《Cavier Falcon Princess》 Chapter 1 Translator: Kimmy Proofreader: SunnyMay *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* I. Prologue ¡ºA long time ago, there lived a man with a blood of gold. His blood had the power to protect the lives of this land. He lived by the blue Vishen River and died in the Vishen River. Yes, the Vishen River flowing in front of the town. Legends say, the blood of gold still remains in the water, the Vishen River still producing gold. ¡» ¡ª The Founding Legend of Roymonde ?? *??:?????:*?? When Zelle woke up, she was above a perch. She just woke up yet she was starving. It was a strange hunger. It was a hunger that was stronger and more animalistic than normal hunger. And that feeling was very unpleasant. Zelle raised her brows. ¡®How long have I been asleep? No, how long have I lost consciousness?¡¯ Her last memories were when she was dragged somewhere and thrown to the floor, blindfolded. But the situation seemingly got better. She was in a place where green fields unfolded in front of her eyes and fresh air flowed beside her¡­. Am I in prison?! Zelle widened her eyes. She was trapped behind iron bars. No wonder. Where would a princess captured by the enemy stay? She would be imprisoned if not killed. But a prison in the outdoors seemed way too strange. To find out where she was, she glared outside the bars. She had no idea where it was. But it seemed like a forest. ¡®Which forest is this?¡¯ Forests were everywhere so she couldn¡¯t tell exactly where and which one she was in. ¡®Ah, please. Don¡¯t be somewhere outside our border. It will be difficult for the allies to rescue me then.¡¯ Anyway, guessing by how clear her eyesight was, her eyesight must have gotten better while she lost her consciousness. She could even see every single leaf swaying far, far away. Wow. Just as she was mesmerized, her legs wavered. Huh? When she finally got her balance back, she realized where she was sleeping on. Her feet were huddled on a thin stick-like thing. Eh? She was so surprised at the fact that she fell asleep on this thing and started rubbing her eyes. No, she tried to rub her eyes. But she had no hands to rub. ¡®Eh¡­..?¡¯ There was a¡­..wing instead of a hand. ¡®¡­¡­.!!!!¡¯ Surprised was not enough to describe how she felt. Zelle was so frightened that she fell off the perch. She instinctively tried to regain her balance but only flappings could be heard. Plat. She fell on the floor. She couldn¡¯t do anything even after she fell. No. This is a dream. It¡¯s a dream right? It would make more sense if I was dead. What¡­.are these wings¡­..? Zelle tried to wake from the dream. She tried to slap herself but it was impossible with these wings, So she decided to bite the wings. ¡®Ahhhh!!!¡¯ It was very painful. Zelle teared up and felt her mouth. Unbelievable. Instead of teeth¡­ There was a beak. Heeeeeeck!! Zelle was surprised again and started fluttering. Two feathers fell and floated around in the bird cage. ¡®No.¡¯ Zelle struggled inside the small bird cage. ¡®A bird. Am I dead?¡¯ If she was dead, it was already depressing enough that she did not have a peaceful death but becoming a bird was even more depressing. Wait. A bird? Then this prison¡­ Zelle looked around slowly from the floor to the ceiling. The iron bars she believed was a prison were¡­. A bird cage. Zelle screamed. ¡°Gweeckckckk¨C!!!!¡± A strange scream echoed from her throat. What is this? What is this beastly noise? Zelle tried to speak the language of the people. ¡°Gwechhhk¨C¡± Argh!!!!! Zelle screamed again . ¡°Gguwackekk¨C!!!!¡± and lost her consciousness. II. The Bird and the Human Zelle woke up because she was thirsty. As soon as she woke up she rushed towards the water in the dirty container. She tried gulping the water but none of the water entered her mouth. Only her hard beak tapped on the bottom of the container. She was already in the worst mood she could be in because of the hunger but now she was about to die because of the burning thirst. And she was about to go crazy because now that she didn¡¯t even know how to drink water. She had no time to sulk about her being a bird anymore. Zelle made every effort to remember how birds drank water. I have to live. I have to live. ¡­.Dang. Did my brain become a bird¡¯s too now that I became a bird? She couldn¡¯t remember. Zelle took her chances and opened her beak and used the bottom part of the beak to scoop up the water. Then she set her head upright. Was this how they did it? She tried to imitate it. She shook her head up and down to send the water down her throat. Ooh, it¡¯s working. Her mind got clearer now that her thirst was cleared. Zelle shook her head like crazy to drink the water. It was too refreshing for her to be ashamed of the way she was drinking. Zelle thought. ¡®Yea, at least I lived.¡¯ Eh? At least I¡­lived? Zelle thought for a moment about the meaning of ¡®living¡¯. In this context, ¡®living¡¯ did not apply to her. It applied to¡­this ¡®bird¡¯. ¡®I may be already dead.¡¯ Ueaaaaarhhhh¡ª!!! Zelle swung her wings and raged. She screamed at the overflowing anger. ¡°Gwechkkk!!! Ggweckkkk!!!!¡± Give me my life back!! Then, her wings were grabbed by something. She couldn¡¯t get out of it by force so she could only dangle her feet. What now? Zelle turned her face to glare at the thing that grabbed her. Eeeeck! A person? Zelle started pushing again at the surprise of seeing a human. The person grabbed her wings more tightly and mumbled. ¡°Is it sick?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Zelle immediately acted like she was dead. Now that she was a bird, it was not a good thing that she was caught by a human. Who knew what kind of a person caught her? Zelle did not know well about other things but she did know well about how cruel people could be. As soon as she pretended like she was dead, the hands grabbing her wings loosened. It seemed like the person was confused at the suddenly powerless bird. ¡®Seems like I¡¯m not his bird.¡¯ Zelle searched the surrounding. It was a little scratch on her ego that she eventually admitted she was a bird but right now she had to get out of this situation. But can I fly? I should fly to escape or whatever. Zelle twisted her wings. When the powerless bird started twitching its wings again, the hands completely loosened. It seemed like he was trying to look at her more carefully. Zelle quickly scratched the human¡¯s hands. ¡°Argh!¡± While the person was crouching from the pain, Zelle used his shoulders to push herself towards the sky. And she flapped her wings with all she got. Flap. Huh? Something is¡­ Flap flap. The wings¡­ She felt the ground growing further away from her. ¡®The wings¡­ seem too big for my body size?¡¯ Zelle kept flapping. Soon she was further away from both the man she scratched and the ground. ¡®Ah, I succeeded in escaping.¡¯ Suddenly she felt very proud of herself. How was that huh!! How was my scratch!! Kyahahahah!!! After laughing out of pride, she somehow felt like crying. ¡®Hey, I¡¯m a human. sob.¡¯ She was a human, but with no such thing as hands to wipe away her tears. ?? *??:?????:*?? Zelle landed on a nearby branch to rest her throbbing wings after flying for a long time. She landed like how the birds used their feet to grab the branch¡­ Eh? But the branch broke too easily. ¡°Ggwech!!¡± Zelle crashed to the ground with a short screech and frowned from the pain. Then a squirrel scurried up the tree Zelle just fell from. That coiled up tail swaying here and there felt like it was teasing her so she glared at it. The squirrel looked back and froze when it met eyes with Zelle. ¡®Whoa, won¡¯t you look at that? So I¡¯m stronger than a squirrel, huh?¡¯ Zelle lifted herself up and the squirrel ran off at an impressive speed. If she still had human eyesight, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to see it so clearly but she had a bird¡¯s exceptional eyesight. She could see the motion of the squirrel trying to run away so clearly. Zelle flapped her wings again and landed on a thicker branch. ¡°¡­..¡± She carefully lifted one foot up and looked down to observe her talon. It was shaped like a hook and was sharp¡­.and there were one, two, three, four¡­.. Zelle shot her head up. Wait! Is this¡­. ¡®Is this a bird of prey?¡¯ Zelle thought about the relatively huge wings compared to her body and the pain she felt when she bit her wings and trembled. A mirror, a mirror. She tried to look for a mirror in her pocket but soon sighed. ¡®Right, I am not wearing anything right now.¡¯ Zelle sprung up to the sky to look for a puddle or something to see her reflection. When she was at an altitude that was high enough, she could see the whole forest. ¡®Ah!¡¯ She was in awe. A bird¡¯s eye view. It was an amazing thing to look down at earth as a bird. The autumn forest with hints of gold between the lush green scenery filled her eyes. The trees below her swayed like silk. Everything was so clear and defined. And in that splendid sight, something caught her eyes. ¡°¡­¡­.!!¡± There was a flag of Roymonde, where she was a princess of. She did not even have to think twice to fly towards the flag. It was a confusing situation right now where she didn¡¯t even know where she was in the forest but that familiar flag felt so much like home. Her heart beat faster. It seemed like she was not so far from her Kingdom. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes and chat with me on Discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h TL/N: Zelle is short for Zelleine. Chapter 2 Translator: Kimmy Proofreader: SunnyMay *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Zelle flew past the raggy flag and landed on a nearby branch. ¡®Oh my goodness, I almost flew into it.¡¯ She misjudged the direction so she barely dodged the tree in front of her. The branch she landed on was way off from where she initially decided to land too. It must be because she was not used to flying yet. Zelle hurriedly looked around the flag. There was someone around it. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Zelle stared at the still person and cocked her head. This person was sitting, leaning on a tree while holding a flag post in one hand. The flag pole was pushed into the ground like the person was trying to stand up with it. But there was no movement. Zelle started to get really worried if this soldier holding her country¡¯s flag was dead or not. She knew that Roymonde was totally defeated in the Chewridge War. The capital and the Kingdom were conquered. She didn¡¯t want to admit but her highly regarded Kingdom lost. It was the result of Zelle¡¯s father, Lespelle the 1st¡¯s greed. Zelle recalled the day she and her siblings escaped and scattered away from the Kingdom. There were a total of eleven descendants of the royal family including Zelle. To promise a better future, there had to be as many royal offspring alive. It was because even if half of them were killed, one should live and rebuild the Kingdom. They were never on good terms with each other but no one objected to the plan. And in that newly formed bond of blood, Zelle withdrew her suspicions of one of her siblings betraying the Kingdom. The older siblings, as in the ones who received the royal successor education, were more prioritized than the younger siblings since they were the preferred ones to survive and rebuild the Kingdom, so the younger siblings had to sacrifice. The younger ones had to be the ones distracting the enemy by becoming a bait. And Zelle was one of the younger siblings. She was the fourth daughter but among the eleven descendants, she was the eighth child. Zelle and her three younger brothers each escaped first on horseback. Some of the enemies that were targeting the descendants obviously went after them. The younger ones were half-forced to sacrifice themselves but Zelle genuinely wanted to live. But getting caught meant death. Zelle only looked forward and rode for her life. The soldiers guarding beside her fell one by one. Arrows shot past her with murderous intent behind her. Zelle wanted to close her eyes in fear but she forced herself to open them wider. There was only one thing on her mind. ¡®I have to live.¡¯ But the chase was persistent. Zelle felt the heart of the horse she was holding tightly onto was beating as fast as hers. She could also feel that this chase would end soon. When the arrow hit the horse, the horse jumped. Zelle fell off her horse and fell onto the ground. And without time to even process the pain, she lifted herself up. She tried to run but she was roughly pulled by someone. It was the enemy soldier. As soon as she identified that he was an enemy, she was bagged inside a sack. Zelle knew she would be on the scaffold soon enough. Killing the royal family on a scaffold for the public to see was the most humiliating thing for the conquering country to do to the defeated country. It was how the defeated country¡¯s hope was stripped away and how the conquering country completely put them under submission. Zelle despaired in the sack. She wanted to live. Among the sisters and brothers who all had different mothers, she prolonged her life just by being careful not to provoke them in any way. She was furious about how she would die in vain like this for them. But Zelle didn¡¯t go straight to the scaffold. She was in a sack so she didn¡¯t know exactly where she was but guessing by the musty smell, she must be in someplace underground like a cellar. Zelle was thrown in there like an object. She lost her consciousness from the collision. As her consciousness was fading away, she smiled a little, seeing that there were no other sacks beside her. It meant her three younger brothers were not caught. They didn¡¯t even have the same mothers and she didn¡¯t have any feeling of love for them but she did feel compassionate towards them, who similar to her, had to blend into the background to avoid provoking the older siblings who were as old to be their aunts and uncles. On top of that, she didn¡¯t want those children to cause any trouble. All of their mothers were still alive so who knew what harm their mothers would do to her country to save their children¡¯s lives? Zelle¡¯s mother was already dead. So there wouldn¡¯t be anyone who would trade anything valuable to the Kingdom for her life. Zelle was a little relieved and then lost her consciousness fully. Then she opened her eyes in the body of a bird. She couldn¡¯t comprehend how she ended up in this state. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Anyway, Zelle flew over to the soldier to look at him more carefully. He didn¡¯t move even after when she landed on his shoulders, so he must be dead. Zelle felt both relief and sorrow. The soldier holding this flag would be a messenger soldier. And if he was, he would have been returning to the¡­ ¡®Allied Camp.¡¯ Zelle turned her head. Does the Allied Camp still exist? Zelle had to know what happened to her home country Roymonde. She also had to know what happened to her body. To do that first, she had to search this messenger soldier¡¯s pockets for the message. Zelle pushed her beak into his clothes. She couldn¡¯t feel anything on her beak. Zelle pushed in more deeply, her whole head inside his clothes. Badum. Huh. Zelle pulled her head out with a scrolled paper on her beak. His heart¡­..is still beating. The soldier whom she thought was dead was still alive. Even though he is unconscious at the moment. Zelle was now on the tip of her mind. Judging by his state, this soldier was terribly injured. If she left him like this, he would either be killed by the enemy or would eventually die from the wound. Zelle decided to find the Allied Camp first instead of reading the message. If it even still exists¡­. Plus, the stamped mark on the paper meant the letter was confidential. If the allies saw any signs of opening on the paper, they would not treat it like it¡¯s confidential anymore and would destroy it. If that happens, it could be disadvantageous to Roymonde. How many troops of Roymonde would still be alive, now that the royal castle is conquered too? Zelle flapped her wings in haste. I have to think ahead. There is no way I would not recognize that yellow flag I saw my whole 20 years of life. Since I am the princess of Roymonde. *??:?????:* Zelle carefully searched the surroundings as she flew. And soon enough, she found the Allied Camp not far from where she was. Hundreds of yellow flags. Zelle widened her eyes to the point it started throbbing as soon as she saw the yellow field of flags. ¡®Aah, it¡¯s still here.¡¯ She was tearing up. Roymonde¡¯s army was still standing. There are still survivors. Zelle spread her wings and made a sharp descend. Her heart was overflowing with a sense of duty that she had to deliver this message and locate the injured messenger soldier to them. Zelle rushed to the most noticeable man she saw. Huh? wait¡­ ¡®I don¡¯t know how to stop while flying downwards..¡¯ Swiiiiish. Sharp wind rushed beside her. The man was getting closer. Zelle didn¡¯t know how to stop so she could only move her toes. At this rate, she was going to crash into that man. ¡®It¡¯s already too late.¡¯ Zelle felt sorry for the man who was going to be soon attacked by a bird of prey and closed her eyes to prepare for the crash. Clench. And her neck was grabbed. She couldn¡¯t breathe. She thought her neck was going to break. The power from the fast descend added to the pain. Zelle struggled to breathe. But the hand grabbed her neck even tighter. She looked up to the owner of the hand that was choking her. It was the man she was about to crash into. And there was wrath in his eyes. That was when Zelle knew something was not right. The man growled as he put in more force into his grip. ¡°Does Granoir¡­..use animals as assassins too?¡± Zelle floundered harder. ¡®Let go of me!!!¡± Her sight was fading now that she couldn¡¯t breathe. Zelle could feel death approaching her closer than ever. She was dumbfounded and despaired by the fact that she was going to die in the Allied Camp just because she was in the form of a bird, not a princess. Zelle didn¡¯t give up and continued struggling. But the hand pressing on her neck did not seem to have any intention to show mercy to the small life in his hands. ¡°Sir! Sir Valhayle!! Please wait!¡± The hand loosened and air rushed into her throat. Zelle breathed in for her life. A voice that could not possibly be any colder than it already was vibrated through the hands grabbing her neck. ¡°What is it?¡± The knight who called for the man ran towards him and spoke. ¡°This cavier falcon is our camp¡¯s bird, sir.¡± ¡°This bird tried to attack me.¡± ¡°Paaaaardon?¡± The knight looked over to Zelle with startled eyes. He seemed to be in more shock that the bird attacked ¡®the man¡¯ rather than that the bird attacked an ally. But at this moment, Zelle realized something important. She was¡­. a cavier falcon. A cavier falcon was a small bird of prey about 20-28cm long that had a brown streak on its tail. It was a common bird that lived in relatively cold regions like Roymonde. It was also a bird commonly seen when the nobles hunted for hawks. ¡®So¡­I am a cavier falcon?¡¯ Well in this situation she was a cavier falcon that was about to die soon. ¡°Uh¡­..I have no idea why it would behave that way. But there was a report that one of the messenger birds escaped, and I think it just returned to camp.¡± Zelle was suddenly up-side-down. The man had aggressively grabbed her wings and turned her upside down with the other hand. The man spoke. ¡°¡­¡­.It¡¯s the camp¡¯s bird. But it was definitely charging towards me. If I didn¡¯t catch it, its beak would have pierced my neck.¡± ¡°¡­..Sir Valhayle. Is this¡­¡­..¡± The knight pointed at the confidential document Zelle was holding with her talons. The man¡¯s eyebrows twitched. He opened Zelle¡¯s talons and pulled the message out. Zelle was still coughing from the choking earlier. ¡°It¡¯s a confidential message. Sir Luke, Check if there was any message received by the hive of the 4th lane. And send the man responsible for the messenger birds to me.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± After the knight left, the only ones left were the man who was still grabbing Zelle by her wings and Zelle who was hanging upside down by his hand. Well, technically, A bird. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h TL/N: A Cavier Falcon does not exist IRL; it is a fantastical bird created by the author. Chapter 3 Translator: Kimmy Proofreader: SunnyMay *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* ¡®Aahh, hey! My head aches, put me down!!¡¯ Zelle screamed internally. But Zelle decided to appreciate the current situation that at least she wasn¡¯t getting choked anymore. She didn¡¯t want her neck to end up in those beastly strong hands again. Zelle glanced at the man while hanging upside down. ¡®Why did I even dash towards the man in charge?¡¯ She blamed her bad luck. Based on what she heard just now, he was some kind of a commander. Well, an army with this size would definitely have a commander. ¡­.Hold on. A commander? Could he be the commander-in-chief? Zelle was shocked at the fact that the ¡®commander in chief¡¯ of Roymonde was in the allied camp she flew into. That meant this was¡­Roymonde¡¯s Black Defense Wall. They are the army of the Queen and the strongest of the three military branches of Roymonde, the Roheneim. It was the concord that the commander of Roheneim would become the commander-in-chief of the three militaries during wartime. Zelle slowly lifted her head and met eyes with the man coldly looking down at her. So he is¡­ Lumares Valhayle? Zelle had never met him before. But Zelle decided to act sick like how she acted sick to avoid the 2nd princess¡¯s wrath. Except for this time, she pushed it further to¡­ Acting dead. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Even when Zelle was all out of strength, the man did not release any force from his hands. He just lifted her once to check on her. Evidently, that wasn¡¯t enough for him and he grabbed her wings again. ¡°Sir. Reporting from the commander of the 3rd order of Knights summon. What is¡­¡­¡± The soldier who ran all the way stopped talking when he saw Zelle in the man¡¯s hands. The man asked in a coercive tone. ¡°This bird. Are you certain it¡¯s the bird that escaped from our camp?¡± ¡°Uh¡­..¡± ¡°Look carefully.¡± The man handed Zelle over to the soldier like she was some unpleasant package. The soldier flipped her upside down again and checked Zelle¡¯s ankle area. Zelle started to worry if she had any markings of the army on her. The soldier spoke hesitantly after checking her tail feather. ¡°It¡¯s the bird that escaped our camp a few hours ago. It was screeching and acting weird since the morning so I brought it out to take a closer look but it escaped.¡± Zelle narrowed her eyes and looked at the soldier¡¯s hands. Yikes. He was the soldier she scratched earlier. ¡°We already don¡¯t have enough messenger birds, you should be careful.¡± ¡°Sorry, sir!¡± The man sighed softly. The soldier pointed at Zelle who was still acting dead and asked cautiously. ¡°Uh¡­.Chief Commander. Do you perhaps know¡­.why it is behaving like that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I want to ask too. Why is it like that?¡± ¡°What happened, sir?¡± ¡°That bird dashed towards me out of nowhere. It seemed like it was aiming for my neck or perhaps my heart. I didn¡¯t get injured because I caught it right before it could hit me but it was definitely a threatening act. Do birds do that usually?¡± ¡°No, sir. Birds have a natural instinct to dodge anything in their way during flight.¡± The man frowned. ¡°Is there a way for the enemy to train this bird to attack me?¡± The soldier jumped. ¡°Sir? No, that¡¯s not possible. In my opinion¡­ I think it¡¯s because this bird is not skilled yet.¡± ¡°Not skilled?¡± ¡°Yes, sir. This lil guy is not fully mature yet.¡± The man spoke in a dissatisfied tone. ¡°It was flying just fine though.¡± ¡°It can fly just fine. It¡¯s just that its training is not complete yet so it¡¯s not skilled enough to be dispatched for mission. This is probably its first time flying outside the camp. It¡¯s remarkable that it even managed to come back here.¡± ¡°¡­So it¡¯s an accident that it attacked me.¡± ¡°It seems so.¡± ¡°Alright. You are dismissed.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The soldier carefully grabbed Zelle and turned away. Whew. Just as Zelle was releasing a sigh of relief, the man spoke. ¡°Leave the bird here.¡± No, why!!! ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°That bird delivered the messenger soldier¡¯s confidential message. I need to read it so leave it here.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m concerned that it doesn¡¯t look so well.¡± ¡°Is it dead?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not dead.¡± Eesh. I can¡¯t fake it after all. Zelle glared at the soldier who declared she was ¡®not dead¡¯ despite her effort on trying to look dead. Then she caught eyes with the man. The man spoke coldly. ¡°Not dead, huh. Tie it up in front of my tent so it won¡¯t escape again.¡± ¡°¡­..Yes, sir.¡± The man watched Zelle getting tied up and went inside the tent. And that¡¯s how Zelle became a captive in her country¡¯s allied camp. ?? *??:?????:*?? The knight from earlier came back. Zelle was a little excited to see the knight who saved her life. The knight looked at Zelle calmly tied up in front of the tent and made a confused face. Then he walked into the tent. ¡°Sir Valhayle. There¡¯s no message received by the hive. It¡¯s already later than when it¡¯s supposed to be delivered. Something must have happened.¡± ¡°If it was disrupted by the enemy, why did the message that¡¯s supposed to be delivered to the hive, delivered by a bird to me? It¡¯s not like an untrained bird can tell which is an ally and which is an enemy.¡± ¡°Perhaps the messenger soldier of the 4th order of Knights found the bird and delivered the message through it.¡± ¡°But that seems too¡­..¡± ¡°Sir. Are you suspecting something?¡± ¡°It could be a false confidential message. It could be that the enemy captured our messenger solider, tortured him to find out about its format, and faked it.¡± ¡°Have you read the confidential message yet?¡± ¡°I did. But there was no rescue request. If he was too wounded to deliver it himself, he would have drawn the rescue signal on it and put coordinates on the outer side of the message.¡± ¡°It could really be from our messenger soldier, though.¡± ¡°Then we are back to the start. How did the confidential message that¡¯s supposed to be delivered by our messenger soldier, get delivered by an untrained bird, directly to me? It¡¯s too far-fetched to consider it all a coincidence.¡± ¡°Then what will¡­..¡± ¡°Gwechh¨C!! Gweck! Gweck! Gweckkkk¨C!!¡± Zelle listened to their conversation and screeched. The knight came out with a confused and dubious expression and picked Zelle up. Then Zelle went silent. ¡°¡­¡­??¡± The knight blinked his eyes in confusion. Zelle immediately started miming. She remained still, then acted dead. ¡°???¡± It seemed like he didn¡¯t understand so Zelle jumped out of the knight¡¯s hands and landed on the floor and reenacted the whole thing. She walked normally, then fell to the ground. When she repeated that about five times, the knight¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Sir Valhayle!!¡± He ran inside calling for the commander in chief. ¡°What¡¯s going on.¡± ¡®Yes, report to him what I just showed you! Tell him about the injured messenger soldier! We can¡¯t lose another ally soldier.¡± Zelle thrillingly waited for the knight to speak up. ¡°I was watching that bird for a while now¡­..¡± ¡°Is it sick?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so¡­..¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡± The knight spoke with much confidence. ¡°It¡¯s gone mad.¡± Zelle¡¯s soul just left her body at that moment out of shock. ?? *??:?????:*?? The man went silent for a minute then asked. ¡°¡­Gone mad?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s repeating the same silly thing like it¡¯s trying to say something. It must be crazy.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± The man did not even scoff at the knight saying a bird had gone mad. Zelle wanted to peck his stone-like face with her newly acquired beak. But saving the messenger soldier was more urgent. Zelle started fluttering again and screeched. This time the man came out instead of the knight. Zelle abruptly halted her screams and glared at the man. The man also frowned a little. Zelle didn¡¯t care and started her mime again. She fell to the ground. Again. And again. And again. It was embarrassing for her as a princess to be doing this but the messenger soldier¡¯s weak pulse made her forget about all the shame. ¡®It¡¯s a matter of life-and-death right now.¡¯ Zelle held back her tears and continued her mime. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± The man slowly scanned Zelle from head to toe. The knight came out of the tent too and pointed at Zelle. ¡°Look at that. I¡¯ve never seen a bird do this before.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°It must be crazy, right?¡± ¡°Sir Luke. Arrange a search mission for the messenger soldier. But don¡¯t go too far away from the camp.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°Search for him.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes, sir.¡± When the puzzled knight walked away, Zelle stopped miming. ¡®It worked!¡¯ Zelle flapped her wings in joy. And she turned to the man who understood her and made a satisfied face. ¡®Good job, commander!!!¡¯ When Zelle shook her tail feathers to compliment the man, the man¡¯s face stiffened. And he softly mumbled. ¡°It¡¯s definitely¡­ not normal.¡± He went back into the tent. Zelle stood there with her beak opened. Then she stomped her foot once on the ground and rolled on the ground. The rope around her ankle was bothering her. Zelle trembled at her overflowing dissatisfaction. ¡®I delivered the message just to be called crazy?¡¯ He could at least untie this if he wants to call me crazy!! Zelle pressed her surge of anger. If she went wild right now she could be chased out. She didn¡¯t know how to get food and she barely made it to the Allied Camp so she couldn¡¯t risk getting chased out of here. And even she knew she would look crazier if she did anything more. I can¡¯t even process the fact that I¡¯m a bird yet. There¡¯s nothing beneficial about going crazy right now. Zelle decided to stop thinking at all in this moment of tragedy. ¡®Fine, whatever.¡¯ There was one thing good about being a bird though. Birds didn¡¯t have a wide spectrum of facial expressions. That meant she would have more freedom expressing herself as a bird than as a princess. Zelle grumpily sat down on the ground. Now that she was a bird, sitting with her stomach touching the ground was quite comfortable. Zelle then started dozing off. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h Chapter 4 Translator: Kimmy Proofreader: SunnyMay *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Zelle woke up because someone had tapped her. She glared up at the person. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± But Zelle soon fell silent. It was the knight that couldn¡¯t understand her earlier. Was his name Sir Luke? She definitely heard the name before but she couldn¡¯t exactly remember it. But Zelle didn¡¯t go silent because of Sir Luke. It was because of the food bowl Sir Luke placed in front of her. ¡°You are hungry, right? Here you go.