Captain Otto of the Iorenti Guards gave a light salute to Zer’s return.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“It was you who had a hard time. But why only this? Where are the other squad members?”
Zer’s expression darkened as he looked around to grasp the situation.
Among the prisoners they had barely rescued, many were injured.
As their comrades returned alive, those who had been waiting moved busily for emergency treatment.
“Many of us could not join because we were scattered by the imperial army’s search yesterday.”
“Our damage is significant this time.”
“Yes. The captain also suggested we retreat after this rescue mission.”
“I suppose we must. Everyone is too exhausted. What about the imperial army? The captain said they just marched on.”
“Yes. They seemed to have left Mount Tarence by tonight.”
“That’s why the captain hurried. We need to return to the palace quickly to prepare for the attack.”
Guard Captain Zer lightly patted Otto’s shoulder.
“But why are there only twentynine?”
“The princess will be here soon.”
Zer remembered the twentynine returnees, including the princess, and answered calmly.
“No, there were thirty prisoners on our side, excluding the princess. Only twentynine have come.”
“No, we had twentynine prisoners.”
“No. We’ve been checking since morning, and there were thirty prisoners tied to the stake.”
“No. There were twentynine when I checked before I was tied to the stake.”
“Then who is the one missing?”
Zer felt his mind go blank as if he had swallowed a chunk of cold ice.
“Captain Otto.”
At the sudden shout, Zer and Otto turned their heads at the same time.
“The captain is acting strange.”
“What is?”
“No. That prisoner is strange. He dares to hold the captain.”
Upon his subordinate’s report, Zer approached the end of the hill and raised his binoculars.
The golden hair fluttering in the shadows of the moonlight was clearly visible.
Even the disrespectful prisoner who dared to touch the royal body.
A deep groan flowed from Zer’s throat.
His captain and the unidentified prisoner holding the captain.
The many figures surrounding them were reflected in Zer’s binoculars.
Even the sharp shimmer of the silver decoration reflected in the moonlight.
Their captain, the Princess of Iorenti, had become the thirtieth prisoner.
By the fake thirtieth prisoner hidden among them.
((( ))) ((( ))) ((( )))
The light of the lantern was dimly lit in the commander’s tent.
Aaron sighed, and the lantern light fluctuated greatly.
The tent bathed in red light was cozy and warm.
However, Aaron’s deep gaze penetrating the space was sharper than ever.
“She was a woman.”
Aaron, burying his tired body deep in his chair, shone his hand in the lantern light.
A faint bloodstain, like the lantern, was smudged on the hand that had grasped the prisoner’s arm.
Aaron pulled out a white handkerchief, wiped his hand, and looked at the woman in front of him.
“I thought the wrist was thin and the body small.”
It was that petite woman who had led the elite soldiers, made day and night surprise attacks for ten days, and held the imperial army’s ankle.
At the completely unexpected fact, Aaron burst into laughter with a ridiculous expression.
“I was completely blindsided.”
The prisoner Aaron had caught was tied to the tent’s pillar.
The prisoner, leaning weakly against the pillar, exhaled a thin breath.
Aaron’s ashgrey gaze flowed down along the breathlike golden hair.
“You’re really a surprise in many ways.”
The series of processes he had gone through to catch the woman in front of him swept through Aaron’s mind.
He thoroughly searched Mount Tarence last night, caught the bait, and tied it up in a visible place.
While his adjutant Colin acted like a commander and led the army towards the capital, he sneaked into the prisoners.
Like the other prisoners tied to the stake, Aaron endured the sharp sunlight and kept reminding himself.
The fluttering black robe and black mask.
The smile drawn behind the black mask, the blue pupils like a lake.
The guy who jumped off the cliff and ran away even after being shot by him.
Compared to the thirst for the guy who missed him in front of him, enduring without a sip of water was nothing.
And the one he had trapped and waited patiently to catch was a woman.
Aaron tilted his head slightly and propped his chin with one hand.
What else is she hiding?
“Name? Age?”
“……”
“Affiliation?”
“……”
“Position?”
“……”
The woman glared at Aaron with cold eyes.
Despite the myriad questions hurled at him, he remained tightlipped.
The light from the red lantern spread through his blue eyes, casting an eerie glow.
Aaron felt a thirst so intense that it seemed as if his entire body would evaporate, and he stared at the woman.
“Are you perhaps the Holy Maiden of Eorenti? Did you receive a divine revelation and come to save the country?”
Despite Aaron’s sarcastic remark, the woman had no reaction.
Only her long, dense, golden eyelashes fluttered as if alive.
“Seems like you don’t want to speak.”
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
