Without saying anything, Colson Leland stood still before the young Crown Prince who was angrily shouting at him despite his weak form. With his pale face, Crown Prince Emor looked so tired.
"Please have some rest, Your Highness," he said. "I will tell the doctor to check on you again."
Before Crown Prince Emor could say anything, the Minister bowed and walked out of the room.
Once the door was shut, Emor Tripas violently coughed, much to the anxiety of Alena!
"Emor... why must you shout in that condition? It's not good for you!"
"It's fine," the Crown Prince muttered when he finally stopped coughing and his hand briefly brushed his lips. "It's hard to be still after everything that he did."
"No matter what, your recovery should come first, Emor," Alena said to the Crown Prince. "We can only think of a way to leave this place after that."
*
Still hiding on the tree behind the thick and large leaves, General Randal's gaze was still fixated on the Crown Prince. Just thinking of Colson Leland made him clench his fists!
How can he do that while acting like a loyal subject in front of the King?!
The General instantly thought of a way to help the Crown Prince out and his friend crossed his mind. Then cautiously, he climbed down the tree and walked to his horse. Before Colson Leland and his guard could come out of the inn, he mounted on his horse and left the place in a hurry.
*
While the General was searching for Theo, he crossed paths with the soldiers that he led before and the Captain quickly approached him.
"General, a letter comes for you."
General Randal took the letter and when he read it, an idea instantly crossed his mind. Then he shifted his gaze back to the Captain. "Continue the work. I have something to take care of."
*
After looking for Theo for more than an hour, the General finally found his friend with the guards who worked with him on searching the Crown Prince. When Theo spot him, he quickly ran to him.
"Randal, what brings you here?"
The General guardedly glanced around their surroundings before he leaned a bit closer to his friend. "I know where the Crown Prince is."
Theo's eyes instantly grew wide in surprisement. "Where -"
"The place is quite guarded, Theo," the General said, interrupting his friend. "It won't be a good idea for just the two of us to go there but... I have an idea."
*
When it was evening, General Randal went to Colson Leland's mansion and finds the Minister in his chamber. Then he took a seat opposite the Minister.
"I receive a letter from His Majesty today, milord," Randal said to the Minister who raised a brow.
"A letter? Is there a problem?"
The General nodded. "As the soldiers of Jerivia who come to aid us suffered an ambush, we are in a dire situation and His Majesty wants me to speed up the work and return to the border with the grains as fast as possible."
He handed the letter to the Minister and when the latter read it, he nodded.
"Then you should hurry," Colson Leland said. "It's clear that the situation at the border is not good."
"I wonder if I should carry out the task at night as well, milord. If we work on it tonight and tomorrow, I think we will be able to return the next day," General Randal suggested to the Minister.
Without much thought, Colson Leland nodded. "That's good. Just do whatever you can to speed up the task."
"I understand, milord."
*
With the approval, General Randal immediately started leading the soldiers again. However, he only worked on collecting the taxes until the sunset.
Once the sun finally set, Randal led the soldiers to the outskirts of the capital where the inn was located. Though the soldiers didn't know what their General was up to, they had no choice but to follow him. When they finally reached the Grienn Inn, it was already dinner time.
Seeing the soldiers led by General Randal, Theo and the other guards came out of their hiding places and made their way to the soldiers.
"They are still there, right?" the General asked his friend.
Theo nodded. "Though it's hard to guess, I think there are about ten men inside. But nothing is sure."
Randal nodded. "Don't worry. Even if they are ten or more, we still outnumber them a lot."
The General glanced at the Grien Inn for a while before he turned to the confused soldiers behind him. "I'm sure that everyone heard about the disappearance of His Highness and I know you wonder why we are here. From what I saw today, the Crown Prince is held inside that inn and there are several men on the inside guarding him so that he won't be able to leave. His Highness is injured and he can't fight his way out."
Randal made a deliberate paused and continued, "Though I don't have any permission to launch the rescue, I know that rescuing His Highness is what we must do as a soldier and his subject. However, if anyone feels reluctant because an order is not given, I won't force you. But know this. Even if anything goes wrong, I will take all responsibilities as the General."
General Randal looked at the soldiers who appeared to be taken aback. They stood still on their places and glanced at the Grien Inn before they exchanged glances with each other. Slowly, the General noticed determination in their eyes and he understood that they had made up their minds. Then he turned to his friend. "I think we are ready now."
Theo turned to the other guards who rushed towards the inn and deliberately made some noise to draw the attention of the men inside. The plan worked as someone quickly walked outside only to be knocked down right away by the guards!
Seeing this, the other men came out in a hurry and with the gesture from General Randal, the soldiers unsheathed their swords and instantly attacked Colson Leland's men to force their way inside and to the room where the Crown Prince was held......
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