Since James had not moved from where he was standing and was instead as still as a statue, Rowena immediately glanced at Xylan.Xylan of course understood her sister's meaning so she quickly said, "General Gardner, are ... are you alright?"James snapped out of his reverie and nodded at Xylan. With confusion ruling his mind, he still stepped into the king's room.Once he entered the area for the first time, James could see the body of the king of Ans De Lou Kingdom lying stiffly on the luxurious bed. He could only exhale softly at the sight of the person who had been responsible for the complicated relationship between his father and Riley's father. As a result of the dead king's mistake, his relationship with Riley was strained.However, the king had apologized to him and he had forgiven all his mistakes so there was no anger or resentment in James' heart.Instead, he was saddened by the loss of Keannu Wellington. "Your Majesty, I never thought that our meeting before I left for the
"So, you can give us time to mourn our family members, right? You have not forgotten that Keannu Wellington was not only the king of this country, but he was the head of our family. He is my husband, the father of my two children and a grandfather to my grandson," Monica said in a flat but firm tone.The queen's words apparently succeeded in making the palace officials look at each other and finally fell silent.Some of them seemed to take a few steps back as if they really didn't want to disturb members of the royal family anymore. James Gardner himself smiled to see the palace officials, some of whom were important ministers, not moving in front of the queen. James could not help but be impressed by the queen's ability to make people obey her orders. It was because according to James it was very rare.Before he gave up his post as a deputy general of war, he had met so many queens from various kingdoms around the world. However, not many queens had authority. Monica Wellington was
Philip Crawford coughed as he heard James Gardner's words.James raised his right eyebrow, seemingly waiting for Philip's explanation.Philip cleared his throat and replied without daring to look at James, "I am not the one accusing you, General Gardner. It's just that ... the entire population of the Ans De Lou Kingdom is talking about this. Let's just say I'm just relaying what they're thinking."James laughed softly, making Philip instantly turn to him. Likewise, Monica and her two children looked surprised at the war general's reaction."W-what's so funny about what I said that you're laughing, General Gardner?" Philip said in an offended tone.James stopped his laughter and sighed softly before saying, "There's nothing funny. It's just that I find you very cowardly, Prime Minister.""Cowardly? What do you mean, General?" Philip widened his eyes, clearly taking offense."That's right. Of course you're just a coward. You're acting on behalf of the people's opinions, when it was you
"Uh, if you're not ready to give up that important position, shouldn't you be careful when you speak, Prime Minister? Remember, what you're talking about is not appropriate," James said in a sharp tone.Anyone who heard James' threatening voice would surely be afraid. James waited but he was sure that his threat would be effective making that prime minister afraid of him.And unexpectedly, James Gardner's threat succeeded in silencing old Philip. Philip no longer dared to speak and remained silent. However, his resentful gaze could still be seen by James.Of course, you must be very upset with me, Prime Minister. However, you certainly don't want to lose your position just because of that ridiculous accusation, James thought.This made Monica Wilhelm and her two children feel a little calmer."Y-Your Majesty, I... I ...." Philip tried to speak again, but his nervousness was so obvious that James knew the old man would not dare to say anything nonsense again. James immediately respond
However, before James Gardner could think further about it, Monica Wilhelm, the queen who had just lost her husband said, "Never mind, there's no need to prolong it anymore."Afterward, Monica turned her body around and faced the palace officials who were still in the palace. She sighed softly before saying, "As I wanted earlier, are you willing to let us mourn the passing of your king before we organize a funeral ceremony for him?"Without hesitation, all the palace officials unanimously replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."One by one, the palace officials left the king's residence area, leaving only the special soldiers protecting the king, queen, princess and crown prince. Meanwhile, some of James Gardner's men also remained in the area as per James' orders. "General Gardner, please help," Monica said. James nodded and immediately did his duty as the kingdom's war general to prepare all the necessities used for security.James also ordered his men to summon three war commanders and seve
"Tell me, so I can do what I should, Your Royal Highness," James added.Xylan returned the war general's gaze with a look that looked very serious. The young man who had originally made one of the major decisions finally opened his mouth, "It has to do with ... the determination of the new palace officials after I take office as king."James was silent for a moment, looking a little surprised. It was only natural that Xylan Wellington had been thinking about his future reign. However, he didn't think it was the right time.His father hadn't even been buried yet. Why was he already thinking of something else? Isn't he still grieving? James thought.Xylan cleared his throat, causing James to give him a strange look. Not wanting James to think strangely about him or even misunderstand him, Xylan hurriedly explained, "General Gardner, it's not what you're thinking."James did not respond immediately and instead waited for Xylan's further explanation.Xylan himself was smart enough to qu
