyes shimmering with quiet expectation.

Leon understood her meaning at once.

Scratching his head in embarrassment, he gave a sheepish grin.

"I’ll just take that as you praising me, then."

Rosvisser chuckled softly and withdrew her gaze. Folding her arms, she kept watching Orion, then after a pause said:

"Also, Leon, have you noticed that Orion doesn’t really fit in with the others—those old city lords?"

At her words, Leon frowned slightly. After a moment’s thought, he nodded in agreement.

"Now that you mention it, yes.

Even though she holds such an important position in the Blazing Sun Clan, she gives me the feeling that... she’s not the same as either her superiors or her subordinates."

Just then, a patrol squad of Blazing Sun soldiers passed nearby.

There were six or seven of them, laughing, eating and drinking as they went.

"Let’s hit Zaqin Tavern tonight! My treat!"

"Sounds good! I heard there’s a new dancer at the tavern—time to feast our eyes!"

Leon and Rosvisser cast them only a cursory glance before Leon continued:

"Orion is like a precision machine, carrying out her duties in perfect order, untouched by personal feelings. Do you really think leaders like Fuyuan and the old city lord could raise a confidante like Orion?"

The meaning was clear—their temperaments and Orion’s were completely at odds, as if they belonged to different worlds.

In any hierarchical group, members inevitably take on traits of their leader.

For example, back in Leon’s squad, nearly every member reflected some part of his character: Abel, bold and reckless; Marlow, steady and calm; Ister, playful and romantic like their captain; even Victor, forever in third place, still strove desperately for second, inspired by Leon’s ambition.

If a leader was flamboyant and brash, the team would tend to act boldly and aggressively. If cautious and careful, the team would act step by step, by the book.

That was why Leon felt Rosvisser was right—Orion, cold outside but warm within, was utterly out of place among the scheming and posturing of the city lords.

"Perhaps... we could learn more about the Blazing Sun Clan through Orion," Rosvisser suggested.

Leon exhaled, sliding his hands into his pockets.

"That depends on whether she’s willing to cooperate with us."

The sun soon set. Orion and the children kept playing under the flickering court lights until it grew so dark they could no longer see the ball. Then, one by one, the children dispersed.

"Goodbye, Sister Orion! You have to teach me to dunk tomorrow!"

Orion waved.

"When you’ve grown taller, Anton, then I’ll teach you."

After bidding farewell to the children, Orion went to the sideline to gather her things.

She slung a white towel around her neck, changed into her coat and ordinary shoes, and started for the exit.

But before she had gone far, she noticed the couple sitting by the roadside.

They weren’t very close, and the couple didn’t seem to notice her.

So if Orion turned away now and took another path home without greeting them, there would be nothing unusual about it.

She told herself as much, shifting her gaze from them and turning to take a different street.

But after a few steps, she stopped.

After a moment’s hesitation, Orion turned back, walking toward Leon and Rosvisser.

By now, the streetlights had come on. Leon and Rosvisser were seated on a bench.

Rosvisser glanced quickly behind Orion, then remarked:

"She’s coming this way."

Leon smiled.

"She could’ve just pretended not to see us, but instead she’s coming over. You know what that means, Ross? It means she actually wants to talk to us."

Rosvisser’s lips curved.

"It means she’s not walking the same road as those two city lords."

By then, Orion had already reached them.

"Good evening. Why haven’t you gone back yet—are you lost?"

She stood under the streetlight, taking the initiative to speak.

Her tone was still cold, her gaze distant, but as Leon had said, she could have ignored them. The fact that she had chosen to come over proved she did want to communicate.

"Yes, it’s our first time in Blazing Sun City. We’re not familiar with the streets, and once it got dark, we couldn’t find our way back to the inn," Leon said.

"Then I’ll guide you."

"That would be a great help."

"No trouble—it’s on my way."

"Then we’ll be in your debt, Miss Orion."

The couple rose and walked just behind her, one to either side.

After about two minutes, Leon asked:

"Miss Orion, do you come here to play ball with the children every day after work?"

"Monday through Wednesday I come here. Thursday through Saturday, I volunteer at the orphanage."

Orion’s eyes stayed forward, her pace even, her answer precise. Truly like a machine, her free time scheduled as meticulously as her duties.

The mention of the orphanage, however, immediately raised Leon and Rosvisser’s impression of her.

"But isn’t it exhausting, after finishing your shifts? How long have you been doing this, Miss Orion?" Rosvisser asked.

"Three years."

She didn’t say whether it was tiring—only answered the second question.

"Wow... three years, that’s quite a while."

For long-lived races, three years was the blink of an eye. But to persist in a single cause for three years—that was rare and admirable.

After a bit of small talk, the air grew less awkward. Leon and Rosvisser exchanged a glance, then both gave a slight nod.

Time to broach serious matters.

"Miss Orion, may I ask—back in the reception hall, when City Lord Fuyuan stood up to argue with me, he mentioned other descendants of the Primordial Gods. Do you know what he meant?" Leon probed.

The question shifted abruptly from casual chat to grave politics.

He had expected Orion might falter. But her stride did not change, not a trace of surprise showed on her face.

"This is a matter of our clan’s history. It’s not my place to speak. But I can say on behalf of our clan—please don’t judge the Blazing Sun with the eyes you use for ordinary races."

Orion’s words came faster now, her tone no longer calm but tinged with insistence and irritation.

She had assumed these so-called saviors who defeated the Void would see through to her true feelings. That their questions would be deeper, more discerning.

Now it seemed perhaps they really were just lost, or maybe they only wanted to ease their wounded pride after the city lords’ coldness, to seek a little validation from her.

If they couldn’t even perceive her heart, then there was nothing worth talking about.

Orion quickened her pace.

But then, Leon’s voice made her stop in her tracks.

"But you don’t think that way, Miss Orion."

Leon spoke softly.

"You don’t believe your people have been abandoned. You still hold hope for your clan. That’s why you pour so much of yourself into the children—because only children are the true future of a race. Am I right, Miss Orion?"

The golden-haired girl stood still for several seconds. Slowly, she turned her head toward Leon.

For the first time, those sapphire eyes rippled with emotion. Within them flickered relief, release, and the joy of being understood after long years of solitude.

In that instant, the heart long frozen over seemed at last to stir.