¡± Zelle rushed towards the bowl. Eh? This¡­¡­ ¡°Gwechkk!!!!¡± Zelle squealed as she backed away from the bowl. There were two freshly dead mice in the bowl. Sir Luke watched as Zelle backed away and mumbled. ¡°Does it not like it? But he said mice are its favorite¡­¡­¡± Zelle grumbled softly. Cavier falcons must eat these kinds of stuff for food. But she was still human. She couldn¡¯t just bite off from the dead mice because she¡¯s in a bird¡¯s body. But the problem was, she was really hungry. ¡°Then do you want this instead?¡± Sir Luke dug into his pocket and brought out something else. Zelle drooled as she waited. He held it up close to her face. ¡°Gweeeeckhskk!!!!!!!¡± Zelle jumped and fluttered. Aaarghh!! Get it off!! Get it offffff!!! Sir Luke withdrew his hands watching Zelle freak out. ¡°But he said it also likes frogs¡­..¡± Sir Luke observed curiously then walked into the tent. She could hear what they were talking about very clearly. ¡°Sir Valhayle.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make a ruckus outside.¡± ¡°What? I was just trying to feed it.¡± ¡°¡­¡­..¡± Zelle immediately knew that silence meant disbelief. ¡°Really. I was going to order the soldier in charge of messenger birds to feed it but I was on the way here anyway so I just offered some food. But it¡¯s not eating anything. Even though it must be starving since it didn¡¯t eat anything yet.¡± ¡°If it doesn¡¯t eat anything, force it to eat. We can¡¯t let the bird die when we still don¡¯t know anything.¡± ¡°How am I supposed to forcefully feed an animal that doesn¡¯t want to eat? And I just told you. It¡¯s crazy. Not eating food is proof that it¡¯s gone mad.¡± Zelle glared at the tent, hearing that. She didn¡¯t have a mirror nearby so she didn¡¯t know how scary her scowling face was but this face was probably threatening enough. Zelle decided to glare at him again like this when Sir Luke comes out later. ¡°How¡¯s the search going.¡± ¡°We are in the process. Only 2 search teams haven¡¯t returned yet. They will be back soon.¡± ¡°Commander in chief!!¡± The captain of the cavalries rushed into the tent. Zelle jumped out of the way. Her tail was always stomped on. Zelle turned to see the soldier that just ran into the tent. ¡°We found the messenger soldier of the 4th order!!¡± There was a sound of someone abruptly standing up. ¡°Where did you find him.¡± ¡°He was closer than we thought. He is severely injured so he¡¯s been moved into the ward to be treated.¡± ¡°Is it bad?¡± ¡°His wounds are not life-threatening. We wouldn¡¯t have found him if you didn¡¯t order a search.¡± Sir Luke spoke in an excited voice. ¡°Well, of course. There was no rescue request on the message so we would have considered him dead. Sir Valhayle, you saved one more life of Roymonde.¡± ¡°Good job on the search. The search troop may return and rest.¡± The soldier walked out in light steps. The man then spoke to Sir Luke. ¡°Sir Luke, bring in the bird outside.¡± ¡°¡­..Yes, sir.¡± Zelle was grabbed by Sir Luke once again. This time, she tried her best to look like a bird. If not, the only thing she would get from Sir Valhayle or whatever his name was, was either suspicion or animal abuse. Zelle emphasized her bird-ness and looked at Valhayle sitting inside the tent. Valhayle frowned and looked down at Zelle with his arms crossed. ¡°Sir Luke. You may return and rest too. Leave the bird food here.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, sir. Tie it up well so it won¡¯t attack you again.¡± Sir Luke spoke in a joking manner and disappeared out of the tent. Zelle wondered what position Sir Luke held to be able to treat Valhayle with both strict manners and friendly comfort. After tying Zelle up tightly to the pole, Valhayle sat on the table and started doing a bunch of things. He read the messenger solder¡¯s information and wrote something down. Meanwhile, Zelle decided to think about the things she postponed to think about. Actually, she didn¡¯t even have to think about it as they crowded in her mind. ¡®Why did I become a bird?¡¯ What happened to my real body? How did I become a bird, why specifically a bird, and why specifically me? What connection did I have to this bird? She didn¡¯t know anything. ¡®Am I¡­ really dead? Is that why I became a bird?¡¯ Negative thoughts filled her mind but Zelle shook her head. ¡®No, I¡¯m still not sure about that.¡¯ I don¡¯t have a memory of dying. Zelle thought she should at least figure out some things. This was the Allied Camp so there must be something she can find out about herself here. And the current situation of Roymonde and about her siblings. Then first¡­ she had to read the confidential message. Zelle opened her eyes widely in search of the confidential message. ¡®I am the one who delivered it, I have the right to know what¡¯s written on it.¡¯ Plus, she was a princess so that gave her even more rights. ¡®It doesn¡¯t make sense that I can¡¯t read it when I am the one who brought it!¡± But time passed, and her search for the confidential message failed while Valhayle continued to write. ¡°¡­¡­..¡± Zelle then decided to search for it later. Right now, she was too hungry to even open her eyes properly. She held on to her empty stomach and sat with her stomach touching the ground and pushed her neck into her shoulders. She decided to sleep to forget the frustration and anger. Just as Zelle was about to doze off, Valhayle¡¯s tent opened. ¡°Sir, your dinner.¡± A soldier came in and set up his meal on the table and left. Water, bread, a bit of quail meat, boiled vegetables with a pinch of salt, and cheese. Zelle blinked slowly. Then opened them as wide as she could. It wasn¡¯t like the food she used to eat in the castle but it was human food. Zelle sparkled her eyes and looked at the food with desire. Valhayle, on the other hand, didn¡¯t even glance at the food and continued to write. Zelle couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and grumbled loudly. Though it was just a sound of a bird. Valhayle¡¯s pen stopped moving. Zelle didn¡¯t miss this opportunity and grumbled again. But Valhayle went back to writing. Zelle huffed at his indifference. Valhayle scrolled and scrolled up a paper fully filled with writings and approached Zelle. ¡°I guess you weren¡¯t hungry earlier. Eat up.¡± Then he kindly placed the dead mice and frog in front of Zelle. She didn¡¯t want to disrespect or waste the food but it was still horrifying to look at those dead animals especially with her new heightened eyesight. Zelle used her foot to flip the bowl over. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Valhayle looked at Zelle with close attention. Zelle shut her eyes and waited for his punishment. Who would believe she was the 4th princess of Roymonde when they saw her now? No, before that, who would even believe she was a human? Zelle was about to go insane from the frustration. Even so, her fear of violence and animalistic hunger didn¡¯t seem to diminish. When the smack didn¡¯t come, Zelle opened her eyes and looked up at Valhayle. He mumbled with a cold face. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t eat this¡­ What does this bird eat?¡± Zelle hurriedly flapped towards the aromatic quail meat on his table. ¡®I eat that! I want to eat that!! Give me that!!!¡¯ Valhayle stood up and looked to where Zelle was flapping towards. Zelle was joyful that he finally understood what she meant. Valhayle frowned again. ¡°It¡¯s not like it understood me.¡± ¡°Gweckk!!¡± Zelle yelled at Valhayle out of annoyance that he is thinking about whether she understands him or not rather than thinking to feed her. But Valhayle¡¯s face did not flinch at Zelle¡¯s tantrum. He called the soldier outside. ¡°Bring the soldier that was in charge of this bird. I have something to ask him.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Valhayle.¡± When the soldier left, Zelle gave up on the food and started looking for the confidential message again. ¡®Since he is calling for the soldier in charge of me, he must be thinking of putting me back into the birdcage.¡¯ She had to at least read one of the confidential messages to find out what state Roymonde was currently in. Valhayle mumbled as he observed Zelle turning her head here and there like she was searching for something. ¡°What are you looking for? Food?¡± Zelle glared at him threateningly and looked over to the organized paper pile on Valhayle¡¯s desk. Valhayle walked towards her. When she stopped moving in intimidation of his big build over her, the rope around her ankle loosened. Valhayle pulled the loosened rope and looked at Zelle. Zelle walked around a bit and excitedly went to the desk. Valhayle thought Zelle was indeed looking for food so he tore a piece of the bread and tossed it to her. Ah. Her motion vision was really great. She was just waiting for the bread to fall but when she could see the bread piece mid-air so clearly, her body moved like a magnet. She caught it and swallowed it. It didn¡¯t taste much like anything but Zelle was thrilled at the feeling that she ate something. Meanwhile, Valhayle was thinking a bird eating a bread was weird. After having the bread piece, Zelle started looking for the confidential message again. She hopped up to his table and started searching through the pile using her beak. She was a little anxious as to why this man was not stopping her but nothing concerned her more than finding her real body. Just as she was digging through the pile, Valhayle spoke. ¡°Looking for this?¡± ?? *??:?????:*?? ¡°Looking for this?¡± His voice had a hint of amusement. Zelle turned her head. And without hesitating, jumped towards Valhayle¡¯s hand. ¡®Found it!!¡¯ Valhayle held his arm up higher so Zelle couldn¡¯t reach it. ¡°¡­¡­..I was wondering what you were looking for.¡± Valhayle looked directly into Zelle¡¯s eyes as she continued to jump and scream and folded the confidential message into his pocket. Zelle fell silent for a moment. Just because she was silent, it didn¡¯t mean she was calm. She was huffing. ¡®I did a favor to give it to you and you return the favor with this? Give it to me!!!¡¯ Valhayle tossed the quail meat over to Zelle, who was glaring up at him with spite. Zelle was so infuriated that she was not going to eat the meat that smelled heavenly. She could swear, really. A few minutes later. Zelle was ravenously chewing on the quail meat. She was about to cry from sorrow but she held it in. Her stomach had to be filled first if she wanted to do anything later. Zelle¡¯s future plan was to peck on that man¡¯s eyes before anything else. He looked as impenetrable as a boulder but it would definitely hurt if she pecked his eyes. Zelle smiled ferociously. He spoke as he looked down at her eating with crossed arms. ¡°Don¡¯t get obsessed.¡± *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h Chapter 5 Translator: Kimmy Proofreader: SunnyMay *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Zelle pulled her face out of the quail meat. Obsessed? Obsesseddd? ¡®So this bastard is saying I¡¯m obsessed just because I ate some piece of meat?¡¯ Zelle fumed out hot air. It was already embarrassing enough for her to be eating like this but she was currently a bird, not a princess. So how could he call me obsessed just because I¡¯m eating a little messy! Ahhh, father! Help me!! Zelle fluttered her wings and fully expressed her frustration. Valhayle did not even flinch looking at her. After a long while, Valhayle made a you-are-pathetic face and spoke in a scolding manner. ¡°It¡¯s not a virtue of the messenger bird to be obsessed with a confidential message. If you have delivered it, then forget about it.¡± This time it was Zelle who made the you-are-pathetic face. Talking about virtues to a bird. Hah. What a crazy man. Zelle genuinely felt sorry for the 40,000 Roheneim men who served him. Also, she felt sorry for her 2nd oldest sister who was almost engaged to him. Even though he was just one of the many men in candidacy. ¡°The more you obsess over the confidential message, the less useful you will be.¡± ¡°Gwechkk!!!¡± Aargh, I¡¯m not obsessed over it!!! Zelle screeched and stomped her foot. Valhayle frowned but Zelle went back to focus on the quail meat. She chewed aggressively on the meat thinking it was Valhayle. The tent door flung open and Sir Luke entered with a soldier. ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve brought him here.¡± It was the soldier that was scratched by Zelle earlier. Valhayle spoke coldly. ¡°¡­¡­This bird.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°How long will it take to train it completely?¡± ¡°It depends on the breed so¡­ this one will take about a fortnight to a month.¡± ¡°Alright. Take it and train it after it¡¯s done eating. Since right now¡­.¡± And he glanced at Zelle. ¡°It seems abnormal.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Oh¡­ Did you give it cooked meat?¡± ¡°Am I not supposed to?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s just that¡­ It¡¯s odd that it¡¯s eating cooked meat¡­ Because it prefers raw meat.¡± ¡°I guess it¡¯s a picky eater.¡± Valhayle ate the vegetables and bread elegantly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t like this before¡­ It must have been shocked by something. It¡¯s been acting out since the morning.¡± Valhayle spoke after a moment. ¡°Can birds understand people?¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± The soldier asked dumbfoundedly. ¡°Or can it explain something?¡± ¡°¡­..Sir?¡± The soldier studied him to see if he was being serious right now. Valhayle noticed that and glared at him. The soldier hurriedly looked away. ¡°Birds¡­ Birds can¡¯t understand words or explain things. They can only carry out certain commands through training. Just because a bird brought something because it heard the command, ¡®go bring that to me¡¯, doesn¡¯t mean that it understood what it meant. It did that because it was trained to bring that certain thing when a person commands in a specific tone or length.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± The soldier continued. ¡°It¡¯s impossible for a bird to express itself.¡± The soldier warily released the rope around Zelle¡¯s ankle and grabbed her wings. Zelle glared into Valhayle¡¯s pocket as she was being carried away. Valhayle saw that and glared back. Sir Luke watched as the soldier bowed and left. ¡°I will dismiss myself too.¡± Sir Luke stopped midway and asked. ¡°Uh, Sir Valhayle.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Who¡­ Were you talking with earlier?¡± Valhayle raised his brows. ¡°Talking?¡± ¡°Yes. Just before I came in¡­¡­.¡± ¡°There was no one in the tent. You must have misheard something.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m certain that you said, ¡®the less useful you will be¡¯.¡± Valhayle fell silent and made a confused face. Then he spoke. ¡°I was talking to myself.¡± ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll go now.¡± When Sir Luke left, Vahayle slid into his chair. ¡°¡­¡­¡± He took a deep breath. ¡®I was talking to a bird.¡¯ Valhayle was displeased about him not thinking straight. To be fair, his mind was preoccupied with the rigorous schedule battle after battle. But Valhayle shook his head. ¡®Being exhausted is just another excuse.¡¯ He pressed his forehead with his palm and brushed off the breadcrumbs on the table. Then suddenly, he remembered the bird¡¯s gold, infuriated eyes. It was oddly disturbing. Valhayle shook his head to get rid of that image. It was a silent night that night. *??:?????:* Zelle was in the middle of training. The soldier pointed at the yellow flag on the far right and spoke. ¡°Go bring that branch over there.¡± Zelle pushed off the ground into the air. She grabbed the branch with her talons and brought it back. A piece of cooked meat was thrown to her as a reward. The soldier in charge of her now knew that she only ate cooked meat. The soldier pointed at the flag again and spoke. ¡°Go get that branch over there.¡± Ah dang!!! Zelle barely controlled herself from flying away from here. So this was show birds were trained. Being ordered for thousands of times like this. The soldier was already commanding her to bring a branch for the eleventh time. Zelle clenched her beak. She was frustrated but to get closer to the confidential message, she had to complete the training. Zelle pushed off the ground again. The soldier ordered by Sir Valhayle or Sir ¡°Vexed¡± was responsibly doing his job. Zelle was so fed up with the ¡®bird¡¯ training that she wished someone would realize that she could understand human language. It was to the point she missed the aggressive Sir Valhayle who seemed to have realized that the most. Zelle made it clear that she understood the soldier but he only thought she was acting charmingly to get his attention. ¡®Whew¡¯ She was out of strength. Zelle still didn¡¯t find out if the King or her siblings were alive or dead. She didn¡¯t even know whether she was alive or dead. ¡®Someone must have survived.¡¯ Zelle comforted herself. ¡®If not why would Roheneim continue to fight?¡¯ After being a bird, she had overheard many things from the soldiers. She wasn¡¯t taken outside the messenger bird tent for four days but she could still hear whispers here and there. Roheneim was being chased by something but it was also definitely also looking for something. She guessed this from the camp¡¯s frequent relocation and from the messenger soldiers coming in and out. Zelle vaguely guessed that they were looking for the surviving members of the Roymonde royal family. She just wished she was included in their search. *??:?????:* She met Sir Valhayle after five days. Valhayle spoke after glancing shortly at Zelle. ¡°It¡¯s dirty.¡± What did you just say! Is that all you got to say to me after meeting me in five days!!! Valhayle gave the soldier a scolding look. Zelle quickly looked at herself. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Yeah, I have to admit. I am dirty. But where am I supposed to clean myself when I don¡¯t even get water to clean myself? Zelle felt embarrassed and started chewing on her feather, finally pulling it out. Valhayle looked down at her like she was pathetic. The soldier spoke warily. ¡°I¡¯ll wash it. We had to move tents often recently so I couldn¡¯t find the time to clean it.¡± Valhayle spoke firmly. ¡°Wash it right now.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The soldier started loosening the rope tied around Zelle¡¯s ankle. Valhayle spoke. ¡°It¡¯s the only messenger bird we have left. At its state, we are only going to be a laughing stock.¡± The soldier raised his head. ¡°What do you mean by¡­ It¡¯s the only messenger bird left?¡± ¡°Most of the messenger birds we dispatched last time haven¡¯t returned.¡± The soldier¡¯s face darkened. Valhayle¡¯s face was not that different. ¡°Is it the five birds¡­we sent to Lopecce? ¡°Yes. The only one that returned is severely injured. It should be in the tent by now.¡± ¡°May I leave to see it? There are not many people that can treat a bird here¡­¡± ¡°You have to clean this bird.¡± The soldier spoke in haste. ¡°A bird can clean itself, sir. I¡¯ll get a bucket of water for it behind your tent. I tied the rope loosely so it can go in and clean itself.¡± Valhayle nodded. ¡°Alright then. Treat the injured bird first.¡± Zelle was anxious. It was because she heard about ¡®Lopecce¡¯ It was the military in favor of the nobles. Seems like Roheneim was not the only one left. Valhayle is the commander of Roheneim and thus the commander-in-chief right now, so Lopecce must be under his command too. But if the messenger birds didn¡¯t return¡­.. When the soldier left to fill up the bucket, Valhayle mumbled. ¡°Now it¡¯s certain that there¡¯s a Granoir camp in the way. ¡° Then he looked at Zelle and spoke coldly. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you, we would never have been this certain.¡± Zelle widened her eyes. His tone was cold but it meant that she has been some kind of help to him. Zelle made a relieved smile. Even though obviously it wouldn¡¯t look like she was smiling. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s me, Luke¡± Sir Luke entered the tent. And stopped abruptly after seeing Zelle. ¡°Uh, this bird¡­.¡± Sir Luke asked. ¡°Why is it here?¡± Valhayle looked at Zelle and answered tiredly. ¡°I¡¯m planning to send this bird to Lopecce.¡± Zelle was frightened. ¡®What? He¡¯s going to send me to Lopecce??¡¯ But¡­. Sir Luke spoke her mind. ¡°It hasn¡¯t completed the training yet though.¡± ¡°As so I¡¯ve heard. It only got the training to move from one flag to another.¡± ¡°Then aren¡¯t we not supposed to send it?¡± ¡°It should be fine since it only needs to identify a yellow flag.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Sir Luke spoke after a while. ¡°Also¡­ Why must it be that bird? Don¡¯t you think that bird has gone mad?¡± ¡°Enough about it being crazy.¡± ¡°But still¨C¡± Valhayle cut his words. ¡°The Granoir troop is between our camp and Lopecce¡¯s camp. It¡¯s too risky to dispatch a messenger soldier. We can¡¯t gamble with a person¡¯s life so we have no choice but to send a messenger bird.¡± Sir Luke nodded. ¡°Alright then. What message are you going to send?¡± Valhayle dismissed flatly. ¡°You don¡¯t need to know.¡± Hearing that, Zelle thought. ¡®A confidential message that he doesn¡¯t even tell Sir Luke about¡­.¡± Was it about something super important? She suddenly felt urgent. I must successfully complete the mission of going to Lopecce. This could be the chance to find out if my siblings and I are still alive. Zelle stared at Valhayle and Sir Luke. Valhayle glanced back at Zelle. The eyes of a bird and the eyes of a human tangled mid-air at that second. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h Chapter 6 Translator: Kimmy Proofreader: SunnyMay *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Valhayle asked like he was talking to himself. ¡°Can you do it.¡± Zelle nodded her head violently. I can do it! I can do it!! Sir Luke sighed. ¡°I guess we could send it but¡­it looks¡­Um, not so¡­ well.¡± Flapflapflapflap!!! Zelle started flapping her wings to show that she was ready for the mission. Sir Luke frowned and spoke. ¡°We could be wasting the bird¡¯s life in vain. Also, there is a risk of our enemies getting their hands on the confidential message if that happens.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Valhayle fell silent with a serious face. Zelle was starting to get anxious at how the conversation was flowing. ¡®Hey, you! I am the princess of this country! And I¡¯m saying I want to go! Send me there, Send me!! Arghhhhh!!!¡¯ ¡°Sir Luke.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Go bring the soldier in charge of this bird. He should be outside filling a bucket.¡± Sir Luke left the tent. When it was only the two of them, Zelle turned to Valhayle and glared. Valhayle also glared back at Zelle. He asked. ¡°Why are you so angry?¡± Zelle¡¯s eyes widened. Oh yes, I¡¯m angry. Zelle clenched her beak and spread her foot and extended her talon. Then she drew a circle on the ground. Valhayle¡¯s eyes harbored doubt. Zelle traced the circle again. Again and again and again. After tracing the circle multiple times now, the end of her feet was hurting but the circle on the ground was marked clearly. Valhayle furrowed his brows. ¡°Are you trying to say you can do it?¡± He then shook his head. ¡°No, how can a bird express itself.¡± ¡°Gwechk-!¡± Zelle pushed herself up in the air and pointed the map with her foot. And she came back to the circle she drew and traced it again. Valhayle¡¯s exhausted eyes contained a mix of complex feelings. ¡°Sir.¡± Sir Luke and the soldier walked into the tent. Valhayle¡¯s eyes hesitantly remained on the bird then it became cold again. He glanced at the soldier and asked directly. ¡°Is it possible to convince a bird to make a detour halfway?¡± If a normal person heard this, they would question if he was in his right mind but¡­ The soldier standing in front of his superior, who is also the only highest superior currently of a defeated country, had to answer this without question. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it¡¯s possible.¡± Valhayle frowned at his answer. ¡°Unless there is an obstacle mid-way, birds will return to the camp in a straight, fastest route.¡± Valhayle ran his hand across his hair. Then he looked back at the bird. The small brown-spotted bird was plopped on the floor. It changed its determined face to a blank-minded face when the two walked in. Also, it was sitting exactly on top of the circle it drew. ¡°¡­.¡± Zelle felt Valhayle staring and started picking through her feathers. Valhayle wondered for a split second if what happened just now was a dream. But he was a rational person. There was too much evidence like the circle it drew to deny what he just saw. Valhayle spoke to the soldier. ¡°Alright. You are dismissed.¡± The soldier hesitated and spoke with all his courage. ¡°Commander-in-chief, are you perhaps¡­planning to¡­send the bird somewhere?¡± Valhayle lifted his head. The soldier then hurriedly added. ¡°I, if you give me just a few more days I can train it to avoid green flags¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessary.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± The soldier looked at Zelle with concern. Now it was certain that Valhayle was going to send the bird on a mission. This bird will most likely not return like the other birds. The soldier felt a little sentimental that this could be the last time he¡¯ll see the bird. When Valhayle saw the pity in the soldier¡¯s eyes, he glared at the soldier. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you go to the injured bird now?¡± His eyes were saying ¡®Get out¡¯, so the soldier hurriedly dismissed himself. ¡°Yes, sir. I, I¡¯ll get going now.¡± The soldier left the tent and sighed. ¡°¡­.Ha.¡± He was going to remove one tally of the bird count when he got back to the messenger bird tent. Another bird was bound to die so he had to at least save the one that came back. The soldier walked faster. *??:?????:* Kyahahahaha!!! ¡®It was a good idea that I acted like a bird.¡¯ Zelle smiled with pride. While observing the situation so far, Zelle realized that it was only Valhayle that understood what she was trying to communicate. Everyone else just thought she was a crazy weird bird. It was a relieving thing that the only person that understood her was the commander-in-chief. It meant that¡­ Zelle stopped organizing her feathers and smirked. ¡­He makes all the decisions here. And Zelle had all the intention to do whatever she needed to do in front of Valhayle to be of help to her country, Roymonde. When she came back to the tent after cleaning herself in the bucket the soldier prepared behind the tent, Sir Luke was leaving. When she flew inside, Valhayle approached Zelle. He removed the rope around Zelle¡¯s foot. He rolled the rope and talked to Zelle hesitantly. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you where you have to go.¡± Yay!!! Zelle screamed internally. She sprang up to the air and landed on Valhayle¡¯s table beside the map. And she looked at him with sparkling eyes. Valhayle frowned a little and pulled the map closer. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you know this but.¡± He placed a yellow stone on one point and a yellow stone on the other point and drew a straight line. ¡°If you go straight, you will die.¡± He drew a > shape. ¡°So you should go straight until here and turn.¡± Zelle pecked on the turning point to show him that she understood. ¡°When you see the yellow flag go to the tent in the middle and when they tie you with something, you should come back like this, < this time.¡± Yes, yes. So I go like this > and come back like this <, so the route is different. Zelle nodded her beak up and down. Valhayle looked at Zelle and asked. ¡°Did you really understand this?¡± Zelle was on the verge of getting annoyed with him but she decided to be patient. She drew a small circle on the table. Is that good enough? Zelle held her chin up. ¡°¡­..¡± Valhayle stared at the circle on the table and turned to get a small paper and letter case. A confidential message. Zelle gulped. Vahayle tied the letter tightly around Zelle¡¯s leg. He held her up and spoke. ¡°If we lose you, we won¡¯t have any useful messenger birds anymore.¡± Zelle didn¡¯t avoid his hands and waited for him to finish. Her heart stung a little now that she was finally about to leave for a mission that could kill her. Valhayle brought her outside. He said in a low voice. ¡°Come back alive.¡± ¡®Alive.¡¯ Zelle focused on that word. She felt a lump on her throat. No one had told her that when she was a human. It didn¡¯t matter if she was a bird right now since this was the first time anyone had ever told Zelle to stay alive. Zelle sent that word to her human body. ¡®Must. You must be alive.¡¯ Valhayle lifted his arm and threw Zelle up to the air. Zelle flapped her wings and dashed upward. She circled around Valhayle for 2~3 times. He shouted. ¡°Go.¡± Zelle dashed to the west. The scenery changed in a split second. She could understand why people always admired the bird¡¯s wings now that she was up here. Zelle recalled the destination. The Lopecce camp. If it was the past she wouldn¡¯t even go near them but. Now she wanted to be there more than anything. Zelle clenched her beak. When she breathed in, she felt light. But at the same time, the letter tied on to her leg felt heavy. Zelle continued flying without delay. Valhayle stared at Zelle as she flew out of his sight. ¡°¡­..¡± He clenched his fist. Please. Please be delivered safely. And¡­ Valhayle pushed his forehead on his palm. ¡°Please be alive.¡± Wherever they are, at least one person. *??:?????:* As she flew over the endless green fields and woods of Roymonde, Zelle was deep in her thoughts. She had struggled to find out if her siblings and her real self was alive this whole time. But for the first time as she flew for her country, she thought about her oldest sister. Linbessy, the 1st princess. She was the oldest among the eleven siblings. She was also the only descendant that had the support of the nobles supporters, queen supporters, and king supporters. She was to succeed the throne after this war ended. ¡®She has to be alive.¡¯ Zelle thought about her virtuous and hearty sister. If she was alive, rebuilding the country would be much easier. And most of all¡­ The three militaries. Lopecce, Roheneim, and Voymont. All of them would come under one name. Zelle thought about the circle in the center of Roymonde¡¯s flag. Roymonde¡¯s flag was yellow. And inside the yellow background, there was a circle. And the circle was divided into blue, faded green, and dark brown sections. They each represented the central region, the east and the west of Roymonde and also represented the three militaries that protect them. The 1st princess gained her power starting from the Lopecce military of the west. She was the child of the 1st official consort so she had the perfect condition of noble heritage the noble supporters preferred. She was a girl so the queen supporters were positive towards her. And she earned the support of the king supporters by fighting in the Chewridge War. And as for Zelle¡­ She was afraid of the 1st princess her whole life. Excluding the 1st princess and 2nd princess, she was the only one born from an official wife. They were beared by the 1st official consort and Zelle was beared by the 2nd official consort. The two consorts were no longer alive but they did leave the noble heritage to their children so the noble supporters and the queen supporters treated them relatively well. But Zelle didn¡¯t make any point of contact or relationship with them. It was all to survive. