“Mom, what are you doing?” James complained as he gave his mother a sullen look.Dorothy chuckled, still ignoring her son's words she said to Diego, “You must be very patient to be able to listen to my son's sometimes painful words.”Diego was stunned. He had never expected James' mother to be so open and honest. Shin, who was holding back his laughter, finally responded, “Auntie, you've described James' character very well.”“Of course, young man. I'm his mother, I know how my son is,” Dorothy replied while glancing at James who still looked annoyed.“Mom, just so you know. I now have many friends and they-”“Immune to your sharp tongue?” Dorothy cut off her son's words.Diego couldn't help but laugh and he ended up chuckling along with Shin.James chewed his food quickly then replied, “Trust me, Mom. In fact, I have one close friend who almost sacrificed his life for me.”The young man looked proud to show off to his mother, while Dorothy raised her left eyebrow and asked quickly,
If it had been someone else, he would have refused to answer. However, it was his own mother who asked, so there was no way he could refuse to answer.“Not much. He ... just said father isn't as bad as people think. After all, dad is a general of many who has also sacrificed a lot for the Ans De Lou Kingdom,” James explained.Hearing her son's explanation, a faint smile appeared on Dorothy's lips. She then responded, “He hasn't changed, still as wise as ever.”Diego was dumbfounded, while Shin frowned in astonishment at James' mother's words.James snorted and gave his mother a disapproving look, “Mom, come on!”Dorothy waved a hand, “Hey, don't stare at your mom like that. After all, what you said is true.”Suddenly, Dorothy got up from her chair, “Never mind, time has passed. By the way, why haven't you finished eating your food yet?”Shin hurriedly resumed his chewing, while Diego plucked a piece of cake. James sighed softly, not wanting to eat anymore.“When you're done eating, t
Riley was instantly speechless. Alen's words had shocked him. He had never realized that before.However, it wasn't long before he heard Ben say in a soothing tone, “There's no need to think about it. What you said is just an estimate. We still don't know what might happen.”“Remember, the future can easily change greatly. A prediction is neither a verdict nor a fact,” Ben added.Riley nodded with relief. Alen felt guilty, “Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think so hard.”“Never mind, it doesn't matter. By the way, how long will it take us to arrive?” Riley asked intentionally to distract her friends.Meanwhile, Ben had apparently contacted his best friend and had gotten a message back.The man breathed a sigh of relief, “Shin and the others have also left. We'll arrive before them.”Riley nodded and immediately rested his body because when they arrived at the palace later, he knew he would be very busy.Meanwhile, inside the palace, the ground war commander, Reiner Anderson
However, Reiner, who was indeed ignorant and did not really want to know other people's secrets, immediately pushed that matter out of his head.Uh, why would I think about that? It's none of my business, Reiner thought to himself.After finishing the discussion, the war commanders hurriedly left the room along with Andrew Reece who walked towards the direction of the king's residence.“I didn't expect that General Reece would take such offense,” Joseph said.Seamus nodded with a grim expression on his face, “I should have known ....”He let out a long breath first as if gathering strength and only after gaining energy again did he speak, “General Reece has been a war general for more than twenty years and he ... is one of the senior soldiers who has gone to the battlefield thousands of times. He must be able to judge a person's ability well so ... he chose Riley.”Seamus wanted to hit himself on the head for his stupidity in doubting the soon-to-retire war general's choice. Reiner r
While Reiner was already looking rather irritated, the other two war commanders also shared Reiner's frustration.Meanwhile, James himself was still pensive as if he was confused. However, it was different with Riley. The young man still looked calm and Andrew just watched the son of the legend carefully without interfering in the slightest. “I'll try to discuss it with them,” Riley said suddenly.James immediately turned to his friend, “You mean you want to negotiate with them? Is there any way they'd be willing to do that?”“I don't know, but it's one of the better ways to go about it than starting an attack right away,” Riley explained.Joseph gulped, “Are you sure about it?”Riley looked at Joseph and then nodded, “It's not a matter of being sure or not, but it's more of a way to avoid war and ... even if this method fails, at least we still have time to prepare our troops.”Reiner suddenly winked, seemingly amazed by the strategy Riley had chosen, “Wow! That's good.”Riley nodde
Michael Hellfric waited for James' reply.Come on, hit me first and I swear I'll hit you back with more painful blows. This is for the sake of my uncle who was killed by your father! Michael thought to himself.However, Michael's hopes could not be realized. Instead of hitting Michael with an outburst of emotion, James gave him a casual smile.This left Michael dumbfounded.James sighed softly, “I know, the inauguration as deputy war general is curious. But ... you should know one thing, Mr. Hellfric.”Michael raised his right eyebrow, looking wary as James walked closer to him and then hunched his shoulders.The young man continued, “King Keannu knew from the beginning that I was the son of Jody Gardner, a war general who was labeled a traitor in this country.”“However, he still gave me the opportunity to prove my worth and this is the result ... I was chosen as deputy war general,” James said as he touched the label on his military uniform.Michael was silent, as if confused by Jam
