William Mackenzie was silent for a long time. However, Keannu Wellington waited patiently, as if to give William time to think.And in the end, Keannu heard William say, “Yes, Your Majesty. I will attend Greg Sehel's funeral.”Keannu sighed, relieved and happy that William would do what he wanted.Actually, the king with two children did not want to encourage William Mackenzie to harm Riley. Obviously this was very much different. He thought William's public appearance wouldn't bring any harm to Riley as long as no one knew Riley's true identity.So, Keannu added, “Don't worry! Riley's identity will remain safe and will not be known by anyone except those who already know. You know ... only members of the royal family and Andrew Reece know his real identity.”William nodded, not doubting at all about the truth of what Keannu said.Besides talking to William, the king also spoke to his three family members.“Actually, I still wonder why he had to hide his son's identity. If it's to pr
“I also never thought that she would be that determined. Oh my! What is she thinking?” Monica who stood up said without blinking an eye.The Queen was very surprised seeing her daughter’s way to show her affection.Her eyes were still looking straight at her daughter who was still reluctant to let go of her embrace on Riley. Meanwhile, Xylan, the young prince could only shake his head, “My sister seems to have become infatuated with General Mackenzie's son, Mother.”Not long after, the fifteen-year-old youth added, “Perhaps you should arrange their marriage soon, Dad before ... it's too late.”Keannu turned his head towards his son, “Too late, how do you mean, Xylan?”“Hm, Father. You ... must know that ... Rowena is sometimes beyond prediction. She ....” Xylan shrugged, unable to tell his father what he was thinking.However, Keannu had understood the meaning of his son's words and the king who still looked handsome at more than half a century old sighed softly.“You're right, Xylan.
Riley immediately approached and hugged his father tightly.William returned the hug no less tightly while patting Riley's shoulder. Shortly after, Rowena, who had witnessed the scene, said, “General Mackenzie, I'm going out. You can talk to Riley alone.”William threw a smile of gratitude at Rowena which was returned with a small nod by the young girl.“I'll wait for you outside, Riley,” Rowena said quietly before the girl stepped out of the Xylan residence.Once Rowena had left, Riley said, “How can you still be here, Dad?”“I thought you went straight home after the war was over,” Riley continued.William let out a long sigh, “I'd be an ignorant person if I left right away, Riley. I'll still be here, attending Greg Sehel's funeral.”“But, Dad ....”William immediately calmed his son down and said, “You, take it easy! I've arranged everything. James won't know about you ... my son.”Riley frowned, “What do you mean?”“All the royal members have agreed not to reveal your status. You
William Mackenzie immediately held his son's shoulders. He then lowered his voice, “Attend the funeral and talk to the family, Riley.”Riley was taken aback. Attending Greg Sehel's funeral was an obligation, but for the second thing his father said, Riley was not sure.“Why are you silent?”Riley moistened her lower lip, “Dad, what can I talk to his family about?”William smiled, “You'll find out when you meet them.”“But, Dad ....”“You'll find your own way. Trust me, Riley, you can do it.” William nodded confidently to his son.Riley, who still did not know what to say, could only nod back.“Riley, you have to go back,” William said then.Huh? That fast? Riley was a bit surprised. He had only been talking to his father for a few minutes but was already asked to leave.“Why, Dad?” Riley asked in astonishment.“Princess Rowena brought you here. People will gossip about you two if the princess is not seen in public for a long time,” William explained.Riley swallowed and a pink tinge
Oh, it turned out that his father's words were true. Everything a member of the royal court did quickly spread, as if there were no secrets in the palace when it came to them.Sure enough, the news quickly reached the ears of every resident of the palace. Because, the incident where Rowena took him away was indeed witnessed by all the soldiers. So, it was easy for the spies who were witnesses to look for the whereabouts of him and the king's daughter. Realizing all that, Riley let out a long sigh.“We went to Prince Xylan's palace because his residence is closest to the field. Besides, Princess Rowena ... knows what I'm going through so she ... tried to comfort me,” Riley explained a little too long so that no one would ask any more questions.But, unfortunately, someone felt that explanation was not enough and so he still asked, “Oh, then what did Princess Rowena do to comfort you?”“Huh, you want to die? How dare you ask such a personal question?” Alen said as he glared at one of th
“There's no mistaking it, it really is General Mackenzie.”Someone enthusiastically spoke, “Look at his clothes! Those are the clothes on display at the silver building, right?”One of the prospective soldiers lined up parallel to Riley responded, “That's right. I notice that. That really is General Mackenzie's armor.”“I can't be wrong, it really is General Mackenzie.”“Oh my! This is amazing, I can see the legend in person. The best general this kingdom has ever had.”But then someone whispered in a slightly hushed tone, “But, wait a minute! What is the greatest war general doing here?”“Hasn't he decided to never appear in public? Then, why is he here now?”“Is he coming back?”Someone else clucked their tongue, “Don't just talk! Isn't he too old to come back? Perhaps ... he has some interest here.”Alen Smith, who was standing right behind James and Riley, was even more interested in seeing James' reaction than in hearing the ramblings of the other soldiers' friends.The young man
