Belle was momentarily stunned, tilting her head slightly, as if puzzled by Caius's request.

  She didn't understand—after having met so many times, why would he make such a request now?

  Seeing the girl’s apparent lack of self-awareness, Caius sighed helplessly. "Your hair covers half your face, and your sweater collar covers the other half. I still don’t even know what you really look like."

  "So… to prevent the possibility that one day you change your hairstyle and I don’t recognize you, I should at least take a look now, right?" Caius sounded like he was trying to convince Belle, but also as if he were justifying his own request.

  However, what surprised Caius was how readily Belle agreed.

  She nodded lightly.

  "Mm."

  Caius swallowed nervously. "You’re… agreeing?"

  "Mm."

  "So… I can lift your hair and take a look?"

  "Mm."

  "Don’t just say ‘mm’—say ‘yes.’"

  "Yes."

  "Then, I won’t hold back?"

  "Mm."

  After multiple confirmations and receiving a definite response, Caius suddenly felt an inexplicable excitement.

  Buried within that excitement was a deep sense of anticipation. He wasn’t sure why he felt this way—he hadn’t even been this excited when he was about to return to the life of a mercenary.

  His hand trembled slightly as he slowly reached out toward Belle, his fingers poised to lift her hair.

  It felt almost like a groom about to unveil his bride’s wedding veil.

  Huh?

  What a strange analogy.

  But, well… it wasn’t far off from how he felt.

  His fingers touched Belle’s forehead. All he had to do now was lift his hand, and he would finally see the face hidden beneath her hair.

  Yet, for such a simple action, he found himself taking several deep breaths. Even Kiki, perched on his shoulder, was affected, watching nervously.

  "Here we go?" he asked.

  "Mm." Belle nodded lightly.

  She stood there, facing him, her small face tilted up slightly. Her hands, hidden within her sleeves, had their index fingers hooked together, fidgeting anxiously as she waited quietly for his next move.

  But Caius didn’t move.

  Even in the midst of gunfire and battle, he had always remained decisive and ruthless—yet at this moment, he hesitated.

  Perhaps fate no longer envied him, or perhaps the wind itself could not bear to see his struggle.

  A gentle breeze swept across the still lake, slipping into the alleyway, accelerating within the narrow space, and finally entering the orphanage, lifting the strand of hair Caius had been about to move.

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  And in doing so, it stirred something within Caius’s heart.

  At that moment, his eyes widened.

  She tilted her small face slightly, looking up at him. From this angle, he could see the soft curve of her jawline leading downward to a swan-like neck.

  A pair of slightly flushed, almond-shaped eyes shimmered like twin moons.

  Her silver-gray irises glowed softly, like crystalline silver-gray gems, reflecting Caius’s dumbfounded expression.

  She seemed puzzled and blinked, her long silver-gray eyelashes quivering slightly. Below her delicately upturned and exquisite nose was a slightly parted, cherry-pink mouth.

  "Mm?"

  She hummed softly through her nose, as if questioning why Caius was looking at her like that.

  Meanwhile, within Caius’s heart, a tidal wave of emotions surged.

  The wind passed, the hair fell, covering her face once more.

  Only then did Caius finally snap out of his daze.

  He withdrew his hand, turned around, and covered his mouth before slowly crouching down, as if sinking into some deep contemplation.

  Not only him—Kiki also jumped to the ground and crouched beside him.

  Belle watched the two of them in confusion, not understanding why they were acting this way.

  "Did you see that?" Caius whispered to Kiki.

  "I saw it…" Kiki nodded, even forgetting to add her usual suffix, clearly just as shocked.

  "What do you think that was?" Caius asked.

  Kiki: "That was an Angel… Yes, definitely an Angel!"

  Caius: "I think so too. There’s no way she’s human—humans can’t possibly be that beautiful…"

  Kiki: "Mm-hmm!"

  As they spoke, the two of them simultaneously turned to steal another glance at Belle before quickly turning back to whisper to each other again.

  "I think that must have been an illusion. Why don’t you go take another look?" Caius urged.

  Kiki nodded and scampered off.

  Caius didn’t turn to look—he simply stuck out his thumb and bit his nail, his eyes vacant as he stared at the ground.

  Moments later, Kiki returned, crouching beside him again.

  Caius turned to look at her and saw that she, too, was staring blankly.

  "Not an illusion…" Kiki murmured.

  Caius’s lips curled into a grin, and he couldn’t suppress his laughter.

  "Hehehe… Hahaha!" Caius suddenly burst into laughter.

  Kiki looked at him in confusion, and not far behind them, Belle also appeared bewildered.

  After laughing for a while, Caius turned to Kiki, wiping away the tears of mirth from his eyes. He whispered, "Kiki, we just uncovered a massive treasure. Do you know what this means?"

  "What does it mean, Meow?" Kiki’s tail swayed side to side, indicating her own excitement.

  "It means we have to guard this treasure carefully. We absolutely cannot let anyone else take it!" Caius grinned, his voice low, as if suppressing immense excitement.

  Belle couldn’t hear what the two were whispering about, but she felt they were acting strangely.

  Ever since they had seen her face.

  Feeling uneasy, she hesitated, fidgeting with her fingers, before finally walking over and tugging lightly on Caius’s sleeve.

  Caius turned to look at her, his face full of warmth.

  But Belle didn’t see it because she had her head lowered, looking somewhat downcast.

  "I… I’m not pretty. Don’t mind me…"

  "I won’t show my face…"

  Hearing this, Caius immediately realized she had misunderstood.

  This girl’s deep-seated insecurity had been ingrained into her very bones.

  She didn’t even realize what her face meant.

  It meant that if she revealed her true appearance, all of Ocean City would be thrown into chaos.

  Had she shown her true face before Manasa, it would have been Manasa who felt insecure.

  But what would have followed was Manasa’s jealousy and cruelty—so Caius was glad she had hidden herself well.

  Hearing her voice, filled with self-doubt and uncertainty, Caius slowly bent down and placed a large hand on her head, gently ruffling her hair.

  She trembled slightly, her words abruptly stopping.

  "Lift your head."

  Belle obediently looked up.

  This time, Caius didn’t rely on the wind—he moved her hair aside himself.

  That angelic, flawless face once again appeared before him.

  No, not flawless.

  There was a faint scar on the bridge of her nose, as if left by a sharp object. It was shallow—barely noticeable.

  But to a mercenary who saw scars as medals, it wasn’t a flaw. It was the finishing touch.

  Looking at her dumbfounded expression, Caius grinned brightly.

  His fingers brushed through her sideburns, pinching her soft cheek gently.

  The sensation was like jelly—smooth and delicate.

  "Silly girl, you’re beautiful."

  "You’re the most beautiful little mushroom I’ve ever seen!"

  With that, Caius laughed heartily and walked toward the house.

  "Come on, let’s eat. I can already smell the food!"

  Belle touched the spot where he had pinched her, mumbling softly, "I’m not a mushroom…"

  Her voice was too quiet, and Caius didn’t hear it.

  "What are you standing there for? Grandma Lunla is calling us to eat." Caius’s voice came from ahead.

  Belle snapped out of her daze and quickly followed him.

  Hidden beneath her chestnut-colored hair, a single white strand shimmered in the light.