James sighed softly, but still seemed reluctant to answer. Meanwhile, Shin apparently still had high curiosity so he asked again, “It's been three years. Have you given up on finding him?”Ben saw James' complicated expression. The young man quickly responded to his friend's words, “Shin, what's wrong with you? It's all in the past. How could a deputy war general have time to think about such matters?”He chuckled but apparently no one was laughing with him so he returned to shutting his mouth tightly as he began to realize that the tension around him was getting serious. Meanwhile, Reiner who was actually very curious but didn't want to make James dig into the past again said, “You've been here and achieved many things, James. You're ... not just an ordinary soldier, but you're a deputy war general who has helped win this kingdom several wars.”“Your service to this kingdom is great. You ... wouldn't possibly destroy all those efforts and achievements just because of that past, wou
Riley turned to James and said, “I'll go there alone.”Reiner and the other two war commanders gaped in shock, while James firmly said, “No. You're not. Are you out of your mind?”“This is one way we can find out what they really want,” Riley replied.James shook his head and got up from his chair with an angry expression. “We already know their purpose for invading our kingdom. It's clear that they want to take control of part of our kingdom. So, what else should we investigate? Isn't the most important thing to defeat them?” James said in exasperation.If James already looked emotional like that, almost no one would dare to oppose him. He was still very young and everyone in the room was older than him, except Riley.But, the fact was that they knew that whatever the young man who served as a deputy general of war said was mostly the truth.However, Riley was not like other people who just stayed silent when James was angry, so calmly the young man who was only one year older than
Before James could respond to the words of Xylan Wellington, the young crown prince, Xylan had spoken again, "General Gardner, I know my request is excessive.""And I know ... the reason you are willing to return to this palace is for the sake of my brother-in-law, but ... I really need your help, General Gardner," Xylan added with a pleading look on his face.James let out a long sigh and then shook his head.That made Xylan weak and also disappointed. However, it was only temporary because it wasn't long before Xylan heard James say, "You don't have to ask me to this extent, Your Royal Highness."Xylan was stunned. Moreover, James went on to say, "As a War General of Ans De Lou Kingdom, my duty is not only to protect this country. But also to protect the chief leader of this kingdom."Xylan's mouth opened slightly in surprise at James' answer that was without a trace of hesitation."Since you are the new leader after King Keannu passed away, then ... the duty of protecting you is a
"What's going on exactly?" Reiner looked even more confused.Normally, if they won a battle, they would be greeted with great fanfare.Not only a number of palace soldiers would welcome them, but also palace officials and members of the royal family would welcome them.However, at that time there were only a few soldiers and soldiers escorting the prince in the field where their plane was about to land.That naturally led to various questions that finally popped into the heads of the soldiers who had just returned from a life-and-death battle."Didn't they hear the news of our victory?" one of the class one soldiers said in a disappointed tone.A class two soldier responded, "No way. They must have heard. This is the big victory they've been waiting for. They can't possibly not know.""That's right. The palace must have announced this happiest of news," another class one soldier chimed in.Meanwhile, Ben who was still nea
"Oh my, Xylan! Why do you doubt him?" Rowena replied in a low tone, as if afraid of waking up her little son who was asleep in her arms from her perhaps too loud voice.Xylan shook his head, "I didn't mean to doubt him at all. It's just that I know his main purpose for returning to this palace, Rowena. He's ....""Stop thinking like that! He will be very disappointed if he finds out that you doubt his loyalty," Rowena said sharply.Apparently the tone of her voice was a bit louder this time so the son, Kharel Mackenzie was disturbed from his sleep until the little boy stirred his body.Rowena again tried to make the little prince fall asleep again by holding him lovingly and tenderly.Xylan was silent, as if he knew his sister still hadn't finished talking.It turned out that Xylan was right. After his favorite nephew fell asleep quietly again, Rowena said again, "Xylan, why do you think Riley is so close to James Gardner? And why has he felt so guilty over the years?"Xylan looked at
In all the time Ben had known James, it was the first time he had seen James look so frustrated.Usually James always seemed flat, cold and often even emotionless. However, the very stiff James had changed.The anxiety and restlessness were clearly displayed. It certainly made Ben quite confused in response.But, he then heard Reiner say, "Calm down, James! It's not that you can't bring Riley home forever. However, you just can't bring her home right now."Reiner patted the slightly trembling James' back. Oh, Reiner was so surprised. Apparently James really thought deeply about the feelings of their best friend's son. "Remember, James. We'll go back there to look for her again, so you don't have to feel guilty," Reiner added.Instead of calming down, James became even more agitated. The young man turned to Reiner and replied, "How can I not feel guilty, Rei? I ... promised him I would bring his father home. But ... I failed to keep my promise." Ben swallowed, looking so sad to see
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 glanced at the Ground War Commander as if asking for help. Luckily
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.