Obviously James' words were such an indisputable fact that when he spoke like that none of the soldiers lined up nearby replied to him.However, James continued to say, “What is so great about that man that King Keannu would give him such a great privilege?”Riley remained silent until James finally got annoyed himself and nudged his arm, “Wood, say something! Why is that man being treated better than others?”Riley of course couldn't dodge anymore so he replied, “How could I possibly know what the king is thinking, James?”“He decides that and only he knows the answer,” Riley continued.However, Riley actually guessed that everything Keannu Wellington did was a tribute to Greg Sehel. Greg was killed saving his life so his father was allowed to do so.But, there was no way he would say that to James Gardner's face.“Damn it! Why does it have to be that man?” James said, sounding unreceptive.All this time, Riley had heard James call his father “that man”. Not once did the young man me
Not wanting to let Riley face Justin Donovan alone, Alen spoke up again, “Right. And just so you know ... with the way you're talking, you're insulting Commander Sehel's sacrifice. Do you know that or not?”Justin's eyes bulged in disbelief, “What do you mean I insulted his sacrifice?”“Of course you're insulting it. That sacrifice shouldn't be questioned, but rather honored. But you ... you're speculating all the time,” Alen replied.Hearing Alen's answer, Justin felt like he had just been slapped until the young man's previously stiff expression softened a little.Wordlessly, Justin moved away. Alen closed his eyes in relief, while James commented, “That big mouth is too much. Oh my!”“Never mind, James. The ceremony will take place in a little while,” Riley said, who refocused on the funeral process.Up ahead, William Mackenzie, Andrew Reece and a number of commanders and soldiers who had the honor of representing their friends began to stand around Greg Sehel's coffin.There were
As if coming to his senses, James nodded slowly, "You're right, Rei. We ... should go back to the palace and strategize again to find Riley."Reiner could finally breathe with relief."Come on, we should leave this place first," Reiner said.James looked around the area one last time. After he felt that all his efforts were enough for the time being, he quickly boarded the airship that would take him back to the Ans De Lou Kingdom.During the trip, James was mostly silent.While Reiner and Ben who were also on the same plane with James repeatedly still invited James to talk. However, the young man still chose to be silent.In fact, Reiner wanted to entertain him by distracting James from the problem of Riley who had not yet been found. Unfortunately, he still failed to do so. James still didn't seem to want to join the conversation between the two.Some more James also heard the chatter of the soldiers, but sometimes he fe
The soldier was suddenly afraid.Moreover, the look in James Gardner's eyes suddenly turned sharp as if he was stabbing him.Oh, he really only meant to express what he was thinking. He didn't mean to offend the war general.He certainly didn't dare go against James Gardner. His nerves dropped even further when he heard James speak again, "Come on, tell me, do you mean to tell me that Riley doesn't want to see me?"The soldier named Joseph Zow immediately shook his head vigorously. "No, General Gardner. That's not what I meant. I just-""Then, what, how can you think Riley doesn't want to come out of his hiding place?" James' tone now sounded more frustrated.Not wanting the situation to get out of hand, Reiner immediately approached his best friend and said, "James, stop it!"James still did not move and stared at the soldier as if waiting for an answer.However, Joseph did not open his mouth. The young man g
Reiner winked at his friend's words. The man shook his head firmly, "Military matters in the palace? Are you crazy? What kind of trouble?""There is no power struggle in the palace, James. Prince Xylan and Princess Rowena have a very good relationship," Reiner explained with his eyebrows raised in astonishment.Before James could answer Reiner's explanation, Ben had already hurriedly joined in, "Reiner is right. The two of them have never had any problems. It's impossible for them to fight.""Of course. In fact, Princess Rowena has always supported Prince Xylan. It's impossible to fight over a throne. Besides, Princess Rowena must still be very sad that Riley hasn't been found yet. How could she possibly think of-""ENOUGH!" James suddenly cut off Reiner's lengthy speech.Reiner was about to continue, but apparently James was a bit annoyed so he ignored Reiner's intention and continued to say, "Oh my! Come on, was I talking about a possible war between Prince Xylan and Princess Rowena
