Abyssal Chronicles

Chapter 418 - 419: Girl? [15/16]

Reluctantly, he turned on the charm and looked questioningly at a woman sitting at a nearby desk. She had short, light blue hair and looked pretty mature.

"Um, Lady Wanya? Did you want to see me for something?"

Noticing she was still engrossed in some paperwork, Asar felt compelled to speak again.

Honestly,

Asar couldn’t take the heavy silence in the room any longer.

He was more into lively, bustling atmospheres.

Feeling uneasy, a flurry of questions flooded his mind.

’Isn’t Lady Wanya the Duke of Black Rose’s secretary? Why would such an important person want to see a newbie like me? Did she find out my secret identity?’

Thinking this, Asar started to feel really anxious.

He knew he couldn’t expose his status as the Chosen One, at least not until he was strong enough. If he did, he’d not only lose the luxury of laying low but also put his life at risk.

To be honest, he hadn’t even decided whether he wanted to save the world or not.

Despite the Black Rose family being good-hearted and just, Asar felt that bad things might happen if they discovered he was the Chosen One.

As these thoughts swirled around in his head, beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.

Meanwhile, Wanya, seated at her desk, squinted and took her time sizing up Asar, who looked as vulnerable as a chick being held by a knight.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, she finally spoke:

"You’re saying that after you woke up in the North, you had no memories from your past!?"

"What?!"

Thrown off by Wanya’s unexpected question, Asar was briefly stunned. Recovering, he quickly nodded. "Yes, that’s correct. I don’t remember anything that happened before I woke up... well, other than knowing my name is ’Asar.’"

"Hmm? Asar? That’s an unusual name."

"Um,"

"So why did you decide to join the Black Rose family? You even risked your life traveling here, and you almost didn’t make it."

"This—well, I’ve heard that you take in homeless kids like me. You won’t look down on me because I’m from a lower class. I just want a better life and enough food to eat. Plus, I’ve heard the food down south is pretty good," Asar said, clearly anxious under Wanya’s intense gaze.

His real goal was to grow stronger under the Black Rose family’s protection, but at the moment, all he was really worried about was having a stable life and enough food in his belly.

So, he spoke the truth. His eyes and voice were filled with sincerity, even wavering a bit as he recalled his recent tough times.

Wanya noticed his honesty and shook her head, saying, "That’s a simple reason. But at least it’s honest."

She frowned, not saying anything more. Instead, she thoughtfully looked at the young blue-haired ’girl’ in front of her while also glancing at Asar’s investigation report in her hand.

What really caught Wanya’s eye in that report was Asar’s incredible talent. Previous tests showed that Asar had an extraordinary level of magical power, far exceeding anyone the Black Rose family had seen in centuries. The girl even surpassed the early levels of the Duke himself!

Normally, discovering such an exceptional talent would make Wanya happy. After all, if properly nurtured, this person could be a vital asset to the family, and a great help to Lady Yumo.

However, Wanya felt uneasy. Asar’s talent was too remarkable—almost matching the Girl of Destiny in terms of magical power. Could it be that she also has some special blessing, like the Chosen Ones do? And to think that a beggar would have such talent?

This new twist made Wanya more cautious. Usually, only a Chosen One could display such potential.

Right now, the Girl of Destiny was on her way back to the Church’s headquarters, while the known Chosen One, Xue Tianao, had died.

But the Duke still urged caution. They couldn’t rule out the chance of Xue Tianao coming back or the appearance of a new Chosen One.

’If Xue Tianao comes back to life, he won’t just waltz into our hands. But what if there’s a new Chosen One?’

The girl in front of her had extraordinary talents and, according to reports, had even come back from the dead.

’Could she actually be a new Chosen One?’

This bold thought quickly crossed Wanya’s mind. Her eyes narrowed, and a dangerous aura surrounded her. Her level-7 magical power started to surge, making the atmosphere in the office turn ice-cold.

An intense cold was making Asar’s frail body shiver non-stop.

"La—Lady Wa... Wanya?"

Feeling both cold and hungry, Asar asked meekly.

