It was evening and Commander Iria was in her mansion. It had been a week since she returned to her mansion and she had recovered from the poison. Her fever was gone and she slowly started her training again.
Inside her huge chamber, she was sitting on a chair behind her desk with a small letter in her hand. She already received the letter in the evening the day before yesterday but she was still surprised by it. Not to mention that how this letter reached her hand was quite out of ordinary.
When she returned from the camp in the evening the day before yesterday, she finds this letter placed in her desk here... inside her chamber. Someone managed to successfully scale her walls and even entered her chamber... the Masked Commander's chamber to put this letter!
Whoever did it should be very skilled! However, she didn't have to be wary about it. She knew with whose order the letter came.
When the Commander heard the sound of knocking on her door, she responded and Rion walked inside in a hurry.
"Commander, I located Colson Leland!"
"Where is he?" she quickly asked, relieved by the good news.
Fortunately, she saw Colson Leland a few times during her journey to Nardodia. She still remembered how he looked like and with the help of an artist, they managed to draw the portrait of the man to make Rion's investigation a lot easier.
"At a small inn called 'Haven Inn' in the outskirts of the capital. He is staying with one man who seems to be a soldier," Rion replied.
"Well done, Rion," the Commander commented and rose from her seat. "Now, we just have to make sure that we don't lose him. Then everything will be revealed."
"I will tell the men to be alert, Commander," Rion promptly said.
As they can't identify the traitor, they couldn't use soldiers from the Army to do this task and instead, the Commander told him to hire some men who worked for money. The men didn't have to know the details and only worked on finding Colson Leland.
"Alright. Return there and I will come later. I need to meet someone first," the Commander uttered. Then they both left the mansion but walked in different paths.
* * *
It was almost midnight and everywhere was dark. Commander Iria was in the woods that was near the farming area in the capital. Watching the scene that was unfolded a few steps away, Commander Iria was reminded of what the Second Prince told her more than a week ago.
Many things happen in the dark.
Hiding behind one huge rock with Rion, her hands squeezed the rock as hard as she could! They started following Colson Leland about an hour ago and that lead them to the one who bore the despicable word.
Traitor.
She could clearly hear everything they discussed... a disgusting plan. As expected of the scheming King, the plan was very perfect. If she didn't find it out now, her life and her army will surely crumble soon!
At one point, she even wanted to go out and kill the traitor right now and then! However... the pain she felt made her weak. Betrayal in any form was always hurtful!
Rion felt the same. He tightly clenched his fist to keep himself in check! However, he glanced at his Commander from time to time, wondering what she would do. Much to his surprise, the Masked Commander didn't do anything even when the two persons separated and walked their own paths!
A sense of guilt invaded his mind in a split second! If she was sick, he's the one who was responsible for the army. However, he failed to keep things in control. Not to mention that the betrayal hit him hard too!
"Commander, I -"
"Not now," Iria Alewine uttered, forbidding him from saying more. "We have more urgent matters."
Still sitting behind the huge rock, Rion narrowed his eyes. The scene he just witnessed lived in his mind and he was unable to brush it off.
"What will you do, Commander?" he asked.
"Let's see. Maybe even wait," was the Masked Commander's response.
Wait? Rion even thought that he heard her wrong!
"But in a few days, they plan to... "
"I know." Iria Alewine stood up and glanced down at Rion. "Return to the camp. I'll be at my mansion. And remember this, Rion. Feign ignorance."
Rion remained still for a while as his Commander's words put him in a daze. However, when he saw the Commander leaving the woods, he quickly stood up and followed her.
He told himself that she knew what she did. She was never the type to be reckless even when things were difficult. He should believe in her but...
It was more than hard to be calm when three more days passed.
"Commander, if their plan went well, you will be in danger," Rion said to the Masked Commander who was standing inside her tent in the camp. "We already know who the traitor is and I know that it will be hard. However, your life and the army is on the line. You know that there are many officials who see you as a threat. They will never give up on the chance to get rid of you."
Despite what Rion said, Commander Iria stood still, glancing at the part of the map that covered Nardodia.
"Commander," Rion called out again, almost desperate.
"Rion, this is my last and only way of giving that traitor a chance. You should trust me," Iria Alewine finally said and turned around to look at her right-hand man. "If the traitor missed this chance and carry on with the first plan, that will be the furthest they get. Aryan Tripas won't get to witness what he want to see."
"Commander -"
"Keep this in mind, Rion. You know the first step of their plan and if that happened, don't lose your cool or approach the traitor. Everything will be over in a day and if necessary, I will send over someone to tell you what to do," Iria firmly said.
Before Rion could say anything, one soldier of the Alewine Army entered the tent and informed the Commander that a soldier from the palace came to see her in the King's order. Then she told the soldier to let him in.
"Greetings, Commander. His Majesty summoned you to the palace. He wants you to come right away," the soldier from the palace said to the Masked Commander.
Noticing the anxiety in Rion's eyes, Commander Iria lightly patted him on the arm. "Trust me and remember what I said," she muttered and left for the palace with the soldier.....
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