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h Chapter 7 Translator: Kimmy TL/N: I mistranslated consort as queen in the previous chapter. I¡¯m sorry for the mistranslation and to avoid any misunderstanding, here are some clarifications: Consort is a wife/husband of royal authority. And a king could have multiple consorts. A consort is different from a concubine in that consorts have higher social status and are officially married to the king. I¡¯ve also added concubine-to-consort to indicate that there are concubines who became consorts. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* The 1st Princess married a noble of a prominent family. That¡¯s why Zelle always avoided the noble supporters. She didn¡¯t even go near the Lopecce personnel. She also avoided the Queen supporters, which is Roheneim, who were discussing to wed one of themselves with the 2nd Princess. Among the three children of the 1st Queen, the 1st Princess and the 2nd Princess were two of them. They were blood-related sisters and Zelle was not. In order to sustain her life as the next term royal authority, she had to maintain a low profile. However, the 1st Princess and the 2nd Princess always disapproved of her. Her other siblings were not favorable to Zelle either. She was a rightful princess with no power. That excluded her even more. The princes and princesses of the concubine-to-consorts only had their hopes on Voymont, the King supporters. Since the King supporters didn¡¯t care about what status their mothers were and only supported those in the King¡¯s favor. If the 1st Princess did not make a deal with King Lespelle the 1st, Voymont would have supported the 4th Prince, the king¡¯s favorite. Zelle was not close with the king too. So she had no reason to strive to earn the favor of Voymont. Zelle¡¯s relations in high society were basically nonexistent. She was always hiding and maintaining a low profile. The king had other women besides the 7 official consorts. And most of the children of those women disappeared with no trace. It was because the 1st Princess and 2nd Princess killed them. The 11 siblings that are alive now, excluding the official consort-born children, were only alive because their mothers were from influential noble families despite them originally being a concubine. The only reason Zelle was safe from the 1st Princess was because her mother was dead and because she had an unthreatening conduct. It was also because Zelle¡¯s mother was not from a powerful family. So the 1st Princess didn¡¯t have her guards up for Zelle. And that sadly was Zelle¡¯s fortune. Her wings were starting to get sore. Just as she was recalling the nobility list to distract her mind from the pain¡­ She remembered. Sir Luke¡¯s family. It was Roheneim¡¯s ¡­ Then at that moment, Zelle felt a murderous intent behind her wings. Swish! An arrow shot up behind her. ¡°!!!¡± Zelle turned to dodge the arrow. Was it Granoir? Then another arrow shot past her. Zelle couldn¡¯t find the guts to look down so she clenched her beak and flew harder. Her heart was beating violently. I have to get away from them. Do I have to fly higher? No. I have to temporarily stop to fly higher and if I do, I¡¯ll get hit. Her wings were getting heavy because of long flight. I¡¯m slowing down. Zelle looked around. There were tall, thick trees on the right. ¡®There.¡¯ Zelle spread her wings. Swish-!! Another arrow shot past her. Zelle dashed towards the woods. She flew rapidly through the thick leaves. The branches and the thick leaves scratched her as she flew but Zelle didn¡¯t slow down. I have to live. I must return alive. After flying like that for some time, the murderous intent behind her started to fade. Zelle slowed down and struggled to land on a branch with her throbbing wings. She thought as she breathed heavily. ¡®I¡­ I escaped.¡¯ She was getting sparks of thrill from the end of her exhausted wings. It was her first time. That Zelle had escaped from danger. She lived a life of surveillance and threat. All because she was the rightful princess and heir to the throne, which the noble supporters and queen supporters would all support if she had no older sisters. Zelle always had an exceptional sense of detecting danger. Just like when she felt the murderous intent before the arrow. ¡­Hmm. When she was a human, she used to get chills on her back like this too. ¡®I guess the skill I developed through 22 years of caution and survival didn¡¯t disappear when I became a bird.¡¯ Actually, her sense of detecting danger was more like an animal¡¯s sense rather than a human¡¯s. Detect danger. Escape immediately. That was Zelle¡¯s life motto. But ironically, Zelle had never really escaped before. She detected the danger but she had to power to escape when she was a human. One wrong move and she would have been killed. So Zelle could do nothing but hide and avoid. Since by hiding instead of escaping, she could live. Then there was a war. When she got out of the castle that night, she felt murderous intent everywhere and ran with all her might. That was Zelle¡¯s first attempt at escape. But then she was then captured by the enemy. Without even a taste of freedom from her miserable life. Then she became a bird. And for the first time after being a bird¡­ ¡®I escaped danger!¡¯ Yay!!! Zelle cheered internally. Exhaustion then started flooding her. Zelle dug her talons into the branch and took a short but deep nap. *??:?????:* She woke up and drank water nearby and started retracing the things that had happened. Zelle was flying while deep in thought but she wasn¡¯t an idiot. She wasn¡¯t any close to the Granoir camp when she was attacked. ¡®Then why was I attacked?¡¯ Zelle then started feeling bad that she was too preoccupied with escaping that she didn¡¯t see who the person attacking her was. But guessing by how they fired an arrow immediately¡­ It must be Granoir. Since Granoir didn¡¯t use messenger birds, they had no reason to hesitate an attack to identify if a messenger bird was theirs or the enemies¡¯. The problem here was that the spot where she was attacked was not far away from Roheneim¡¯s camp. ¡®They must be Granoir¡¯s reconnaissance* troop then.¡¯ Zelle was aware that Granoir didn¡¯t use messenger soldiers or messenger birds. She also knew that Granoir had a quite large reconnaissance troop instead. ¡®I must hurry.¡¯ Zelle shook her wings to check if her wings regained strength. There was a strained pull but it felt much better. Alright. Let¡¯s go on then. She flew up to the sky. ¡®It¡¯s not a good sign that Granoir¡¯s reconnaissance troop is near the Roheneim camp.¡¯ Since that means that they are planning something. She had to deliver this confidential message before that happens. There must be a reason Valhayle is dispatching a messenger bird. Zelle decided to trust the decision of her home country¡¯s commander-in-chief. As she was flying over the central area, she could see signs of plunder. Smokes from the town. Zelle clenched her beak in anger. ¡®Granoir, they are still moving with haste.¡¯ Attacking and pushing like a rapid-fire was the military strategy of Granoir, the conquestivist country. After conquering the Roymonde palace, they moved on to conquer the neighboring countries. They are only obsessed with putting more flags¡­ She scoffed at their reckless conquestivism but she laughed bitterly at herself. What country loses its Eastern region in 10 days and loses its palace in 14 days? It was Roymonde, her proud Kingdom. The centuries of history were destroyed in 2 weeks and because of that, the citizens of the Central region and the Eastern region were being plundered and looted. It was because of Granoir¡¯s strategy of minimizing military provisions for speed and looting conquested areas to compensate for that. Since they had no supply route, it was impossible to defeat them by stopping their supplies. ¡®We have to pressure them out of this land by force. There is no other way.¡¯ The turning point Valhayle was earnestly emphasizing was coming near. Zelle slowed down to change her directions. ¡®Sir Valhayle, just wait and see how well I understood you.¡¯ Zelle grinned and flew away from the green flag camp. *??:?????:* Zelle returned to camp with Lopecce¡¯s reply in four days. ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± Valhayle mumbled unbelievably. Zelle exhaustedly extended her leg to Valhayle for him to take the letter. Valhayle stare at Zelle silently. ¡°¡­¡± Valhayle continued to stare with suspicion so Zelle got annoyed. He told me to come back alive and now that I¡¯m back alive, he¡¯s suspecting if I¡¯m a spy or something? Huh?! Zelle frustratedly shook her leg. Hurry and take this already. It¡¯s urgent. When Valhayle saw Zelle¡¯s demanding eyes, Valhayle removed the letter case from her leg and placed the letter on the table. Zelle looked at the confidential message with excitement. Open it up! Show me what this whole thing was about. When Valhayle saw Zelle shaking her body excitedly he frowned. Then he grabbed Zelle with both his hands. Eh? W, wait. By now, Zelle should have known. That this man would never share a confidential message with a mere messenger bird. That meant that Zelle would never be able to find the whereabouts of her real body or the current situation of her country. No!! I want to read it too!!! ¡°Gwechkkk!!! Gweck! Gweck!¡± Zelle resisted with all her strength but it was no use against Valhayle. Soon, she was locked up in a birdcage. Flap! Flap flap! ¡°Gwechkk! Gwockk!!¡± Open this cage right now! Open it! Valhayle didn¡¯t even flinch at Zelle¡¯s outrage and sat graciously on the chair to open the confidential message. ¡°¡­¡± Zelle looked at Valhayle reading the words from the small paper and regretted. Damn it, I should have read it ahead. Zelle was about to go mad that she couldn¡¯t read such an important letter despite being a princess. ¡°Sir! Sir Valhayle!!¡± A knight ran into the tent. ¡°Did that crazy bird really return?¡± It was Sir Luke. Zelle stopped banging on the cage and glared at the knight that called her crazy. Valhayle replied coldly. ¡°Here¡¯s the reply from Lopecce. We need to have a meeting so call for the commanders of the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th orders¡­¡± ¡°Gwechk!! Gweeechk!!!¡± Zelle¡¯s bird screams intercepted Valhayle¡¯s low voice. ¡°¡­¡± Sir Luke was silent. ¡°¡­to gather here.¡± Valhayle finished his words. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Sir Luke glanced at Zelle and went out of the tent. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* TL/N: Reconoissance troop*: A troop for military observation of a region to locate an enemy or ascertain strategic features. Conquestivism: It¡¯s a coined word in the novel that indicates any force that is driven by the desire to conquest. Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h Chapter 8 Translator: Kimmy *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Zelle was still groaning. Zelle stuck her head inside the water bowl in the cage and drank water and proceeded to squeal again. ¡°Gwechk! Gweckk!¡± ¡°You¡¯re being loud.¡± Valhayle looked at Zelle coldly. ¡°Chief Commander, I¡¯ve brought the things you ordered.¡± A soldier entered and placed rolls of maps on the desk. Just as the soldier was about to leave, Valhayle spoke. ¡°Wait.¡± The soldier turned around. Valhayle pointed his chin towards Zelle. Zelle flinched. ¡°The bird is being noisy so take it outside during the meeting.¡± ¡°!!!!¡± Zelle¡¯s beak dropped. He¡¯s seriously going to do this to me? Huh? You think you can do this to me!! The soldier hesitantly approached the cage. ¡°Turrrrrr.¡± Zelle made a threatening noise. Valhayle watched Zelle and ordered. ¡°Bring it outside in front of my tent.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The soldier lifted the cage and walked outside. Zelle and Valhayle glared at each other until they were both out of sight. Zelle got tired after yelling at Valhayle that she decided to take a rest. She jumped up on the perch. Ah, comfy. It felt like jumping on a fluffy bed. Not many minutes later, Sir Luke and a few more knights came towards the tent. ¡°Huh? Why are you out here?¡± He tilted his head looking at Zelle. ¡°Ah.¡± And tapped his forehead. ¡°You got chased out because you were freaking out again, right?¡± You bastard!! Zelle angrily bit the cage wires and roared. ¡°Kyaakk!!!¡± Sir Luke backed away at her aggressive behavior. ¡°O, Okay. Okay. At least you delivered the message well despite being so crazy.¡± He then chuckled and went inside the tent. Aaaargh! They are all so annoying!! *??:?????:* ¡°¡­cross¡­here¡­¡± ¡°But¡­this¡­¡± Zelle focused her senses on the voices inside the tent. ¡°Sir Evon must have been surprised.¡± The other people¡¯s voices weren¡¯t clear but Sir Luke¡¯s voice was very clear. She wondered if his voice was naturally loud or if his voice became louder when talking about useless stuff. ¡°Well obviously¡­¡± Valhayle replied to Sir Luke but he lowered his voice so Zelle couldn¡¯t hear him further. Zelle groaned internally and pressed her head against the cage in an attempt to hear them better. ¡®I should have known that there would be useful information shared in the meeting.¡¯ She was too furious earlier that she couldn¡¯t help but express it. So, she regretted it deeply when she realized she was not going to hear their meeting if she¡¯s outside here. Zelle aggressively picked her feathers. Sir Luke spoke in the tent. ¡°If we push them to the Black Defense Wall, we will be in the upper hand geographically.¡± Zelle nodded. The Black Defense Wall. It was a long Wall dividing Roymonde¡¯s Central region and the Eastern region. It was built when Roymonde was just a small territory but it was burned during the Grumaide War when the Eastern region became a part of Roymonde. Zelle read that the wall was glowing because it was built with white stone but currently it looks haunted and is blackened from fire. Though it looks haunted, the durability of the Wall was still strong as always so the Wall was used conveniently during Wars. The protector of the Central region and the Kingdom¡¯s strongest military Roheneim guarded the Wall so the Black Defense Wall became Roymonde¡¯s strongest and final defense. Ever since Roheneim guarded the Black Defense Wall, it was never intruded on by any other country. Except for this War of course. ¡®But if they recover the Wall, it will raise the morale of the soldiers.¡¯ Since every Roymonde citizen trusts the Black Defense Wall with yellow flags. It¡¯s worth recapturing the Wall just for that trust. Zelle wished Sir Luke would speak more and leak more information. Since she couldn¡¯t hear the others as clearly as him. Ah, besides that, Zelle finally remembered Sir Luke¡¯s family name during the flight. The Tenealph Family. It was one of the prominent families of Roheneim the Queen supporters. That means Sir Luke¡¯s family must have a tightly knit relationship with the Lumares Family Valhayle belongs to. Lumares or Tenealph, it was sure that they were one of the families Zelle tried to avoid for her life. ¡®I would have never met them if I didn¡¯t become a bird¡­¡¯ Then Sir Luke¡¯s voice could be heard again. ¡°¡­redyl, Zelleine, Rite¡­¡± ¡°!!!!¡± Zelle was shocked. Wait. Say that again. What did you just say? Zelle got chills all over her body and shivered. Zelleine. ¡®I didn¡¯t mishear it right?¡± Her heart beat faster. Zelle desperately pushed her head towards the tent. Only muttered mumbles could be heard but Zelle was on the verge of tearing up. [Zelleine]. That was the name of the 8th princess of Roymonde, Zelle¡¯s full name. *??:?????:* [Zelleine Bmaha Meredith. The Bmaha Royalty 14th direct heir.] Zelleine remembered this line in the book about Royalty she read when she was 8 years old. In Roymonde, only royalty could write their names in front of their surnames. Every other people had to write their names after their surnames. They only existed in the history of their family names and didn¡¯t exist as an individual. It was the mindset of nobility that family came first than any individual member. Only the royal heirs had significance in their names since their names were passed on to the next generation. If one of the sons of Lespelle the 1st was crowned, then his name would be changed to Lespelle the 2nd when he succeeded the throne. The royal descendants also had a ¡®sect¡¯ middle name. In the case of Zelleine, Zelleine was her unique name, Bmaha was her sect name, and Meredith was her surname. In that prospect, Zelleine Bmaha Meredith was a perfect royal name. But on the day Zelleine read her record, she decided she will not let there be any more descriptions of her. It was meaningful to leave a trace on earth but to Zelleine, it wasn¡¯t important. It was all because of survival. Having one more line of description meant she would be more revealed to the world. And if that ever happened, it was death for her. At least, according to what the 1st princess told Zelleine at her 8th birthday it was true. There was no territory that was allowed to Zelleine. The day she decided she would live an unnoticed life, she never wished to be recorded in any important documents. Except now when she was eavesdropping on a military meeting inside a birdcage. ¡®What, What is it! Why is my name mentioned in a confidential meeting!!¡¯ Guessing by the words heard before and after her name, it was a list of royalty. The concern here was that she couldn¡¯t be sure if it was a list of the royalties that were dead or the list of the royalties that are alive. The meeting ended soon and Sir Luke and the other knights came out of the tent. Sir Luke sent them off cheerfully and lifted Zelle¡¯s cage. ¡°So, why did you make a fuss, huh?¡± Sir Luke made fun of her and hung the cage inside Valhayle¡¯s tent and bowed. Valhayle was glaring at the map on his table and nodded at him. Zelleine was quiet from exhaustion. 30 minutes later. There was an awkward silence in the tent. It was between a man and a bird. Zelleine was still not fine with him and Valhayle was preoccupied with something. ¡°You were hurt.¡± Zelle almost fell off the perch from surprise. ¡®Did that human just friggin talk to me?¡¯ Valhayle spoke without looking up once. ¡°I saw scratches on you earlier.¡± Zelle unconsciously looked down at her body. There were some rashes she got from trying to escape the arrows. But¡­ they were not that visible because they were covered in feathers and it didn¡¯t hurt anymore. As she was studying her body again, Valhayle asked again. ¡°How did you get hurt?¡± Zelle then realized that he wanted answers from her. ¡°!!!¡± Oh my oh my. He isn¡¯t talking to himself! He is talking to me like he is having a conversation with me!! Zelle looked at Valhayle nervously. He was asking things that could not be answered with ¡®yes¡¯ or ¡®no¡¯. ¡®Is he okay? He kept calling me crazy and now has he gone mad?¡¯ She avoided Valhayle¡¯s eyes. Then he spoke curtly. ¡°If you won¡¯t freak out again, I¡¯ll let you out for a while.¡± And glanced back at Zelle. When she met eyes with his gray eyes, she gulped. The cage was cramped but he doesn¡¯t look sane enough to trust. But because she was too curious about her name she heard earlier, Zelle nodded. Valhayle seemed to have understood what she meant and opened the cage door. Zelle flew over to Valhayle¡¯s desk. Valhayle tied her ankle with a long rope and tied the other end to the desk left and sat on the chair. Zelle suspiciously studied Valhayle. Valhayle moved some pages out of the desk. ¡°I¡¯ll tell the soldier in charge of you to take a look at your injuries.¡± She wanted to tell him that she met a group that seemed to be Granoir¡¯s reconnaissance troop but¡­ ¡°Brrrr.¡± Only bird noises came out of her mouth. She tried to roll her tongue like speaking but the sound that came out of her was nothing like words. She thought of drawing what happened with her talons but there was a limit to that. With these rough talons, she could only draw simple shapes like a circle or lines but she couldn¡¯t draw anything more complex that could deliver a message. When Zelle made a soft and sorrowful cry, Valhayle looked up at Zelle. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h TL/N: Zelle is the 4th princess but she is often referred to as the 8th princess as well because she is the 8th child of the King. The 4th princess that is mentioned is referring that she is the 4th eldest female child. Chapter 9 Translator: Kimmy *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* ¡°It¡¯s as if you can understand me.¡± Usually, she would be annoyed at Valhayle by now but right now, she was relieved. It was because Valhayle was at least considering that she could understand him. Valhayle grabbed something from the basket on the desk. Zelle stared at the object in Valhayle¡¯s hands. Ah, I know what that is. It was a military biscuit. It was dried to the point it was rock hard for preservation and was very sweet for calories. Valhayle crushed the biscuit with his bare hands. Zelle looked at him break that rock-hard biscuit into crumbles and shivered. ¡­So I was choked in those hands, huh. Valhayle brushed his hands and nodded to Zelle. ¡°Eat.¡± Eh? Zelle blinked in confusion. Did he just break the biscuit for me to eat? Even at this moment, Valhayle was thinking she was a strange bird for not eating food when it was right in front of her. Zelle started pecking at the crumbles on the desk to avoid his judgy eyes. Oh, this is better than it looks. Valhayle watched her eat and closed the basket. ¡°I¡¯ve asked them to feed you cooked meat. Did you get to eat it?¡± Why is he asking so many questions? Obviously, he would know that he won¡¯t be able to get an answer from a bird. It¡¯s almost like he is mocking me knowing that I can understand him but can¡¯t speak. But hold on. What did he just say? Did he just say that he asked them to get me cooked meat?? He managed to write that in that tiny confidential message?! ¡°¡­¡± Ah, thinking about it¡­ All the food I had at the Lopecce camp was cooked. Zelle almost choked on the crumble. What a useless attention to detail. But if he hadn¡¯t told them to give her cooked meat, she would have starved the whole time she was there. If she hadn¡¯t eaten, she wouldn¡¯t have enough energy to come back, and if she hadn¡¯t come back¡­ Valhayle would not have gotten the confidential message back. Woahh. Chills ran down Zelle¡¯s back. Zelle glanced at Valhayle. ¡®He is smarter and more meticulous than I thought?¡¯ For the first time, Zelle thought it was a relief that he was an ally. While she was frantically pecking at the crumbles, Valhayle spoke. ¡°If you had no wounds, I wouldn¡¯t have trusted you.¡± And he continued. ¡°I would have killed you on the spot.¡± Zelle shot her face up at him at the unexpected execution confession. Valhayle spoke coldly. ¡°An animal would not risk anything that could injure itself. Since it only has survival instincts. But you are wounded so that means¡­¡± He spoke as if he was dissatisfyingly. ¡°You were attacked. Which, in no doubt, by Granoir.¡± Zelle stared into his eyes. Valhayle continued slowly. ¡°A Granoir troop has been circling around the area since a week ago.¡± Zelle gasped. ¡®Since a week ago?¡¯ She was sent to the Lopecce camp 4 days ago. So that means¡­ Zelle glared at Valhayle. ¡®He knew that there was an enemy reconnaissance troop and still didn¡¯t tell me?¡¯ Valhayle completely ignored Zelle¡¯s furious eyes and continued. ¡°If Granoir knew you, they wouldn¡¯t have attacked you. But they did attack you. So, that¡¯s why I withdrew my suspicion I had of you since the first time you came back with a confidential message. I made a judgment that you are not our enemy¡¯s bird.¡± Zelle shivered at the feeling of betrayal. ¡®You risked my life just for your judgment?!¡¯ Valhayle spoke in a cold voice. ¡°The message you delivered to Lopecce was nothing important. But from now on, it will be. Since you successfully made a detour around the Granoir camp and came back alive¡­¡± He continued. ¡°And since there is evidence that you are not on Granoir¡¯s side.¡± Zelle shook her head and brushed off the crumbs on her face. ¡®I was too careless this time.¡¯ She felt threatened by Valhayle. She trusted him too much just because he was an ally. Danger. Danger. Danger. Run. I must escape. Zelle tugged on the rope around her leg. Valhayle raised his eyebrows as he watched. And before Zelle could even push herself upwards, he grabbed her. She shut her eyes out of fear. Valhayle¡¯s deep voice started flowing into her ears. ¡°If you can express your thoughts to me, that means you can also express yourself to the enemy. Hundreds and thousands of lives are at risk in a single confidential message. You thought I would trust you that easily?¡± He clenched his jaw and spoke. ¡°Especially if it¡¯s about the royal descendants?¡± When Zelle stopped struggling, Valhayle slowly released her. ¡°¡­Ha.¡± He rubbed his face and sighed. ¡°Why did I¡­ do such a pointless¡­¡± Zelle barely let out a breath. Valhayle mumbled with an exhausted face. ¡°Why did I believe that a bird could actually understand me.¡± Valhayle stretched his hands toward Zelle again. Zelle jumped backward unconsciously. He grabbed her gently and put her back into the birdcage. ¡°The decisions made in the meeting today will be the next message you deliver.¡± Valhayle walked back to his desk and started glaring at the map. *??:?????:* Days have passed. Zelleine¡¯s birdcage was still in Valhayle¡¯s tent. She still hasn¡¯t figured out why her name was mentioned in the meeting last time. But assuming from what she heard the past few days while she was getting her wounds treated¡­ Zelle felt the impression that the 1st princess and the 2nd princess could be alive. Obviously, Roheneim was searching for any surviving royal descendants that can succeed on the throne. It was also a logical decision that their priorities are the 1st princess and the 2nd princess since they were most likely to be crowned before the war in the first place. If Roheneim was in the capital when Granoir took over, they would have evacuated the 1st princess and the 2nd princess themselves. But the one in charge of that duty at the time was Lopecce. The two princesses escaped the castle with the help of the Lopecce army and lost contact with the main military. Zelle breathed in and breathed out. ¡®Looking back¡­ I also escaped with Lopecce soldiers.¡¯ Unfortunately, they failed in protecting Zelle so they could have failed in protecting her older sisters as well. Even so, Roheneim was hopeful. Zelle remained hopeful too. And there was a reason why she had hope. Granoir would have publicly executed the 1st princess if they had her since she was the most rightful heir to the throne. And assuming by Granoir¡¯s history of war, they definitely would have executed her publicly but that didn¡¯t happen. There was also no news that the 2nd princess was dead. It was quite notable that the 2nd princess¡¯s news hasn¡¯t been received by Roheneim. That was because the 2nd princess was officially engaged to Roheneim. That meant, if Demiera died within Roymonde territory, Roheneim would definitely know about it. But there are discouraged sides to this anticipation. If the 1st princess and the 2nd princess did successfully escape and are alive, they would have attempted to contact Lopecce or Roheneim. But neither Lopecce nor Roheneim received news. Based on Zelle¡¯s analysis of the situation, there was more than a 50% chance that they were alive. And she betted her hope on their survival. If they are alive, Roymonde still had a chance. Hoot Hoot. An owl hooted. It was already late at night. A breeze of cold air pierced through the tent cloth. On this starry night where only the sound of wind against tent cloth was heard. Valhayle was still investigating the Granoir army¡¯s movement. The lamplight shone on Valhayle¡¯s face. The light drew a shadow on his sharp nose, jawline, and the dimple under his lips. The sharp contrast revealed the agony and handsomeness on his face. Zelle sat on her birdcage and studied his face. Pitch black hair and dark gray eyes. The gray in his eyes was like moonlight reflected on a lake at night. As she stared into his eyes, Zelle thought of her second eldest sister. The 2nd princess of Roymonde and the one that was nearly married to that chief commander Valhayle. Demiera. Zelleine wondered what Valhayle felt, not knowing if his fiance was alive or not. ¡®How would it feel like?¡¯ Anxious? Sad? Or¡­ Zelle brushed the heavy atmosphere off her body. Would he feel nothing like me? Wishing for her survival not for personal attachments but only for the wellbeing of this country? The engagement between Demiera and Valhayle was discussed over years. It was a political engagement so they were basically considered as a wedded couple already. After the 1st princess Linbessy married the son of Lopecce¡¯s leader, Demiera was engaged to Roheneim by Linbessy¡¯s will. By engagement to ¡®Roheneim¡¯, it means engagement to one of the sons of the prominent families in charge of Roheneim. And since it was a political engagement, the engagement was usually made to the son of the leader. And the leading family of Roheneim was in no doubt, the Lumares. Valhayle of Lumares. Ever since he was engaged to Demiera, his name was fear itself to Zelle. If she was involved with him in any way, it was death for her. Zelle always reminded herself of that fact. Even though Valhayle and Demiera weren¡¯t definitely engaged, no one had doubts about their eventual marriage. Zelle drew a red line across Valhayle¡¯s name in her mind and tried to avoid him. But that wasn¡¯t easy. To avoid him, she had to know him. To even avoid coincidentally meeting him. Zelle made note of his usual schedule and route. Most of the time, Valhayle remained in the Black Defense Wall as Roheneim¡¯s commander even when there was no war. He was only back in the capital for 2~3 months in a year. The main reason he came back was to deal with political matters as Roheneim¡¯s leader and if he remained for longer than a week, it was because he absolutely had to attend major social events. In these recent years, Valhayle always escorted Demiera in social events. Anyway, because of Zelle¡¯s desperate effort in avoiding him, she successfully avoided him to the point that she barely knew how he looked like and Valhayle probably didn¡¯t know her too. When she was a human, it was a relief but¡­ After the way things have turned out, Zelle wished she had made at least one connection to the outside world who would try to find her. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h TL/N: Hiya readers~ It¡¯s been a long time ;-; Missed y¡¯all! A lil¡¯ notice to be made is that the update schedule has been changed to be every Sunday!! Thanks for the long wait!! Also I now have an editor so the quality will get better! Chapter 10 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Zelle watched as Valhayle aggressively pressed his temples. ¡®He must be under a lot of pressure.¡¯ But he didn¡¯t show any signs of being overwhelmed. Nevertheless, Zelle still believed he was suffering from the pressure. ¡®The very proof for that is him always talking to me.