6: Act 2 Sophie’s World 2 6: Act 2 Sophie’s World 2 Sophie couldn’t help but sigh.
He coughed, not very loudly, but in this empty house, it seemed exceptionally loud—
The girl was clearly startled.
She suddenly turned her head, her face pale.
But to be fair, she was quite a beauty.
Her chestnut-colored hair was tied up behind her head, making her look dignified, yet the slender eyes under her smooth forehead gave her an enchanting look; her eyebrows were slightly raised, her eyes clear yet flustered, and her nose was straight and prominent, indicating that she was someone with a very independent personality.
She had a unique charm, but could hardly be called a lady.
At least, when you saw a girl holding a stone mason’s hammer, with a leather skirt hanging a bag much like those southern merchants have, you wouldn’t easily think she came from a high-born family.
Seeing Sophie, the girl relaxed immediately.
She let out a breath, patting her chest and revealing a lovely smile: “It’s you, Brand.
“Miss Roman, how did you get in?” Seeing the girl, Sophie couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.
This was the girl Brand had always admired.
She lived in the house opposite with her aunt, often harboring quirky dreams, like wanting to venture out into the world to become a traveling merchant.
This idea seemed nonsensical to Sophie.
In Erune, being a traveling merchant wasn’t a very respected profession, with some people even equating them to swindlers and thieves.
During the reign of Ansen VI, these people were often in league with mountain bandits, much to the disdain of the public, even earning the nickname ‘those with two mouths and three hands.’
The two mouths referred to their eloquence and deceitfulness.
The three hands meant their hands were unclean, often engaging in petty thefts, making them a major threat to local security.
Eight out of ten tasks Sophie had done as a newbie were about them.
“I climbed in through the window outside your kitchen.
By the way, your window is really small!
It almost tore my skirt—” The girl complained while bending down to adjust the hem of her skirt.
“No one asked you to come in that way—” Adopting Brand’s memories, Sophie was somewhat immune to the girl’s temperament, but still couldn’t help a silent complaint in his heart.
“That’s not what I asked,” he shook his head, unable to resist, “I meant, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?”
“I’m worried about you, Brand,” Roman replied while looking around, clearly curious: “Did you see that skeleton?”
Sophie noticed her gaze fell on his chest.
“You’re hurt?” The future girl merchant tilted her head and blinked her eyes.
“Let me see,” she hitched up her skirt and ran up the stairs in a few strides, grabbing the young man’s hand covering the wound, “Move your hand away, what’s the point of covering it, it will get infected—!” She complained while peering at Sophie’s wound.
She took a sharp breath and looked up: “Such a serious injury!”
Sophie felt the girl’s cold hand holding his, causing his heart to beat a little faster.
Although he knew it was Brand’s feelings, he didn’t bother to stop it—
“Nothing, my foot!” Miss Merchant rolled her eyes at him and then rummaged through the leather bag on her skirt: “Wait a minute, I think I have some bandages…”
Sophie watched her with interest.
He knew that the contents of Roman’s bag were treasures to her, most of which were peculiar little things she and Brand had bought together.
Like seashells from the shore, colorful glass beads, copper whistle, ancient coins, and such oddities that weren’t worth much but were rare in the area.
The future girl merchant’s greatest hobby was to find these treasures among old items.
Though neither of them had much money, Roman always found ways to buy the rare and interesting items she liked at a low price.
He pressed down Roman’s hand and shook his head: “Look inside the house, it’s too dangerous here.”
“I’m not afraid of those bone skeletons,” she looked up at him, finally finding a first aid kit: “Do you know how to bandage this?