Not wanting to make James Gardner suspicious of him, Riley quickly replied, "Of course not. How could I be afraid of something like that?"James squinted, looked questioningly at his friend and then grinned as if he had caught his prey. "But, what I saw wasn't like that. You're ... scared. Come on, be honest with me, you're afraid of the camera, right?" James said with a lopsided smile still gracing his lips."It's obvious, Wood. Your expression says it all." James continued cheerfully.Riley immediately corrected his facial expression and replied in an exasperated tone, "Nonsense. My facial expression is flatter.""So?" James said while raising an eyebrow."I'm not scared, James. I just don't like it. Satisfied?" Riley replied, gritting his teeth in annoyance.James giggled, ignoring his annoyed friend. Unwilling to hear that annoying laughter, Riley chose to walk faster and left James who was forced to run after him.Oh my! Riley had almost forgotten what he was supposed to be thin
James Gardner let out another long sigh, "Oh, this is what happens when you choose to make out with the king's daughter over eating dinner on time."Riley really wanted to sew James' mouth shut for saying words that he thought were unimportant before getting to the point."Come on, don't play games, James!" Riley said as he bit his teeth.James grinned, "Fool, it's because there was a big war last night. The remaining soldiers were sent to the Fermoza Kingdom."Hearing that, of course Riley was very surprised, "What do you mean? Does that mean there are really only a few soldiers in this kingdom in total?""Yes, it does," James replied.Riley instantly fell silent, starting to panic. "What did they do? How could they do something like that? What if we get attacked? I mean, if the kingdom is abandoned by-""Calm down, Wood! There are still about twenty-five percent of the soldiers in the palace. That's still enough to protect this kingdom and the members of the royal family. So ... all
William Mackenzie looked surprised at his wife's agitation. It had been so long since the man had seen his wife so anxious.So, he chose to be more careful when responding to all his wife's words."Please, answer, Bill! Why are you silent? Is there a rule that prospective soldiers can be sent to the battlefield if there is an emergency?" Cassandra said fiercely once again.William grimaced and pulled his wife closer to him. Afterward, he hugged his wife while stroking her hair and slowly said, "I know you're worried. But, it's not just you who's worried, dear. Riley is also my son. I was the one who gave him permission and I was even the one who helped him enter the palace. I'm fully responsible for everything, Cassie."Upon hearing her husband's words, Cassandra cried even more. In the beginning, she was the one who was the strongest when letting her son go for the selection, but now she was the one who was almost going crazy worrying about her son."Then ... what should we do, Bill?
William shook his head firmly, "No. It's not. The problem of the two of them is still the same, there's nothing else yet. But ... it's about Riley and Princess Rowena."Cassandra raised an eyebrow, feeling both astonished and confused, "What is our son's relationship with the princess of Ans De Lou Kingdom?"William looked at his wife straight on, as if preparing to say an important thing that was difficult to say.Cassandra, who had known her husband for decades, could certainly sense how nervous he looked."Bill, say it! Why are you being so convoluted about it?" Cassandra protested.William bit his lower lip, "The problem is that this is too shocking for me. In fact, not once did this event ever cross my mind. To the point that I ....""You really made me impatient. Are you telling me or am I going to find out by calling Mary myself?" Cassandra said as she had lost her patience.William grimaced, "Riley is in a relationship with Princess Rowena.""Relationship? Princess Rowena made
Someone behind the young man immediately interjected, "Hey, we don't know the situation and condition of our royal troops yet. Don't speak carelessly!"Riley turned his head toward the source of the voice. The person speaking was Damian Irving, one of the sons of the senior soldier who had also been his father's subordinate.However, Riley did not know if Sean Irving, Damian's father was still a soldier in the palace. But, if that person was still in the palace, his position must have risen to a higher position.As Riley recalled, senior soldiers who had good skills and a lot of war experience were usually placed at level one. And as long as Riley set foot in the palace, he still could not find out about the level of the soldiers due to his busy schedule as a prospective soldier. "I'm not careless. You're not blind, right? You can see with your own eyes how damaged this area is!" the man said curtly, seemingly disagreeing with Damian Irving's words.Damian sighed irritably, "The si
