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
After James finished speaking in a cold tone but with a gaze that held such wounds, William immediately fell silent. He would have rather heard the young man yelling at him and cursing at him than that look that made him feel guilty.“James,” Alen called in a low tone.Andrew said, “James, watch what you say!”James shifted his gaze from William to Andrew, “Why, General Reece? What I'm saying is the truth. It was indeed General Mackenzie who killed my father.”Andrew bit his teeth, “But ... you can't talk in that tone to-”“Why not? I am not demanding retribution for my father's death from General Mackenzie. What I am asking is why General Mackenzie can be so very calm as if he doesn't have the slightest guilt towards me. He-”“General Mackenzie only did what he was supposed to do, James. You should know what we were dealing with back then.” Andrew explained in the hope that James would immediately shut up.Unfortunately, James was not one to give in easily when talking to someone, A
James gave a small nod. However, when he saw the surprised expression on Riley's face he hastily added, “Oh, I should have known something like this could happen, Riley.”James scratched the back of his head which was still wet and continued, “After all this palace is not as big as the ocean, of course the possibility of me meeting him is quite big too.”He shrugged his shoulders and smiled a little, while Riley was still speechless as if a lot of things had suddenly popped into his head.James let out a long sigh, “I'm a bit overreacting I guess. You ... don't have to think about it, Riley. I'm fine. It's just that I'm ....”“It's just what, James?” Riley quickly asked, wanted to know more.While Alen could only hold his breath, not daring to interrupt for fear that he would misspeak.Riley swallowed and looked into James' eyes. The young man finally ventured to say, “Are you sure you're okay?”James snorted, “You don't believe me, Riley?”“How can you be okay when you met someone wh
“I'm very sure, Your Majesty,” Andrew said in a confident tone.Keannu looked skeptical so Andrew had to reassure the king by saying, “This way will make the people of Ans De Lou happy.”Keannu's eyes widened, “Really? Explain to me how!”Andrew Reece, the war general of the Ans De Lou Kingdom nodded enthusiastically. He explained in detail about the way in just a few sentences, but it made Keannu smile widely.The king with two children nodded and now looked much more excited, “That's a good method. When will you summon them, General?”“After the day of mourning is over, Your Majesty,” Andrew replied.Keannu nodded his head once, “Alright, I'll give the official order for that right away. And you ... can summon them according to the list of soldiers who you think do meet our criteria.”“Yes, Your Majesty,” Andrew said as he was finally able to release one burden on his shoulders, namely the problem related to the number of royal soldiers whose numbers were reduced a lot due to the w
With an expression without feeling guilty for making the young man curious, Mary shrugged, “Oh, I'm sorry, Riley. I couldn't tell you.”Riley let out a disappointed sigh, “Well, I'll find out soon enough, right?”Mary blinked in surprise. “Have you given up?”“Weren't you the one who asked me to give up? Oh my!” Riley shook his head and walked away leaving Mary stunned at the young man's departure.The girl commented, “He will definitely be a very disciplined soldier.”She nodded confidently, “Otherwise, how could he easily forget his curiosity? Hm, he really does resemble his father.”She smiled faintly and left the area as well.Exactly two days later, as promised by Janice Grow and Mary Kesley, Andrew Reece had already obtained all the lists of prospective soldiers who had been discharged before the war between the Kingdom of Ans De Lou and the Kingdom of Fermoza broke out.The man quickly compiled a new list according to the records obtained. It didn't take long for him to order
“Greco! Is that really Diego Greco?” James said with a tone of almost disbelief at what he was seeing with his pair of clear eyes.Alen himself was gaping at Diego's arrival who finally arrived at their place and immediately jumped towards him.Diego first hugged Alen who was still as still as a statue and then turned to hug Riley while patting his shoulder, “I saw the news on television. You're really great, Riley.”Before Diego could respond, the young man had already released his hug on Riley. He turned to James who was staring at him without batting an eye. Diego smiled at the young man and hugged James.“You're great too, James. Oh, no. Actually, all of the Ans De Lou Kingdom's troops are great,” Diego said, sounding sincere.After hugging his three roommates first, Diego released James and looked at his friends one by one. “Wow, you guys look so cool and dashing in those uniforms. I'm so envious of you three,” Diego said with an admiring smile.However, when he realized that h
