"We owe you a great debt for rescuing our children," said the father of the elf children whom Dayesh had saved from the bandits.
"It is nothing. What I did was already paid for. You owe me nothing."
The elf couple laid out their reward for Dayesh. Gold, silver, jewelry, and more.
"Once again, thank you very much."
"If you ever need his services again, you may return to our office," Rana added cheerfully as she looked at the rewards on the table. After they left, Dayesh picked up a beautiful head ornament to give to Jauna.
"You know, I have been eyeing that for a while. Turns out it already has an owner," Rana teased.
"Pick two from there to ease your heart."
Rana chose two smaller ornaments with the same design. "Thank you."
Dayesh also gave Rana fifty gold.
"I thought you would not give me anything since it was my fault you got noticed."
"That no longer matters to me. I only wish for peace. In the coming days, my family and I will come down here to look for a place to live."
"I am excited to finally meet Jauna up close, Dayesh. She is a legend in this town."
Dayesh asked Rana to set aside the rest of the reward. He only took enough money to buy gifts for his family.
"Papaaaaaa!" Lzith called out as soon as she saw him enter.
"My child." He immediately embraced his little daughter.
He lifted her and placed what he carried on the table, then brought out the toys he had bought.
Dayesh noticed that Jauna seemed irritated. She was dropping things carelessly. He felt a slight unease at her behavior. He was not used to seeing her like that. She kept passing by him and Lzith, and he wondered what was troubling her.
He noticed a crumpled piece of paper on the floor. He picked it up and unfolded it, but he could not read what was written.
"My love, is something wrong?" he asked. Jauna did not respond.
Even when night came, she still did not speak. He waited for her to open up, but she simply went to sleep, turning her back to him. He was not used to this side of her. He just held her quietly.
At midnight, Jauna woke up. She took a piece of paper and began to write. After finishing the letter, a small portal opened, and she threw the paper into it. Then she went back to sleep.
Morning came, and Jauna woke up first. She heated water for breakfast when Faram approached her to talk about the medicines he needed to deliver to the town. Some people were asking for favors, requesting medicines for various illnesses, youth potions, even love charms. Those unrelated to the epidemic were priced higher.
Faram handed her a list containing names, ages, gender, purpose, and reasons.
"Thank you. I will handle it," she replied.
A little while later, Dayesh woke up. When he stepped out of the room, food was already prepared. Lzith was still asleep.
"Good morning," Jauna greeted him. Faram was finishing his meal.
"Good morning," Dayesh replied.
"I will be leaving now, Jauna. The medicines are needed in town."
"Please buy the things I asked for."
After Faram left, Jauna began to speak.
"Lzith is not yet three years old, right?"
Dayesh nodded, startled by the sudden question, wondering why she asked.
"Here is the thing…" she explained why she had been upset and irritable the previous day. It was because her family from her homeland had arranged a marriage for her.
"So when Lzith turns three, I do not want to, but I will have to leave you, unless you are willing to have a rival. You may take our child. It is up to you."
"How can you say that so easily?" His eyes began to well with tears.
"That is how life is. As much as possible, I do not want things to become complicated."
"You know, that hurts. Did you really love me?"
"At this moment, until the end of our agreed time, I still love you. But after that, I don't know."
He was stunned by her words. He could not believe it. Everything he had been slowly building for them dissolved in his mind.
On the other hand, the man she was meant to marry was someone she knew very well. She was shocked that this was happening now, when she already had a family. But the man mentioned in the letter was someone she also loved. She had loved him more than herself, yet circumstances had kept them apart.
It was as if she chose to be selfish. Even though, in their world, it was possible for her to have two or more husbands due to their population where women were fewer than men, she had been given the chance to finally be with the man she loved and still loved from afar.
As for her relationship with Dayesh, it had only begun as an agreement. She had simply fallen for him because of how he treated her. Nearly two years remained in their agreement, but she was already considering ending it early. She no longer wanted to wait.
After their conversation, Dayesh left to take on new quests, hoping to ease the heaviness in his heart. It felt as though an invisible knife was stabbing it.
The next day, Jauna received a reply to the letter she had sent.
"In two days, I will come to visit. I have longed for you for decades. I want to see you so badly."
She responded to the letter, saying that she also longed to see him."