"Why are you here?"
Commander Iria was surprised to see Crown Prince Zaro who suddenly appeared at her door.
It was almost time to start the celebratory feast and... shouldn't the Crown Prince be in the palace by now?
"What else would my reason be other than to pick you up?" Zaro Aventine simply said with a little smile and added, "You're the center of this feast."
"You know I hate that," the Commander retorted, making her friend frowned.
"Don't be too helpless. It's not like the Commander-in-chief can skip the feast," Zaro sternly said as if he was a father scolding his daughter. However, his expression soon turned pleasant again and this made Iria chuckle.
"It won't be long. If you are bored, I'll accompany you all the time," he calmly added.
Iria Alewine nodded and looked at her friend with an amusing smile. "I'm already done preparing. Let's go."
*
In a huge hall where the celebratory feast will be held, Commander Iria was sitting on a chair right beside the Crown Prince. Prince Orius was already sitting two chairs away from her and though she often glanced at him, she felt like the Second Prince was ignoring her.
Maybe he had switched back to one of his two selves again.
"My father will enter soon with the Crown Prince of Nardodia," Crown Prince Zaro said to Iria as he slightly closed the gap between them. Hearing this, Iria shifted her attention back to her best friend.
"Have you met the Crown Prince of Nardodia?" she asked. She was still curious about the mysterious person who holds the title.
"I greet him with Orius when he arrived in the evening," Zaro Aventine promptly replied and added, "He is the younger son of the late King of Nardodia and he is the same age as you."
He was indeed the younger son of the late King Rowan Tripas of Nardodia. Wasn't he already dead years ago?
"You're surprised too, right?" Zaro asked when he saw her reaction. "It turned out that the current King of Nardodia brought him out of the palace and saved him when Nardodia fell. Since then, he is raised by the current King who is his uncle."
The current King, Aryan Tripas of Nardodia who was the former Duke of Borland and the younger brother of the late King Rowan Tripas.
Iria Alewine had also heard how the power struggle between the two brothers weakened Nardodia to a great extent. If not, Qalagon won't be able to defeat them that easy years ago.
The younger brother was vying for his older brother's throne and the latter was no better as he was known for being a tyrannical and greedy King without a heart.
Commander Iria was snapped out of her stupor by her friend's voice.
"My father and the Crown Prince of Nardodia are here."
Hearing what Zaro said, Iria Alewine rose from her seat and shifted her gaze to the door where she saw two men entering. Everyone in the huge hall bowed to show their respects when the two royals walked past them.
One was King Tobias and the other young man beside him should be the Crown Prince of Nardodia but... one clear glance of the man and the Commander's face turned pale!
Unconsciously, the cup of wine which she holds slipped from her hand and fell to the floor! As the arrival of the two royals rendered everyone silent, the sound of the falling cup echoed in the huge hall, attracting all attention towards her, including... the young man who was called the Crown Prince of Nardodia.
There was a hint of amazement on the face of the Nardodian Crown Prince when his gaze landed on the infamous Masked Commander. However, it went unnoticed.
"Are you alright?" It was Crown Prince Zaro who looked at his best friend with a flustered face. When he glanced at her right hand, he takes out a handkerchief and wiped the wine away from her hand.
The action of the Jerivian Crown Prince attracted much attention and... the Nardodian Crown Prince was no exception.
By the time Iria Alewine realized what was going on, King Tobias and the Crown Prince of Nardodia were already standing right before her.
"Is something going on?" King Tobias promptly asked her. He too was amazed by how the Masked Commander suddenly lose her composure.
That's not like her.
"Everything's fine, Your Majesty. I apologize," the Commander promptly said. She could sense how the gaze of the Nardodian Crown Prince was fixated on her but... she refused to look at him.
King Tobias nodded and turned to the Crown Prince of Nardodia. "She is the main reason why we can have a celebratory feast tonight, Crown Prince Emor. Commander Iria Alewine of the Alewine Army or... the Masked Commander." He introduced Iria to the Nardodian Crown Prince who could barely hide his astonishment.
Then King Tobias shifted his gaze back to the Commander. "Iria, meet His Highness Crown Prince Emor Tripas of Nardodia."
Emor Tripas and not Klaus Ermias?
What nonsense was this?!
For a while, all Iria Alewine did was staring at the man whom she thought was a mere Captain of the Royal Army in Qalagon.
He was the Crown Prince of Nardodia?
She used to think that he was strange and too daring to be a mere Captain.
Was this why? Because he was born a royal?
Klaus Ermias whose real name was Emor Tripas didn't even attempt to avert the gaze of the infamous Masked Commander. Instead, he stood still and met her gaze with a calm facade and hide his uneasy heart.
"I never thought that the Masked Commander will be such a beautiful woman," he said to King Tobias with a smile before he turned back to Iria. "I have heard many rumors about you and I'm glad that I finally meet you in person, Commander Iria. Congratulations on your victory," he muttered the words with much difficulty.
The Masked Commander clenched her fist without anyone noticing. She was trying hard to stay calm though it was more than hard.
If he was a Prince of Nardodia, does that mean his purpose in joining the Qalagon Royal Army was... to keep an eye on their movement and become a spy to revive his fallen kingdom?
"Iria."
Once again, she was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Zaro muttering her name. She looked at his friend whose gaze directed her to the Nardodian Crown Prince.
She was yet to exchange his greeting.
Then she shifted her gaze back to the young man who turned out to be the newly crowned Crown Prince of Nardodia. "Thank you, Your Highness. Nice to meet you too," she finally uttered with reluctance.....
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