Riley suddenly fell silent. His forehead was furrowed and James knew that his best friend was thinking about his words. Meanwhile, Alen immediately responded, “Hey, don't think too far like that!”James snorted, “I'm just thinking logically. If there is no big problem like a war that might be threatening, why would the palace summon all the soldiers who have failed the test?”Alen sighed tiredly, “To get ready perhaps, James.”James still wasn't too sure and was now looking closely at the lineup arrangement of the prospective soldiers. He caught a glimpse of Jason Hoult who had failed.He let out a long sigh, “To be honest, I'm happy to see Greco and the candidates who have good potential like Hoult, but this makes me think seriously.”Riley, who had been thinking about it finally, responded, “I don't think this decision has anything to do with the war.”“Well, I was right, wasn't I?” Alen said with a lopsided smile, seemingly satisfied that Riley was also thinking casually like him
At first Michelle Veren didn't understand what James Gardner was asking. However, when she saw the look on the general's face, she immediately knew he meant the time of the departure of the three people they were looking for.So, the Veren boutique owner replied, "About an hour ago, General Gardner."Hearing that answer, Reiner immediately went limp. But, it was inversely proportional to James who was even full of enthusiasm. This could be seen from James who even said, "Come on, Rei. Let's go after him."Reiner looked sadly at his best friend and replied, "It won't catch up, James. It's been too long."James did not even listen to Reiner's words and ordered some of his men, "Prepare the car, let's go after them!""James," Reiner called softly.James ignored the call and kept saying to his men who were still quietly waiting, "Find out through the CCTV which area they are currently in. They ... should be visible if they take the highway from behind this building."Reiner bit his own
Unfortunately it was all too late for the young girl to realize. All the words of the girl named Alice Porter were clearly heard by Reiner Anderson and James Gardner.With a dark look on his face, James said, "Miss, you-""No, no. I just misspoke, I ... I don't know anything. You heard me wrong," Alice said, whose face paled even more. Especially when she saw the aura of James Gardner, the terrifying war general, she found it even harder to breathe.Reiner also could not help himself so he said in an exasperated tone, "Tell me everything you know or you ... will know how terrible it is when you face the two of us.""I don't care if you are a woman. I can still find a punishment that you deserve," Reiner continued coldly.Alice swallowed harshly. Of course the young girl was very confused. Moreover, no one was trying to help her at all. All the employees in the boutique looked so frightened that no one dared to open their mouths."Say it now! We don't have much time, Miss!" James gro
James' question immediately made Reiner silent for a few moments. He stared at the boutique with a confused look on his face.Meanwhile, James didn't want to waste any more time so he wordlessly walked towards the boutique owned by Michelle Veren, a forty-year-old female designer who was quite famous in the country.Reiner didn't just stand by and do nothing, lamenting his inaccuracy. He followed James with a small trot right behind James without a word.As soon as James was faster than him to reach the door, he immediately saw the two boutique guards who opened the door for them."Can I help you?" one of the boutique guards asked James."I'm looking for Princess Rowena. Where is she now?" James asked back matter-of-factly as he darted his eyes all over the first floor of the boutique.Although there was a suspicion rising in James' mind, the young man put his anxiety ahead of his suspicion."You're looking for Princess Rowena? Who are you? You-""James Gardner. Royal War General Ans
Reiner Anderson did not answer James' question. Instead, he had a facial expression that looked both hesitant and confused.Of course, that made James Gardner even more annoyed. "Come on, tell me quickly! What's so strange about Princess Rowena?" James urged, impatiently.Reiner swallowed and scratched his ears before answering, "Well, I'm not sure if this is strange to you. But ... I think it's very strange, James."James gritted his teeth in growing annoyance and impatience.Luckily, he didn't need to ask anymore as Reiner added, "So, according to reports she went outside the palace."Hearing Reiner's answer, James snorted rudely. "What's so strange about that? I know she often goes outside the palace."Reiner sighed softly, "Indeed. But, this time ... a few hours ago, she left without a bodyguard. And she ... left with their son, Prince Kharel."Instantly James glared in shock, "What? Are you ... sure?""Yes, James. She just-""How is that possible? King Xylan ... didn't forbid he