"That’s impossible," Ben said in a firm tone.Reiner also responded, "They couldn't have killed Riley."Ben added, "If they killed Riley, I'm sure they'd have announced it. Or ... at least they would have done something like confuse us with Riley's whereabouts."Seeing James looking frustrated, Reiner said again, "He must be alive. It's just that we haven't found him yet.""That’s right. He was probably transferred to their secret place," Ben said.James' face relaxed more than before when he heard the two friends' soothing words. He was a little more relieved.James then nodded his head, "Then we should find out more.""Yes, we will. Don't worry!" Reiner said.Ben said with a confident tone, "We will definitely find Riley, James."James chose to believe and returned to search more thoroughly. Unfortunately, although the soldiers of Ans De Lou Kingdom had interrogated the prisoners of Mecco Kingdom, they still could not find a single clue regarding Riley's whereabouts.In addition, K
Reiner frowned, "That's impossible. Is he lying?"James shook his head firmly, "No way.""How can you believe her so easily?" Reiner asked while still inspecting the area.James sighed softly, "I have never met an Ans De Lou soldier who dared to lie to me."Reiner instantly turned his head and looked at his friend without blinking.Two seconds later he nodded in agreement, "Oh, you're right. How could anyone dare to deal with you?"James waved his hand.He looked up and widened his eyes once he got something. He quickly asked Reiner to come closer to him."What's up there?" Reiner asked as James looked up.However, James did not answer Reiner's question and instead stood on tiptoe and picked up a small object attached to the wall."What is it?" Reiner asked with a curious expression.James examined the object and immediately cursed, "BASTARD!"Reiner was wide-eyed in shock. James' swearing really sounded full of emotion and his tone of voice was almost like someone who was shouting.
James sighed softly, it was clear that the soldier knew nothing about the latest situation outside."Yes, I'm back. I wasn't captured by them," James explained as he helped the soldier to lean against the wall.James glanced at his friend who looked very weak, but didn't dare to touch him as his wounds looked much worse.James examined the soldier's wound whose shirt had been torn off briefly and knew immediately that the soldier must have been severely tortured.He gritted his teeth, trying to contain his anger."Then ... did we win, Deputy War General?" the class two soldier asked with a hopeful look in his eyes.James nodded, "Yes, we won.""R-really, Vice General of War? We won? I'm not dreaming, am I?" the soldier asked with tears on the verge of falling.James looked at the soldier with a sad gaze.The torture he received must have frustrated the soldier for his emotions to become so unstable."You're
Xylan immediately realized that his father wouldn't just let him go.He knew that Keannu Wellington wasn't in the best of shape, but his father was still thinking things through carefully.Therefore, Xylan who had never lied and would never want to lie, especially to his father replied, "Yes, Father. He is not a palace staff who has been in the palace for a long time. In fact, he doesn't even have any relationships with other palace officials."Keannu instantly fell silent.Xylan quickly composed words and continued, "But ... I can guarantee that he will do his duty well. You will see that my choice will not be wrong."Keannu let out a long breath.Xylan was beginning to worry.And after a long silence, Keannu finally looked back at his son and said, "Alright."Keannu's one-word statement confused Xylan so he asked again, "Alroght? What do you mean, Father?"Keannu smiled gently, "You can choose him."
Xylan could only remain silent without being able to say a word.Keannu sighed softly. He looked at his son who was still so shocked.The old man said hoarsely, "I know you're not ready yet, but ... I believe you're capable of leading this country."Xylan lifted his head and looked at his father's pale face that looked so very weak.Xyan instantly wanted to curse himself. How could he think so weakly? He may be young, but he was not ignorant. Over the years he had learned various things, including about the government system. His father had also taught him about many things to prepare him as his successor.Then, after all that had happened, how could he be hesitant like that?Moreover, his father's condition no longer allowed him to rule the country. Keannu Wellington was no longer young. He had experienced a great deal of health problems.Keannu's time as a king was up. The old man should spend his old age living a much more relaxed life.So, as his son, he naturally had to suppor
James didn't have to wait long to connect with Josh Cleve.Once connected, before James could speak, he heard Josh say, "I've got it, General Gardner."James didn't have time to reply, but Josh was already speaking quickly, "Thank you, General Gardner. This is all because of you.""If it wasn't for your strategy, I wouldn't have been able to conquer the sea area," Josh continued, sounding like someone who was holding back tears.He didn't even dare to look directly through the screen at James.James smiled at Josh and chuckled, "Gosh, are you going to cry?"Josh snorted but everyone could see that Josh was really very moved. All the soldiers of Ans De Lou Kingdom had known all the efforts that Josh Cleve had made to improve his sea warrior skills. However, he had not been successful.However, after James Gardner became his leader, he was able to bring victory to the Ans De Lou Kingdom.With so much gratitude Josh said again, "It's all thanks to you, General."James instantly shook hi