Riley was well aware of the difficulties he might face. However, he still said, “No matter how difficult it is, I will still try to meet him.”James sighed irritably, “Well if you're still that determined, good luck.”Riley snorted, he thought James would help him. But, apparently he was just expecting too much from a James who was still selfish sometimes.As they continued walking, a senior soldier of the second level leading them suddenly raised his right hand and asked them to stop.One of the prospective soldiers asked, “Are we there yet?”The soldier with one of the pistols in his hand replied, “Where do you mean?”“At ... the battlefield,” the prospective soldier replied sounding so nervous.The leader snorted, “This is already a war zone. Can't you see your surroundings?”The would-be soldier who asked the question swallowed hard, a bit scared.Meanwhile, the squad leader put his weapon back in its original place and said, “There is a small battle not far from here. The command
“How? Are you going to leave or stay here?” Colin asked.He and Kenneth seemed to deliberately want to upset James. Riley could feel it and was getting uncomfortable with the way the two men were acting.James replied, “The warrior leader asked us to wait.”He tried to control himself because he didn't want to be seen as a troublemaking soldier.“Oh, why don't you tell me that you're actually scared. You're ... just as cowardly as me,” Kenneth said.He looked down at James and then shook his head as if he was underestimating him. Colin also added, “You scream as if everyone else is a coward, when you yourself are the same. Where's that courage you bragged about, James Gardner?”“Gone? Afraid of war, huh? Wow! Is this what the son of a ... war general looks like? How sad!” Kenneth said as he smiled mockingly again.He then laughed again, but James was still silent, as if holding back desperately.“Never mind, James. Admit that you're a coward too. This is a real battlefield, not a pal
Colin gulped, not daring to reply to Riley's words. Moreover, Riley's voice sounded terrifying to his ears. However, that was not the case with Kenneth. The man instead lifted his chin with a defiant look and replied, “It's his own fault. We never told him to leave. He wanted to go himself.”Colin was shocked to find out that his best friend actually dared to fight Riley.“DAMN IT! If you two hadn't provoked him, he wouldn't have gone there,” Riley cursed with an annoyance he could no longer contain.Kenneth realized the young man was so angry with him, but he still didn't want to admit it and said again, “He's the fool. Why should he be provoked by our words? He can't control his own emotions, why blame us?”Riley clenched his fist, about to raise his hand and hit Kenneth with full force. However, just before his strong hand touched Kenneth's jaw, someone shouted, “Enough!”Riley very reluctantly lowered his hand. Kenneth, who had closed his eyes in fear, now slowly opened his eyes.
"General, we're surrounded."A soldier with a bullet wound in his leg dragged himself to walk towards the place where the war general of Ans De Lou Kingdom was preparing his weapons.The soldier who was staggering as he walked was no longer wearing his head armour or any other body armour. That made the war general glare angrily at him, "What have you done? Where is your armour?"The soldier of the first class could only grimace in pain and replied, "It's unusable, too many bullet wounds."Riley Mackenzie widened his eyes and instantly removed the goggles protecting his eyes.The young man crouched down and looked at Benedict Arkitson's injuries, which were extremely severe. Not only had his leg been shot, but his left abdomen was also severely injured. In addition, Riley saw countless other wounds. "Stay here! The medical staff will help you soon," Riley ordered firmly.Ben shook his head, "How can I leave you alone against the main army? There are too many of them.""Reiner will
Dear, Readers This is Zila Aicha who wants to thank all the loyal readers of this novel. I know, season 2 of this book may disappoint some fans of this book. However, believe me I have tried to make this book with all my heart.May I ask your opinion about this book? I will be happy to read your comments. Suggestions and criticisms will also be happily accepted.Next, I will make season 3 of this book, but season 3 will be a book with the main character “James Gardner”. Hope you all will like it.Best wishes, Zila Aicha
People were eager to approach Riley, to help him. However, when they saw James Gardner moving toward Riley, they stayed where they were.James quickly caught Riley's staggering body as if he couldn't bear the weight of his own body.James sighed softly, “What are you doing?”“Preventing you from leaving,” Riley replied weakly.James exhaled roughly and picked up Riley who was still so weak.“You don't have to waste your time and energy,” James said.“Why? You don't have to go, James. You-”“It's my decision,” James cut in quickly.Riley shook his head, staring at the young man who was only one year older than him. “You're not guilty. I'm an asshole for wanting to keep you as my best friend.”“It's nice of you to admit that,” James replied with a faint smile.“If anyone should leave here, it's me, not you,” Riley said.James frowned, “Don't be crazy! You're the general of war in this kingdom. You can't-”“I lied to everyone from the start, not just to you,” Riley cut James off.Riley's
