?Chapter 1303:


    Freya pressed her lips together, then handed the jacket back. “Thank you.”


    “You’re wee,” Ellis said, his tone t.


    The walk back was quiet, neither of them saying much.


    Noticing the silence, Ellis decided to satisfy his curiosity. “So, what’s your name?”


    “Freya Briggs,” she replied.<fn495c> Th?s chapter is updated by find{n}ovel</fn495c>


    In these selections, participants were usually assigned numbers. Real names only mattered after the first stage.


    Ellis gave a soft nod, and the conversation dropped again.


    A littleter, his hand slipped into his jacket pocket in search of his watch. Instead, his fingers closed around a small box.


    He paused, wondering how it had ended up there.


    Pulling it out without thinking, he recognized the packaging instantly, and his eyebrows rose.


    Right away, he knew what it was.


    “Did you buy this?” Ellis asked, ncing at Freya.


    “I did,” Freya replied with a nod. “I figured it was the least I could do after what happened.”


    Heughed off her concern. “I wasn’t serious about that,” Ellis said, handing the box back to her. “If you managed to break it, that just means you’ve got talent.” Many rookies couldn’t manage that—even some of the experienced team members failed at times.


    There was something promising about her.


    Freya refused to take the box back. She pressed it firmly into his hand, insisting it was both an apology and a way to show her gratitude for his help earlier.


    Ellis noticed her determination and realized that if he didn’t ept the gesture, she would likely keep pushing the matter.


    Since it didn’t vite any rules, he epted the watch.


    Adjusting it on his wrist, he offered a sly smile. “Since you went through the trouble for this watch, I’ll see to it that someone pays extra attention to you during training.”


    L??tеst chαpt?rs in g??l??ov???s.??????


    “That’s not what I intended,” said Freya, rushing to rify. She had only meant it as a simple thank you, a way to make amends.


    Now, out of nowhere, she had to deal with the threat of special attention.


    A heavy silence settled as Ellis watched her with those deep eyes.


    Seeing him remain silent, Freya felt she had to try exining herself again, not realizing that his idea of attention came with its own warning signs.


    For him, giving attention meant pushing someone through the toughest training.


    Put simply, it would be brutal.


    Freya grew impatient and asked again, “Are you even listening?”


    “I heard you.” Ellis saw how rattled she was and lied with ease. “You don’t have to worry about that attention. I’m not going to train youter, and I can’t say what the others will do. Right now, I’m only in charge of the assessment.”


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