Chapter 120: Best Match: Sophie Wexler
"Where is she?" Cillian Forrest demanded, his voice cold.
Ethan Cross didn’t dare make a sound. He had been busy arranging the security detail for Miss Wexler’s departure later that night, and in the process, he had momentarily neglected the situation inside.
This wasn’t the time for assigning blame. Cillian Forrest glanced at Ethan Cross and ordered, "Have the security team go on high alert, starting now. If anything seems off, escort her to safety immediately."
"I’ll go find her," Cillian Forrest said after giving his instructions.
Ethan Cross: "Yes, sir."
With that, Cillian Forrest grabbed his coat from the side and strode off, his expression grim.
As he walked, he activated his communicator and sent a message to Sophie Wexler: [Where are you?]
The number of people outdoors was gradually increasing, but fortunately, the spot Sophie Wexler had found was secluded, and no one had disturbed her yet.
But she had just finished watching a bit of a drama unfold. She had been getting bored, especially since Cillian Forrest hadn’t replied to her message and she had no idea what he was doing.
It left her unsure whether she could leave or not. Just as boredom was setting in, two people approached in the distance.
Sophie Wexler, worried they might come closer, was about to hide, but then she saw them stop midway.
Moreover, one of them was Rosalind Rhodes. She had been about to leave, but when she saw who was standing across from Rosalind, she changed her mind.
Because the person opposite Rosalind wasn’t Howard Sharp, the original novel’s male lead, but another man entirely.
’Now this is interesting.’ Sophie Wexler’s inner gossip flared to life. She found a spot where she wouldn’t be discovered and settled in to enjoy the show.
She overheard the man introduce himself, saying he had traveled to Karath incognito where he met Rosalind Rhodes. He explained that she had soothed his Spiritual Sea, and he had fallen in love with her at first sight.
Now, he finally had the chance to reveal his true feelings, and he hoped she would give him a chance, match with him, and let him take care of her.
Sophie Wexler was getting excited listening to it all, but then the voices suddenly became inaudible. Sensing a fluctuation of spiritual power, she guessed they must have activated a Spirit Barrier.
She had no way of knowing what they said after that. In the end, the two of them simply left together.
Sophie Wexler: "..." ’I didn’t even get to see the whole show. So frustrating.’
Still, she had definitely been waiting for too long, and it was getting a little cold outside.
Just as she was about to move to another spot, her communicator chimed.
Sophie Wexler picked it up, raising an eyebrow. "Finally, a reply."
"I should be able to leave now."
As she thought this, she saw the message: [Cillian Forrest: Where are you?]
Sophie Wexler’s fingers tapped on the screen: [In the garden outside.]
Cillian Forrest’s reply came quickly this time: [Be more specific.]
Sophie Wexler glanced at her surroundings and replied: [In the southeast corner. There’s a swing set here.]
She really didn’t know how to be any more specific than that.
[Cillian Forrest: Stay right there. Don’t move. Wait for me.]
Sophie Wexler stared at the message on the screen and blinked slowly.
’Wait for him? He’s here too?’
’Or is he coming to take me home?’
Whatever the reason, Sophie Wexler didn’t overthink it. She replied with an "Okay" and stayed put.
Sophie Wexler had expected it would take Cillian Forrest a while to find her, but he appeared in her line of sight surprisingly quickly.
Watching him walk toward her, Sophie Wexler thought that today’s Cillian Forrest looked different from his usual self.
’He seems... even more handsome?’
After staring for a moment, she realized it was because he was dressed so formally today. Even his hair looked like it had been styled.
The man strode toward Sophie Wexler and stopped in front of her.
"You..." Sophie Wexler began, about to ask if he had some special business today, seeing as he was dressed so formally.
Before she could get the words out, Cillian Forrest cut her off. "Did you run into anyone to match with today?"
Hearing this, Sophie Wexler shook her head. "No."
She had been carefully avoiding the crowds ever since she arrived and had rejected the requests sent by the people on the list he had given her.
No one knew her location, so naturally, she hadn’t met anyone. Oh, except for the two whose drama she’d just been watching, but they hadn’t noticed her anyway.
At her words, Cillian Forrest’s tense nerves finally relaxed.
’Good. As long as she didn’t.’
Sophie Wexler looked up and asked, "Are we getting ready to leave?"
"We..."
Cillian Forrest had just started to say something when, in the next second, the bracelet he wore under his cuff emitted a soft chime.
Cillian Forrest froze on the spot, his unfinished sentence hanging in the air.
For a moment, his heart seemed to stop beating. He even wondered if he was imagining things.
’Otherwise, how could he have heard the sound of a matching bracelet?’
But at the same time, he knew with absolute certainty that this was the notification sound of a matching bracelet.
Cillian Forrest slowly pushed up his sleeve, revealing the bracelet underneath.
The message on it appeared before his eyes, shining brightly.
[Following Light Brain analysis, your optimal match is recommended as follows:
Healer-class: Sophie Wexler
Level: 3S
Planet: Karath
...]
A long string of information followed.
Cillian Forrest stared blankly at the information, lost in a daze.
Meanwhile, Sophie Wexler, standing to the side, looked surprised when she saw his bracelet. She pointed at his wrist. "That bracelet...?"
’How is it so similar to hers? To be precise, it’s just like the ones worn by everyone who came to the matching banquet.’
Anyone attending the matching banquet, whether they were Healer-class or a candidate, would wear a bracelet just like it.
’His just seems to have some subtle differences from hers.’
Just as Sophie Wexler was wondering if it was really the same thing as her bracelet, a voice spoke.
"It’s a matching bracelet."
Cillian Forrest’s gaze lifted from the bracelet. He looked at Sophie Wexler, his eyes deep, and spoke in a soft voice.
"I knew it was..." Sophie Wexler trailed off as a thought suddenly struck her. Her eyes widened. "Wait, why do you have a matching bracelet?!"
’Aren’t those only for Healer-class individuals and candidates?’
Seeing Sophie Wexler’s look of disbelief, Cillian Forrest’s expression softened. The corners of his lips slowly curled up into his first genuine smile of the evening.
"That’s right. It’s just as you’re thinking. I’m a candidate, too."
Cillian Forrest gave her a definitive answer.
Sophie Wexler’s eyes went wide. She never would have imagined that Cillian Forrest was a candidate.
Cillian Forrest is a candidate... this... this...
Cillian Forrest had never planned on telling her he was also a candidate, mainly because the Light Brain had never, ever recommended anyone to him.
Right up until the moment the matching banquet began, he had been wondering if the Light Brain would send a notification, but it never did.
In the end, his heart had grown calm, devoid of hope.
All he could think about was how, if Sophie Wexler didn’t want to match with anyone, he could ensure she got through the night and left safely.
He never, ever expected that just when he had completely given up hope, the bracelet would miraculously chime!
The Light Brain had recommended a match.
And that person was standing right in front of him.
Cillian Forrest’s gaze fell upon Sophie Wexler’s face. He watched her intently, unblinking, and slowly asked, "Sophie Wexler, are you willing to match with me?"