¡¯ Zelle nodded, satisfied with her conclusion. Valhayle had suspected her, a bird, and even tried to interrogate her. That was enough of a sign that he was under heavy mental burden. Zelle studied Valhayle¡¯s exhausted face. ¡®He¡¯s quite young.¡¯ The man the 1st princess married was about 10 years older than her, so she naturally thought the 2nd princess¡¯s fiance would also be about 10 years older than the 2nd princess. But he looked way younger than the 1st princess¡¯s husband. ¡®How old could he be?¡¯ She knew his schedule and how to avoid him; however, she didn¡¯t know¡ªnor did she want to know¡ªmore about him. So Zelle knew nothing about Valhayle¡¯s personal information. ¡°¡­..¡± Valhayle seemed to have felt Zelle¡¯s gaze. He looked back at her with a displeased expression. ¡°I noticed you¡¯ve been staring at me since a while ago.¡± Zelle quickly pretended to be busy. Whenever she tried her best to communicate, she was choked, called crazy countless times, and even almost killed because of his suspicion. So she thought just acting like a bird would have a higher chance of being safe. She had originally planned to wait until the next mission to leave the Roheneim camp and never return. Zelleine felt threatened by Valhayle. Her main priority was to save herself, so she had no reason to stay here anymore. Yes, the next mission. She was planning to behave herself until she earned enough trust from him. But¡­ Zelle changed her mind over the past few days. Ironically, it was because of Valhayle. Zelle studied him carefully the past few days. At first, she observed him to watch out for the potential threats that he might create. However, as she observed him, she grew more certain of one thing. He was doing all he could to not make Roymonde¡¯s name disappear from this land. Zelle thought of what he said when he grabbed her. Hundreds and thousands of lives could be lost in a single confidential message. Do you think I would trust you that easily? ¡®He said he did that to save hundreds and thousands of lives.¡¯ Zelle ruminated over what he said again and thought, ¡®My safety matters to me. That¡¯s why I am so angry with him for risking that. But¡­¡¯ Sadly, Zelle was more useful to this nation as a bird than when she was a princess. ¡®So I am not going to run away anymore.¡¯ Ironically, Zelle made that decision for the country that didn¡¯t even give her the rights to sacrifice herself for. *??:?????:* The next mission was quickly ordered. It was the first night after taking back the major castles in the East that the Granoir camp had stayed in. Valhayle brought Zelle out of the birdcage. He grabbed her wing joint tightly and remarked, ¡°You got heavier than the last time.¡± Kek. Zelle sucked in her stomach. To be honest, she did know that her bum was getting heavier and heavier recently. But she believed they were muscle¡ª not fat¡ªsince she trained every day. ¡®It¡¯s because of all the hard training that I¡¯m hungry all the time.¡¯ Zelle remembered how she finished her portion of food and pestered the soldier into feeding her more. Valhayle frowned. ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t get slower.¡± I didn¡¯t! In a fit of rage, Zelle swung her talons. Her feet were too short to reach Valhayle which enraged her further. You don¡¯t know anything! I¡¯ve read once somewhere that wild animals are more popular to the opposite sex when they¡¯re chubbier!! She huffed and puffed as Valhayle looked outside and spoke. ¡°There will be a storm coming soon.¡± Zelle looked out the window too. ¡°¡­..¡± ¡®Right. It was always around this time of the year.¡¯ A typhoon. Every fall, there was a typhoon in the Central region of Roymonde. Valhayle spread the map and explained where Zelle had to go. He still seemed to doubt Zelle¡¯s ability to follow his directions though. After he finished explaining, he approached the desk and mumbled. ¡°If only I could go there myself.¡± Zelle glared at him when she heard it. Where do you think you can go off to as the Chief Commander? Or do you want to become a bird or something? Valhayle packed the confidential message in a leather case and tied it around Zelle¡¯s ankle. ¡°Come back safely.¡± Zelle flapped her wings and felt that they had gotten stronger. All the training and eating were worth it. She jumped up to the sky and flew out the window. When she reached and pierced through the sky out of Valhayle¡¯s view, she felt a sense of freedom. ¡®Ah, should I just run away?¡¯ She felt a sudden urge to escape but she shook her head. ¡®Even if I leave this camp, there is no guarantee that I will find or even return to my real body.¡¯ It was more beneficial to remain at the Roheneim camp and collect information. In that aspect, it was fortunate that she was staying with the Chief Commander. ¡®I will come back as soon as possible and finally get to listen to their meeting.¡¯ Zelleine clenched her beak and started flying swiftly. *??:?????:* Valhayle gazed at Zelle¡¯s back which seemed excited somehow and frowned. ¡®I hope the success last time wasn¡¯t just a lucky occurrence.¡¯ It was impossible that a bird understood what a human said, but it didn¡¯t matter as long as it could deliver this confidential message. Valhayle had just sent a confidential message regarding the military supplies. To find all the soldiers that fell behind in the East, he needed more military supplies. He had also included a message ordering Lopecce to move onwards in a certain direction. In this chaos where it was too dangerous to send messenger soldiers and when messenger birds kept dying, if this message was delivered safely, Roymonde¡¯s military power would be matched to Granoir¡¯s military might. For that to happen, he had to avoid hand-to-hand combat with them. Valhayle pressed his temples. It felt cruel to put so much pressure upon a small bird. ¡°¡­..¡± A sign escaped through his lips. If it was a delusion that a bird understood him, then the bird will most definitely die in this mission. It had to fly through open land so it will inevitably be more visible to the enemy. But if it went as he directed, it will survive. If that happens¡­That proved the bird did indeed understand him to some extent. If that is the case¡­ What was that bird? ¡®Well, that doesn¡¯t matter right now.¡¯ Valhayle furrowed his brows. The most important thing right now was to find at least one of the royal heirs. Following that was to drive Granoir away from this country and save the people. Valhayle had no time to spare on thinking about other things. But that bird. That patterned brown bird that fit in his one hand. Its clever eyes somehow always got on his nerves. Whenever their eyes met, he felt like it was reproaching him. Sometimes he also felt a burst of anxiety about the royal descendants¡¯ whereabouts. ¡®Why do I feel like that?¡¯ Valhayle stared at the empty birdcage. It must come back before the wind gets stronger. The sunny, cloudless sky made him even more uneasy. *??:?????:* It was already her second visit to the Lopecce camp. Zelleine successfully avoided the Granoir camp and arrived at the Lopecce camp. ¡®Haha, what do you think Valhayle! Admire my amazing flying skills! I even understand the human language!¡¯ Then it hit her that she was being proud of understanding the human language when she was a human herself and her excited tail drooped. She flew to the biggest tent in the center and flapped loudly. A person came out of the tent. Last time a person named Sir Evon greeted her but this time it was¡­ Oh my. Zelle recognized the face and stopped breathing. ¡®Sir Caiburne?¡¯ Zelle instinctively tried to run away. Then she remembered that she was a bird and tried her best to stay still. ¡°Here.¡± Sir Caiburne spoke in a gentle tone. Zelle¡¯s breathing quickened and she hopped onto his arm. As he opened the confidential message, Zelle glanced at his face. He looked more emaciated than before. ¡°You must be thirsty.¡± Sir Caiburne set a bowl of water in front of Zelle. Zelle drank hurriedly and slowly backed away from Sir Caiburne. At this moment, her curiosity for the confidential message was the last thing that mattered in her mind. She was too preoccupied with her extreme anxiety staying in such close contact with Sir Caiburne. Sir Caiburne was the leading commander of the Lopecce military and the 1st princess Linbessy¡¯s husband. He was Zelle¡¯s 1st brother-in-law. He was the man who conspired with Linbessy every time she contemplated killing Zelleine. Zelle tried to find viciousness from his kind and exhausted face. No, perhaps it was all pointless now. There was no reason for him now to be hostile to Zelle since Linbessy was not around. Zelle thought of that and barely managed to calm herself. Sir Caiburne muttered to himself. ¡°So they don¡¯t have any news either.¡± He was in despair. ¡°¡­Where are you.¡± He didn¡¯t specify but Zelle immediately knew who Sir Caiburne meant. Sir Caiburne was searching for Linbessy. No, all of Lopecce was searching for Linbessy. Zelle looked at Sir Caiburne¡¯s desperation and let go of the resentment that she had for Lopecce. They wouldn¡¯t feel easy after failing at protecting all of the royal descendants. The ones that were responsible for it are all dead so there was no one left to blame anyway. And Sir Caiburne¡¯s face was the evidence for that. ¡®I guess being a bird is good for this one reason.¡¯ Zelle scorned herself. No one masked their emotions in front of a mere bird. No one had secrets to keep in front of a mere bird. All the people Zelle met as a bird were their true selves. The true selves which they didn¡¯t show to others. To be honest, they weren¡¯t the only ones who acted as their true selves. Zelle was acting true to herself too. Zelle finished a simple meal in Sir Caiburne¡¯s tent and got ready to leave. There was a storm approaching. She thought of returning to the Roheneim camp before the storm reached here. Zelle flew swiftly. And on the way back, the 8th princess Zelleine experienced Roymonde¡¯s harsh typhoon directly for the first time. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h Chapter 11 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* There are only a few things Zelleine knew about Roymonde¡¯s typhoon as a princess. One was that the typhoon swept through the central region in a diagonal direction. Another was that by the time it reached the capital, the thunderstorms were so bad that even going out to the Palace gardens was dangerous. Third was that many of the king¡¯s illegitimate children were killed and their deaths were disguised as accidents. Fourth was that after the typhoon had passed, all the royal descendants had to take part in the restoration process. However, only the 1st princess Linbessy and 2nd princess Demiera received credit for it. These were bad enough by themselves, but they weren¡¯t as bad as having to go through the typhoon head-on. This was a direct threat to life. Zelle heard something as she started her way from Lopecce. It was a very soft sound like the sound of paper flying in the wind. She couldn¡¯t tell what it was. All the senses in her body were telling her to listen carefully so she did. As she flew, the sound got louder and louder. ¡®This is strange.¡¯ Zelle wanted to ignore the sound and fly faster¡ªbut her body didn¡¯t allow it. She suddenly lost altitude like she was fully wet. ¡®This is really stra¡ª¡¯ Ah. Then, the danger detection ability that Zelle had as a human was activated. ¡®It¡¯s dangerous to keep flying this way!¡¯ Zelle swiftly changed direction. But at that exact moment, a clap of thunder roared. Zelle started flying away from the thunder sound. But it was pointless. Thunder sounds began roaring from everywhere. ¡®What do I do now?¡¯ Left with no choice, she turned back to her initial direction of flight when she felt raindrops on her feathers. ¡®No.¡¯ Zelle shut her eyes. Now she knew what would happen. When the thunder roars in a dry sky, the sky gets dark, and raindrops start to fall¡­ Rain and hail will shower along with extremely strong wind and lightning. I should have returned earlier. No, I shouldn¡¯t have left the Lopecce camp in the first place. She should have at least known better when she heard the weird sounds. When she could hear the sounds only a bird could. When she still had the chance to escape. But it was all too late now. Zelle looked around frantically for any trees or bushes that would serve as a shelter in the gale-force winds and lightning strikes. There was nothing. The central region of Roymonde was covered in plains. Excluding the capital, the surrounding areas were not developed. So the majority of the lands were fields and paddles. Zelle felt the wind that rushed through her wings. It wasn¡¯t a force that a bird her size could withstand. ¡®But if I stay still, I will die.¡¯ Zelle clenched her beak. She flapped her wings through the rain. Suddenly, everything turned dark and spear-like rain started hindering her sight. Heavy and saturated with rainwater, her wings faltered sideways along with the wind. She couldn¡¯t control her course anymore. Zelle thought as she was struck and scratched by flying branches. ¡®Are they safely evacuated?¡¯ If the war didn¡¯t happen, it would have been Zelle¡¯s job. It was her job to evacuate the people of the Central region and to distribute the supplies. If she did well, no one would recognize her work; if she didn¡¯t do well, she had to take all the blame. Compared to the responsibilities the 1st or 2nd princess had or even what the other princes and princesses were tasked with, her task didn¡¯t benefit her in any way. Unlike Linbessy or Demiera, she didn¡¯t meet the people face-to-face, so she didn¡¯t get recognized nor did she earn any political support. Nevertheless, Zelle loved this job. This year, when news of war was spread, Roheneim was sent to war while Lopecce and Voymont remained stationary. If the war hadn¡¯t occurred, Roheneim would have been moving the crops of the Central region to the Western and Eastern storages. Back when she was a princess, Zelle had felt uneasy about this. The crops of the Central region supported the whole country. This was a blessing but¡­ If Roheneim failed and the crops were destroyed from the typhoon, the kingdom would have to suffer through at least 2 years of food shortage. At the time, Zelle couldn¡¯t imagine Roymonde would be conquered so the only thing she was concerned with was the typhoon. She wanted to tell the people to move the crops to the Western storage since the typhoon came from the East¡­ But she couldn¡¯t. If Linbessy ever found out about Zelle¡¯s knowledge of Roymonde, she would be killed. Zelle saved herself by making her position unimportant. Yet, as a result, she couldn¡¯t save anyone either. ¡®I can¡¯t do anything.¡¯ That was when Zelle fully realized her powerlessness. And not long after, war really did began. Princess Zelleine was caught by the enemy during the escape. The typhoon that didn¡¯t come last year finally came, but now Zelle was a bird. A bird that was not even worth one soldier¡¯s life. ¡®Who will evacuate them this year?¡¯ The strong wind slammed her down to the ground. Her consciousness grew hazy. She could see the Black Wall in the distance. Is this the end? Zelle felt the wind suffocating her and she slowly closed her eyes. She was a little wistful that she had no name to call out at a time like this. *??:?????:* When Zelle woke up, she was in the middle of chaos. The only dim memory she had was that someone had lifted her from the ground and was trying to determine if she was an edible bird. She was slammed to the ground when she tried to wake up. And as she lost her consciousness, she saw¡­ A green military uniform. Zelle¡¯s eyes shot open. A Granoir uniform? Zelle then realized that she was still on the ground. They would have killed me already if they knew that I was Roymonde¡¯s messenger bird Yet why am I still¡­? She shook her dizzy head and looked around. Screams, metallic clangs, the sound of arrows. And the stench of blood in the air. There was a battle going on. Covered in mud, Zelle struggled to stand up. I have to run. I have to return to the Roheneim camp and give him this confidential message¡­ Grab. She was caught immediately. She looked up at her captor. She saw the design under his eye which was the distinct custom of the tribal unionized country Granoir. ¡®A Granoiran!¡¯ Zelle struggled to escape. The Granoiran pulled out a dagger and pointed it at her. Swish-! ¡°Kwargh!¡± With a sharp cry, a warm liquid splattered onto Zelle. Someone had shot the Granoiran with an arrow. She was still dizzy and sick to the stomach but she was sure of one thing. There¡¯s a Roymonde army here. Zelle brought herself together and flapped with all the strength she had left. Then I must deliver this. When she was up to about a man¡¯s height, she could see all the chaos. Bodies all over the ground, flags torn to shreds, and¡­ Zelle looked in the direction where the arrow flew. A yellow flag. Her instinct screamed: Fly over there! Zelle beat her wings with her last strand of strength. Then she hit something and fell. And then¡­ She lost her consciousness. When she regained her consciousness, her body was dried up. Then someone tugged at the letter case attached to her leg. She pecked the hand subconsciously to protect the letter. No. This is a confidential message for Roymonde. I will not let you have it. The hand tried several more times to grab Zelle¡¯s leg. ¡°Kieeek!!!¡± Zelle screeched ferociously. Then a familiar voice spoke. ¡°Leave it.¡± The hand moved away. Zelle panted and opened her heavy eyelids. Her whole body ached all over like she had been beaten up. ¡°Leave it and go. I¡¯ll do it.¡± After a few minutes, there was only silence. Zelle lifted herself up to look around. ¡°You are awake.¡± She turned to the source of the voice. The man with just-showered wet hair stared back at Zelle. Sir Valhayle. Zelle gasped. How? He seemed to have noticed her shock and frowned. Sir Luke, who had been silent this whole time, spoke up. ¡°Hey, crazy bird. Is your head ok?¡± He giggled, obviously enjoying the fact that he was talking to a bird. ¡°This is the second time you headbutted into Sir Valhayle. The first time was to his neck, and now his chest¡­ You hit the armor so you could have had a concussion.¡± Zelle remembered hitting something hard before she lost consciousness. That must have been Valhayle. Then¡­ Zelle looked at Valhayle with round eyes. ¡®You came to save me?¡¯ When Valhayle rose from his seat, Sir Luke also stood up. ¡°Sir, leave it. It will bite.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Valhayle approached Zelle and held her in his hand. Sir Luke cocked his head at Zelle¡¯s sudden calm demeanor. ¡°Huh. It¡¯s calm now.¡± Sir Luke remarked lightheartedly. ¡°We did not dispatch a reconnaissance troop for the bird but it¡¯s such a relief that we found it and saved the confidential message.¡± ¡®We saved the confidential message?¡¯ Zelle fluttered her wings in joy. Valhayle spoke coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Then his hands approached Zelle¡¯s leg. Zelle looked down and saw what the string attached to her leg was. ¡°¡­¡± It was not the string of the letter case. It was a bandage. ¡®I was injured.¡¯ Valhayle removed the bandage from Zelle¡¯s leg and spoke. ¡°You were flushed to their camp because of the typhoon, I assume. You were covered in mud and leaves.¡± Sir Luke replied. ¡°Yes. Thanks to that, they didn¡¯t know it was our messenger bird. We charged right in so they didn¡¯t have the time to cook it too so that was lucky. We can¡¯t allow our enemy to be full.¡± He tapped the desk. ¡°We are running short on messenger birds too.¡± Zelle realized she had been on the verge of becoming roasted or getting chopped into stew and shivered. Valhayle skillfully wrapped Zelle¡¯s leg with a new bandage and spoke. ¡°If Granoir gets information that Voymont is regrouping, they wouldn¡¯t stay still.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make sure this information stays within the camp.¡± Zelle listened carefully. Voymont. The military that supported the king. They were mainly based in the Eastern region which was the first to be conquered so their damage must be the biggest this war. In the beginning of the war, Voymont was defeated by the Granoir army and even lost the Black Defense Wall they were stationed in in Roheneim¡¯s place. Voymont still exists? I thought they were all dead. Zelle wasn¡¯t sure of the contents of the confidential message she delivered; however, she was now sure that it was something about Voymont. I guess they weren¡¯t wiped out. After mulling over this for a short while, Zelle thought of a possible reason. In this war, Granoir chose to be speedy. When they won a battle and conquered the castle, they just replaced the flag with theirs and moved on. Then they must not have had enough time to kill all the defeated soldiers. That means the Voymont soldiers who had escaped would have hidden themselves in the woods of the Eastern region¡­ Ah. Zelle¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡®Roheneim is looking for them.¡¯ *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h Chapter 12 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Zelle started thinking deeply. Hm, let¡¯s see¡­ There were about 40,000 soldiers in Roheneim, 40,000 in Lopecce, and 30,000 in Voymont before the war so¡­ Sir Luke¡¯s voice interrupted her course of thought. ¡°Granoir won¡¯t let that happen. They would know for themselves that the Black Defense Wall is geographically advantageous in battle.¡± ¡°Battle is inevitable anyway. But before that¡­¡± Valhayle paused abruptly. He looked down at Zelle who was still in his hands. Zelle erased her clever expression and hurriedly pretended as if her leg hurt. ¡°Gweck.¡± She noticed that Valhayle seemed displeased. ¡°Sir Luke.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± He continued in a different tone from before. ¡°Order the Black elite troops to cover the tracks of the five paths. We should move at dark.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± After Sir Luke left with a pile of papers, Valhayle sprinkled a minty powder over Zelle. ¡°Your leg will get better soon but your body will ache for some time.¡± Zelle quickly placed her injured leg down and looked over at the wound on her body. Valhayle stared as if he knew Zelle was pretending to be suffering. He spoke in a cold manner, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are trying to eavesdrop on but¡­¡± Valhayle continued. ¡°There¡¯s nothing a bird would be curious of in the warfield.¡± Valhalye brushed the rest of the powder in his hands and tied a long rope around her uninjured leg. ¡°Eat and rest.¡± He pointed at the bowl on the ground. Zelle followed his fingers with her gaze. The quality of the food looked better than the ones she had so far. Is this special food for recovery? She felt a sudden surge of hunger and thirst. It felt like she had lost all the weight she had gained in this mission. Her once chubby tummy was now flat. Zelle began to eat. After Valhayle saw her eating, he sat in front of the mountainous pile of papers on his desk. Zelle purposely ate slowly because she didn¡¯t want to be put in the birdcage yet. She glanced up at Valhayle. That pile of paper didn¡¯t seem to reduce. ¡®I wonder what work is he doing?¡¯ She didn¡¯t know much about military duties. She just thought all a chief commander did was train the soldiers, fight in wars, and manage labor. Then what is that pile for? It was undoubtedly an amount a person couldn¡¯t finish alone. He already did share some of that pile with the commanders of the orders. While Zelle stayed in Valhayle¡¯s tent, she saw Sir Luke, the commander of the 3rd order, distribute the work to the other commanders. So that pile seemed too much to be just for the army. Plus, Valhayle has been spending every evening to dawn after the tactical meeting on that paperwork. The tactical meeting should be his last duty of the day, so it was suspicious that he started the paperwork after it. Even if she knew nothing about the military, she could assume based upon her experience as a princess who spent her whole life in the palace that the military paperwork would never be that much. ¡°¡­¡± Zelle scrutinized the man who was focused on the paper on his desk. ¡®I thought a military chief commander was a really cool position.¡¯ Now that she was looking at the job they did, it just felt like an exhausting and burdening position. However, Valhayle never let his exhaustion be noticed by anyone. Not even by Sir Luke who seemed to be closer to him. From morning to night, he spent his time outside giving commands; overnight, he did the paperwork; and at dawn, he took a short nap. That nap was the only time Valhayle rested. What¡¯s so important about that paperwork? Zelle flew over to his desk out of curiosity. Valhayle flipped the paper over with displeasure. ¡­I didn¡¯t even get to read one word. Tch. Sensitive jerk. Zelle glared at Valhayle. ¡®But still, you are the first one to ever treat me like a human being. Even though you treat me more like a spy to be exact.¡¯ He spoke in a tone that sounded like he was repressing his anger. ¡°You need anything?¡± Zelle repressed her annoyance too and looked around to find anything she could read. Valhayle spoke coldly. ¡°Ah, the confidential message.¡± Then he pushed the papers away and met Zelle¡¯s gaze. ¡°This confidential message was very important.¡± He added wickedly, ¡°And you have no right at all to know its contents.¡± Zelle¡¯s eye twitched. So you wanna get nasty with me huh? The rope around her leg was currently loose so this was the best time to peck his eyeballs if she wanted to. Zelle prepared herself for the leap she was going to make towards his eye. ¡°But¡­ Good job.¡± Then she stopped. ¡®What??¡¯ I don¡¯t think I heard that right. Could you repeat that? Valhayle ran his hand through his hair with a slightly tired expression. ¡°You contributed greatly on this one. Thanks to you, we don¡¯t have to risk any more soldiers¡¯ lives communicating with Lopecce.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zelle grew solemn. Valhayle continued as he stared into Zelle¡¯s eyes. ¡°The commander-in-chief has to write a war record after a war. I give you my word that I will write about you in that book.¡± Zelle¡¯s jaw dropped open from the shock. ¡®He¡¯s going to write about me in a history record?¡¯ A weird feeling flowed through her after utter shock. It was horrible resistance. And something even scarier¨C overflowing joy. The promise she made to herself at her 8th birthday throbbed her heart. The promise that she would not leave any trace of herself on earth. If that was the cost of her survival, she would gladly do it to live on. She reminded herself every time that no honor would be allowed to her in this life. Even though it is not in my real name, he would write about me¡­ Zelle¡¯s head drooped. Pitter patter. Pitter patter. Raindrops fell on the tent. After a few drops, it soon started to pour. It seemed like a downpour was passing over. When the tent was filled with the sound of rain showering against the roof, just for a split second¡­ ¡°Grrrroo¡­¡± Zelle cried sorrowfully. She was going to be recorded in history for the first time in her life other than that one line of her name. But she didn¡¯t know how to cry as a bird. She didn¡¯t even know why she was crying. Joy. Misery. Despair. Fear. Valhayle silently watched the bird¡¯s tearless cries surrounded by the ambiance of rain. *??:?????:* It was the day before she was going to be sent for the 3rd mission. She finally heard about the status of her siblings. ¡°There¡¯s news that the 3rd princess¡¯s body has been located.¡± Valhayle¡¯s face darkened as soon as he heard that. But from his rather unsurprised reaction, Zelle could sense that this wasn¡¯t the first death reported. Zelle¡¯s 3rd older sister. The sister that was not close to Zelle at all. The sister she barely met once a year¡­ Is dead. ¡°Where is the body.¡± ¡°The first report was from the Black Defense Wall¡­¡± The soldier couldn¡¯t continue. The Black Defense Wall was still under the captivation of Granoir. Even if they located the body, it was impossible to retrieve it. The distant sound of Valhayle ordering something to the soldier flowed into the tent. Zelle was lost for words for a while and began thinking. My 4th older brother. He was born to the same mother as the 3rd princess. Was he not found with her? On the day of escape, the two escaped together in the same direction. Their mother, the 2nd consort, had been with them. If they got away successfully, they would have survived together; if they were caught, they would have died together. Granoir wouldn¡¯t needlessly dispose of the body in separate areas so it was strange. If the other¡¯s bodies were not found¡­ ¡®Could they be alive?¡¯ Zelle grasped onto the hope of the 4th prince¡¯s survival. The 4th prince was the favorite child of King Lespelle the 1st and the most supported royal descendant in Voymont. If he was alive to aid the 1st princess, it would be really beneficial in rebuilding the country. But the thing that made her uneasy was that the 3rd princess and the 4th prince didn¡¯t get along. Enough. Zelle ended her thinking there and shook her head. Now was the time to mourn for the dead. After the soldier left with Valhayle¡¯s orders, Valhayle slowly sat down and pressed his forehead with his palm. ¡°¡­¡± That was the 5th death out of the 11 royal descendants. The king and the 4th consort ended their lives in the castle so only 10 of the royal family were alive. 4 consorts and 6 royal descendants. All the consorts were from powerful families so if they did escape safely, they could have contacted their families for protection. But none did. By now Valhayle was starting to suspect if there was anyone that was purposely hiding their news of survival. If not, why is there absolutely no news on survival? But there was no reason behind his suspicion. The royal family had no reason to hide their survival from Roheneim since Roheneim would risk anything to save them. Valhayle calmed himself and reined in his suspicions. It wasn¡¯t always easy being logical in wartime. There was just no news yet. Or they are just not in the right situation to make their survival known yet. Or perhaps they are being really, really careful. ¡°Just one.¡± Valhayle mumbled despairingly. ¡°At least one of them should be alive.¡± He reassured himself and turned towards the birdcage. There was a bird sitting on a porch with a weird bummed-out face. ¡°You have to go to Lopecce again tomorrow.¡± He subconsciously talked to the bird again. The bird nodded as if it understood. Valhayle¡¯s face stiffened. Whenever the thought that he was talking to a bird crossed his mind, he couldn¡¯t help but feel like he was losing his mind. ¡°By the time you come back, this camp could possibly be wiped out.¡± The bird widened its eyes as if it was surprised. Valhayle clenched his jaws. ¡°If that happens, you will return to Lopecce and stay there.¡± Valhayle thought of the battle that was soon to happen after this bird was dispatched. He thought about the battle so many times that now his imagination felt so realistic There was no hope if they lost this battle, so this was planned meticulously and fiercely. But the bird seemed uneasy. Valhayle gave the bird a piece of meat left over from his meal earlier. ¡°But if things turn out in our favor¡­¡± He could feel the bird holding its breath and listening intently to him. Valhayle spoke with certainty. ¡°The distance of your return will be way shorter than the distance you traveled.