"This is… Ardagan Family Crest…"
"!!!" Anna heard what Noel said and raised her vision, staring at Noel in disbelief. Since she was still waiting for the water to boil, she hurriedly went to Noel, wanting to see. "Seriously?"
"Yeah, just put your everything here and there and you will get my family crest." Noel nodded. He was also shocked himself that he forgot about Anna's identity.
Anna sucked a cold breath. "This is… really true. The sword symbol that represent the black sword and the star symbol that represent the ability to command."
"As expected, the Sword Saint is related to my Ardagan Family's ancestor." Noel finally confirmed, this time not only from the recorded text but the proof that hadn't disappeared in a millennium.
"How do you know this place is related to the Sword Saint?" Anna glanced at Noel, surprised that he knew this was a tomb. Noel shouldn't know about it with his reaction when she first introduced the idea of going to this ruin. At the same time, he wouldn't have gone to his family territory to get this kind of information.
That was why she wondered where Noel did get that information.
'Is he also a reincarnated person like me? But if that's the case, Noel should have retained his ability and experience. He also won't fight me because of the betrayal of those two.' Anna thought, confused.
Noel, on the other hand, got an idea. He looked at Anna and stated, "Anyway, it's clear that this place has an Ancient Ruin in it. The only clue is that symbol… I think we need to explore those gaps directly. The fact that those gaps don't disappear even after one thousand years mean there's something hidden there."
"!!!" Anna widened her eyes in shock, not believing what Noel had just said. She also noticed something. If there was the Ardagan Family Crest, Noel would have got the right to expel her from this place.
Yet, Noel never thought about it and simply told her more secret.
The only reason why Noel didn't tell her off simply because he didn't want to owe anyone. He found this ruin because of Anna. If not for her, he wouldn't have found this tomb. Since they came together here, he invited her.
Anna somehow felt bad about taking this invitation. At first, she thought about leeching him off. But after experiencing many things together with him, she didn't know whether it was the right thing to do or not.
On the one hand, Noel's fortunate encounters in the past life was so bountiful and allowed him to increase his strength far quicker than anyone else. Getting some of them should benefit her too. On the other hand, Noel's heart was that of a light. Despite of what had happened, Noel never treated anyone badly other than those he had grudge off.
It was just a matter of conscience. Anna thought for a moment and said, "Say, Noel…"
"Mhm?" Noel mumbled while looking at the paper, wanting to discover more.
However, Anna words truly like thunder reverberating in one's ears. She said, "I'll stop here. Since this is related to your family, it's not a place for an outsider like me to go."
"Huh?" Noel looked at her in disbelief. "What did you say?"
"You didn't hear it wrong. I'm going to step down from this exploration." She sighed, feeling slightly embarrassed to say it again.
"Did someone hit your head in the past two months?"
"Wha—" Anna was dumbstruck by Noel's reaction. She had chosen to stop to honor him, yet, she got insulted like this. She wanted to get angry but realized it wasn't the best option. She confirmed it again. "I mean, this is your family. I think I have done enough to your family. I have told you back then, right? I'm sorry, I apologize for everything I've done in the past.
"After I've realized everything I've done to others, I don't want to live that way anymore. The reason I looked mean in front of others not because I wanted to hurt you… There was someone from my family tailing me and reporting to my father. I don't want my father to know that I've changed, making him change the decision and follow what I said back then."
Anna explained her reason. This was one of the biggest thing weighing her heart. Now that she had told Noel about it, she felt the burden was lifted from her heart.
Noel was silent the whole time, never expecting Anna to say all this. This might be a lie from her as well to deceive him, but he couldn't sense any lie from her tone and expression either. So, Noel was in dilemma.
'There are two reasons why I invited her in. The first reason is related to my conscience. I don't want to owe someone anything because it makes me hesitant if I want to kill them like in her case. The second reason is that I want to use this opportunity to mess with her. With the help of the Sword Saint, Anna should suffer a bit. It will be hilarious to see her efforts are wasted to get a punishment instead of reward.'
However, when Noel saw Anna this way, he somehow became hesitant. He had this thought back then.
If a murderer got caught and prisoned for twenty years, how would people react to this man after they released him? What if the murderer had changed for the better and turned over a new leaf? He admitted his mistakes and prepared to atone his sins for the rest of his life by becoming a good person.
What if others didn't accept him back? He couldn't get any work and in the end, he would have no money to live a decent life, forcing him back to steal or even murder more people for money?
He wanted his revenge so much, but there was someone in front of him who had changed and wanted to seek forgiveness.
Noel closed his eyes for a moment before saying, "You can go in. If you haven't realized the signal that I gave you earlier, then I'm telling you here directly. Come in with me. Don't forget, it's not because I'm pitying your reason or whatever. I'm simply a man of integrity. A few months ago, I've promised you that we'll explore this together, so I'm doing just that."
"Noel…" Anna didn't know why but her heart felt ticklish. There was a fuzzy feeling emerging from her heart.