"Yes, that's right. My personal assistant who ... is currently outside the door of my father's residence," Xylan replied, not seeming to find anything strange about his answer.James was still so shocked that he was left speechless, at a loss for what to say in response to Xylan's explanation."Why, General Gardner?" Xylan asked as he looked at James who was not speaking.James moistened his lower lip, still thinking of the right words.However, Xylan couldn't wait for him so he spoke again, "General Gardner, I know what you're thinking."James blinked his eyes, looking stunned.Xylan let out a long breath, "This must be the status of Gary Davis who is my personal assistant, right?"James' eyes widened slightly until he then looked at the crown prince with an astonished look.That's what I mean, why would you even think of making a personal assistant an advisor to the king? Have you ... lost your mind, Your Royal Highness? James thought to himself.Uh, James Gardner actually never judg
The indecision on Xylan Wellington's face was evident. James Gardner, who felt that he had succeeded in making the crown prince realize the big mistake Xylan was about to make, called out, "Your Highness."Xylan flinched slightly when he heard his name being called by James.The young man turned to James, but still did not open his mouth.At that moment, James Gardner was certain that Xylan would change the decision they had just discussed.However, he suddenly saw Xylan smiling at him. That of course made James blink his eyes in confusion.But, within seconds, his confusion was answered. He heard Xylan say, "General Gardner, what you said is true. Everything is right. I ... might get some opposition for choosing Gary Davis as the king's advisor."He nodded. James immediately got a bad feeling that he didn't want to imagine."But, General Gardner. I have found no other good candidate than Gary Davis for that position. And ...."He paused for a moment, seemingly thinking about somethin
Foei Maccray turned around and looked sarcastically at the junior.When he saw Lory Blackwell's compliance, Foei Maccray smiled wryly as if satisfied that he had succeeded in making one of his juniors submit to his orders.Of course, that made him feel big-headed. Hence, Foei haughtily said again, "Keep standing here until we are out of your sight. After that ... then you can walk."Lory Blackwell did not reply. But Foei took his silence as obedience so he said, "Good! You should obey your seniors' orders."Lory just swallowed without daring to say a word. However, Foei did not need an answer so he just continued walking along with his good friend, Derrick Weybe who looked bored in Lory's neighborhood. The other soldiers followed the two senior soldiers with mixed feelings. Apparently there were some of them who were starting to feel sympathetic towards Lory. But due to their status and class being much lower than the two senior soldiers who were bullying Lory, they chose to be cowa
Derrick snorted in annoyance, while Foei immediately responded, "Oh, you seem to be very timid!" Foei cast his gaze at Derrick and then flashed a smile with a mocking expression. Derrick shook his head, also smiling mockingly."If you're scared, why would you want to participate in this important mission?" Foei said.Lory quickly shook her head, "I'm not afraid ... I’m just-""Huh? Not afraid? Then, why did you just say that?" Derrick cut Lory off, as if he deliberately didn't want to hear Lory speak."You're obviously a coward! Oh my! You should have stayed in the palace and not joined the search for General Mackenzie," Foei explained with a lopsided smile. "Coward!" Derrick taunted again. "A pathetic soldier like you who dares to tell us we're slow? Who do you think you are, my superior?" Foei said with a cold tone and a dismissive expression.Oh, he was really very satisfied seeing Lory's helpless expression.The two men deliberately wanted to humiliate Lory. Their intentions w
Seeing James' confident smile, Ben instantly realized that his best friend was unpredictable. But, when he recalled the relationship between James and Riley in the past, he felt that everything James said was true. Riley had always been completely open to James. The young man only hid one thing, which was the fact that he was William Mackenzie's son. Other than that, Riley had no other secrets from James. Meanwhile, Riley was also the only person who could understand James very well. Only Riley is able to understand every action taken by James and James only wants to talk about things with Riley.So, seeing all these facts, Ben finally nodded, "Okay, then. What should I do?"James snorted and immediately put on a sullen face, "Come on, Ben! I told you earlier."Ben rolled his eyes, "I still don't understand. Please explain in more detail!"With an annoyed expression James replied, "If I had the authority to downgrade soldiers, I would definitely downgrade you to class two."Ben's n
