Chapter 30

We arrived at Vincent’s tent not long after leaving the dead forest. Throughout the journey, my mind was filled with questions: why was this place so deserted? How come only Vincent and a few soldiers were left? Upon arriving at the tent, I could see a few other soldiers gathered there. There weren’t too many of them, but it was enough to show that this army hadn’t been completely destroyed.

It’s sad that when you look at it directly, they still persisted until the end to defend the border line. I really appreciate their loyalty to the Kingdom of Jordan. They should be rewarded for their hard work.

Upon seeing me, they immediately knelt down respectfully. I refrained from showing an awkward expression. They thought I was Dean, the son of King Domiano, their prince. In fact, only I know that I’m not Dean. I was just someone trapped in his body, in a world that felt increasingly strange and dangerous.

“No need to kneel,” I said, my voice sounding firmer than I expected. I had to keep playing Dean perfectly if I wanted to survive here. “Rise up, all of you.”

They obeyed and stood up, but their respectful gazes remained on me. Although my heart was still trembling with anxiety, I tried to act casual. So far, nothing looked strange or suspicious. They looked like tired soldiers after a long battle. However, something in my mind kept reminding me that this place wasn’t completely safe.

I decided to re-observe the surroundings. The ground here still felt scorched, although closer to the tents, conditions seemed a little better. The few remaining trees seemed to still be standing, albeit dead and deciduous. However, the eerie feeling did not disappear, as if something or someone was always lurking in the shadows.

‘Has nothing really happened in the meantime?’ I thought to myself, gazing at the forest not far from here. ‘But isn’t the situation here so chaotic? And from what I’ve heard from the others, isn’t King Fiodori not one to give up so easily?’

I was still suspicious, but I couldn’t articulate my suspicions clearly. I’m confused myself, but one thing is for sure, my gut feeling keeps telling me that the soldiers of Fiodori haven’t returned until now. It’s a strange feeling, even though it’s clear that only the troops from the Kingdom of Bordan are left here.

I have to be careful. Maybe this is just a temporary calm before the big storm comes. I considered several options in my mind, should I warn the warriors who are staying here to be more alert? Or should I send a message to King Domiano first to ask him to raise more troops? This decision was not easy, and time was running out.

While I was still deep in thought, Vincent called us to join him for a meal in the soldiers’ tent. I decided to go along. Maybe while eating, I could gather more information from them.

Inside the tent, the atmosphere felt a little warmer although it was still full of tension. We sat around a simple table, and the food was already served. The aroma of warm bread and grilled meat filled the air, though I still felt anxious about actually enjoying this meal.

As we ate, I tried to glean information from the soldiers about the state of the enemy before they retreated. “How did they move before they retreated?” I asked, trying to sound as usual.

One of the soldiers shrugged. “They just retreated, Your Majesty. It was as if the order came suddenly, without any prior signs.”

That answer made me frown. Retreating without a last stand? That didn’t sound like the style of the Fiodori army. They are known to be persistent and never give up easily. Something was not right here.

Vincent, who was sitting not far from me, suddenly chimed in. “My assumption, Your Majesty, is that they are re-strategizing. I’m sure they are also improving their weaponry and possibly adding troops before attacking again.”

I looked at Vincent intently. His words made sense, but there was still something nagging at the back of my mind. “You guys actually want to return to the center of the kingdom, right?” I asked, trying to probe further.

Vincent nodded. “That’s right. We wanted to return to the center of the kingdom after this battle, but we chose to keep guarding the border until the message we sent to the center had arrived.”

My eyes widened at that. “You sent a message? How long ago was the message sent?”

“It’s been a few days, Your Majesty,” he replied calmly.

My heart was instantly filled with anxiety. The message pigeons couldn’t have taken that long. If they had sent the message more than a day ago, it should have reached the royal center by now. What was going on here?

“Oh my,” I muttered, my feelings starting to burn with worry and anger. “This is some kind of mistake! The kingdom center’s response is so slow. Message pigeons don’t take that long to send messages. If you had sent the message for more than a day, it would have reached the royal center by now.”

I looked at the soldiers around me with mixed feelings. How could they possibly survive in this state, without any additional help coming? How could the royal center not respond to their message?

Anger and worry continued to swell in my chest, until suddenly something strange happened. My vision began to blur. I blinked my eyes, trying to focus, but everything felt increasingly blurry. My head started to feel dizzy, and my body seemed to lose its balance.

“Something is... wrong...” I whispered weakly.

I quickly stood up, trying to control myself, but my legs felt weak. I looked around, trying to ascertain if the other soldiers were also feeling the same way. However, strangely, only me and a few of my soldiers seemed to be staggering. The soldiers who were already here, including Vincent, seemed fine. They sat quietly, and some even seemed to be smiling a little as if they were enjoying the situation.

The suspicion that had been instilled in me from the start now exploded into unstoppable fear. “What... is happening...” I muttered, my hand tried to reach for my sword, but the energy in my body seemed to vanish.

It’s bad, are we being trapped? I’m so scared that I’m going to lose consciousness. Because if I lost consciousness, people would easily do bad things to me.

Before I actually lost consciousness, my gaze caught the expressions of Vincent and his colleagues. Their faces now looked changed. Their smiles, which had originally looked friendly, had now turned into wide, triumphant grins.

“So... this is their plan...” I thought, but before I could finish the sentence in my mind, darkness enveloped my consciousness, and I fell to the ground.

At that moment, I knew we had fallen into a trap. I was really upset that they weren’t good people. It turned out that this was the true picture of my premonition. It turned out that the ones who committed treason here were Vincent and his friends.