Sitting on her horse, Iria quietly stared at Emor Tripas.
Was it because he act like how she didn't expect? She was trying to guess what was on his mind.
The Queen recalled how the Crown Prince disappeared from the inn where he was supposed to be treated. Even now, she can tell that he still hasn't recovered completely.
What happened to him?
Despite the silence that already occupied the area for a while, Crown Prince Emor stood still without saying anything. Then finally, Iria gets off her horse and walked closer to Emor Tripas.
Her action drew the concern of everyone behind her and Orius even rode his horse forward.
"What happen to you?" Iria asked the Nardodian Crown Prince when she was standing right before him.
Emor Tripas maintained his silence for a while and said, "I was in the hand of a traitor but I already handle everything."
When Iria observed the look on Emor's face, she had many questions. However, she can't bring herself to ask him that. Not for now.
It's obvious that he was devastated right now.
"Take the corpse," she said to him. "My soldiers will retreat now."
With that said, Theo and General Randal carried the King's corpse while Alena walked to Emor Tripas who was still standing before Iria.
"I will see you soon," Emor said to Iria and finally turned around to enter the camp. However...
"When that time comes... "
He halted when he heard Iria and the latter continued, "Will it be as a friend or a foe?"
The Crown Prince stood still in his place and stared at his uncle's corpse that was just brought inside the camp. Then he eventually turned around, facing Iria once again. "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I don't want any more bloodshed. I won't change my mind."
Iria didn't say anything and only watched as Emor turned around and entered the camp with his friend beside him. Then she shut her eyes and covered it with her hand.
"Are you alright?" Orius asked as he rode his horse closer to her.
Turning towards her brother, Iria nodded. "Let's retreat."
* * *
Emor Tripas was standing inside a tent and his gaze was fixated on his uncle's corpse that was lying inside a coffin. With many things occupying his mind, Emor felt lost.
He didn't even know what to feel but the pain never leave him.
No matter what his uncle did to him, no matter how much his uncle dictated his life; he still remembered how he used to be the only one who cared for him in the darkest days of his life.
Thinking of the past only tormented Emor Tripas. He kept on wondering if things would be different if he arrived there a bit earlier.
Will the Qalagon Queen change her mind?
Judging from all the things that his uncle had done, he highly doubted that.
While the Crown Prince remained that way, General Randal walked inside the tent and bowed.
"Your Highness, we are all set to leave now. As you arranged, most of the soldiers will remain here with some Generals."
There was no response from the Crown Prince and Randal stood still, staring at the back of Emor Tripas.
"Your Highness."
"What do you think I should do, General Randal?" Emor Tripas asked. However, his gaze was still fixated on the corpse, never turning away even once.
"That's not my place to say, Your Highness," the General replied. "I'm just a General who only knows about war and military."
Hearing this, Emor Tripas finally turned around and faced the General. "But I'm asking you a question. Right now, my mind can't even function properly."
Randal lowered his gaze and gave a quick thought. "I think we need peace more than war, Your Highness. Though the main war is prevented, it already exhausts us economically. If it becomes any worse, we might need forever to recover." He made a deliberate pause and asked, "What about Alora and Azamet, Your Highness?"
"They made their decisions and I will make mine," Crown Prince Emor said in a rather firm voice. "Though I understand the situation, they can't be trusted now."
General Randal nodded and cautiously asked, "What about Qalagon, Your Highness? I mean... the Queen of Qalagon."
"She won't go back on her word," Emor Tripas said and shifted his gaze to his uncle's corpse again. "My uncle offered his life to her but... I can't even hate her or blame her," he muttered in a very low voice.
If his uncle didn't do all those things to the people she loved, then he might even be able to think about revenge but... he can't do that and instead, a part of him still felt grateful to her. A part of him still valued the friendship and trust that exist between them.
* * *
Iria was already back at the camp and right now, she was sitting on the bed right beside Arin.
"You do a great job, Iria. But why do you look so down?" The King paused and said, "Is it because of Crown Prince Emor?"
At this, Iria lifted her gaze and looked at Arin. "When I watch him desperately hugging Aryan Tripas's corpse, I don't even know how to behave, Arin," she said. "It even made me wonder if I was doing the right thing."
"Like you could have let him live?" Arin asked and Iria nodded.
"But no matter how much I think about it, it's not possible," the Queen stated. "We will only gain peace if Aryan Tripas is gone. If I let him live, our Qalagon will never be able to become prosperous. We will live in wary and war will make us weak all the time."
"You're right," Arin said with a nod. "Don't think too much, Iria. Though it will be hard for Emor, I believe that he won't change. He is very different from Aryan Tripas and we know that."
Recalling what Emor last said to her, Iria forced a smile. "We managed to avoid fighting the main war and that prevent the loss of more lives. That makes me happy, Arin.. Now, I believe that we will finally be able to build the kingdom that we dream of."
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