Mr. Leonhart looked at the scenery outside the train, yet his eyes kept drifting unconsciously toward Yago and Annie across from him. Yago was softly telling a joke he had heard from Wick, making Annie giggle.
To his embarrassment, Mr. Leonhart suddenly realized that, as Annie's father, he had not seen his daughter smile as much from childhood until now as he had in just this half day.
Suddenly, a child beside their seats burst into loud tears, and the boy's mother stood up in panic, calling for a doctor.
It turned out the boy had accidentally cut his palm. A fairly deep wound bled from his tender hand, and the pain made his small face scrunch up.
The train's doctor hurried over with a small medical kit on her back. She was an older female doctor. While soothing the child and telling him it would be fine, she took out iodine and cotton swabs to treat the wound.
After quite a commotion, the boy's wound was finally bandaged. The female doctor even took out a few candies from her pocket and gave them to him.
As she was packing up her medical kit, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Turning around, she saw a young and handsome man.
Yago pointed at the cotton swabs in her hand and said with a smile,
"Hello, may I have a few of those cotton swabs?"
The female doctor asked, "Are you hurt as well? Do you need treatment?"
Yago waved his hand. "No, no, I'm not hurt. I just wanted to ask for a few cotton swabs. Would that be convenient?"
Hearing that Yago wasn't injured, the doctor said nothing more and handed him a few swabs from her kit. At the same time, she noticed the young girl beside him—so they were a young couple.
Noticing the girl glancing at her pocket, the doctor casually took out some candy and handed it to Annie as well. Annie froze for a moment. She had only taken an extra glance—how did that turn into this...
Still, Annie accepted the candy and thanked the doctor.
After the doctor left, Yago and Annie returned to their seats. Annie then offered the candy the doctor had given her to her father and Yago. Yago didn't hesitate; he unwrapped one and popped it into his mouth. Mr. Leonhart felt a little awkward—at his age, eating candy? But it was his daughter's gesture, so he took one and ate it just like Yago. It was actually quite sweet.
With the candy in his mouth, Yago picked up a cotton swab and mumbled to Annie, "Annie, lie down," patting his thigh at the same time.
Though she didn't know what Yago intended to do, Annie obediently turned sideways and lay her head on his lap.
Yago focused and carefully inserted the cotton swab gently into Annie's ear. Instantly, Annie felt a tingling sensation. As Yago lightly rotated the swab, the tingling spread through her body, indescribably comfortable, and even her delicate earlobe flushed red.
"Does it feel good?"
"Mhm~" Annie responded somewhat hazily. The tingling comfort made her let out a very soft, almost coquettish hum. (A/N: Using a cotton swab to clean your ears really does feel nice, the author has personally tried it, but it's not recommended to do it often. Although comfortable, it's not very friendly to proper ear hygiene.)
At that moment, Yago also noticed the spotlight-like gaze from across. He looked up and saw Mr. Leonhart staring wide-eyed. Well, they exchanged a silent look.
Yago tentatively picked up another cotton swab and said to Mr. Leonhart, "Would you like to try? It's very comfortable."
Mr. Leonhart turned his head away awkwardly.
"No need, no need. You young people enjoy yourselves."
After a while, Annie, her face flushed, finally sat up from Yago's lap. Yago then inserted a cotton swab into his own ear and gently rotated it, a look of enjoyment appearing on his face as well.
Time passed unnoticed like this.
Suddenly, a dispute erupted inside the train. Some passengers angrily questioned the conductor about why the route had suddenly been changed, and why there were so many soldiers aboard a train heading to Hizuru.
Only then did Yago and the others realize that the train had indeed changed course and seemed to be heading in the opposite direction.
Sweating profusely, the conductor explained that due to the urgent situation on the front lines and the severe shortage of trains, their train had been temporarily requisitioned to transport troops to the front.
"Why weren't we informed in advance?!"
Conductor: "We are truly sorry. This was the stationmaster's decision. All other trains at the station have been requisitioned, and there will be no trains for a period of time. The reason we did not inform everyone is because at the front-line Rhine Province there is a transfer train that will take you to Hizuru. However, passing through Tessi Province, there are no trains."
Hearing the explanation, the angry passengers gradually calmed down. If what he said was true, then it did seem to be for their sake—after all, there were no trains from Tessi Province to Hizuru.
Yago frowned slightly but said nothing. After repeatedly apologizing and promising that upon arrival in Rhine Province a train would immediately be arranged to take them to Hizuru, the conductor finally managed to soothe the unrest.
Yago quietly told Annie that he needed to use the restroom. Annie stood up as well, saying she would go with him.
So Yago held Annie's hand and walked toward the rear carriage, where the restroom was located.
Soon, the two arrived at the carriage with the restroom. Just as Yago reached out to open the door, it opened first. A figure in military uniform stepped out and collided head-on with Yago. Due to their difference in physique, Yago remained rooted in place, while the other person was knocked to the ground.
"I'm sorry, are you alright?" Yago reached out and pulled the Marleyan soldier to his feet. The man replied softly, "It's fine."
But when the man lifted his head, Yago froze. Annie beside him froze as well. The man opposite them also froze.
He was a young Marleyan officer. At such a young age, his shoulder insignia already bore the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. What shocked them was that this Marleyan officer looked remarkably similar to Yago. At a glance, they appeared almost cast from the same mold.
Their face shapes and facial features were extremely alike.
However, after her initial shock, Annie noticed the differences. Although they looked similar, upon closer inspection there were significant distinctions.
First was their height. Yago was half a forehead taller than the officer. Yago's features were more defined, and their eyes were different—the officer's eyes were light brown, while Yago's were black like the night sky. Most importantly, there was a diagonal scar on the Marleyan officer's face. It wasn't long, but it was very noticeable.
Mine is still more handsome, Annie glanced at Yago again.
After a moment of surprise, the Marleyan officer excused himself and left. Encountering someone in the world who looked like oneself did not seem so rare. Besides, the Marleyan officer appeared to have many concerns on his mind.
Watching the officer's departing figure, Yago seemed to understand why two Marleyan soldiers in the Liberio internment zone had called him Lieutenant Colonel before. So there really was a Marleyan officer who looked so much like him? Perhaps those two soldiers simply hadn't looked carefully, otherwise they wouldn't have failed to notice the scar on that officer's face.
Was all of this merely a coincidence?
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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