¡± Since if they won, they will be able to push the front line much further. The bird didn¡¯t even glance at the meat and looked into Valhayle¡¯s eyes. And that feeling came back again. That feeling of uncomfortable pressure. When he tried to find the source of that feeling by staring back, the bird floundered and hurriedly ate the meat. ¡°¡­¡± Although he felt like he was being tricked, Valhayle dismissed that feeling. It felt reassuring that the bird wouldn¡¯t be in the tent alone during the battle. This bird could perhaps feel the clouds of war or perhaps it could hear the bloody battlefield. No one in the camp here could avoid this battle but he was grateful that he had the authority to keep the bird away from the battle. No, get your head straight. There¡¯s nothing to be grateful for about that. Valhayle shook his head. The bird looked at him warmly. Then he left the tent to attempt to forget about the bird and the dead princess. ????????¡ã?????¡ã???????? Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h Chapter 13 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Zelle set off on the third mission. Valhayle explained a detour route around the Granoir camp this time as well. Because the Granoir army also relocated often, Zelle had to know exactly where the enemy troops were. As she soared, she thought about the thing that didn¡¯t leave her mind since last night. ¡®There will be a battle.¡¯ Valhayle didn¡¯t explicitly say it, but she could tell. It seemed to be an important battle that would decide the fate of the 40,000 Roheneim men. When Valhayle was in the military tactic meeting, Zelle was in pointless training with the soldier in charge of messenger birds so she couldn¡¯t hear the details of the battle. However¡­ I know one thing. Zelle¡¯s eye focused on the Black Defense Wall in the far distance. If we win, we will be able to give a proper burial for the 3rd princess. Zelle thought about her 3rd eldest sister who would be hanging on the wall right now. Zelle¡¯s 3rd eldest sister was the most beautiful daughter out of the 4 princesses. At least, that was what Zelle thought. She was born around the same time as her 2nd eldest sister, Demiera, so she was on good terms with the 1st and 2nd princess. Even if Linbessy succeeded the throne, the 3rd princess would have lived. That was why Zelle was always envious of her. The ironic thing here was that she too was envious of Zelle. She despised Zelle yet at the same time she was jealous. Zelle didn¡¯t care what her 3rd eldest sister was jealous about. The only thing she cared about was survival. So, Zelle ran and hid from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd princess whenever they were threatening. That was the only thing close to a ¡®memory¡¯ she had with her 3rd eldest sister. In retrospect, it seemed like the 3rd princess had the same feeling toward her own twin younger brother as well. Sickly contempt and jealousy. Her eyes were as beautiful as precious gemstones but they also scorched like hellfire. But the glow in her eyes was now gone and her cold body was being used as a mere tool to provoke Roheneim and Voymont. Although Zelle had never loved her 3rd eldest sister, she was still enraged by her death. The 3rd princess was betrothed to one of the nobles of Voymont. Zelle didn¡¯t know if she loved her fiance and she will never know now. But the blood draining from her 3rd eldest sister was the blood of Roymonde. The royal blood had huge significance in Roymonde. It was like a tie that bound the three militaries and royalty together. And Granoir hung her body on the Black Wall like some kind of display. Their message was clear. Roymonde, the link holding you has now been cut. Zelle¡¯s head throbbed from the anger. Amidst the pain, she recalled what Valhayle said the other day. ¡®At least one of them. Should be alive.¡¯ The fury, worry, and blind faith in his words. She didn¡¯t know what reason he had to say those words. But when she heard him say that, she made a decision. ¡®It¡¯s time.¡¯ She realized that now was the time to begin what she had been planning since last night. Zelle tilted her wings and changed direction. You know what, Sir Valhaye? She rose high above and smiled while clenching her beak. ¡®This time¡­ I¡¯m not going to obey your orders.¡¯ *??:?????:* Valhayle looked up at the midday sky. The days were getting shorter. He didn¡¯t know how long the battle that was to start at noon would be. But he was certain of one thing. If the battle was drawn out until nightfall, Roheneim would be in a disadvantageous position. He lived the last 10 years in the Black Defense Wall so he knew tactics to fight effectively using the geographic advantage of the Wall. One of them was a prolonged battle and the other was a night battle. When the Black Defense Wall was the allies¡¯, it was an advantage; now that it was Granoir¡¯s, however, they had to fight that same advantage. After all, they had to recapture the Black Defense Wall. Valhayle grabbed the handle of his sword. There was a thin flow of dust in front of the Wall. There were 40,000 Roheneim men and 25,000 Granoir soldiers. Roheneim had more men but numbers had little meaning in this battle since the Black Defense Wall¡¯s geographic advantage could easily overcome that difference. They would fire arrows from above as the Roheneim army climbed the wall. Valhayle was considering destroying parts of the Black Defense Wall with an explosive in the worst case scenario. Fortunately, Granoir was confident in this battle. Since they couldn¡¯t easily capture the Wall even with multiple attempts, they must be thinking that it would be hard for Roheneim too. Conceited. Valhayle gritted his teeth. Granoir brought 100,000 soldiers when they intruded and stationed 50,000 near Lopecce and 20,000 in the capital. They even stationed 5,000 throughout the conquered castles in the Eastern region and stationed the remaining 25,000 in the Black Defense Wall. If he was the commander of Granoir, he would have stationed 50,000 men in the Black Defense Wall. Valhayle¡¯s course of thought paused. Perhaps¡­ Granoir¡¯s internal situation is failing. It wasn¡¯t confirmed but according to hearsay, Granoir had suffered damage from the typhoon. The people of Roymonde knew when the typhoon would come and thus had time to avoid it. However, Granoir wouldn¡¯t. Valhayle was aware that they relocated their camp near downstream of the Vishen River. It was a reasonable choice since the river would enable easier transport of the plundered resources. But during typhoon season, that area was watery chaos. If the water level rose because of the heavy rain and if many were flushed away along the strong current, Granoir must have lost a significant amount of soldiers and resources. Perhaps it could be a lie that there are 20,000 soldiers in the capital. Valhayle calculated all of this and predicted Roheneim¡¯s victory. If they recaptured the Black Defense Wall, the remaining Granoir troops would be trapped in the middle region. And once the color of the flag on the Black Defense Wall changed, the Voymont soldiers gathering in the Eastern region would have a definite destination. The deep yellow flag that danced like the flames of a beacon. It would be the guiding light for them. A horn signaled that there was only an hour left till noon. Valhayle drew his sword and slashed the rope holding the flag to the tent. He grabbed the falling flag pole. His eyes followed the tip of the flagpole and up to the sky. The sky. And a bird. He thought of the bird that was sent off for a mission to deliver the confidential message with the sigil of Roymonde. The messenger bird. Then suddenly he realized why he felt so pressured by the bird¡¯s eyes. The bird¡¯s deep yellow eyes. It resembled the color of Roymonde. He felt a sense of honor in those eyes. The common bird of prey in Roymonde, a cavier falcon. It was strange that he could see the whole of Roymonde in just those eyes. The horn signaled again. Half an hour until the battle began. Valhayle swung the flag like a bird¡¯s soar to the sky. The summoning horn resonated throughout the camp. *??:?????:* Voooo. Zelle flinched when she heard the horn from a distance. She shouldn¡¯t be able to hear this if she followed Valhayle¡¯s plan. She would already be in the mountainous area of the north of the middle region. But she had already made her mind to disobey his orders. ¡®Sir Valhayle.¡¯ Zelle talked to Valhayle internally. ¡®I¡¯m not going to make a detour around the Granoir camp. Instead¡­¡¯ Zelle grinned. ¡®I¡¯m going through it.¡¯ It was a dangerous plan that gave her chills just by thinking about it. But that was why she had the right to say the following words. So Valhayle, don¡¯t die and win. Zelle started flapping her wings powerfully towards the green flag far ahead. Zelleine arrived at Lopecce in 2 days. Because she had to carry out her plan, it took half a day longer than the original route Valhayle had given. When she signaled in front of the central tent, Sir Evon greeted her. Sir Evon was Sir Caiburne¡¯s half-brother and the commander of the 1st order. ¡®Where¡¯s Sir Caiburne?¡¯ Zelle had doubts about Sir Caiburne¡¯s absence but her exhaustion blocked any further thoughts. She barely maintained her balance and extended the leg with the confidential message. Sir Evon hastily removed the confidential message from her leg. Zelle noticed the bandage around Sir Evon¡¯s legs. He also had many recent wounds all over the body. Lopecce was also in continuous battle. Zelle was certain that Sir Evon¡¯s wounds were from the battle. Sir Caiburne¡¯s wary face last time and Sir Evon¡¯s wounds seemed to reflect Lopecce¡¯s current struggles and state. Lopecce didn¡¯t lose many men like Voymont or Roheneim but protecting the Western borders must be difficult in its own way. ¡®But the western region was lucky compared to the other regions.¡¯ Zelle thought to herself. Granoir conquered the capital rapidly from the start. For some reason, though, they decided to be slow on the western region. Perhaps it was because they thought Roymonde was already under their control and decided to focus on the war with the other nations. Anyway, with their decrease in speed, Lopecce gained some time to prepare. That was why Lopecce could retain their region despite the huge number difference. After Zelle ate some food and water brought by Sir Evon¡¯s squire, she fell asleep. As soon as the reply was written, she was going to leave for Roheneim. She obviously knew that her way back would be way more dangerous than the way she took to come here. Zelle was asleep for almost half a day. Beside her, Sir Evon was writing a reply with a frown on his face. ¡°¡­Hm. I should rewrite it.¡± Before tying the final response on Zelle, Sir Evon edited the contents of the confidential message several times.. He even summoned the secretary. Zelle sent Sir Evon a look urging him to hurry up, but the man lacked the sense to notice it. Sir Evon asked the secretary. ¡°When writing a confidential message, is there a rule on writing the royal descendants¡¯ names?¡± ¡°Yes, numbers must be written in word-form and you must state their full name.¡± So it meant that instead of 1st princess Linbessy, it had to be First Princess Linbessy Bmaha Meredith. Sir Evon asked again. ¡°Do you know the spelling of the 8th princess¡¯s full name?¡± Zelle froze. The 8th princess. She couldn¡¯t breathe. ¡®That¡¯s me. He¡¯s going to write my name in the confidential message. He knows something about my real body!!¡¯ Zelle floundered but neither Sir Evon nor his secretary looked her way. The secretary spelled out her name letter by letter. After successfully writing Zelle¡¯s name in the confidential message, he folded the letter roughly. He approached Zelle, who was shaking with shock, and tied the confidential message around her leg. ¡°Go.¡± She heard Sir Evon clearly but she couldn¡¯t move. ¡°¡­?¡± Sir Evon raised his brows and pushed her slightly. ¡°Hey.¡± Zelle fell over with no strength in her legs. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h Chapter 14 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* ¡°Uh.¡± Sir Evon spoke with surprise. ¡°It was normal just a few moments ago.¡± The soldier that stood beside Sir Evon approached Zelle and lifted her wings. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look so well. We have a few messenger birds in our camp so I suggest we keep this bird with us until it recovers and send another bird instead now.¡± That was when Zelle got her head straight. ¡®No! I can¡¯t be stuck here.¡¯ Zelle hurriedly tried to flap her wings. The soldier stretched his arm out to grab Zelle. ¡°Gwechh!!¡± Zelle cried and soared up to the sky, away from his reach. She circled around Sir Evon to show him that she was alright. ¡°It looks fine now.¡± Sir Evon said, and gestured. ¡°Go.¡± Zelle flew out of the tent. She had to return to Roheneim. ¡®Pull yourself together, Zelleine.¡¯ Zelle chided herself. You have something to do on the way. You also have something to do back in Roheneim. And most of all¡­ The confidential message on your leg. You have to read it to find out if you are alive or not. To do that, you must go back alive. Zelle focused and increased her speed. She had planned to go across the Granoir camp on the way back as well. That meant she had to risk her life again. Zelle headed downstream of the Vishen River. To the place where most Granoir soldiers were stationed. *??:?????:* Zelle didn¡¯t want to die. Although she had decided to take a more dangerous route, she really had no intentions of dying. Zelle raised her altitude to a level that an arrow couldn¡¯t reach based on her past experience with their archers. She could go higher but if she did, she would have difficulties breathing and that would slow her down. Flying at the altitude she was at right now was dangerous, but Zelle was confident she wouldn¡¯t die. But that was a misjudgment. Zelle was flying quite slow but she didn¡¯t fly on a straight course. She had a sort of plan. But the threat to her life came unexpectedly and when her instinct caught it, it was already too late. Swish-! There was something Zelle overlooked. It was because she was a royal descendant that knew nothing about war and the enemy¡¯s battle tactics. She had overlooked Granoir¡¯s archery troop that defeated Voymont. They had a mechanic bow that enabled them to shoot further than a standard bow. And when a Granoir soldier found her, he used that very bow to shoot Zelle. Swish! The first arrow shot past her eye. ¡°Gweckk!¡± Zelle was frightened and changed direction. Before she could even think how an arrow could reach this height, a second arrow flew over. ¡®What do I do?¡¯ She couldn¡¯t increase the altitude any higher. Without much thought, Zelle started flying in a zig-zag pattern. However, this method was not very effective. It only enabled her to barely dodge the arrows. ¡®I have to get out of their range.¡¯ Zelle spread her wings with strength. Perhaps it would be more beneficial for me to lower the altitude and fly faster¡­ Swish¨C! Another arrow was shot. Tshk. It hit Zelle¡¯s leg. ¡°Gwechkk!!!¡± A scream escaped from her mouth. The pain was so excruciating that she wondered if her leg was even still there. It hurts. No, the word ¡®hurt¡¯ can¡¯t capture all of this pain. I think I¡¯m going to die. But if I fall from here, it¡¯s a definite death. Zelle clenched her beak and tried to open her fuzzy eyes. But the pain was causing her to fly slower. Arrows continued to fly toward her from behind. She strained herself and increased the altitude with every ounce of strength to compensate for her slow speed and thought. Is this how I die? She had no more strength left to go higher so she would immediately die if she took another shot. Zelle shut her eyes from the fear of the impending death. *??:?????:* ¡®Is this how I die?¡¯ The wait for her impending death was awfully long. In the meantime, Zelle reflected on her life. She had no ability to attack someone or to defend herself. The only ability she had was her ability to barely survive. When Zelle was 11, there was bloodshed in the palace. It was inevitable since there were many royal consorts from powerful families. The 1st consort who had no children but had the 1st and 2nd princess behind her fought against the 3rd and 5th consorts who wanted to give power to their children. But in the end, none of them won and they had to cease their battle. Back then, the 1st consort attempted to kill Zelleine. It was to strengthen the 1st and 2nd princess¡¯s position in the royal family. Zelle was absolutely terrified. If her grown-up sisters and the 1st consort wanted to kill her, no one could stop them. Except, of course, the king. So Zelle would often hide in the king¡¯s office. She used to make paper animals from the king¡¯s extremely confidential documents without knowing any better. When the king found out, she was reprimanded for it. ¡®What did you see.¡¯ Terrified, Zelle listed out all the things she had read. The king had no choice but to lock her up in his detached castle until what she had read was no longer a secret. That was how Zelle saved herself from the 1st consort¡¯s assassination attempt. This was how Zelle continued to live her whole life. Like she was surviving, not living¡­ Yes. Zelle shot her eyes up. A realization struck her like a lightning bolt. ¡®My talent is to survive. So, I will survive this too.¡¯ Her mind started to clear up. Hawk hunting. When does a hawk fly at its fastest speed? Think, Zelleine, think. Think. Zelle recalled the memories from the hawk hunting she saw when she was a little child. She ran out of breath to the point her head was spinning and she was getting slower than she already was. Come on, remember! She closed her eyes from fear. I don¡¯t want to die!! Then something in her body or memory spoke. ¡®Spread your wings and fly downwards.¡¯ Just like how a hawk found its prey in the air and plunged down to catch it. Zelle immediately spread her wings and shot downwards. Swoosh. Zelle set a steep angle and increased her speed. The archers started floundering at her unexpected flight. The straight downward angle made her fly faster without much effort. Then the murderous intent started to fade. Zelle closed her eyes and maintained her position. His body soon caught on an air current and lifted. I¡¯m alive. I didn¡¯t get caught. Zelle flapped her wings slowly and set her direction toward the Roheneim camp. Now that she had escaped the danger, the pain in her leg started flooding her mind. Zelle tried to endure it and increased her speed but she grew dizzy from the blood loss. It¡¯s still a long way to go. I have to fly further from the Black Defense Wall. Her consciousness started to become dim. Zelle relied on the air current to fly. She could see the Black Defense Wall in a distance like an illusion. And the yellow flags in each flagstone of the long wall. The contrast between the black wall and the yellow flag made it very visible. So it¡¯s true that you¡¯ll see what you wanted to see the most before dying. ¡®The thing I wanted to see the most is¡­¡¯ Her body was heading in that direction not because of her will, but because of the flow of the air current. Ah. It¡¯s finally¡­ She was losing her consciousness. The end¡­ Plat. And she finally lost it when she hit something soft. *??:?????:* When she opened her eyes again, she was wrapped in cloth. Was I captured after all? When she tried to move, she felt excruciating pain in her leg. ¡°Gwechk-!¡± When she screamed from pain, the cloth that was over her was lifted. ¡°You¡¯re alive.¡± Zelle screamed again when she recognized Valhayle¡¯s face. ¡°Gwechhkkk!!!!¡± I thought I was dead! Why did you put that cloth over me! She screeched shortly and panted. ¡°The soldier told me to wrap you in cloth to keep your temperature from dropping.¡± Zelle then noticed that she was wrapped in good-quality cloth. Just as she was about to be relieved¡­ She realized something. Wait. How am I in the Roheneim camp? I still had to go more to reach here, though? Zelle peeked out of the cloth. Valhayle was looking down at her with cold eyes. ¡°You managed to fly over the Black Defense Wall in that state.¡± Zelle was surprised. ¡®The Black Defense Wall I saw in a distance was not an illusion?¡¯ Valhayle eyed the cloth she was wrapped in. ¡°You ran into the flag so you weren¡¯t as hurt when you fell.¡± He spoke in a dissatisfied tone. ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­ You ran into the central flag.¡± Zelle shook her head to get a hold of herself and looked down at the cloth wrapped around her. It was a bold yellow color. It was the central flag that was specially made so that it wouldn¡¯t tear easily. She flew into the central flag that each camp had for the commander¡¯s tent. There was only one in each camp.. Zelle closed her eyes after realizing what she had done. When she was losing her consciousness, she was bleeding a lot. So if she flew into the flag in that state, the flag must have been soaked from her blood. Oh, no. It was custom that a damaged or dirtied flag would not be hung again. It was because washing it could fade or ruin the pattern on the dyed cloth. So that meant she ruined the only central flag in camp. Valhayle spoke with gritted teeth. ¡°You should be grateful that you are using the central flag as your blanket.¡± Guessing by the situation, they must have decided to use the flag to wrap Zelle instead of burning it right away. She couldn¡¯t blame anyone for doing that since it was difficult to find extra pieces of cloth during wartime but¡­ She couldn¡¯t forgive herself for ruining the flag that should be flying mighty in the center of the camp. ¡®Why did I run into this one out of all the other flags¡­?¡¯ As she was regretting the unintended consequence, Valhayle spoke. ¡°What happened?¡± *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* TL/N: I know the cliffhanger in the last chapter was EVIL so the next chapter will be up within 24 hours! Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h Chapter 15 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Zelle stopped banging her head against the ground and looked up at him. Valhayle spoke as if he was holding back anger. ¡°I am quite confident if you went to the route I told you, you wouldn¡¯t have gotten injured.¡± Zelle recalled the reason she had to go through the Granoir camp. But she did disobey him. ¡°Googoo¡­¡± She feigned weakness, hoping to avoid his scorn. He will not hesitate to punish a bird so I should make use of my wounds. Who knows if he will execute me by military law? When Zelle started pretending to be dying, Valhayle approached her and remarked. ¡°I should show it to a medic.¡± He called for his squire outside and ordered. Zelle was relieved that she managed to avoid getting punished for now and quietly looked up at Valhayle. Valhayle mumbled. ¡°I thought it understood me. I guess I was wrong.¡± His voice somehow sounded bitter. Valhayle wasn¡¯t aware of Zelle¡¯s independent plan so he must have thought Zelle just flew in a straight direction like a normal bird. Zelle shut her beak in sullen silence. He suspected me for understanding him and now he is disappointed that I don¡¯t. Then suddenly, Zelle remembered something important. Right, the confidential message. The confidential message with my name on it! Zelle flapped her wings and got herself out of the cloth. Her wings weren¡¯t injured and she wasn¡¯t bound anywhere so she could move quite freely. When Zelle jumped into the air, Valhayle frowned. ¡°Your wounds haven¡¯t closed yet. If you move that much, it will¡­¡± ¡°Gweckk!! Gweecchk!!¡± Zelle circled Valhayle¡¯s desk. Where¡¯s the confidential message? Zelle landed on the desk and started digging through the pile of paper using her beak. Grab. She was immediately caught by Valhayle. ¡°Gweck!¡± Let me go! Zelle struggled to escape but Valhayle tightened his grip on her wings. ¡°It¡¯s going to hurt more the more you struggle.¡± However, Zelle didn¡¯t give up. She continued wiggling her leg towards the pile of paper. A trace of realization flashed through Valhayle¡¯s eyes. ¡°¡­Are you looking for the confidential message again.¡± Zelle nodded her head fervently. ¡®My name is in there. It must be about my life or death. Show it to me¡­¡¯ Valhayle spoke sternly. ¡°I thought I told you not to be obsessed.¡± ¡°Gweeck!!¡± Zelle screeched from frustration. It¡¯s not an obsession. I just need to find out what happened to me! Blood seeped out through the bandage so Valhayle started removing the bandage around her leg. While he did so, Zelle pondered over what she should do. Yes. I should use my injury to convince him to show me the confidential message. ¡°Kyak!¡± Zelle started pecking at Valhayle¡¯s hands. Valhayle dodged her attacks and spoke. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to help.¡± ¡°Kyaaaaaaak!!¡± Not before you show me the confidential message! Zelle continued to struggle. ¡°Are you refusing treatment?¡± If she had arrived safe and sound, she would have had the chance to eavesdrop on their meeting regarding the confidential message. But the meeting was already over while she was unconscious, so she had to read the confidential message herself. Blood spilled out from her wound and over Valhayle¡¯s hands. It was painful but Zelle¡¯s message was delivered to Valhayle. Valhayle pulled out a piece of paper in his inner pocket. ¡°Here¡¯s the confidential message.¡± Zelle tried to snatch the paper from his hand. Valhayle held the paper out of Zelle¡¯s range and spoke. ¡°If I show it to you, will you comply with being treated?¡± Of course! That¡¯s what I was trying to tell you to in the first place. Zelle stopped struggling. Valhayle¡¯s face stiffened a little. He placed the confidential message on the desk. Then he released Zelle and stepped away. It seemed like he was trying to observe what Zelle would do. As soon as she was released, Zelle rushed over to the paper and pecked on the string around it. Valhayle mumbled as he watched. ¡°So it¡¯s not trying to have it¡­¡± The string didn¡¯t seem to be severed so Zelle looked up at Valhayle. ¡°¡­It¡¯s trying to read it.¡± Zelle nodded softly. He extended an arm towards the message. Zelle flew and landed on Valhayle¡¯s shoulders. ¡°¡­¡± He fell silent like he wasn¡¯t happy but he didn¡¯t chase her off. The string fell off easily when Valhayle pulled it. Zelle thought with excitement. ¡®Finally. I can finally read the confidential message!¡¯ She widened her eyes and looked at the letters on the paper. [&^% [Eight Princess Zelleine Bmaha Meredith]+/?@] Eh? I can¡¯t read anything except my name. What is this¡­ Zelle froze from the shock. Vahalye waited for a moment before taking the paper away. ¡°That should be enough.¡± ¡®It¡¯s not enough!¡¯ Zelle lunged for the paper again. But Valhayle grabbed her first. ¡°Gweckk!¡± Zelle screamed from frustration. She overlooked the fact that confidential messages were written in military codes. A soldier entered the tent. ¡°Sir, you called for me?¡± ¡°Treat it.¡± Valhayle handed Zelle to the medic as if she was some unpleasant package. Zelle watched Valhayle leave the tent and screeched for the last time. ¡°Gweck!!¡± If it were to be translated into human language, it would have been too vile to be said out loud. *??:?????:* After getting treated, Zelle was wrapped in the yellow flag again and placed in the corner of the tent. There was now a rope around her uninjured leg. Valhayle came back late at night. He glanced over at Zelle and spoke. ¡°That¡¯s better.¡± He conserved the preceding phrase ¡®Now that you aren¡¯t in my way¡¯. Zelle lied down and glared up at him. I just don¡¯t have the energy to get in your way. Valhayle ignored Zelle and immediately started working. While he worked, Zelle repeatedly slept and woke up from the side-effects of the medication. The herb that the soldier had used was a common herb for reducing pain. Zelle had also used it often for her menstruation cramps when she was a human. But the effect was way harder on a bird and she was having a hard time staying clear-headed. Then Zelle fell asleep. It was around dawn when she regained her consciousness. The effect of the medicine faded and the pain was getting stronger. Zelle groaned from the pain. Although she had been barely audible, Valhayle somehow heard it. He turned towards Zelle. ¡°Looks like the pain is here after your episode of insanity.¡± How is every word he speaks so mean? Zelle grumbled, ¡°Grrooo.¡± Without lifting his eyes from the documents before him, Valhayle continued. ¡°You were lucky. If you arrived even a little later, you would have bled out to death.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hearing that she had almost died for real gave her chills. Zelle burrowed deeper into the flag. It¡¯s warm when I do this but also¡­ Zelle had to admit it. ¡®Yes. I feel protected.¡¯ I¡¯ve never been protected by anyone my whole life. ¡®No one values a thing no one protects.¡¯ She survived using this mentality of the people. That was why Zelle never attempted to make any connections with people who would ever try to protect her. But when this yellow flag surrounded her¡­ It felt like the Roymonde kingdom was protecting her. Aside from that, though¡­ Why is he talking to me all of a sudden? I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not because he is bored. Valhayle spoke coldly. ¡°This confidential message¡­ Isn¡¯t that important.¡± Zelle halted. Not important? My name is in there though? Her mind went blank. Yes. I know. This is Roheneim and thus the 8th princess is not important to the queen-supporting Roheneim. But still¡­ It¡¯s important to me! Zelle huffed and flapped her wings. Valhayle raised his gaze from his document to look at Zelle. ¡°Gweck! Gwechh!! Gweck! Gwettk!¡± Zelle showered swear words on him. You still call yourself the commander-in-chief of Roymonde! He obviously didn¡¯t understand them but his face turned hostile. ¡°If you continue to act like this¡­¡± He warned in an intimidating tone. Zelle scoffed. If she was in the body of a princess, she would be terrified at what he might say next like ¡®I will kill you¡¯, ¡®I will banish you¡¯, or even ¡®I will sell you to the Granoir chief for peace¡¯. Now that she was a bird, though, she couldn¡¯t be threatened by anything except her life. And she was confident he wouldn¡¯t kill her. Why was that? It¡¯s because it would be his loss to kill her. Who is the one who said she was the only useful messenger bird in Roheneim? Zelle shook her tail like she was taunting him. ¡®Kyahaha! I¡¯m not scared of anything!!¡¯ Valhayle continued coldly. ¡°I will starve you.¡± Sh*t. Zelle immediately stopped prancing. ¡°¡­¡± Valhayle noticed that his threat was effective and raised his brows with a confident expression. Zelle huffed and curled her talons. You dirty little bastard. How could you threaten to starve an animal for just screeching? Zelle knew the feeling of hunger in this bird¡¯s body. It was more painful than a human¡¯s hunger. So she had to shut up. When she fell silent, Valhayle spoke slowly. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you are so obsessed with the confidential message.¡± He ran his hand through his hair. ¡°But what I said is true. This confidential message had nothing much since there was no progress in the search.