Chapter 771: Saying goodbyes
Shortly after, Max said his farewells to his team, exchanging promises to meet again soon. Then he found himself alone with Alice, wandering the quieter corridors of the Hunter Association tower, the afternoon light pouring in through tall crystalline windows and scattering rainbow hues across the floor.
She told Max about her living situation had completely changed as a princess of the Four God Nation. She told him her frustration over the months that she couldn’t tell others. She told him everything.
Max listened quietly. He could hear the time she spent in the Middle Domain hadn’t been good. Alice originally had a very free and unrestraint personality but as a princess of the Four God Nation, she had to act like them which she didn’t like one bit.
Max’s eyes softened, and he reached out, lightly touching her arm. "I can tell you’re not happy living like that."
"I’m not," Alice confessed, her voice growing smaller. "Sometimes I wish I’d never gone back. But... that’s impossible, isn’t it?"
Max was silent for a few moments, simply watching her, feeling the frustration radiating off her like heat. He thought about the girl he’d first met—spirited, fiery, with laughter that could light up an entire room. The difference between that Alice and the one standing before him now made his chest tighten.
"Has your mother or your brother been giving you trouble?" Max asked quietly. "I know you always worried about them."
Alice shook her head, managing a small, grateful smile. "No. Mother and my brother... they’re actually good to me. They don’t force me as much as I thought they would. But the court... the elders... the weight of everything... It’s still there. Even if my family is kind to me, I still have to live up to what everyone else expects."
Max nodded, relieved at least to know her family wasn’t the source of her greatest pain. "That’s good, though. About your mother and brother, I mean. At least you have them on your side."