Although they seemed confused by the war general's order, they still unanimously replied, "Yes, General."It wasn't long before all the soldiers formed a line where they would prepare to search for Riley Mackenzie as ordered by James Gardner.Most of the first class soldiers did not hesitate to do the task, but there were some of the class two soldiers who seemed to be unsure of what they were going to do.Two of them were Foei Mccray and Derrick Weybe."I don't understand why General Gardner is searching the forest. How could General Mackenzie be here? This doesn't make sense," Derrick said, who had just lined up facing the front of the forest.The twenty-six year old young man was in the front row with his best friend so they could still talk in a fairly low tone of voice.Foei nodded in agreement, seemingly thinking the same as Derrick, "He's probably too frustrated to pick a spot."Derrick exhaled harshly then glanced towards the front where several class one soldiers seemed to be
Gary Davis shook his head with a super confused expression. He couldn't guess what might have happened. He himself did not know James Gardner very well. He entered the palace when James Gardner had just resigned from the post of deputy general of war. So basically he had only met James a few times. It was different with Riley Mackenzie. He had met Riley countless times. In fact, it could be said that he already knew how Riley behaved. However, he could not think of anything about James Gardner. He was just like a blind man when it came to James. "Even young General Mackenzie is not suspicious of you. He's been in the palace longer than that general. I don't understand," Elena said, who also hadn't found the answer to the question that was bothering her.She also still didn't understand. However, a thought occurred to Gary. "Maybe I was in too much of a hurry, Gran," Gary said suddenly.Elena frowned, "What do you mean, Gary? What kind of hurry?"Gary sighed softly, "Approaching
Elena Goldwin bit her lip, feeling she had done something wrong. The old woman said, "I'm sorry, Prince ... oh, I mean ... Gary."Seeing Elena's soulful face, Gary became uncomfortable. He looked at the old woman who had taken care of him since he was a child. That woman had done so much for her family. Not only did she devote herself as a household assistant, she also became a substitute mother figure for his brother. Indeed, her age was more appropriate to be called a "grandmother", but her role was more suitable as a mother to herself and Rowen.Oh my! What have I done? She sacrificed so much, but what have I done? The old woman who has helped me with all her time and energy, I almost made her cry, Gary thought in exasperation.The young man touched Elena's hand, startling the woman. She then heard Gary say, "You don't have to apologize, Gran. And I ... I'm the one who should be apologizing to you. Please, forgive me for getting angry just because you called me that."Elena ga
Gary Davis sighed softly. Guilt immediately rushed into his heart.He immediately positioned his seat towards his little brother and looked at him with a guilt-filled gaze.The boy's gaze was so innocent that it made Gary's feelings even more chaotic.Rowen, his little brother, was still very young, but he had to bear problems that he shouldn't have thought about at such a young age. In a very gentle tone Gary said, "Rowen, I'm sorry. I ... know you must feel very lonely. But ... believe me I'm doing all this for us. I-""You risked your life, Brother. I ... I ...."Gary shook his head, "Don't think about me! You just have to grow up healthy and safe. So that when we get what is rightfully ours, we can stand tall."Suddenly, Gary's words made Rowen look down sadly. "Gary, can't you just leave it all behind?"Rowen made Gary frown but he smiled a little before saying again, "What do you mean? Didn't you say you wanted to live in the palace with me? Why are you saying that now?"The 10
Actually it was not only Doris Tan who found it hard to believe what Xylan had decided. However, his three fellow bodyguards also felt the same way.In fact, the images of the three's expressions were very clear from just one look. Especially Jim Chesnut who looked so shocked at Xylan's words. His mouth even opened wide and he forgot to close it again. "Y-Your Majesty, I'm very confused. I ... I-""Doris Tan," Xylan cut Doris off with a stern tone.Doris fell silent, as if knowing that Xylan would soon explain the viceroy's reasoning. Sure enough, it wasn't long before Xylan said, "Hm, you ... did do the right thing by admitting your mistake."He paused for a few seconds, deliberately to give Doris time to calm down before he continued what he wanted to say.When Doris seemed much calmer, Xylan continued, "However, you did it in the wrong way."Ludos Flee frowned, looking confused. Meanwhile, Jim Chesnut looked thoughtful as he squinted slightly.What's wrong? Jim wondered to himsel
In fact, Xylan Wellington never cared about what the people in his palace said. He tended to ignore the gossip about him.In fact, there was once a time when there was a visit from another kingdom, at which time Xylan was asked by his father to greet one of the princes. However, he who was not very good at socializing actually made the king's son from the other kingdom uncomfortable. As a result, there was a bit of a commotion at that time. Xylan was accused of being rude to the prince so that the prince did not feel at home in Ans De Lou Kingdom and ended up leaving the palace sooner than he should have.The situation in the palace was a bit chaotic. Many people considered Xylan to be totally at fault for causing an important cooperation to fail. However, the young man did not care at all and never explained anything.His father, King Keannu at that time also never asked his son and instead seemed to tolerate Xylan's behavior. But, King Keannu had a good reason: he knew his son's ch