¡± Search? Zelle listened attentively to every word Valhayle uttered. The man continued in a subdued tone. ¡°The only royal descendants who haven¡¯t been found dead are the 1st, 2nd, 8th princesses and the 4th, 10th, and 11th princes.¡± Zelle¡¯s beak dropped open in shock. Chills ran down her spine. Surprisingly, Valhayle was explaining to her what the current situation was. Her body started shaking. ¡®My body hasn¡¯t been found yet.¡¯ Zelle could barely breathe. And the king and her other 5 siblings were¡­Dead. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h Chapter 16 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* ¡®The 9th prince. He was just twelve.¡¯ Royalty was not a status that was pitied by people for young age but she silently lamented for her half-brother. Valhayle spoke. ¡°I heard that the 1st and 2nd princess and the 4th prince escaped through the western gate. And that the 8th princess and the 10th and 11th princes escaped through the eastern gate.¡± It was true. Zelle recalled her memories and nodded. ¡°Lopecce is in search of the 1st and 2nd princess and the 4th prince assuming that they are hiding somewhere in the West. We, Roheneim, are in charge of finding the royal descendants who escaped through the eastern gate.¡± He burned the rolled confidential message with the candle. ¡°Lopecce sent a message that there is no hope for the 10th and 11th princes. They advised us to search for the 8th princess with utmost priority. That was¡­¡± He sighed behind the screen of smoke. ¡°The contents of this confidential message.¡± Zelle now realized why her name was mentioned in the confidential message. As well as why Valhayle had said this confidential message wasn¡¯t important. Valhayle watched the message burn with hopelessness. So you are saying none of us have been found yet. And that you are losing hope. Zelle was suddenly struck with an intense desire to tell him that she was the 8th princess. She hopped onto Valhayle¡¯s desk. Is it alright to tell you? ¡®Will you¡­ Believe me, if I do?¡¯ No, to begin with¡­Are you even going to understand me? Unaware of Zelle¡¯s torment, Valhayle gave her pieces of leftover food from his plate. ¡°¡­¡± Zelle watched those food pieces in silence. Valhayel spoke. ¡°We haven¡¯t found any signs of them in the East. But we recaptured the Black Defense Wall now so we can begin the search in the Central region.¡± Zelle looked at his exhausted eyes. ¡°¡­¡± As she looked into those eyes, a spark was lit in his eyes. Zelle was surprised as if she was burned by that spark. It was unusual. Even his anger was under control. ¡°Even if everyone says they are all dead¡­ ¡° He continued while suppressing his emotions. ¡°I don¡¯t believe that¡­ None of them survived.¡± Zelle could sense suffering in his voice. That suffering could be from his concern for the 2nd princess whom he was betrothed to or from the concern for this country¡¯s future. Does he really believe that some of us could be alive? Or is he simply denying the fact that all of us could be dead and that there is no reason to continue to fight. Zelle tried to look for an answer in his grey eyes. When Valhayle noticed the bird¡¯s gaze, he was startled. And the passion that once burned inside him was gone from the surface. ¡°Ha. I¡­ Must be tired.¡± He patted his cheeks and shook his head. ¡°I should get my head straight¡­¡± Zelle approached Valhayle, slightly dragging her injured leg. The bandage around his arm bothered her from a while ago. She placed her beak over the bandage where she could smell the most blood and pretended to poke it. Despite her small size, she was still a bird of prey. Thus, Valhayle pulled his arm away. Zelle moved closer and pretended to poke it again. It was her way of asking him about the wound. ¡°¡­¡± Valhayle slowly looked down at Zelle. And mumbled. ¡°You are¡­ Strange.¡± Zelle quite liked that and smiled internally. It felt like he acknowledged the human she was inside this bird¡¯s body. At the same time, she decided against telling him that she was the 8th princess. I don¡¯t want to betray your trust that we are alive as humans. Even though that trust may not be for me. Valhayle hesitated for a moment, then sighed. ¡°Really strange. But¡­ I don¡¯t know why.¡± Zelle¡¯s leg wobbled. The water she drank as soon as she woke up must have been induced with medicine. She was feeling sleepy again. Zelle curled up beside Valhayle. Her eyes grew heavy and soon fell shut. She felt warmth as she fell asleep. With the thought that it could be Valhayle¡¯s hands, Zelle finally slept. *??:?????:* The next day, Zelle was alone in Valhaye¡¯s tent for the whole day. Only the medic and the squire came by to check up on Zelle and to feed her food and water. After gaining some energy, Zelle went over to Valhayle¡¯s desk. She wasn¡¯t trying to look for the confidential message. ¡®It¡¯s in military code so I can¡¯t read it anyway.¡¯ Instead, Zelle stood on top of the map that was always spread open on the center of the desk. There were yellow stones that represented Roymonde and green stones that represented Granoir positioned all over the map. The only difference between the two colored stones was that the yellow stones were in exact locations on the map while the green stones were in the blank part of the map. Zelle patiently attempted again and again to hold a green stone and place it on one point of the map. Then another. And another. It hurt for her to move because of her injured leg, but Zelle continued to concentrate on arranging the green stones on the map. Not long after. As Zelle was on her last few stones, a cold voice resonated. ¡°Don¡¯t touch it.¡± Zelle turned back in surprise. ¡®When did he come in? I didn¡¯t feel anything.¡¯ Valhayle snatched the green stone out of Zelle¡¯s beak and said. ¡°This is not your toy.¡± He tried to remove the map from underneath Zelle¡¯s foot, scattering all the green stones she had placed. ¡°Gweck!¡± Zelle cried. But Valhayle must have just considered it as the bird¡¯s tantrum for being robbed of its toy and frowned. He grabbed Zelle and placed her back where the yellow flag was. ¡°Behave yourself.¡± Valhayle returned to his desk. She could hear him mumbling. ¡°¡­Many soldiers were injured in this battle. It¡¯s important to decide whether to proceed without them since it¡¯s difficult to predict when the next battle will be. All the other commanders are waiting for my order¡­¡± He pressed his temples. ¡°The situation is bad. Voymont is regrouping, but there are not enough military supplies for them. With the supplies Roheneim has now, none of us will last. I did request for more from the West, but¡­¡± Zelle watched him bite his chapped lips. ¡°There is no secure route yet. And we can¡¯t ignore the people of the Central region who have been plundered. We will need more than what we had requested.¡± Valhayle clenched his fist. ¡°On top of that, there¡¯s news that the Granoir troop that was attacking Sirzhan up north is returning after receiving news that the Black Defense Wall has been recaptured¡­¡± He paused abruptly. Then silence followed. Zelle cocked her head in curiosity. Why did you stop? Continue talking. Then she realized. Aha. Hey, you. You just shocked yourself for subconsciously talking to me again, right? ¡°¡­¡± Frustrated, Valhayle pulled the map. The stones were disorganized. Zelle glared at him and clenched her beak. ¡®You are going to regret that.¡¯ He spread the map out again and carefully placed the yellow stones back in their original positions and drew a few lines with chalk. Then he contemplated it. Zelle scooched little by little toward him. Valhayle placed his palm on his forehead. ¡°I wish I could become a bird and just have a look.¡¯ Eh? I think I¡¯ve heard that before. Zelle got deja vu from what Valhayle had just said. When he was dispatching Zelle to Lopecce for the second time, he said this: ¡®I wish I could go there myself.¡¯ Zelle had written it off as him acting strange. But¡­ You meant it? You really want to become a bird? Valhayle closed his eyes and pressed his temples. ¡°The Granoir archery troops are in their defense line. They are so secretive that there is no way to find their accurate location. The damage in the effort to secure a supply route can be minimized if I can find that out.¡± Zelle flew over to the desk and sat on the map again. Valhayle glared down at Zelle. Zelle held one green stone with her beak. And placed it on one point of the map. ¡°¡­¡± Valhayle seemed to have decided to observe Zelle. Zelle continued to place the green stones. After a few times, Valhayle spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your energy.¡± And removed one of the stones she had placed. ¡°It¡¯s going to hurt if you accidentally swallow one.¡± Zelle scowled. You still don¡¯t get it? ¡°Gwechh¨C!!¡± She shouted and snatched the stone he just took, putting it back where she had originally placed it. ¡°¡­?¡± Doubt ran through his mind. Zelle tapped the stones and arranged them into the shape she wanted. Valhayle jumped out of his seat. ¡°Did you¡­¡± His voice contained astonishment. ¡°¡­Pass through there?¡± Zelle ignored his shock. She stared dead into his eyes and nodded. Yes. And this is the information you need so desperately. The locations of the Granoir camps. Valhayle stared at the sight in incredulity before he finally let out a short sigh. ¡°I should have known when you came back with an arrow through your leg.¡± His rough hands grabbed Zelle. He pushed Zelle down with both hands and tilted his head to meet her gaze. ¡°How dare you disobey a military order.¡± He expressed his fury and clenched his jaw. It seemed like he was reminding himself that he was talking to a bird about military commands. He expressed his fury for a short while and growled. ¡°How is an animal this reckless¡­¡± Zelle cried piteously as she was pushed against the ground. ¡°Gwechhh¨C¡± To be honest, she wasn¡¯t hurt or anything. But she needed all the pity she could get now that he found out she disobeyed him. Acting pitiful was the best way to live at times like this. Zelle looked up at Valhayle and let out a fragile cry. Her acting must have worked. He loosened his grip. ¡°I told you so many times. If I lose you¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t continue. Only his hands got softer, not his voice. He spoke in a terrifying tone. ¡°How can a bird do such a crazy thing.¡± He spoke furiously like reciting a soliloquy. ¡°I didn¡¯t agree when others said you were crazy but¡­ They were right. You are crazy.¡± He let go of her as soon as he finished. Zelle warily moved away from him and he slid into his chair. Not long after, Valhayle¡¯s head shot up. He looked between Zelle and her arrangement of the green stones and back again. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h Chapter 17 Translator: KimmyEditor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Zelle hurriedly limped away from Valhayle. He looked at her injured leg and furrowed his brows. But soon, he relaxed his facial muscles and appeared contemplative again. It seemed like he was fully aware that trusting a bird was insane. But¡­It was probably difficult for him not to believe in what Zelle was trying to say. No, in fact he would be dying to believe it was true. ¡®So just trust me.¡¯ Zelle hoped the cold and logical commander-in-chief would make an illogical decision this one time. Valhayle finally pulled the map closer to him. She observed his every move carefully. If he understood what Zelle was trying to show and believed it, he would call for a meeting with the other commanders; if he did not, he would clear away the green stones from the map. Zelle held her breath and waited for his next move. ¡°¡­¡± It was neither. Instead, he pulled out a thin paper. When he placed it over the map, the green stone could be seen through the thin paper. He marked the spots where the green stones were. When he finished marking them all, he stared down at the paper for a long while before he spoke. ¡°I have something to ask.¡± Zelle flinched as she scooted away from his reach. His finger graced his eyebrows. ¡°If you really did go through there¡­¡± Zelle realized that he was starting to believe her and moved closer to him. ¡°You would have seen a big tent there. Did you see that?¡± Hmm. Zelle frowned. She studied the size and location of the camp but she didn¡¯t exactly measure the size of each tent. But she felt like she could remember it. Valhayle spoke in a resonant, low voice. ¡°It¡¯s the general¡¯s tent. In our country, it would be similar to the commander-in-chief¡¯s tent. They call it the ¡®Jweng¡¯. Granoir always sets the general¡¯s tent on the frontline so if you can locate where the Jweng is, we can find out where the army is headed to.¡± A big tent¡­ The biggest tent¡­ Zelle remembered something. Ah, right. The spear. Unlike the other tents that were built from wooden poles, one tent was built from remarkably long spears. She saw the deadly shining spearhead so she knew the exact location of that tent. Thinking about it, that tent did seem bigger than the surrounding tents. Zelle approached carefully and pointed at one of the spots Valhayle had marked on the paper. ¡°This one, huh.¡± Valhayle placed his finger over the spot and checked tacitly. Zelle nodded. Then, he made the mark a little bigger. ¡°Then their destination could only be the upper stream of the Vishen River.¡± He muttered as he folded the thin paper neatly and kept it in his pocket. Zelle thought it was strange how he didn¡¯t call for a meeting. ¡®It seems like he took me quite seriously, so then why isn¡¯t he¡­?¡¯ Valhayle leaned in and spoke with anger still in his voice. ¡°If you were caught this time, the enemies would have known about the 8th princess since her name wasn¡¯t encrypted.¡± He glared down at Zelle with intimidating eyes. ¡°Because of you, the 8th princess was almost in danger.¡± Zelle gulped. Technically, Zelle put herself in danger, but Valhayle didn¡¯t know that so obviously the value of life of a bird and a princess would be very different. I guess I¡¯m getting punished after all. There were previous cases where animals were punished during the war. For example, a horse punished for making the commander fall or a dog punished for exposing their location by barking. If a horse and a dog were punished before, a bird could be punished too. What happened to soldiers when they disobeyed a military order¡­? Zelle recalled. Hmm¡­. I think they were lashed or executed. Or the direct superior decided their fate. But I don¡¯t think they will tie a bird and lash it so¡­ Execution?! Zelle hunched her shoulders and hid her neck. ¡®No, I don¡¯t want to die.¡¯ She looked up to Valhayle, nervous. Valhayle¡¯s hand came towards her. Zelle unconsciously closed her eyes and cowered. He lifted her and placed her on the yellow flag. Then he tied the other end of the rope around her leg to the post. ¡°¡­¡± Zelle peered through her half-closed eyes and assessed the situation. H¡ªhe¡¯s not going to kill me? Valhayle spoke to Zelle who was trembling in fear. ¡°I will not allow any more irrational things like this to happen.¡± His tone was stern. ¡°So for that reason, there is no next mission for you.¡± Zelle widened her eyes. What does that mean? Valhayle kindly continued. ¡°It means I am no longer using you as a messenger bird.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Zelle looked up at him utterly with dumbfounded eyes. Valhayle rechecked the tightness of the rope around her leg and left the tent. Zelle flopped onto her legs from the relief. I didn¡¯t¡­ Die. Although she should be more relieved, she somehow felt uneasy. I thought I feared dying the most. No, I still do but¡­ Somehow, she felt angry. It wasn¡¯t because she thought she deserved to be punished. She had risked a punishment the moment she decided to disobey him. But¡­ Zelle curled up into a ball. ¡®He said he will no longer use me as a messenger bird.¡¯ It was the only thing I could do for my country without having to avoid other¡¯s eyes. She was angry but she didn¡¯t want to make it known. This anger came from despondency. As she suppressed her anger, she started justifying it. ¡®At least I delivered useful information.¡¯ While that was true¡­ Zelle clenched her beak. It wasn¡¯t enough. It could be arrogant of her to think that but to Zelle, it was nothing close to enough. It felt like something was cut off from her. Zelle let out a sigh with downheartedness. *??:?????:* After punishing the bird, Valhayle headed straight for Sir Luke¡¯s tent. The weight of the thin paper he carried in his pocket weighed down on him. The location of the Granoir camp. He still couldn¡¯t believe it and he still thought he was insane. If he hadn¡¯t seen that bird limping, he wouldn¡¯t have believed it. After all, this information was crucial to the enemy. Valhayle flung open the entrance of Sir Luke¡¯s tent. ¡°Ah, you scared me!¡± Sir Luke, who was carving an apple inside, jumped. ¡°Sir Valhayle!¡± He hurriedly stood up and paid his respects. ¡°You could have called for me. Why did you come here?¡± Valhayle glanced at the sign Sir Luke carved on the apple and sat down. ¡°¡­Don¡¯t engrave military codes in pointless things.¡± The other man scratched his head. ¡°I¡¯m going to eat it up anyway. Plus, this barely means anything.¡± Valhayle looked at the apple again. An apple. He thought for a short while what it meant to be able to have apples for the soldiers. They successfully recaptured the Black Defense Wall so part of the Central region was now Roymonde¡¯s again. This apple must be from the farms on the recaptured lands. Before this, apples had been a luxury. To the soldiers who only had porridge and dried meat, the apples would be a good stimulant for them. Most of Roheneim¡¯s soldiers were from the Central region where most fruits were farmed. So, just having a bite of this sweet apple would remind them of home. This would motivate them more to get their country and family back. Then he suddenly thought of the bird that must have flown past those farms. Blood as red as that apple bleeding out from that arrow wound¡­ He felt a sudden surge of anger so he let out a hoarse sigh to calm down. I should order the soldier to feed it more often. ¡°Sir.¡± I wonder if birds like apples too¡­. ¡°Sir?¡± Sir Luke called again. Then Valhayle came back to his senses. ¡®I¡¯m worried about a bird in this situation?¡¯ ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Instead of answering him, Valhayle pulled out the thin paper from his pocket and spread it on the table. A few dozens of dots were scattered irregularly over the white paper. ¡°What is this?¡± Sir Luke blinked with confusion. Valhayle answered bluntly. ¡°It¡¯s the map of the Granoir camp.¡± Sir Luke¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°Whaaaat¡­?¡± Valhayle silently arranged a map under the thin paper. ¡°¡­!!¡± Sir Luke stared in awe and was soon in shock. ¡°I¡ªis this really¡­¡± Valhayle nodded with seriousness. The other man gasped and brushed his chest several times. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± ¡°From a trustworthy source.¡± ¡­Trustworthy? Sir Luke¡¯s eyes widened. It was because he had never heard his superior say that before. The Lumares Valhayle whom Sir Luke knew was the type to clearly state his source if he was sure of the information; if he wasn¡¯t sure, he wouldn¡¯t even say it out loud. But he spoke of this source so vaguely? Valhayle felt the suspicion in the other man¡¯s eyes and ran his hand through his hair. ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain. But I decided to trust this information.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sir Luke scrutinized Valhayle¡¯s face briefly and lowered his head. ¡°At your command. Please, continue.¡± Valhayle pointed at the chair next to him. ¡°Sit. It will take some time.¡± Sir Luke dragged the chair and took a seat. Valhayle started talking. ¡°This camp location was last seen 4 days ago, so it shouldn¡¯t have changed much.¡± ¡°How do you know it¡¯s been 4 days¡­.¡± Valhayle waved his hand dismissively and Sir Luke shut his mouth. ¡°There is a high chance that they will maintain this formation until their reinforcement arrives. So we need to plan based on this information.¡± ¡°Yes, sir¡­¡± Valhayle pointed at the big dot marked on the thin paper. ¡°This is the ¡®Jweng¡¯. They went up north from the downstream of the Vishen River.¡± Sir Luke nodded. ¡°Yes. They must have suffered damages from the flood. Since they aren¡¯t very familiar with Roymonde¡¯s weather patterns, they must have considered the northern downstream dangerous and evacuated upstream.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. But we know our country well.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. The typhoon won¡¯t return so the northern side is safe now. But the Granoir army would still fear the flood.¡± Valhayle drew a line from one point to another with his finger. ¡°So we must secure a supply route on the northern side.¡± And he concluded. ¡°A supply route that connects Lopecce and us.¡± Sir Luke stayed silent for a moment before parting his lips. ¡°Sir. If this information is wrong and Granoir actually maintained its large camp on the northern side¡­ This is mass suicide. After all, they have 50,000 men while we have 38,000.¡± ¡°Yes. But our current situation is as bad as it is. We need supplies.¡± ¡°It will be a reckless plan.¡± ¡°Fortunately, soldier morale is high due to our recent victory. I think this is the best time for it.¡± Sir Luke bowed. ¡°Understood. Anything you¡¯d like to command?¡± ¡°I¡¯m calling for a meeting at midnight. Come to my tent with the other knight commanders.¡± *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h #StopAsianHatehttps://www.stopasianhate.info/ #WhatsHappeningInMyanmarhttps://linktr.ee/whatshappeninginmyanma Chapter 18 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* The strategic meeting lasted for days as the army advanced forward. Meanwhile, Zelle ate and rested well as she focused on recovering. During the break, one of the knight commanders talked to Zelle after she just finished eating. ¡°Hey, birdie. What¡¯s smudged all over your beak?¡± Zelle glared up at him but soon pretended she didn¡¯t hear anything. Another knight commander spoke. ¡°Sir Luke. Shouldn¡¯t this bird have a name too?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think Sir Valhayle would like that.¡± ¡°But still¡­¡± ¡°Have you ever seen Sir Valhayle attached to anything, much less put meaning into things like a bird?¡± ¡°N¡ªno.¡± ¡°Yeah, so don¡¯t even think about it.¡± ¡°But this guy is cute.¡± The knight commanders had been pent up in Valhayle¡¯s tent for the meeting for so long that playing with Zelle had become their little source of entertainment. ¡°You want this?¡± ¡°Gwechkk!¡± Zelle was getting bored of this eat-and-sleep routine so she played along with them but¡­ ¡°Break is over.¡± Valhayle seemed really unhappy with it. He entered the tent and glared at the commander of the 3rd Order of Knights who was playing with Zelle. Hmph. Zelle snorted. ¡®If you are not happy with this, at least release this rope around my foot.¡¯ Then, as if he heard Zelle, Valhayle approached and released her. ¡°It¡¯s probably bad for a bird to stay indoors for so long.¡± Zelle got chills when she sensed a hint of subtle spite in his eyes. He held Zelle and brought her outside where there were no people. ¡°Bring me apple leaves from the orchard far east from our camp.¡± Zelle wondered what that was for. Valhayle raised his brows and spoke. ¡°If you don¡¯t bring it, there¡¯s no dinner for you.¡± Then he entered the tent. ¡°¡­¡± Hey, you asshole!!! Zelle flapped her wings in anger. Flutter flutter!!! I¡¯m still a patient! I mean, my wings are totally fine now but it still hurts! No matter how much of a fuss she made, Valhayle didn¡¯t come back. Zelle was left with no choice but to fly over to the East. Tch. It seemed like today¡¯s meeting was going to be about something important. Well, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been out so this is refreshing. Zelle flew over the tents. *??:?????:* After the meeting was over and the commanders had left, Sir Luke called Valhayle. ¡°Sir Valhayle.¡± Valhayle looked up from the written transcript of the meeting. ¡°Sir Toby had proposed giving that bird a name earlier. What do you think?¡± Valhayle scowled. ¡°Is a bird¡¯s name important in this time of war? Do you want to be punished together with Sir Toby?¡± ¡°No, of course not.¡± Sir Luke immediately adopted a submissive attitude. He studied Valhayle¡¯s face and spoke hesitantly. ¡°¡­.But, Sir.¡± Valhayle looked at him. ¡°Why don¡¯t you send that bird back to where it was? It¡¯s quite troublesome to keep it in your tent. You have to treat it yourself too¡­¡± ¡°I have my own reasons.¡± ¡°And I don¡¯t think you are keeping it here for us since you obviously do not enjoy us playing with it¡­ Plus, some people have heard you speaking to the bird quite often¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Valhayle gave Sir Luke a deadly glare. When Sir Luke shut his mouth in defeat, Valhayle muttered softly. ¡°I said I have my own reasons.¡± ¡°Of course you do.¡± Valhayle turned his focus to the documents. ¡°Leave.¡± Sir Luke blinked in confusion. ¡°What?¡± Valhayle spoke in an intimidating tone. ¡°You¡¯re distracting me so if you are done, leave.¡± Sir Luke realized that he was being chased out of this tent for the first time because of a bird. ¡°Uh¡­.¡± Valhayle raised his brow as if asking why he hasn¡¯t left yet. Sir Luke internally lamented over his situation. ¡®Yeah, what can I do. If the superior tells me to leave, I have to leave.¡± He bowed. ¡°Yes sir. Rest well.¡± After he left, Valhayle¡¯s gaze moved from the document and over to the yellow flag puddle in the corner. He sighed. He had sent the bird away to stop it from eavesdropping in the meeting but¡­ Honestly, it was quite a far distance for an injured bird to travel. Why did I do that. I could have just left it outside. Flap. Speak of the devil. The brown patterned bird flew into the tent. It was holding a branch with two leaves in its beak. After circling around inside the tent, the bird spat out the branch before him. She was evidently not happy. Valhayle glared down at the bird quietly. The bird landed on the desk and huffed. He commented. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re too tired to chatter now, huh.¡± He could see the bird¡¯s eyes flare up in anger. ¡°Gwech!!! Gweckk!!¡± The bird started screaming like it was yelling. Valhaye furrowed his brows and turned away to ignore it. ¡°¡­¡± He realized how pathetic he is for trying to anger a bird and sighed. ¡°Haaa.¡± Valhayle didn¡¯t know why he was so spiteful whenever he saw that bird now. He pressed his temples. *??:?????:* After that day when he ordered Zelle to bring apple tree leaves, Valhayle started dispatching Zelle on all sorts of trivial errands. The orders were all suspiciously given right before the meeting time. ¡°Deliver this to the catering unit.¡± Valhayle handed Zelle a small letter. Zelle snorted to show her dissatisfaction. He always does this whenever I try to gather some information from the meetings. He trusted the information I brought him; I don¡¯t understand why his guard is raised so high against me. He¡¯s going to do anything to stop me from eavesdropping in the meetings. Zelle grumbled internally and flew towards the catering unit tent. When she delivered the note to the man who looked like the commanding officer, he gave Zelle a piece of meat jerky. ¡°Grooo.¡± Zelle made a pleasant sound to thank him and left the tent. The meeting is probably not over yet so even if I go back, he¡¯ll just order me to do another useless thing¡­ Zelle started circling around the camp to waste some time. ¡°Huh? Hey!!¡± Then she heard a familiar voice. Zelle looked down and saw a soldier waving towards her. ¡®Oh, he is¡­¡¯ Zelle slowly approached him and landed on his hands. ¡°You¡¯re doing well aren¡¯t ya?¡± Zelle glanced at the soldier¡¯s hands. His scar had now turned into an ivory color. He was the soldier in charge of messenger birds whom Zelle had hurt before. He patted Zelle gently and made a warm smile. ¡°I was curious because I heard you live in the commander-in-chief¡¯s tent. I heard you are being spoiled?¡± Zelle furrowed her brows. ¡®What, spoiled?¡¯ Hey man, don¡¯t even get me started! I can list down over 20 evil things he did to me. ¡°You should consider yourself lucky. You are the only messenger bird left in our camp now.¡± Zelle smoothened out her brows when she saw the soldier¡¯s gloomy face. Oh¡­ The messenger bird that came back injured last time didn¡¯t make it. It was wartime right now so human or bird, death was no stranger. Responsibility as a royalty of a defeated nation weighed down heavily on Zelle¡¯s heart. The soldier spoke again with spirit. ¡°You see, the commander-in-chief is not one to keep a bird in his tent. He only ever had messenger birds in for a few hours for missions. You are the first to ever stay this long.¡± Zelle pushed the soldier¡¯s finger as if she was embarrassed. ¡®I mean, I¡¯m pretty smart¡­ No, exotic?¡¯ The soldier continued. ¡°Looks like your wounds are being treated well. And, guessing by your hygiene and tummy, you were fed well too.¡± Yeah, I have to agree with this one. No matter how busy he was, Valhayle always treated her wounds and fed her well. The soldier giggled as he spoke. ¡°Maybe the commander-in-chief is planning to keep you as a pet.¡± Zelle¡¯s head shot up. A pet? Oh, father! Though we weren¡¯t close when you were alive, look at my state now! A pet bird as a princess! A pet birdddd!! Zelle cried out with sorrow. Even though I look nothing like a princess, a pet bird is too offensive! Why can¡¯t I be viewed as a free and independent bird! But her sorrowful cries could not be understood by the soldier. The soldier shrugged and mumbled to himself. ¡°Well, if not to keep you as a pet bird, he would return you to me after you are all healed.¡± Then a voice from a distance called for the soldier. ¡°Huh? Oh, they¡¯re calling for me. I should go now. Bye.¡± After the soldier left for his comrades, Zelle circled around the camp a few more times in frustration before returning to Valhayle¡¯s tent. ¡°You¡¯re late. Slacking off already?¡± Valhayle questioned. However, Zelle was so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she didn¡¯t reply to him. After the frustration and shame of being called a pet bird simmered down, another feeling overcame her. A pet bird, huh¡­ If she still couldn¡¯t find her body after the war is over, she will most likely die as a bird. Usually birds of prey like her only lived up to 10 years so assuming she was 1 years old based on the soldier¡¯s description of her as ¡®young¡¯, she only had about¡­ 9 years left to live. And that was if she was healthy. What happens to messenger birds after the war is over? She wasn¡¯t sure but they were probably released to the wild or¡­ Sold to hunt hawks. ¡°Are you listening?¡± Valhayle softly tapped Zelle. Startled, Zelle jumped up to the air. He frowned at her sudden flapping and stepped away. ¡°Calm down. I was just trying to change your dressing.¡± Zelle went still after hearing the word ¡®dressing¡¯. Valhayle placed her on his arm and walked towards the new bandage dressing. ¡°¡­.¡± Zelle watched him skillfully change her dressing and thought. ¡®Thinking about it, other than him hiding confidential information and being cold, he¡¯s not that bad?