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
Riley had a hard time answering James' question so the young man remained silent. However, someone suddenly replied, “James, if you think General Mackenzie sent his son here to compete with you, you are very wrong.”“Wrong? How come?” James replied as he turned to Alen.Riley was quite surprised to hear his best friend's defense. He never expected Alen to do that. Alen sighed, “Oh please, James. You know that even if the son doesn't use his father's surname, it's obvious that this matter of sending the son to the palace has nothing to do with you.”The young man paused for a moment and glanced at Riley, and then continued to say, “In fact, I highly doubt that he knows you are here as well.”Alen frowned but James was still listening as if he knew that Alen had not finished speaking.“I mean ... no one even knows about your father having a son, information about you is not included in General Gardner's biography. So, I think it's highly unlikely that General Mackenzie knew about you.
James Gardner was silent long enough for Riley Mackenzie to become increasingly uncomfortable.James, come on, don't make me feel worse, Riley thought.After a long silence while staring blankly, the young man who was shorter in height than Riley finally said, “It's ... quite a complicated matter. So complicated that I don't know how to tell you.”He then smiled sadly and added, “But … no problem, now I can visit him.”Riley swallowed hard, not knowing how to respond to James' words. His guilt hit his chest again and this time it all kept him silent.Oh, why did James have to have the last name “Gardner”? Riley wondered again.If only James' father was just a soldier who was killed and not Jody Gardner, he would have been able to immediately comfort the grieving James.Unfortunately, his father was Jody Gardner whose death was related to his father's so he had a hard time coming up with words of comfort. In fact, just to express his sorrow he could not do it. Alen, who was still sta
Alen suddenly looked down deeply. He suddenly became sad again. The young man took a deep breath before exhaling slowly and turned to Riley again.With a sad look he said, “They're really worried about you, Riley. They even argued about who should save you.”Riley bit his lower lip and looked down for an instant.“They didn't want you to get hurt, so they decided that one of them should go find you. At that time they told me that you were ... the son of General Mackenzie and they also told me that ....”Alen stopped speaking as his tears fell again. He did not know why the loss was so painful.But, for sure he was having a hard time holding back his sadness. He steeled himself and said, “They asked me to help you hide your true identity.”Riley was stunned.The young man shook his head, finding it hard to take it all in. Alen touched his shoulder, “It's not your fault. They ... are just trying to protect you and I ... will do as they ask.”“You don't have to worry, Riley! Your secret
James, who was stared at with a gawking expression, immediately shifted his direction of view and lowered his head, avoiding Alen's gaze.The young man said softly, “Damn it! You have to pretend you didn't see me like this, Smith!”Alen snorted softly and walked over to the sobbing young man. He patted James' shoulder gently and said, “I didn't see you cry, so don't worry!”James wiped away his tears and looked back at his father's grave with eyes that were still a little bit wet.Alen glanced at the young man in a different way.Usually James always displayed a flat, cold and haughty expression. The young man seemed to have thorns around him that made others reluctant to approach.However, what he saw this time was not a young man like that. He saw an ordinary young man who could be sad when facing something painful. Hearing his conversation with Riley earlier, he thought there might be a prohibition coming from James' mother's side to visit his father's funeral. But, again, it was
The bewildered Alen heard James say again, “Oh, no. No, you don't. You really don't have to worry about me, Dad. They're very good to me, they won't betray me, I'm sure.”Alen was even more dumbfounded. The young man blinked his eyes repeatedly to try to get rid of his discomfort. But, still he didn't feel good at all.While he was still extremely confused, James looked over to him with a furrowed brow and narrowed eyes. “What's wrong?” Alen asked quickly.James let out a long breath, “I called you earlier. Didn't you hear that?”Alen gaped, “Huh? When?”James rolled his eyes lazily and immediately got up from where he was kneeling. He then pulled Alen's arm and told him to come closer. “Huh, w-what do you want to do?” Alen asked stammeringly as he turned his head towards the back where James was standing at attention.“Geez, Smith. I just asked you to talk to my dad for a minute. You're ....” James shook his head, looking rather annoyed that Alen was actually not listening to him
James Gardner replied without turning to Alen, “Why should we take another way? It would be a waste of time.”Alen swallowed harshly, “But, James. There's ....”“I know, so what, what did I do wrong to avoid him?” James said, who still did not turn to his friend.However, Alen did not want to give up. Nervously he said again, “You don't have anything wrong, but you-”“Never mind, Alen. I'm not afraid of him and shouldn't he be the one feeling uncomfortable?”Alen was silent, at a loss for an answer.James finally turned his head and looked at Alen straight, “He's the one who made a child born and grow up without a father. Shouldn't he feel guilty for that?”Hearing James' words that were full of pent-up emotions finally made Alen completely give up. He couldn't hold James back and he didn't want James to go even crazier if he denied him.“Come on, we have to get to the dorm quickly, Riley must be waiting for us,” James said.Alen had just realized one thing, and that was the way James