Simultaneously, Gun swiftly threw the dagger into the bushes.

“Ugh!”

A masked man, groaning, tumbled out of the bushes.

Yeonwoo, wide-eyed like a startled rabbit, gazed at the fallen man.

Gun hadn’t been threatening Yeonwoo, but was on guard against the man hiding in the bushes.

The man, hit precisely in the heart by the dagger, wasn’t wearing the uniform of Gwangho’s troops.

“Tsk!”

Gun clicked his tongue in frustration, muttering in a low voice.

“We’ve been discovered. Get down.”

“What? Ugh!”

Before Yeonwoo could grasp his words, she was grabbed by the nape by Gun.

Holding her nape, Gun swiftly pulled her upper body close to the ground.

Yeonwoo barely avoided her face hitting the dirt.

Then, an arrow shot rapidly, piercing the tree where Yeonwoo had stood.

―Whiz!
Had Gun not grabbed Yeonwoo’s nape, the arrow would have pierced her head.

Gun usually bathed in a quieter, less frequented part of the river than the Gwangho troop’s usual spot.

As usual, Gun came to the river to bathe, but he emerged promptly from the water, sensing danger in the bushes.

It was clear that in the shallow river with only low rocks, they’d be sitting ducks for any attack.

With no information about the enemy, Gun was watching secretly when he saw Yeonwoo passing by unprotected and knew he had to intervene for her safety.

Just as he saved Yeonwoo in that moment of crisis, another arrow flew towards them.

Gun quickly drew his sword and deflected the incoming arrow with his blade.

He then swiftly drew another dagger and threw it towards the direction the arrow had come from.

“Ugh!”

Another masked man in the trees, presumably the archer, fell with a groan.

Again, the dagger had precisely targeted the man’s heart.

Crouched low, Gun muttered to himself while scanning the surroundings.

“One left? No. Two.”

As he was locating the remaining enemies, another masked man emerged from the bushes.

“Die!”

The man charged at Gun with a yell.

Gun swiftly swung his sword, and the man’s head separated from his body, hovering in mid-air.

Simultaneously, another masked man jumped out and aimed a knife at Gun’s back.

Gun turned around quickly, but it was too late to counter the incoming blade.

Cursing his delayed reaction, Gun muttered.

“Damn it……!”

As the masked man’s blade aimed for Gun’s heart, their distance closed.

Just as the blade was about to pierce Gun, blood burst from the man’s mouth.

“Ugh!”

An arrow had pierced the man’s chest, flying in unexpectedly.

The man slowly leaned forward and then fell.

Beyond the fallen man, Yeonwoo was seen aiming a bow.

She had evidently taken the bow from the first fallen masked man for self-defense.

In a critical moment, Yeonwoo had acted swiftly to prevent Gun from being injured by the man’s sword.

Gun checked for any remaining enemies.

With Yeonwoo’s target seemingly the last of the group, Gun relaxed his guard and approached her.

Gun spoke a word to Yeonwoo, who had essentially saved his life.

“Not bad.”

Yeonwoo then collapsed to the ground.

Drained of strength, her legs refused to move.

Gun quietly observed Yeonwoo sitting down.

“…….”

Her hands holding the bow trembled slightly, indicating this might have been her first time harming someone.

Yeonwoo’s quivering form overlaid with the image of a young boy.

The boy, with blood on his hands, was huddled and trembling.

Gun shook the image of the boy from his mind and spoke heavily.

“……The first time is the hardest.”

“Excuse me……?”

Yeonwoo looked confused, not understanding his meaning.

“It’s difficult at first, but you’ll get used to it.”

After a few seconds, Yeonwoo realized Gun was referring to killing.

And that his words were an awkward attempt to comfort the trembling Yeonwoo.

Yeonwoo nodded slightly.

As soldier Hong Yeonwoo, she would have to endure this countless times.
Receiving comfort from Gwangho’s troops was unexpected. I always thought Gun was an emotionless, icy man, but he seemed capable of caring for others.

I wondered how a prince could be so accustomed to killing.

With my trembling subsided, I had a chance to look around and asked, seeing the bodies strewn around.

“Who are these men?”

Who would dare attack Gun, even infiltrating Gwangho’s troops?

I couldn’t guess who would be bold enough to assault a prince of this nation.

Gun, who had been silent to my question, finally spoke.

“Keep silent about what you saw today.”

Gun seemed to have an idea who sent these masked men.

The one with the most power in this nation, next to the king.

It was certain he was behind this.

But, with only suspicions and no solid evidence, it was too risky to speak out.

Especially since an unrelated soldier like me could get entangled in this affair, caution was necessary.

Meanwhile, I had to put aside my curiosity about the assassins, obeying Gun’s order of silence.

“……Yes, I understand.”

“But how long do you plan to sit there?”

Gun extended his hand to me, still seated.

“Get up now.”

I tried to stand, taking his hand.

But my weakened legs wouldn’t move as I wanted.

Instead, I stumbled into Gun’s arms, my legs tangling awkwardly.

“I’m, I’m sorry, my lord!”

To make matters worse, my long hair got caught in Gun’s clothes.

Frantically, I tried to untangle it.

“I’ll get it out! Just a moment, please!”

But, in my haste, my hair only got more entangled.

Gun quietly watched me struggling against his chest.

Fresh from the river, I was still damp, my whole body soaked.

Up until then, Gun had thought nothing of it.

But seeing my long, wet hair and my clothes clinging to my body, his thoughts began to wander in a strange direction.

Even with hair let down, could this soldier before me really be a man?

How could this very feminine appearance be explained?

My slightly seductive appearance was stirring Gun’s senses.

Finally, I managed to free my hair from his clothing.

“Got it!”

Then, Gun suddenly grabbed my chin and jerked my face roughly side to side. It definitely didn’t look like a man’s face.

Confused by Gun’s abrupt action, I stuttered.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“Are you training properly?”

“Of course. I do it every morning and evening.”

That made it even more suspicious. Training should have made me more masculine, but the soldier in front of him seemed more feminine.

Blaming my wet, loose hair didn’t satisfy him.

He had specifically ordered double attention to this trainee’s training. Clearly, the training officer had been negligent.

But what bothered him most was his own heart fluttering for this effeminate trainee.

I couldn’t understand why this seemingly frail trainee kept catching my attention.

Gun clicked his tongue in annoyance and roughly pushed my chin away.

“I don’t like it.”
Yeonwoo, not even a woman, yet troubling my mind, was unsettling.

Seeing her still in such a feminine state, I resolved to tell the training officer to intensify her regimen.

Gun, irked, turned abruptly and headed towards the barracks.

Yeonwoo, bewildered by the whole sudden ordeal, watched Gun’s retreating figure.

“Did I do something wrong……?”

While gazing blankly at his departing back, Gun suddenly stopped.

Then, turning his head, he looked at Yeonwoo with displeasure.

“How long do you plan to stand there gaping?”

“I’m coming now!”

Yeonwoo found it hard to comprehend Gun, who seemed kind yet acted so unpredictably.

Warm one moment, cold the next.

Approaching, then pushing away.

Why was this man so fickle? Pondering this, Yeonwoo hastened her steps.