Gary Davis did not answer Xylan's question. He just wore a pitiable expression. It instantly brought out the guilt in Xylan Wellington.Oh, no. What have I done? Did ... did I go too far in becoming suspicious of my own personal assistant? Xylan thought to himself as he stared at Gary's innocent face.The viceroy sighed softly. He went back to thinking hard. He tried to remember everything about Gary. He had never made a mistake, not once. He also never did anything suspicious all this time. Gosh, am I suspecting the wrong person? Xylan thought.However, he shook his head quickly as he realized something.But, wait a minute. It was James Gardner who suspected him. He couldn't have spoken carelessly. Otherwise, there was no way he could have been selected as the deputy war general. His instincts must be very strong that he has suspicions of Gary Davis, Xylan thought seriously.He then looked at Gary once more and finally nodded his head.He does look very innocent, but he could be h
Ben didn't know how he should respond to his friend's words, but all he could do was go over to James and pat him gently on the back repeatedly in an attempt to calm him down."He's really not coming back, Ben.""No, he's not. It's just-""He wouldn't give that kind of message if he didn't mean what he said," James cut Ben off.Ben sighed softly, "James, what I meant was ... he probably doesn't want to be looked for anymore because he wants to go back to the palace himself."Ben's words made James, who had been so frantic, straighten his back. The war general then turned to Ben and responded, "What do you mean?"Ben wasn't sure what he was thinking but he said it anyway, "I think ... he just wants to go home alone."James paused, trying to digest his friend's words."Tell you what ... how about we just go back to the palace, who knows if Riley might actually be home," Ben explained.Ricky and Steven Drilon were silent as they listened to Ben's words.They also didn't have time to reac
Ricky Drilon could only stare at the question.Oh, he often found himself in a confusing situation. But, he had never once felt depressed.Though he was also very often faced with a difficult choice. However, again, such things could be resolved well without any inner turmoil.However, one question asked by Riley Mackenzie put him in his most difficult phase. "Why are you doing nothing? Who are you going to obey? Me or General Gardner?" Riley repeated his question.Ricky swallowed harshly, getting more and more confused.His forehead was furrowed, clearly showing a great deal of indecision. He repeatedly smoothed his hair in just one minute. That made Riley smile strangely, "So, what? Who are you going to choose to obey?" Ricky bit his own teeth.How is this? What am I supposed to do? And why am I in this situation? Ricky thought.He looked indecisive, full of doubts. Riley himself looked very calm and relaxed at Ricky's confusion."Why aren't you answering me?" Riley asked with a
Ricky didn't answer James' question immediately, instead he looked back at Steven, his brother. From the look in his eyes, it was clear that the young man was seeking Ricky's approval. Apparently, James Gardner noticed this habit and with an exasperated look on his face, he commented, "Come on, do you have to have a discussion before answering a simple question like the one I asked you earlier?" "Don't you have your own opinion?" James continued in a cold tone. Ricky and Steven's faces turned a perfect shade of red. Ben grimaced at James' assertiveness but he didn't make an interruption. Not wanting to make James even angrier, Ricky finally replied, "If it's an ordinary person, we can probably still go after him. However, if it's General Mackenzie, I ...." The young man did not dare to continue his words. From the look on his face he looked hesitant until James continued his words by saying, "You're not sure we can catch up with Riley?" Ricky stammered, "Absolutely, General Gar
Benedict Arkitson instantly froze like a statue as if he dared not move his body at all. The thirty-four-year-old senior class one soldier was stunned without being able to issue any rebuttal to the junior soldier's explanation.He thought that he had no reason to doubt Lory Blackwell's words. Meanwhile, the strangely gloomy James Gardner looked the other way, as if reluctant to meet Lory Blackwell's eyes that were staring at him innocently. The young war general then said, "It's Riley. It must be him, it can't be wrong."Lory smiled with satisfaction and nodded with relief. The young man let out a long sigh after his statement was beyond doubt.However, he saw the sad look on James Gardner's face that the war general couldn't hide.He even heard James mutter softly, "It really is him. But ... he must be angry with me. If he wasn't angry, why would he leave?"That of course made Lory very surprised. James Gardner had always been known as a very rigid and cold person. He never imag