¡¯ He treats me, cleans me often, and sometimes shares his food too¡­ I don¡¯t want to admit but perhaps he is being a little nice to me¡­ No, no. Not telling her information regarding her home country was more than enough bad points about him. Since that was her priority now. ¡®But¡­ If I fail to find my body¡­¡¯ Zelle stared into Valhayle¡¯s eyes. He studied her, thinking that she was unusually quiet. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zelle clenched her beak. Alright. If becoming a pet is the best option for my survival¡­ I will become a pet!! Continuing to stare into Valhayle¡¯s dark gray eyes, Zelle smirked. And if I must, I will be yours. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h #StopAsianHatehttps://www.stopasianhate.info/ #WhatsHappeningInMyanmarhttps://linktr.ee/whatshappeninginmyanma Chapter 19 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Zelle decided. If becoming a pet is the best option for my survival, I will become a pet. And if I must¡­ Zelle¡¯s eyes met with Valhayle¡¯s mid-air. ¡®I shall be your pet!!¡¯ Aside from survival, there was another reason why Zelle couldn¡¯t leave Valhayle¡¯s tent yet. ¡®Well, if not to keep you as a pet bird, he would return you to me after you are all healed.¡¯ Like the soldier had said, Valhayle could send her back to the messenger bird tent if her foot was healed. She would be moved from the tent full of military secrets to a common bird cage. Zelle knew this was a very serious thing. She had to stick beside Valhayle to hear about the current situation in the war and find out about her human body. If she were to be sent away, she would obtain little to no information. ¡®I can¡¯t leave this tent.¡¯ I must stay here at whatever cost. That was how Zelle arrived at that conclusion. Yes. If that is the only way I¡¯ll be kept here¡­ ¡®I¡¯ll become a pet!¡¯ Plus, staying beside Valhayle increased the chances of her getting her body back since he was in charge of finding the 8th princess. ¡®Also, you are the only one that remembers that I only eat cooked meat.¡¯ After making that decision, Zelle burrowed into Valhayle¡¯s hands. ¡°Grooooo.¡± Zelle made a pleasant sound and rubbed her head against his hands. She felt like her dignity just dropped a little but she risked it for the bigger picture. How¡¯s that! I¡¯m cute, aren¡¯t I!! Valhayle stopped wrapping the dressing and stared. ¡°¡­¡± Then he tied the remaining dressing and uttered. ¡°Are you sick.¡± Ah, this prick. Zelle was offended. Nevertheless, she suppressed her anger and readopted her soft, cute attitude. ¡®Come on, make me your pet, huh?¡¯ Valhayle¡¯s face stiffened further. ¡°¡­¡± After a long moment of silence, a wave of embarrassment came over her. You are making me embarrassed, Chief Commander. At least show me some response¡­ I¡¯m a princess¡ªwell, a human¡ªto begin with. Kgh. She felt sorry for herself for becoming a bird and having to act like this to become a pet. Zelle decided to move away, thinking positively that it was a good sign that Valhayle didn¡¯t push her away. Well, at least it doesn¡¯t seem like he hates me that much. When she pulled away from his hands¡­ Valhayle¡¯s hands went over her head. Eh? And briefly, once, patted. ¡­.W-What just happened? Zelle was at a loss for words from the shock. As if he was answering her, Valhayle spoke. ¡°Yes.¡± For the first time, he smiled softly. ¡°¡­¡± Zelle¡¯s mind went blank. She could only stare at Valhayle. She didn¡¯t expect to see a smile on his cold and emotionless face. ¡®So¡­ He does smile.¡¯ But the glimpse of warmth was short-lived. He was back to his usual cold self and walked back to his desk. *??:?????:* The first time Zelle noticed that there was going to be an oncoming battle was through the food distributions. Valhayle always chased her out before the meeting so she didn¡¯t have the chance to eavesdrop on the strategic meeting. All she gathered was that they would continue to move forward and that they would bring some machines(?) with them. This gave off enough hints for Zelle to pick up on. ¡®There will be a battle soon.¡¯ The most glaring proof for that was the improvement in the soldier¡¯s meals. She actually hadn¡¯t noticed that it had changed at first. It was because Valhayle always had a similar diet. A small portion of bread, meat, and a few vegetables. He only ate enough to not feel hungry and to maintain his physique so Zelle just assumed that all soldiers ate like he did. But now that the knight commanders ate in Valhayle¡¯s tent, she could see the difference. ¡°Gwech?¡± Zelle held the boar meat Sir Luke had given her and cocked her head. I didn¡¯t see this type of food on Valhayle¡¯s plate though? Sir Luke winked and smiled. ¡°Eat up. You won¡¯t be able to eat these types of food in here.¡± ¡°Enough.¡± Valhayle said coldly. Zelle looked at Sir Luke and Valhayle and realized her state. Oh no. If I live with a frugal man like him, I will only get scraps of whatever frugal food he eats! While Zelle lamented her state, Sir Luke commented delightedly. ¡°Meat for 4 days straight. It doesn¡¯t feel like wartime.¡± Valhayle replied bluntly. ¡°If the meat is relaxing you too much, I will order them to remove it from your meals.¡± Sir Luke hurriedly crammed another piece of meat in his mouth. ¡°N, no, sir.¡± Zelle mulled over Sir Luke¡¯s words. Meat for 4 days straight. Guessing by what Sir Luke implied, it meant that that was uncommon. That meant something special had happened or was going to happen¡­ It didn¡¯t take long for Zelle¡¯s speculation to arrive at ¡®battle¡¯. It was another day, another lunch time. Sir Luke raised his hand whilst eating. ¡°Ah, I have some useful information.¡± It seemed like he had something to say to everyone gathered in the tent. Valhayle glanced over at Zelle. After a short moment of contemplation¡­ ¡°Continue.¡± He allowed Sir Luke to continue. Zelle widened her eyes. It was the first time that Valhayle included her in important discussions. She stared at Sir Luke with excitement and thrill. ¡°Like you ordered me to, I spread word in the Granoir troops about our manpower. It¡¯s a little exaggerated, but it should be effective enough to daunt them since they still have wounded soldiers.¡± Valhayle nodded. ¡°I see. Good job.¡± ¡°It was your idea to begin with, sir.¡± ¡°But you executed it. If Granoir is intimidated by that, we will be able to recapture the downstream area with lesser loss of blood.¡± Blood. And recapture. ¡®So, there will be a battle soon after all.¡¯ Zelle concluded. Another knight commander spoke up. ¡°They will most likely think we are in a hurry to the point we have become reckless since the Vishen River is still flooded.¡± Sir Luke took a big bite off his bread and added. ¡°If that¡¯s what they think, it¡¯s beneficial for us.¡± Valhayle glanced over at Zelle again. ¡°Everyone who has contributed to our victory will be rewarded. I will remember this.¡± It sounded like he wanted to end the discussion now because he didn¡¯t want it to continue in front of Zelle. He probably allowed her to stay in here because he knew there wouldn¡¯t be a lot of crucial information said. After all, Valhayle never told her about their tactics or battle plans even when he explained the situation to her. ¡®Right? Right??¡¯ But what he said, could it¡­. Zelle studied Valhayle¡¯s face slowly. ¡°¡­..¡± Could it be referring to me too? Is he saying that if the information I gathered for him contributes to Roymonde¡¯s victory, he will remember it? No, that¡¯s¡­ Presumptuous of me. What right does a bird have to be acknowledged of its deed? Being included in the Chief Commander¡¯s records is already more than I could wish. And what use would an award be as a bird? I can¡¯t use the money nor buy a house, nor be titled. While Zelle was lost in her thoughts, Valhayle spoke. ¡°We arrive in 2 days.¡± The atmosphere in the tent immediately became heavy. He added. ¡°Make sure there are no mistakes in everything.¡± Everyone in the tent answered simultaneously in a strict voice. ¡°Yes, sir!!¡± After hearing their answers, Valhayle, as usual, left the tent first. *??:?????:* The next evening. Valhayle dismissed the knight commanders and remained alone in the tent. Technically, he wasn¡¯t alone. ¡°Guwaack-¡± There was a bird in the tent too, demanding to be released from the birdcage. He had locked it up to keep it safe from the battle tomorrow, but it didn¡¯t seem to like that plan. ¡°Quiet.¡± Valhayle spoke patiently. The bird stared at him silently. It seemed like it was assessing whether he was angry or not. ¡°¡­Ha.¡± He had many thoughts running around in his mind but now this bird was distracting him. Valhayle walked over to the bird cage and flung the door open. ¡°I opened it so behave yourself.¡± ¡°Gwech.¡± The bird cried as if it understood. He returned to his seat and pressed his temples. Zelle left the birdcage and approached Valhayle. He sat still and looked down at the thin paper on the desk that was covered with drawings and words. Zelle glanced at one of the drawings. That is¡­ a catapult. It was shaped like a crossbow, but way larger, so it was mostly used in sieges. Zelle only read about it in books. She had never actually seen one. ¡®But this battle doesn¡¯t seem like a siege.¡¯ She looked at Valhayle¡¯s troubled face. ¡°¡­..¡± She felt a hint of compassion for him. He ordered everyone to rest early for the battle tomorrow, but he himself couldn¡¯t even rest. It was probably because of his other duties, but also mostly because of the pressure. Zelle hopped onto his shoulder and pushed his fingers away from his temples. ¡°Gwech¨C¡± Valhayle blocked her beak with his hands. ¡°Don¡¯t play around now.¡± She shook her head. No, I¡¯m not asking you to play with me. Zelle pushed her head against his temples. She could feel his heart beating. Zelle wished her intentions would be delivered to him as she rubbed her head against his temples. Hey, you should rest too. You need energy to fight tomorrow. ¡°¡­.¡± Valhayle looked at Zelle with a strange look. ¡°Are you worried about me?¡± *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h TL/N: I sincerely apologize to all my readers for the inconsistencies in the update schedule. I¡¯m in the process of moving back to my home country because my visa ends soon so I am busy with a lot of things. I know this isn¡¯t a valid reason for the previous late releases so I apologize for those ones as well. I will try to stack up as many chapters as I can and hopefully release more than 1 chapter a week (ON TIME). P.S. my editors have nothing to do with my late releases they work very fast so it¡¯s all on me. Thank you for taking the time to read this and sorry for letting some of you down. #StopAsianHatehttps://www.stopasianhate.info/ #WhatsHappeningInMyanmarhttps://linktr.ee/whatshappeninginmyanmar #SavePalestine https://savepalestine.carrd.co/ #HappyEidMubarak Chapter 20 Translator: KimmyEditor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Zelle had no other way to explain her feelings toward Valhayle right now so she just nodded. Valhayle grabbed Zelle and took her off his shoulders. ¡°My wounds are almost healed now. It¡¯s alright.¡± Thinking Zelle was worried about his wounds, Valhayle rolled up his sleeves and showed her the wound. The wound was closed so he should be able to fight like he said. Zelle wondered how he got that wound. He was a chief commander so there would be no way that he was incapable of protecting himself and he wouldn¡¯t have recklessly charged into the enemy grounds. On top of that, there would have been other knights around him and they wouldn¡¯t have just watched their chief commander get attacked. Then why¡­? Valhayle placed an empty bowl in front of Zelle and spoke. ¡°We won in the last battle because we know the Black Defense Wall better than they did.¡± He poured his water into the bowl. Zelle wasn¡¯t thirsty but she dipped her beak a few times to show her courtesy. ¡°It was crucial that we make it through the gate. We once defended it so we were aware that getting through the gates would give us a better chance of victory..¡± Then he continued in a lower, solemn voice. ¡°After the sacrifices of the soldiers, we managed to get through the gate. We slayed our enemies as we advanced across the castle.¡± Zelle imagined the scene based on his descriptions. Bodies everywhere and the cries of the living. ¡°It was extremely dangerous to go deeper into the castle only with the advance party but when we reached the end of the castle and killed the bugler soldier at the back gate, I knew victory was ours.¡± Victory. A droplet of water rolled down Zelle¡¯s beak. ¡°Even though the gates were open, we couldn¡¯t overpower the Granoir soldiers. If we continued fighting, there would have been way more deaths. So we used the bugle of the dead Granoir soldier to create confusion. We blew their retreat signal.¡± Valhayle drank the remaining water in his bottle. ¡°The Granoir soldiers heard the signal and were soon terrified. They started pulling back, not knowing they were actually fighting well¡­ And from then there was no point of fighting anymore.¡± He rubbed the scar on his hand. ¡°I knew that we would win, but I wasn¡¯t confident if I could make it alive from the retreat route I made since the Granoir soldiers started rushing in.¡± He gulped. ¡°I only felt the wound after killing the last green flag bearer.¡± Zelle realized that he had been as reckless as she was when she flew through the Granoir camp. ¡®Why would you do that when you could have been killed?¡¯ This country¡¯s whole army is waiting for your orders. Zelle glared into Valhayle¡¯s eyes in anger. He continued. ¡°If I didn¡¯t believe that Roymonde could be saved by recapturing the Black Defense Wall, I wouldn¡¯t have done it.¡± If Roheneim could recapture the Black Defense Wall, Roymonde would have an upper hand in this war. Despite knowing this fact, Zelle still couldn¡¯t dispel her anger. You are the commander-in-chief of this country right now. If you knew what that title means, you wouldn¡¯t have done that. ¡°¡­..¡± Valhayle glared back at Zelle. ¡°But this battle is different.¡± Zelle saw his hands ball into a fist. ¡°Even if we win this battle¡­ I¡¯m not sure if that is truly saving Roymonde.¡± She scowled. What do you mean? It¡¯s obvious that the more we win, the more chance we have of recovering Roymonde. Valhayle hesitated before continuing. ¡°If we recapture the downstream area from this battle, we would be able to recover the Central region. We will then install a make-shift bridge to replace the destroyed bridge and procure military supplies and aid from Lopecce. However¡­¡± Zelle sought where Valhayle¡¯s anger was directed at. ¡°If we trap the Granoir troops like that in the Central-Northern region¡­¡± ¡°¡­.!!!¡± Zelle widened her eyes. She found it. The reason why Valhayle couldn¡¯t rest even the night before the battle, where his anger was directed. Zelle felt her feathers tremble in chills. ¡®No.¡¯ Valhayle continued. ¡°The citizens remaining in the capital will suffer. Something similar like this had happened before. And it was genocide.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zelle looked up to face him while her body trembled. He gritted his teeth and uttered sorrowfully. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell this to anyone. Not a single person¡­¡± Valhayle¡¯s anger was toward himself, for having to make a decision despite knowing what the consequences would be. Zelle dropped her head. Zelle was a royal, so she knew the pressure of having to make commands more than he did, since he was in the position of receiving those commands before the war occured. The ones who made the commands had to decide for the majority, even if that meant a small group had to be sacrificed. However, the ones who made the commands did not have to face the results of their decision. That was how they tolerated the pressure. On the other hand, the ones who received the commands had to witness or experience the results of that decision. But they had someone to blame for the guilt. Regardless of the number of deaths or even their own deaths, they were free from responsibility. That was why they obeyed the commands and were able to charge toward their enemies. But in this case, Valhayle was both the one commanding and the one receiving the command. A decision made for the majority and remorse that he alone had to bear. That was a harsh thing indeed for a mere human. Zelle understood him painfully well, since it was the information she had provided that led him to make that decision. Therefore, the remorse wasn¡¯t only his to endure. She approached him and softly tapped his fist. When Valhayle released his hands, Zelle snuggled into them. She slowly crawled up to the fresh scar on his arm and brushed it carefully with the smooth side of her beak. ¡°Grooo.¡± Valhayle silently watched her. Zelle enunciated internally. Remember this, every time you look at this scar, that you risked your life to save this country and its royalty. The remorse you feel is entirely ours, not yours. You never had to feel it, ever since you decided to risk your life. He wouldn¡¯t be able to hear that nor feel that, but¡­ Valhayle allowed Zelle to continue as if he understood. She nibbled his calloused hands softly and ended her consolation. For the first time, she was glad that she was in a bird¡¯s body. She could only comfort him like this because she was a bird. She couldn¡¯t have done it in her real body. It was something that she couldn¡¯t even consider since she would never be allowed to do anything as her real self. Valhayle parted his lips after staring at Zelle for a long time. ¡°I know that it can¡¯t be but I feel like you under¨C¡± He cut himself off. But Zelle didn¡¯t need to hear the last segment to understand what he wanted to say. After a moment of silence, he spoke in a raspy voice. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how that¡¯s possible but-¡± He closed his eyes. ¡°¡­I feel like you are listening to me. And that makes me content.¡± Valhayle placed his hands on Zelle¡¯s head. He stared intensely at Zelle like the red charcoal that remained after a flame. Zelle returned the gaze without blinking. After a while. Valhayle stood abruptly. He grabbed Zelle and put her into the cage, saying in his usual cold voice. ¡°Rest. Everything will be decided tomorrow.¡± Then he blew out the light of the lamp. Deep darkness descended onto the camp awaiting battle at dawn. *??:?????:* 10 days since the battle at the Black Defense Wall and 8 days since the day Zelle described the map of the Granoir camp. 38,000 Roheneim men attacked the Granoir bivouac* in the Vishen River basin. To Granoir, it was an ambush. They hadn¡¯t had any time to predict this since Valhayle sped up the plan by leaving the wounded soldiers back in the Black Defense Wall. On top of that, Granoir had moved their camp to the upstream region of the Vishen River; only a few troops remained in the downstream region. After hearing news about Roheneim¡¯s advancement, they predicted that Roheneim would attack them from the midstream region. It was a logical prediction since the downstream region was still flooded. However, Rohenim headed downstream. The Granoir troops there were looking after the defeated soldiers from the battle at the Black Defense Wall. They were all trembling in fear from the accounts of the defeated soldiers and Sir Luke¡¯s spreading of the rumor. In Sir Luke¡¯s rumor, Commander-in-Chief Valhayle was described as some kind of monster. He was big and powerful as the black bear with a hideous appearance and terrifying swordsmanship. So when the Roheneim army attacked the downstream region. When Valhayle blocked every escape route possible with the advance party. The Granoir soldiers called Valhayle the ¡®Monster with Eyes Up In the Sky¡¯ and ran away. They never saw his face since he always wore a helmet in battle, so it was reasonable that rumors of his appearance described him way uglier than he really was. He benefited from those rumors in battle but he was soon infamous for his hideousness. No one knew why Sir Luke included such a detailed description of Valhayle¡¯s ¡°hideousness¡± in the rumor. But it was later discovered that Sir Luke and Valhayle were close friends ever since they were children and that¡­ A young noble lady from the East whom Sir Luke had admired for a long time had romantic feelings for Valhayle once. While the battle was fought, Zelle was in the birdcage inside Valhayle¡¯s tent. She could smell the scent of blood in the air. It reminded her of the Granoir reconnaissance troop that had been wiped out at dawn near camp. Roheneim killed every reconnaissance soldier they found in this advancement. They needed to hide that they were heading downstream, not midstream. The execution court was located far away from Valhayle¡¯s camp so Zelle didn¡¯t hear anything¡ªbut she could still smell it. A raw acrid stench that pierced through her nose. That scent still lingered in the air. Zelle couldn¡¯t help but think how much Roheneim blood would be included in that stench. After a painfully long and anxious wait, the sounds of the surroundings increased in volume. Zelle raised her talons and awaited. The entrance flung open. Zelle stared at the man walking towards her. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! https://discord.gg/E2esz6h TL/N: There is a manwha adaptation for CFP now! It was released on kakaopage just a few days ago haha! I¡¯m so glad that I picked up the novel before the manwha was released. I¡¯m excited for the manwha the art is so pretty ;-; Anywayyy thank you everyone for leaving those really nice comments~ #StopAsianHatehttps://www.stopasianhate.info/ #WhatsHappeningInMyanmarhttps://linktr.ee/whatshappeninginmyanmar #SavePalestine https://savepalestine.carrd.co/ Chapter 21 Translator Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* An unusual helmet and armor. Who is that? The smell of blood and mud along with the scent of various people came from the man. After removing his gauntlet, the man opened the birdcage. Zelle cowered and moved as far as possible from him. The man spoke, ¡°I came before announcing our victory.¡± As soon as she heard the voice, Zelle stopped moving away from him. The man¡¯s hands rose up to his helmet. His dust-covered hands lifted the heavy helmet and revealed sweat-matted hair. Lumares Valhayle. The commander-in-chief of the Roymonde Kingdom. And news of victory. Valhayle inserted his hand inside the birdcage and Zelle hopped onto his hand in excitement. He brought her out and placed her down on the table. But why is he here? Valhayle pulled something out from between the iron armor and the leather chest protector. Oh. Zelle couldn¡¯t breathe when she recognized it. It was a golden silk ribbon, a luxurious thing to be found in the gray warfield. She saw the light-reflective silk of the ribbon and immediately realized that it was a royal item. Valhayle laid the ribbon in front of Zelle with his rough hands and said. ¡°It¡¯s one of the things Roheneim received on the celebration of the King¡¯s birthday. I found it in their pillage storage.¡± Zelle looked at the ribbon and recalled the glory of the dead dynasty. Valhayle started tying the ribbon around Zelle¡¯s leg. It was a ribbon too clean to be touched by a soldier¡¯s dirty hands or to be tied around a dirty bird¡¯s leg. But Valhayle didn¡¯t hesitate. Zelle didn¡¯t resist either. Valhayle tied a not-so-elegant ribbon around Zelle¡¯s leg and spoke. ¡°I was thinking during this battle that you could be¡­ A gift from heaven. That perhaps you could be God¡¯s message telling me to win this war and rebuild Roymonde.¡± His voice was more agitated than usual. He stared into Zelle¡¯s eyes and continued. ¡°This victory is yours.¡± And without putting her back in the birdcage, he left the tent holding his helmet and gauntlet. ¡°¡­.¡± Zelle was silent. She felt the bustle of the camp and the excitement in it. We really won. A strong scent of blood remained where Valhayle was standing. Zelle froze from that smell of death and the royal gift around her leg. She mulled over Valhayle¡¯s words and¡­ ¡°Grooo.¡± Sobbed. For the dead Roheneim soldiers and the possible deaths of the citizens in the capital that would occur from this victory. The weight of all of the deaths were contained in that single strand of the royal ribbon. 8th princess Zelleine bore the weight of death she caused for the first time and couldn¡¯t help but sob at the entanglement of joy and despair. *??:?????:* After that day, Valhayle never tied her up nor did he send her away before meetings. Seeing that, Zelle concluded that Valhayle withdrew his suspicion of her completely ever since the Vishen River Battle. ¡®Wow, you seriously¡­¡¯ She was at a loss for words. You seriously suspected me the whole time until that battle? And that was why you wouldn¡¯t let me listen in the meetings too? After seeing me wounded by Granoir soldiers not only once, but 3 times?! But Zelle soon forgot about the frustration of Valhayle¡¯s suspicion because she was busy enjoying her freedom. Zelle left the tent and flew towards the Vishen River where the soldiers were working. She felt the warm sun on her feathers and flew lusciously. The pull of the ribbon flowing along the breeze felt nice. The Roheneim soldiers were building a temporary bridge on the Vishen River downstream to connect the Western region and the Central region. The water level went below the bank a day after the battle and the weather was perfect so the installment proceeded smoothly. Zelle liked watching the process. She spent her whole life hiding and avoiding things in the castle. So she rarely experienced anything outside the castle. Zelle watched the installment of iron pillars and the machine building the bride. She mumbled internally. ¡®I wonder when I will be back on messenger bird duty.¡¯ It was frustrating but understandable that she had to be punished for disobeying a military order; however, it was unfair that that punishment wasn¡¯t going to end. ¡®Sure, the victory is mine as you say.¡¯ Zelle grumbled as she chewed on a leaf of the tree she was sitting on. After a long while of chewing, her head shot up. Yes. I must go confront him. If I linger around him with something that looks like a confidential message, he¡¯ll probably understand what it means. Zelle flew towards the tent. When she entered the tent, she heard Sir Luke and Valhayle conversing. ¡°Granoir¡­ I thought they would wait in the Central-Northern region until backup arrived, but they aren¡¯t doing what we expected.¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s not easy knowing that the Western region will be under attack instead. Lopecce has a lot to protect.¡± Zelle landed on Valhayle¡¯s armor which was hanging in one corner. At that moment, ¡°Groooo.¡± An unfamiliar bird¡¯s cry came from somewhere. Zelle turned towards the source of the cry. Huh? There was another bird in the birdcage she used to be in. A brown-pattern and a slightly blue-tinted back feather unlike Zelle¡¯s. That¡¯s a¡­ Male cavier falcon?! *??:?????:* ¡°¡­.¡± Zelle stared at the bird, dumbfounded. There was no other bird than her in this camp. Then where did that cavier falcon come from? Was it captured recently? Is it a new bird to replace me? A sudden feeling of betrayal overcame her body. ¡°Gweeechhh!!!¡± Zelle cried out in anger. Valhayle and Sir Luke, who were conversing softly, turned towards her at the same time. You ungrateful, mean asshole! Zelle yelled. ¡°Gweck! Gwechhh!! Gweckkk!!!¡± The eye of the bird in the birdcage widened. Zelle didn¡¯t like its reserved posture and shining feathers. ¡®My competitor!¡¯ Zelle glared at the bird with evil intent. ¡°That guy is truly something peculiar. I thought it got calmer nowadays but look at it now.¡± Sir Luke spoke sarcastically. Valhayle looked between the bird in the birdcage and Zelle before he mumbled indifferently. ¡°Animals value their territory. It probably thinks the other bird intruded into its space.¡± Sir Luke shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Territorial fights only happen between the same sex. They are different genders to begin with.¡± Valhayle raised his brows. ¡°¡­I see.¡± Valhayle¡¯s eyes slowly studied Zelle. ¡°Then perhaps it¡¯s just being cautious of the new bird.¡± I¡¯m not! Zelle stomped her foot in frustration. ¡°Gweechkkk¨C!¡± However, Valhayle looked at Sir Luke as if he was trying to get back to whatever they were talking about. ¡°It would be a pain in the neck if the West is conquered so I¡¯ll command its citizens to evacuate to the mountain fortress.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. It would be best for the people to find shelter in the mountain fortress with all the resources just in case things go bad.¡± Valhayle started scribbling away on a small paper. Zelle was still huffing in anger, but she decided to continue her tantrum after Valhayle finished whatever he had to do. ¡®Look. Look what a rational and understanding bird¡­ No, I mean, human I am! Are you really going to replace me with that bird?!¡¯ While Valhayle rolled the piece of paper, Sir Luke brought the bird out of the birdcage. Valhayle started tying the confidential message around the male cavier falcon¡¯s leg. ¡°¡­..¡± Sir Luke patted the bird, which was extending its leg out so that it was easier for Valhayle to tie the letter around its leg. ¡°Wow. Lopecce trained their bird well.¡± Zelle watched this all in disbelief. Judging from what Sir Luke said, that bird must have been brought here from Lopecce. At this rate, that bird would soon steal her contributions to the war. Furthermore, it would threaten her position as Valhayle¡¯s pet bird. Sir Luke clicked his tongue. ¡°It¡¯s a shame that we have to return this guy.¡± Zelle widened her eyes. Eh? Return? To Lopecce? So that means that bird isn¡¯t our camp¡¯s¡­ ¡°Gweck!¡± Zelle jumped to express her joy. ¡®Yes, that was Lopecce¡¯s bird. It wasn¡¯t my competitor!!¡¯ The world suddenly started looking different. Zelle watched Valhayle tie the confidential message around the bird¡¯s leg with contentment. Yes, if you know what I¡¯ve done for you, you can¡¯t do this to me. Then Zelle observed the male cavier falcon without any feelings of anger from its head to its tail feather. Hm¡­ It takes quite good care of itself. Zelle looked at the bird¡¯s neatly shaped feathers and felt a little jealous. To be honest, she didn¡¯t care much about arranging her feathers. When Zelle continued to stare, the male cavier falcon started crying again. ¡°Grwoog.¡± Zelle realized that its cry contained friendliness. Hmm. So I¡¯m the same species after all, huh. Well to think about it, to Zelle that bird was a potential competitor; but to that bird, Zelle was probably just a ¡®bird¡¯. Then it cried the first time it saw me because it knew that I was one of its kind. Zelle returned the bird with a sound. ¡°Groo.¡± After not-really-communicating with a bird, she could see that bird in a more objective way. Zelle looked at its wagging tail feather and clever eyes and thought, ¡®Woah, it looks really dashing.¡¯ ¡­Huh, hold on. What am I thinking about a bird? Valhayle dismissed Sir Luke with a new order and turned to face Zelle and the male cavier falcon. ¡°It¡¯s loud now that there are two birds in the tent.¡± Then he grabbed the male cavier falcon and strode towards the entrance. The cavier falcon turned to look at Zelle. Zelle cocked her head. ¡°Return.