Somewhere underground in the Vingard colony.
The dark sewers reeked of filth.
In the pitch-black darkness, in a corner of the sewers, there is a cold room where Anas breathes quietly, yet he feels something moving beside him.
He slowly opens his eyes and glances sideways, hand on the dagger at his belt, ready to strike.
But he sees something he didn't expect.
Leona is gently holding Naivy, patting her head while humming a soft lullaby.
Anas tilts his head and then straightens up in his seat, feeling a pain in his belly wound, but it has lessened.
Leona, who had been humming, pauses and looks at Anas, who asks: "What are you doing? Aren't you noble?"
Anas's question falls on Leona with an unexpected calm. She slowly moves away from Naivy so as not to wake her, but Naivy shivers for a moment before curling up. Leona sits across from Anas and says: "Just because I'm noble, does that mean I can't be human?"
Anas hears her question and replies: "Have you remembered now that we are all equal humans? Haha, good."
Leona grips the edge of her now-dirty dress and says: "Why mock me like this? I haven't done anything to you, so why do you hate me? Is it just because I'm of the nobility?"
Anas doesn't look at her and responds: "Yes. Just as you hate us for being commoners, I hate you too."
"Then why didn't you leave us to die?" Leona asks. Anas closes his eyes and replies: "Because I hate those things more than I hate you. So why don't you shut up and return to your brother before I decide to throw you both into the filthy water?"
Leona gasps, eyes suddenly filling with tears, and raises her hand to slap Anas, producing a sound that echoes through the room, making Naivy and Edward tremble, though they don't wake.
Anas tilts his head to the side; his cheek turns slightly red but makes no sound. He just turns back to look at Leona, who says in a trembling voice: "I'm supposed to be silent? Know your limits. I only tried to speak to you respectfully, yet you treat me with malice. If you're going to act like this all the time, you can kill me right here and now."
Anas turns his face away from her, closes his eyes, and says: "I don't have the energy to kill your kind. Kill yourself if you want. And one more thing: touch me again… and I'll cut your hand and disfigure your beautiful face."
Leona shivers for a moment but does not step back. She bites her lip until a little blood trickles out, then suddenly…
She lunges and grabs Anas's face in her hands, turning it toward her. Anas opens his eyes to meet Leona's blue eyes. He pulls his dagger to slash her hand, but Leona points the dagger at her own heart and says: "My mother used to say that someone who doesn't look you in the eyes while speaking doesn't value you, and you close your eyes while I talk as if I don't exist. I don't hate you like you hate me. All I wanted was to give the girl a little warmth in this cold, and you respond with mockery, ridicule, and threats? That's not fair. You can disfigure my face if you want—I don't care. But my hands, I need them, so please don't cut them."
Anas withdraws the dagger and returns it to his belt, then says: "Are you joking with me? Who will marry you or even look at you if I ruin your face?"
Leona releases his face, but this time both of them stare directly at each other.
"I want you to forget that I'm noble and treat me as your companion on this journey. Just so you know, I have nothing now in any sense of the word. No money, no family, no house. Only my brother and my noble title. And regarding your question, anyone who stares at my face to love me is a scoundrel I don't need. But someone who accepts me even if I'm disfigured loves me, not just my face, money, or nobility," Leona says.
Anas tilts his head and says: "A noble talking about true love? And you all marry only to make deals with other families? I have no desire to forget that you're a filthy noble. Now step away from me and don't touch me again."
Leona trembles for a moment, then stands. Her dress moves as she walks—not toward her brother, but to a corner of the room, where she sits.
Anas closes his eyes again while Leona's eyes become dead, silently crying and thinking to herself: 'Mother, Father, I miss you. I want to hug you, Mother, before sleeping, for you to sing me your lullaby and play with my hair. I want to sit with you, Father, by the fireplace. But… it seems no one cares what I want now, so I will stay strong! I will not show my weakness to anyone again. And that boy… I hate that boy, I hate him!'
Leona finally closes her eyes, but the tears refuse to stop.
Hours pass. Morning comes.
The sounds of walking and carts start seeping from the surface, making Edward begin to wake.
His eyes are blurry, but his vision gradually clears.
When he opens his eyes, he sees Anas standing, holding his coat filled with food, having placed an apple, a piece of bread, and a slice of cheese in front of each person.
Edward suddenly sits up, a few gray hairs falling on his face, and moves, speaking in a hoarse, sleepy voice: "Oi, who allowed you to divide the food? And why are you taking the biggest portion?"
Anas shakes his coat; Edward sees nothing inside it.
Anas continues putting on his black coat, slightly torn at the bottom, then turns to Edward and says: "Are you stronger than me?"
Edward hears the question, freezes, then recalls how Anas could have killed him if not for his sister's intervention. He lowers his head, clenching his fist tightly, and says: "No."
"Then I am the one who can protect the group, I am the one who will eat more than you. But you can take the largest portion. Just don't expect me to defend you; you'll have to defend your sister. Do you want the largest portion?"
Edward clenches his fist until his knuckles whiten.
In the corner, Leona, now waking, stands. Her black hair falls, a strand sliding onto her face. She tucks it behind her ear, rubs her eyes, and looks at Anas and her brother, saying: "Good morning, Edward, and…"
Anas stares at Leona, remembering they haven't been properly introduced. He turns, looking into her eyes, which now sparkle with defiance, and tilts his head slightly to the left, saying: "Anas Yeager."
Leona smiles and says: "Alright, Anas Yeager, I'm Leona Grigor. And I hate you. But I won't let my smile vanish because of a fool like you."
Anas says: "That's fine. The feeling is mutual."
Leona says with a smile: "You claim to hate nobles while lying. Isn't lying a bad thing?"
Anas tilts his head and says: "Oh? And what did I lie about, you who possess noble traits?"
"You didn't eat anything. I saw everything out of the corner of my eye when I woke up at the same time as you, and I'm sure you didn't put anything in your mouth," Leona says.
'What an annoying girl. I knew it would have been better if I stayed alone,' Anas thinks to himself before turning toward the room's opening, glancing left and right, and saying: "And why do you care whether I ate or not?"
Leona mutters in her mind: 'Why does this idiot ask such embarrassing questions? He knows the answer but pretends to be clueless. Fine, I'll play along.'
"Because you're the strongest person in the group. Your safety means our safety," Leona says, thinking: 'I'm not foolish enough to tell him I care about him; he'll just mock and insult me again. What an idiot.'
Anas, staring at Leona for a moment, then turns and leaves the room, his black coat swaying like a long shadow behind him, saying without looking back: "Alright, seems you've finally started to think. Good. Now wake Naivy, and let's begin the search for the city."