After a few minutes, Sylvia lifted her head out of the wolf's soft fur, finally somewhat lucid.

"Ah. I am sorry." She muttered, seeing that the pristine silver fur was now covered by the filth and grime on her face, the reminders of her time in the prison.

​​

"That's alright." The wolf grunted and then leaped into the nearby brook.

It only took the animal an instant, as his silver fur sparkled once again in the sunlight, clean and soft.

The wolf walked out of the brook and shook his body, drizzling beads of water everywhere.

"Sorry about that." Sylvia smiled at the beast. "By the way, where is Mikel?" She absentmindedly asked, looking at the brook and thinking if she should take a bath herself.

"Hmm... Mikel?"

Sylvia snapped to look at the wolf, but there was no longer a beast in front of her.

Standing casually and buttoning the cuffs of his shirt was a lean human being. His hair was bright silver in color and his eyes were deep dark blue, just like hers.

"Who… Who are you?" Sylvia stammered and fell back in shock.

The knowledge about beast clans was not really commonplace. Only council mages and royal families were privy to such information.

So it was not really a surprise to Roman that Sylvia had no idea about it. After all, she didn't even know she herself was one.

Roman dragged his gaze on the girl who was staring at him in shock. He hated talking in volumes and lengthy explanations even more so.

Sighing, he decided to speed up things a little.

He unbuttoned his shirt that he had just now buttoned up, revealing his lean and muscular chest.

The next instant a blinding flash of light covered his body.

His shirt, his pants, and himself disappeared and instead stood a big snow white wolf covered by blue runes.

"Do you get it now?" He asked, his wolf walking towards Sylvia, who looked stupefied.

She couldn't understand how a beast could become a human being, but when the truth in front of her slowly sunk in, everything connected.

This was why they had been calling her a beast. This was why they had captured her. This was why she had undergone all that torture.

"Am I also?" Sylvia asked, her voice a whisper.

"Yup." Roman turned around and once again reverted back to his human form, wearing his clothes back.

Sylvia looked down.

Several thoughts swirled in her mind, but most of all, her heart ached as she wondered if Mikel knew about this.

Maybe he also did not know. She told herself.

Maybe he knew and he was waiting for the right time to tell me and not freak me out. There could be several explanations.

"You really don't know Mikel?" She looked up and asked the man again in puzzlement.

She understood why they captured her but why did this person save her?

"Mikel? Is that the guy who was hanging around you the other day?"

Sylvia nodded. "Listen, we need to leave soon." He said and added with a frown. "We can talk later about everything in detail."

"Why? Are there people still chasing us?" Sylvia panicked and stood up.

"Not right now, but there soon will be."

Seeing the man answer her so bluntly with a straight face, Sylvia was at a loss for words. She opened and closed her mouth not knowing what to say.

"So... shall we?" Roman urged her again.

"But where are we leaving to? Nazom Empire?" Sylvia asked, suggesting one of the Empires which was at constant odds with the Kalindor Kingdom.

"Eh? That's a desert, isn't it? Are you fond of deserts or what?" He paused and then added. "We are leaving to our Kingdom, of course."

Roman looked at her face and he could see that the questions were only going to increase.

He sighed and decided to get it over with. "Look here, Miss." Roman muttered.

"Sylvia"

He nodded. "Miss Sylvia. I am Roman."

"I know I am blindly asking you to trust me here, but I did just save you from a bunch of old geezers. So obviously I mean no harm to you."

"You are free now. We can part ways right here and right now, if you wish to and refuse my help."

"But I strongly recommend you to not do that."

"Have you heard about the horrendous wilderness? The wildlands that lay beyond the ocean? The place where humans do not dare step in?"

Sylvia nodded.

"Heh. That's where our Kingdom is and that's where you belong. Come with me and I will take you there." Roman arrogantly answered. His words had pride in them.

"You will be safe there. No one will hunt you down and no one will harm you."

"But… " Sylvia muttered hesitantly, tracing her finger on the nearby tree.

As a sudden thought flashed in her mind, she looked up at the man with the silver hair again and expectantly asked.

"Are all those old men dead? I mean when you saved me from that place?"

Eh? Roman raised his brow and then chuckled lightly. "If I was that strong, I would have already rained hell on the human lands for all the atrocities they have committed."

Ah… Sylvia gulped, feeling disappointed. If only they were all dead then…

"So are you coming?" He asked again, breaking her thought.

Sylvia shook her head. "I am sorry, Lord Roman. Please forgive me. I am extremely grateful for your help, but I cannot leave with you."

Huh? Roman narrowed his eyes. "May I ask, why?"

"That… I… " Sylvia hesitated and did not answer him honestly.

She could tell that the man held some sort of deep hatred towards human beings, so she didn't want to risk things by exposing Mikel.

She still had no idea what this stranger was capable of or even what his true intentions were.

Even after all this, if she still trusted someone blindly, there would be a no bigger fool than her.