"Did I do something wrong?!"

Feeling frustrated and on the verge of tears, Asar couldn’t understand why the Secretary-General, who was rumored to be kind and caring, had suddenly turned so cold. Did he do something wrong? He didn’t think so. All he had done lately was eat a little more than usual. Was that such a big deal?

’Is eating too much now a crime?’

’Are they going to make me fast?’

The more he thought about it, the more wronged Asar felt. His pale red eyes started to well up with tears. For some reason, he felt his eyes had become more sensitive lately, making it easier for him to cry.

On the other side, Wanya observed this and raised her eyebrows slightly, clicking her tongue.

’I haven’t done anything yet, and he is already this scared? Is this what the Chosen One is like? Am I overthinking this?’

Looking at the timid blue-haired girl before her, Wanya started to question her earlier assumptions.

Additionally, there can only be two Chosen Ones in the world: one male and one female. With Xue Tianao gone, if a new Chosen One were to be born, it would certainly be a Son of Destiny. The gender of this young girl in front of her didn’t match that. Moreover, Wanya hadn’t sensed any divine aura from her despite a long assessment.

These thoughts made Wanya’s earlier doubts gradually disappear.

Still, as someone who works under Xiao, Wanya was used to following her Duke’s manner of operating.

"Since you’re already here, let’s just check everything thoroughly."

Casting a glance at the burly knight who was holding Asar, Wanya gave a subtle smile. "This newcomer is poorly dressed and quite dirty. Coco, help her change into something cleaner."

"Understood, Lady Wanya."

The tall and strong knight named ’Coco’ from the Black Rose Knights grinned broadly. Then, much to Asar’s surprise, he began to undress him.

"What the—?!"

"Eh?!

"Lady Wanya, wh—what are you doing?!"

Suddenly finding his clothes being removed, Asar felt a rush of panic and quickly raised his hands to resist.

However,

Coco’s arms were thicker than Asar’s waist. Such immense strength was simply too much for Asar to counter at this point.

"Don’t worry, little one. Miss Wanya just thinks you’re too shabbily dressed. She wants you to change into something better. After all, you’re now a part of the Black Rose family, and we can’t have you making us look bad."

Saying this,

With a friendly smile, Coco began to remove, one by one, the tattered clothes that Asar was wearing, all while chuckling "friendlily."

"Hahaha, the new clothes are really cute. I’ll help you put them on in a bit," the gruff voice echoed next to Asar’s ear.

Both Coco and Wanya had a simple thought:

They wanted to check for a golden rune on Asar’s back to determine if he was the Son of Destiny. Though the girl in front of them appeared to be female, they couldn’t rule out the possibility of cross-dressing. Stripping her down completely for inspection wouldn’t be appropriate, especially if she turned out to be someone they wanted to groom and not the Son of Destiny.

They didn’t have to fully undress him; using the excuse of changing clothes to remove his outer garment for a quick check would suffice.

However,

After taking off his coat and lifting Asar’s blue hair under the guise of adjusting it, the Black Rose knight known as ’Coco’ froze, a trace of doubt clouding his eyes.

"This...?"

"Eh?"

Noticing something was off from Coco’s expression, Wanya immediately frowned, sprung up from her desk, and dashed over to Asar in a flash of blue light.

"What’s the matter, Coco? Why that face?"

"Lady Wanya, his... his back?"

"What about the back?"

Confused, Wanya shifted her gaze toward the patch of skin under Asar’s hair...

Subsequently,

Wanya’s eyes narrowed sharply.

On Asar’s back, there were no ancient golden runes symbolizing the identity of the Chosen One. Instead, there were several gruesome scars. The appearance of such large scars on the back of a young girl was undoubtedly pitiable and heartbreaking.

However, Wanya showed no such emotion. Her expression turned even colder, and her right hand even touched the dagger concealed under her long skirt.

This was,

Too coincidental.

After a moment of silence,

Wanya slowly spoke:

"Asar, I have a question for you, and I need you to answer honestly."

"Hm? What... what is it, Lady Wanya?"

"Are you a boy, or a girl?"