Rowena nodded weakly, while the four soldiers who were also inside the infirmary immediately looked at each other. Riley himself took some time to process the information.However, Reiner immediately asked, "Your Highness, then ... where is the deputy general of war right now?"Rowena turned her head quickly, "I don't know. I ... only heard the news from the palace maid, just now. Perhaps ... he has already returned to the dormitory or-"Thank you, Your Royal Highness," Reiner cut off Rowena's speech quickly due to being too panicked.After that Reiner immediately paid his respects to the king's daughter and quickly left the area together with Diego.Ben also said, "Riley, I'll be there first. Later I ... will be here again."Alen nodded, "Don't worry! We'll let you know when we know what's going on."Riley could only stare at his friends' departure with a look full of confusion.Rowena was the only one left in the room and was accompanied by several staff, soldiers and servants.Row
At first Riley was eager to force James to answer him, but he stopped doing so when he finally understood that James might need some time alone.He sighed softly, “I'll talk to him later.”Meanwhile, outside Riley's room, all the people who were good friends of the two young people who were having complicated problems were staring at James with questioning eyes.While Alen and Ben were silent because they didn't dare to ask, Diego casually asked, “Did you ... talk to Riley?”James nodded.“Then ... how?” Reiner asked in an anxious tone.James did not answer Reiner's question and only said, “I'm going back to the dorm first.”Shin, who heard that, bit his lip and replied, “I'll accompany you.”James did not refuse and let Shin come with him, while Diego and Reiner remained there.After James and Shin were no longer there, Alen decided to go inside with Ben.Not long after, Diego and Reiner also entered Riley's hospital room area.“He already knew about it,” Ben said when he first looke
James laughed disappointedly when he saw Riley's silence.Riley suddenly stared at him wordlessly.“Why, did you ... did you never even have the intention of telling me about it?” James said in a sharp tone.Riley opened his mouth but not a single word came out of it.James was getting annoyed at him, “Uh, I see. I see now.”James nodded and stepped back, making Riley surprised.“James, it's not like what you're thinking,” Riley finally managed to reply to James.James shook his head.“Do you really know what I'm thinking, Riley?” James said in a sarcastic tone.The young man could no longer hide his immense disappointment, “You don't know, Riley. But ... I can tell what you're thinking.”“James, I ... know I've wronged you. But, please understand, my position is very difficult. I don't want you to ... hate me, James. I don't have-”“It must have been a lot of fun for you, huh?” James cut off Riley's words quickly.Riley who was originally leaning back immediately leaned her body, fac
Shin and Reiner glanced at each other, as if they were both confused about whether or not to leave the area as James had requested.However, the reason they hesitated was certainly not because they were both worried that James would hurt Riley. Instead, both of them were more worried about James.Unfortunately, James, who did not get an answer from his two friends, turned his head with a furrowed brow, “Why? Don't you two trust me?”“You guys ... think I would do anything ... to hurt Riley? Is it like that?” James added with a sad look on his face.Shin quickly turned to James, “Of course not. I am sure you wouldn't do anything that bad.”“Don't get me wrong, James! We're ... just very worried about you,” Reiner said quietly.James was startled and when he looked at his two friends in turn, he instantly knew that they were not lying at all.The young man closed his eyes and instantly realized his mistake, “I'm sorry, senior. I ... I ....”“No problem, we'll leave you so you can be alo
Ben suddenly bowed his head.James immediately closed his eyes, completely unable to believe the painful reality that had slapped him.Meanwhile, Shin looked at his friend with a look of disappointment.He touched Ben's shoulder and asked, “You knew about this big secret and you ... did nothing? What have you done?”Ben was silent.Shin took a deep breath and watched the expressions of all the soldiers who were his best friends. The man sighed softly, “Aren't we ... all friends? How could you ... and you hide this important thing?”Ben raised his head, “Then, what do you expect me to do?”“What did you say?” Shin retorted fiercely.“You think it's easy? Hiding a secret of this magnitude? You think ... what happens if I tell you and the others? Especially James. He ... would definitely fight with Riley. They'll-”“Damn it!” James cursed because he couldn't stand it anymore.The young man said, “Don't act like you know about me and can guess what I might do or happen. You think you can
Meanwhile, William also began to be confused to calm his wife who was crying more and more.However, Cassandra's crying finally stopped when she saw the operating room door open.Everyone also immediately stared at the door, waiting anxiously.As several people from the medical team came out, William and Cassandra walked over.“Doctor, how is my son?” William asked.The elderly doctor looked up at the middle-aged man who was staring at him anxiously.“General Mackenzie,” the doctor greeted after he noticed William's face.William nodded, “Yes, Doctor Sigmund. It's me.”Sigmund was surprised, “Riley Wood, I mean General Wood is ... your son, General?”“Yes, Doctor,” William replied.James just stared blankly ahead, as if he was ready to hear that statement. Meanwhile, Reiner and the other soldiers could only squeal in shock as an important fact had j