Chapter 422 Snow Woman (1/2)
Rhode's eyes glinted instantly as soon as he turned around and saw the female mercenary.
It wasn't because this female mercenary was particularly beautiful or attractive to him, but it was due to her face being concealed by a frightening grey mask. Although she had an alluring figure under the fitting leather armor, her stature was similar to Anne's, which didn't attract Rhode that much. However, as a matter of fact, this young woman was much more attractive than Anne.
Because she was one of the vice leader of the Purple Lily Guild: the 'Snow Woman', Paris.
Rhode was very familiar with her because in the game, Paris was well known among the players. It wasn't due to her beautiful appearance, powerful abilities, or god-like equipment, but because of her life background which made others sigh in pity.
Paris grew up with Barter and they could be considered childhood lovers. Paris was a pretty, young lady born into an aristocratic merchant family. Although her family wasn't too wealthy, her life was still comfortable. Paris had been going on adventures with Barter with the identity of a mercenary. Both of them had a close relationship and there were even rumors that Barter had proposed to Paris and was waiting for their wedding.
But as the saying went, beautiful women face unfortunate fates, and Paris equally wasn't able to avoid this without a supporter. When she was 18 years old, a local, well-off family who had the authority took a fancy to her and tried in vain to marry her. Paris's family wasn't able to resist this powerful family's threats and although they tried, they succumbed eventually.
However, as they were about to drag Paris away, Paris unsheathed her dagger and slashed two to three long gashes on her face desperately. She stood by her doorstep with a bloodied, unrecognizable face while pointing her dagger forward. That family finally backed away after witnessing her determination. After all, a huge family like them needed to save their reputation. If things got blown out of proportion, it wouldn't reflect well on them too. Furthermore, now that Paris had been disfigured utterly, it wouldn't make any sense for them to bring this disgraceful monster into their family.
When it happened, Barter happened to be away on an errand. After he returned and knew about Paris's encounter, this naturally cruel, violent man darted towards the family with his Executioner's Greatsword and brutally slaughtered them. Before the family was able to take action against him, Barter had eloped with Paris, leaving this horrible place.
Both of them wandered in the wild for a few years until the day the family failed and collapsed. They joined the Purple Lily Guild when they returned, and Barter was promoted as the guild leader, while Paris logically became his assistant.
Without a doubt, it wasn't solely because Paris and Barter had a loving relationship that she was able to become the vice leader of the guild. She held the strength of the Thief class in the Master stage and she was second to none in this region. Moreover, she was meticulous and intelligent, so everyone began to accept her gradually under the public's praises.
To be frank, Rhode admired Barter a lot. There were many who claimed that their love would forever be unchanged. However, come to think of it, if one's beloved woman had changed beyond recognition where her face, mouth, and ears were left with horrifying scars that would make one throw up, it wouldn't be that easy for them to stay romantic. Rhode felt that if this happened to his woman, he would keep a respectful distance from her and refrain from intimate contact at the very least. However, Barter's love towards Paris had never changed. In the second database of the game, they were finally married and even had a child together. For many players, this would require so much courage no matter how splendid their partner's figure was…
This was why the love story of Barter and Paris spread extensively amongst the players. No matter if they ridiculed, admired, were envious or emotional, everyone knew the deed of this couple in the Purple Lily Guild. However, Paris changed dramatically even though Barter continued to love her deeply. After all, the most important feature of a woman was her face. After that incident, Paris's lively, optimistic character turned ice-cold and unapproachable. Ever since then, she had an iron mask that concealed her face entirely. Apart from Barter, Paris never took down her mask in front of anyone, so she was named as the 'Snow Woman'.
It wasn't because Rhode had met the female character in the legendary love story which he admired that his eyes brightened, but it was because Paris was the vice leader of the Purple Lily Guild. Wasn't Rhode's plan to lure the Necromancer to the Eagle City for the sake of borrowing the strength of the Purple Lily Guild?