¡± Valhayle sent the bird and Zelle watched it until it was out of sight. ¡®This must have been what it looked like when I flew away too.¡¯ Valhayle¡¯s voice interrupted her trance. ¡°What now.¡± Zelle turned towards him. The mane was looking at her with his arms crossed and an oddly offended expression. ¡°What bothered you so much earlier?¡± Zelle recalled the things she was going to yell about earlier. She also remembered that that was all resolved when the male cavier falcon left the camp. Well, it¡¯s still a mystery when he will let me back on messenger bird duty but¡­ Zelle felt a minuscule amount of trust from Valhayle, who was asking about her feelings. The trust of a man who knew that she wasn¡¯t like any other bird. Alright, that¡¯ll do for now. Anyway, the only bird you would use as a messenger bird is me, right? And I am the only one in the candidacy of becoming your pet, right?? Zelle landed on his shoulder, rubbed her head against his neck, and cried pleasantly. ¡°Gwoooo.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Valhayle looked at her as if he was trying to discern her scheme. But he soon gave up and sighed. ¡°What is this sudden change in behavior.¡± On the surface, this was another scolding, but. Zelle knew from his tone that he didn¡¯t dislike when she did this. Heh. Zelle smirked at her improving potential as a pet bird. W-Wait. This isn¡¯t it. She grabbed her head. ¡®I was just satisfied with my state as a bird¡­¡¯ Zelle didn¡¯t know if she should be happy or sad in this confusing situation. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! discord.gg/woopread TL/N: By joining the discord group you will get updates on every release you keep up to in the woopread website and will be able to communicate with other fellow readers and translators! Also please join and make me and Cthulhu happi. ???? Thank you~ P.S. As embarrassing it is for me to admit¡­ Those who are reading the manwha may have realized that the title is actually Carrier Falcon Princess¡­ (I read it as Cavier because of the ridiculously fancy and small cursive title on the kakao webnovel cover page) *sob* Butttt I think it¡¯s too late to change it now so I¡¯ll keep it kek. Also to those who are wondering about the source of the imaginary bird named cavier falcon in the story, in the raw it actually says ¡°Merne¡± (also a imaginary bird) so I just substituted all mentions of Merne to Cavier falcon (and I think it worked out well if not better so¡­) Anyway that¡¯s the embarrassing story of how one translator misread a fancy cursive and how this novel/manwha¡¯s title became Cavier Falcon Princess. #StopAsianHate https://www.stopasianhate.info/ #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar https://linktr.ee/whatshappeninginmyanmar #SavePalestine https://savepalestine.carrd.co/ Chapter 22 Translator Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* After the bird from Lopecce returned, Zelle started thinking about what it could mean. She had heard before that the messenger birds commuting between Lopecce and Roheneim kept getting killed; yet it seemed now that there was a new pathway for the messenger birds to commute safely after the battle at the Vishen River. Also, Zelle recalled the conversation between Valhayle and Sir Luke. They talked about Granoir moving to the West instead of staying in the Central-Northern region like they expected. Zelle started racking her brain. ¡®Does that mean¡­ The revenge massacre hasn¡¯t occurred yet?¡¯ While she was dwelled in her thoughts, Valhayle interrupted. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were a female bird.¡± Zelle looked at him bluntly. Even she herself had difficulty figuring out if she was a male or female so she understood that Valhayle wouldn¡¯t know. Zelle was only sure that she was a female because of the soldier who was in charge of her: he used to teasingly call her ¡®little lady¡¯ and ¡®caviana¡¯. Valhayle spoke. ¡°I noticed that you were communicating with the bird. What do birds even talk about?¡± Zelle dropped her beak in ludicrousness. How the heck am I supposed to know that? Do you know what ¡®Groooo¡¯ or ¡®Grooog¡¯ means? Huh? I may look like this but I¡¯m a human, not a bird! Valhayle started unbuttoning his shirt, getting ready to change. ¡°¡­Did you like that bird?¡± Oh my. This is getting out of hand. Zelle stared at Valhayle as if he was a lunatic. This human is uttering complete nonsense. ¡°Gweeeckk!!¡± Human, get your senses together!! Valhayle raised his brows. ¡°Does that mean you didn¡¯t like it?¡± ¡°Gweck-gweckk-gwech!¡± No, I mean get your senses together! Valhayle¡¯s face became slightly content. ¡°Then that¡¯s fine.¡± What¡¯s fine? You didn¡¯t understand anything. Just as Zelle was trying to screech out from the bottom of her stomach¡­ Valhayle removed his shirt. Eh? Zelle forgot everything she was planning to say as soon as she saw that male physique. ¡°¡­..¡± Gulp. Zelle somehow couldn¡¯t breathe properly. She was currently a bird so she didn¡¯t even have to look away, but it was too difficult for her to continue staring. Zelle actually never saw Valhayle¡¯s body despite living in the same tent. He almost always slept later than her. When he didn¡¯t, he would turn off all the lights before changing. ¡®I¡¯ve never seen a man¡¯s bare chest before¡­¡¯ Zelle closed her eyes in embarrassment but peeked through her half-closed eyes. I mean. Her golden eyes sparkled. Why not? Princess Zelleine was the type to always take the opportunity when it came to her. She swiftly overcame her embarrassment and started scrutinizing Valhayle¡¯s body. Whoa¡­ He¡¯s a little more tanned than women and has a few scars, probably because he is a soldier¡­ And his body looks hard¡­ Zelle drooled a little. Valhayle instinctively felt chills and rubbed the back of his neck. However, Zelle convinced herself that it was because he felt cold, not because she stared. Instead of changing into another shirt, Valhayle walked over to the corner of the tent where a bucket of water was placed and wetted his towel. Then he pressed the wet towel on the side of his torso. ¡°¡­..¡± Zelle broke out of her creepy observing and realized why he had taken his shirt off. There was a huge bruise around his rib. He must have hit somewhere hard or fallen off his horse. Zelle scowled at his black and blue bruise. However, Valhayle didn¡¯t even flinch. Instead, he looked like he was used to doing it, as if it happened that often. But he¡¯s still human. It must be painful. Zelle clenched her beak. Valhayle glanced over at her briefly while cooling his bruise. ¡°Why are you making a face like that? It¡¯s not even a severe wound.¡± She didn¡¯t realize but she must have been making a sad face. Zelle had never heard that a bird could have facial expressions nor that there was a person who could read a bird¡¯s facial expressions so¡­ She was surprised that Valhayle read her emotions. If you, the commander-in-chief, were wounded this badly, how many others would have been slain and killed? And for how many people did you take that wound for? Zelle recalled the deal made between the 1st princess Linbessy and the King. The King, Lespelle the 1st, wanted to earn the title ¡®Conquering King¡¯ before the end of his reign. When he felt that it was about time that he abdicated the throne to someone else, he declared his war plans to his children. That was the beginning of the ¡°Chewridge War¡± that would ultimately destroy Roymonde. Many of her siblings agreed to his war plans so as not to provoke the King¡¯s ire. However, 1st princess Linbessy, who had the support of Lopecce and Roheneim, was reluctant. If she disagreed with the King¡¯s plan, Roheneim and Lopecce wouldn¡¯t either. They would come up with all sorts of reasons to delay the war until the King would have to renounce the throne. The astute King was very well aware of that, so he used Voymont. The King faction, Voymont. The group that gained power by pledging absolute obedience to the King. The Voymont of the East that only supported the royal descendants favored by the King regardless of the statuses of their mothers. Lepelle the 1st said to Linbessy, ¡®If you agree to the war, I will give you Voymont. But if you disagree¨C¡¯ He looked at his 4th son who looked exactly like him. ¡®Don¡¯t you think war with other countries is better than a civil war?¡¯ It was a threat to Linbessy that he would give the controlling power of Voymont to his 4th son if Libessy did not support the war. If that happened, Roymone would have had a civil war. A civil war between Roheneim which supported the 1st princess and Voymont which supported the 4th prince. However, Linbessy didn¡¯t want that to happen. So, she accepted the King¡¯s offer and agreed to the war. Zelle suppressed her frustration. No, Linbessy. A civil war would have been better than this. The Voymont you wanted so badly is wiped out and the country is a mess. It¡¯s so bad that no one knows whether you or Demiera are dead or alive. Did you not know that things were going to turn out this way? Even I knew this war was dangerous. If you did know, why didn¡¯t you stop it? It¡¯s not like¡­ You wanted this to happen, did you? Valhayle interrupted her train of thought. ¡°You. What are you thinking so deeply about?¡± Zelle turned to him who was now in a violet shirt. Demiera, who was hostile, and Linbessy, who was disingenuous. And Roheneim and Lopecce that supported them. ¡®I don¡¯t care what they wanted.¡¯ Zelle thought. ¡®But this war shouldn¡¯t have happened.¡¯ *??:?????:* After the temporary bridge was completed, the military supplies and crop aid started being delivered. And Valhayle announced the plan to recapture the Central region. The militia of the East would protect the temporary bridge, Voymont would protect the Black Defense Wall, and Roheneim would increase their mobility and recapture the towns. The people in the castles made it known that they would open the gate for Roymonde¡¯s militaries, so Roheneim placed yellow flags in every place they passed through. And as for Zelle¡­ She had become something akin to a pet bird. ¡°Eat.¡± Valhayle held out a chicken jerky to Zelle, who was sitting on his shoulders. The latter ate the jerky and nibbled his finger teasingly. Valhayle carried Zelle around the whole time he recaptured the city. To rebel against his punishment of banning her from messenger bird duty, Zelle started finding jobs she could do on her own. She looked for places in the castle that needed repair, reported the enemy¡¯s escape route, looked for injured soldiers¡­ And occasionally flew over the castles that needed to be recaptured to locate where the soldiers were stationed. Valhayle fought surprisingly well and Zelle continued to help him despite getting scolded every single time. The two had to agree that they were great partners. So, as Valhayle became the hero of this war, Zelle became the hero¡¯s mascot. ¡®The bird Roheneim¡¯s chief commander brings around¡¯, ¡®the eyes above the clouds¡¯, which meant she saw things humans couldn¡¯t¡ªthose were Zelle¡¯s nicknames. Granoir never had nor used messenger birds. Thus, within the Granoir troops, word spread like wildfire that Zelle was actually Valhayle¡¯s other form and that it was Valhayle himself who flew over their territories to spectate. The fact that a bird that had an eye-catching ribbon around its leg was never attacked made the rumor more believable. However, none of the Roymonde¡¯s soldiers believed that. To them, Zelle was just their ¡®Commander-in-chief¡¯s pet bird¡¯. They believed the luxurious golden ribbon around her leg was proof that Zelle was his pet bird. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that the more you are exposed to the enemies, the more dangerous it is for you?¡± Valhayle gave her a jerky and started scolding her as usual. He was talking about how Zelle went over to Granoir¡¯s territory again today to observe. But Zelle couldn¡¯t understand why he wouldn¡¯t want that. ¡®We have to win though? Why aren¡¯t you using me to the fullest when you can? Plus, I¡¯m smart so I don¡¯t even really put myself at risk.¡¯ She was about to start yapping but the jerky inside her mouth stopped that from happening. Valhayle lit another lamp. He received reports of where the crop aids were every night. He read through the paper rapidly and nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a relief that we decided to move the crops to the West.¡± Zelle listened attentively. Valhayle continued with a sigh. ¡°And it was very fortunate that we didn¡¯t move it to the East.¡± Zelle nodded as well. Roheneim moved all the crops of the granaries in the Central region to the West before leading the vanguard of the Chewridge War. Usually, the crops would have been split into half and stored separately in the East and the West; this year, however, it all went to the West. ¡°The process was surely a little weird¡­¡± Zelle concentrated on his words. ¡®The process was weird?¡¯ Valhayle slowly parted his lips. ¡°The storing of the crops in the East and West in preparation of the typhoon that hits the Central region is only effective when the 1st princess Linbessy authorizes it.¡± That was right. Zelle knew that well too. ¡°His Majesty also has the authority, but he never really cared.¡± This was also true. Plus, the King was abnormally obsessed with the war, believing that he was going to win and expand the country. ¡°When the order fell to move all the crops to the West, our army was actually in a difficult position to carry it out. Such labor before the war had seemed like excessive work for us.¡± Valhayle frowned as if he recalled his regrets. ¡°So I asked the Royalty again about that order. But¡­¡± His eyes narrowed. ¡°I realized something was not right. The 1st princess didn¡¯t seem to know much about that order. She actually thought it was His Majesty¡¯s order.¡± Zelle mumbled internally. ¡®And the King probably thought it was Linbessy¡¯s order.¡¯ Valhayle intertwined his fingers. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t followed that order, we would not be standing here right now. A war without military supplies is fated to lose. The reason we lasted until now is because we won the battle of supplies.¡± He mumbled softly while folding the paper. ¡°Perhaps it was the royalty¡¯s foresight¡­¡± Valhayle stared into the lamplight with a complex expression before finally looking away. ¡°Anyway. Thanks to that, Roymonde avoided the worst famine in history.¡± Zelle let out a relieved cry. Valhayle patted her head. ¡°It¡¯s also thanks to you. You were the one who made the securement of the supplies possible.¡± Zelle shook her head. She wasn¡¯t the one fighting in battle and she wasn¡¯t the one who bled. Stopping what could have been a massive bloodshed deserved praise but blood was already shed. And Zelle couldn¡¯t take credit for that. Valhayle watched Zelle¡¯s sorrowful attitude and met her gaze. ¡°So don¡¯t go to dangerous places. We need you at critical times.¡± Zelle¡¯s eyes widened. Did he just¡­ Explain the reason why I shouldn¡¯t go to enemy territories? Valhayle continued as if he was answering that. ¡°Value your life. You saved many people¡¯s lives, so yours is valuable.¡± He tightened the loose ribbon on her leg and returned to his documents. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! discord.gg/woopread TL/N: I really didn¡¯t want to apologize again for the late release since I promised I¡¯ll try to release them on time¡­ But here we are ???? As a reader myself, I dislike delays so I know how it feels¡­ But the good news is that I will be free in a week (I¡¯ll be done moving!) and will thus be able to be back on track. This chapter was last minute and I thank Daed, our proofreader, for turning my sloppy work into a nice, readable chapter. Some appreciation for Daed especially for this chapter would be nice~ Thank you for reading!! #StopAsianHate https://www.stopasianhate.info/ #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar https://linktr.ee/whatshappeninginmyanmar #SavePalestine https://savepalestine.carrd.co/ Chapter 23 Translator Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* A letter arrived from Lopecce. Swish. A bird flew in through the window. It was the male cavier falcon that was here before. The male cavier falcon circled the room instead of going straight to Valhayle and approached Zelle. The male cavier falcon gently laid what it was holding in its talons in front of Zelle. What is this¡­ A mouse?!! Zelle¡¯s eyes widened. She had seen plenty of mice by this point so dead mice didn¡¯t surprise her anymore. In fact, she felt her appetite improve when she saw a mouse¡¯s juicy butt. Thinking about that made her depressed. Wow, I¡¯m an absolute bird now. But why a mouse all of a sudden?? Zelle looked at the male cavier falcon with surprise and it started making a very proud expression. ¡°¡­???¡± What. Is it expecting a compliment or something? Back when she lived in the palace, she heard before that her 3rd eldest sister¡¯s cat used to lay mice or bugs by the people¡¯s bed. The cat apparently repeated that behavior when people complimented it¡­ As Zelle was contemplating on how she should react, Valhayle scowled. ¡°It won¡¯t eat those kinds of foods.¡± He spoke to the male cavier falcon with a slightly condescending tone. That was when Zelle realized that the male cavier falcon brought the mouse as a gift. ¡®Ah, is this for me to eat?¡¯ Zelle stared at the dead mouse for a while and pushed it away slightly. ¡°Grooooo.¡± I appreciate it, but no thanks. The male cavier falcon¡¯s eyes widened. Valhayle tore a piece of his roasted sparrow and handed it to Zelle. And Zelle ate her favorite food with satisfaction. Valhayle watched her eat and looked down at the male cavier falcon coldly. It was like he was saying ¡®You see that?¡¯ with his eyes. The male cavier falcon cried miserably. Valhayle threw the mouse away and opened the letter around its leg. Zelle was more interested in the letter than the sparrow meat so she immediately flew over to Valhayle¡¯s shoulder. Sir Luke, who was going through a huge pile of papers per Valhayle¡¯s orders, looked up. ¡°If you keep bothering Sir Valhayle just because you earned his liking, you will be punished by him.¡± Zelle merely considered his sarcastic remark to be a way for him to relieve his boredom from the work and decided to ignore it. She started pestering Valhayle to show her the letter. ¡°Groo, groooo.¡± She pressed her talons into his shoulders softly for him to notice. ¡°¡­..¡± Valhayle frowned a little. ¡°¡­Fine.¡± He spread the letter open and Zelle rejoiced when she saw the words. It¡¯s Roymondean! There are limits to using military codes so not all documents were encrypted. So there were some letters and confidential messages that were written in Roymondean. Zelle joyously read the letter. [Evon of Lopecce. Last night, Granoir set an empty town on fire¡­ ¡­few towns in the entrance of the West were captured. The people are¡­] As soon as she finished the letter, her lightened mood quickly changed. Today¡¯s letter was sad news. For some unknown reason, Granoir started pouring all their manpower in the West. The Western regions were not plainous so they experienced difficulty capturing the area; even still, Lopecce couldn¡¯t fight them off alone. However, Roheneim couldn¡¯t go assist them right now, since they didn¡¯t have absolute control over the Central region. Roheneim was going fast but recapturing and aiding at the same time slowed them down. The Central region where there were still a few Granoir troops left and the Western region where they were all heading towards. The Central Western area continued to be unstable. After Valhayle and Zelle were done with the letter, Sir Luke read the letter. Zelle hopped off from Valhayle¡¯s shoulders with a heavy heart. The male cavier falcon slowly started approaching Zelle. Judging by how it was glaring at Valhayle, it must be unhappy that Valhayle threw the mouse away. Then Zelle¡¯s eyes met with the male cavier falcon¡¯s. Its fierce eyes immediately softened. ¡°Grooooo.¡± It came closer and started pecking lightly on Zelle¡¯s neck and arranging her feathers. Zelle¡¯s shoulders rose as she was startled. Oh my my. W-why is it doing this?? Valhayle looked at the bird with displeasure. ¡°Sir Luke. Put that bird in a cage.¡± Sir Luke looked up from the letter. The Valhayle he knew wasn¡¯t the type of person to interrupt when someone was reading a letter. ¡°Pardon?¡± When he asked again for clarification, Valhayle commanded abruptly again. ¡°I said, put that bird in a cage.¡± Sir Luke then looked at the two birds sitting next to each other. ¡­Aha. [Those birds flying high, their love fills the sky.] The two birds reminded him of a poem immediately. Also, he realized why his superior couldn¡¯t stand that sight. [Lonely is me, who am I to fly high with?] However, as Valhayle¡¯s good old friend, he suppressed his laughter and spoke seriously. ¡°Sir. This is why I told you to marry as soon as possible.¡± Valhayle frowned. ¡°What are you talking about. I told you to put that bird somewhere else.¡± Sir Luke continued softly. ¡°Sir. It¡¯s only natural that a male is attracted to a female in nature. It¡¯s totally natural. That mouse earlier is the sign of it for example.¡± Valhayle¡¯s frown deepened when he heard that¡­ And Zelle¡¯s beak dropped. ¡®This bird¡­Is attracted to me?¡¯ Like how a male is attracted to a female? And that mouse was a sign of it?! ¡°Ggweeeckk!!!¡± Zelle shoved the bird that was grooming her feathers away and flew up. ¡°Gwech!! Gweckk!!!¡± Hey, I¡¯m a human!! The male cavier falcon started flying after Zelle. Zelle flew away from it, circling the room. However, she couldn¡¯t get it to give up so she flew into Valhayle¡¯s chest. Valhayle covered her and spoke coldly. ¡°She doesn¡¯t like it. Put it away.¡± Sir Luke started arguing. ¡°Ey, sir. Animals usually have a¡­ Rough mating. It looks like they dislike it and are attacking each other but in the end¡­ ahem, um. They end up in this and that.¡± Sir Luke tried to describe the ¡®this and that¡¯ with his hands but soon gave up. ¡°Why would you stop it when we actually need more messenger birds?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Valhayle fell silent for a short while as he glowered at the male cavier falcon. ¡°So animals don¡¯t have the right to reject now?¡± Sir Luke made a dumbfounded expression. ¡°I mean, how do you even know if that¡¯s a rejection or not?¡± Valhayle ignored his question and continued. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t approve of this male bird. Put it away. It¡¯s an order.¡± Wow, he ordered it. He even used the word ¡®order¡¯ in this situation. But when the superior says it¡¯s an order, I have no other choice but to comply. ¡°¡­Yes, sir.¡± Sir Luke complained internally and placed the male bird inside a cage. Zelle sighed in relief. She almost had to reproduce as a bird. She never even met a man¡¯s eyes, to say nothing of how she hadn¡¯t ever gotten engaged, so she couldn¡¯t have baby birds yet. Zelle burrowed deeper into Valhayle¡¯s arms seeking comfort. After locking the cage, Sir Luke questioned. ¡°But sir. Are you being jealous?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Valhayle looked at Sir Luke with a look of pure disgust. Sir Luke withdrew immediately and saluted. ¡°S¡ªsorry sir! I just never saw you like this so¡­ Haha, I¡¯m done with the letter so I¡¯ll get going now¡­¡± ¡°Stop.¡± Valhayle called for Sir Luke threateningly. Damn it, my cursed tongue. Sir Luke regarded his tongue with contempt for not knowing its limits and turned to face Valhayle. ¡°¡­Yes?¡± ¡°That thing.¡± Valhayle tipped his chin towards the male cavier falcon. ¡°Take it out of my sight.¡± ¡°Whaaat?¡± Valhayle¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Do I need to repeat this again too?¡± ¡°No, sir!¡± Sir Luke grabbed the bird cage swiftly. ¡°I¡¯ll get going now.¡± Zelle peeked at the male cavier falcon and Sir Luke as they left. Before the door closed, the male cavier falcon squawked for the last time. ¡°Gweecchh¨C!!¡± It contained frustration. *??:?????:* A few days later. The enemy messenger soldier, holding a green flag, visited. It was immediately after one of the major towns of the Central region was recaptured. Roheneim had left the recaptured castle and proceeded while moving in tents. Before the enemy messenger soldier entered Valhayle¡¯s tent, Valhayle hid Zelle in the tent. ¡°Do not make any sound.¡± Shortly afterwards, Valhayle added. ¡°There could be people trying to harm you.¡± Zelle immediately conceded. There was a rumor that she was Valhayle¡¯s other physical form so there were even absurd rumors going around that killing Zelle would kill Valhayle. It would be easier to kill a bird than to kill Valhayle so there could be an assassin after her life. Obviously, Valhayle wouldn¡¯t die just because Zelle was dead; however, if there were news that Valhayle lost his ¡®eye in the sky¡¯, it would increase the enemies¡¯ morale. After all, Zelle was more symbolic to the enemies than to the allies. Yet¡­ Zelle still couldn¡¯t understand. ¡®If he meant to hide me, isn¡¯t it better to hide me in another tent¡­?¡¯ Is he doing this so I can hear them? She wondered but there was no time to find out. Valhayle opened the basket a crack so she could breathe and went over to his desk. Zelle peeked through the gap. ¡°Let him in.¡± At his command, the messenger soldier who was completely disarmed by the Roheneim soldiers was brought inside. The people in the tent looked at the messenger soldier frigidly. The knights in this room were high-ranked knights who were at least vice commander-in-chiefs. The messenger soldier spoke in terribly amateuristic Roymondean. ¡°Greetings, tribe¡¯s leader, sends. I come here, discussion, for negotiation.¡± And he started reading the letter he brought. The knights in the tent frowned at the crassness of his behavior. The conquerist country, Granoir. They were a united country composed of diverse tribes so their union was always unstable. For that reason, Granoir¡¯s leaders diverted the conflict within their tribes to an outside force to avoid war. It was a clever way to rule over the tribes that cooperated surprisingly well when there was a shared enemy. The purpose of their wars was not to ¡®rule¡¯ but to ¡®conquer¡¯. As a result, they didn¡¯t learn any other language than theirs. So it was normal that the messenger soldier was not fluent in Roymondean. However, during negotiations with a foreign country, having someone who could barely communicate in that foreign country¡¯s language was disrespectful. It was a metaphoric insult to the foreign country that: *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! discord.gg/woopread TL/N: I¡¯m finally done moving~! The flight was tiring and I¡¯m still a little jetlagged but I¡¯ll get a hold of it soon ???? Sorry for the wait! Chapter 24 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Anger spread among the knights. ¡®So there is no one more fluent in Roymondean than that man in the entire Granoir army?¡¯ Valhayle raised his hand to silence their murmurs. But even he had unconcealable fury in his eyes. Valhayle listened to the Granoir messenger soldier with an impassive face until¡ª ¡°Enough!!¡± The messenger soldier stopped reading at Valhayle¡¯s thunder-like voice. Valhayle spoke with gritted teeth. ¡°Get the letter from that bastard¡¯s hands. I¡¯ll read it myself.¡± The knight standing nearby snatched the letter from the messenger and presented it to Valhayle. Valhayle stared at the letter for a while and slowly lifted his head. ¡°¡­..¡± The knights looked at him with curiosity. Valhayle handed the letter to Sir Luke. ¡°Read it¡­ To everyone.¡± Sir Luke, whose face was flushed from anger, held the paper as if he was crumpling it and started reading. [Retreat to the South by 4 castles. Maintain that formation for 40 days. We have ¡®Roymonde¡¯s 8th Princess¡¯ with us¡­] ¡°!!!!¡± Glances of shock were shared in the room. Roymonde¡¯s 8th Princess. There was a living royal heir. No one expressed their shock since they were in front of their chief commander and an enemy soldier. However, the atmosphere immediately froze. Sir Luke continued reading. [When Roheneim¡¯s frontline has receded, we will return the living 8th Princess. We send you one object the princess had with her to ensure this. ] ¡°¡­..¡± A heavy silence fell upon the room. Valhayle spoke to the messenger soldier in a forceful and overpowering tone. ¡°So, you have something Her Highness had with her.¡± The messenger soldier pointed towards the pile of things that were confiscated during the body search. Valhayle eyed one of the knights. The knight returned with an object wrapped in paper. Valhayle didn¡¯t open it. He ordered, ¡°Lock him up and guard it with no flaw. We are not sending him back until we decide on our response.¡± When the enemy messenger soldier was dragged out, the tent was filled with rumbles. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s a trap. They have conquered the palace so they must have found one of the princess¡¯s possessions.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. And 40 days. That is more than enough time for the Granoir¡¯s reinforcement troops to arrive from the North. They are doing this for that very purpose.¡± ¡°It could have been taken from the princess¡¯s corpse.¡± Valhayle listened to them all in silence and spoke as if he was concluding. ¡°Whatever it is that¡¯s inside this paper wrap can¡¯t serve as evidence that Her Highness has survived.¡± The knights expressed their agreement and Valhayle slowly unwrapped the object. Inside was a waist ornament. A blue waist ornament with the royal sigil engraved on it. Everyone in the room stopped breathing when they saw the royal sigil. While no one in the room dared to speak, there was one person who recognized that object. It was a bird inside a basket. The owner of that waist ornament and one of Roymonde¡¯s royal heirs. It was Princess Zelleine. *??:?????:* The debate continued. ¡°They are taking advantage of the fact that we don¡¯t know the statuses of the royal heirs.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, they are behaving like this because they aren¡¯t sure of it either.¡± ¡°And why is that?¡± ¡°If they are aware of that, it would be more advantageous to say that that waist ornament is the 1st Princess¡¯s or the 2nd Princess¡¯s.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. But if the 8th Princess is truly alive, then she, as the sole remaining royal heir¡­¡± Valhayle cut the knight off. ¡°Silence.¡± No one made a sound as Valhayle scanned the knights. ¡°The question is: how do they have information about the princess that even we didn¡¯t have?¡± Everyone dropped their heads. ¡°We have been searching for the royal heirs this whole time. We didn¡¯t even overlook a single piece of jewelry out on the market, tracking it with seriousness. Yet even so¡­¡± Valhayle grabbed the blue waist ornament. ¡°There was no news of the 8th Princess¡ªuntil we heard it from our very own enemy.¡± Sir Luke spoke cautiously. ¡°Sir, what do you think?¡± Valhayle spoke coldly. ¡°I think they have no reason to lie.¡± Sir Luke nodded. ¡°Yes. Since if the princess¡¯s safety is not ensured when we retreat from our frontline¡­ We can always recapture the 4 castles.¡± ¡°Exactly. They must be aware of that as well, so why would they lie about something so unbeneficial?¡± The crease between Valhayle¡¯s brows deepened as the knights continued to talk. One of the knights asked. ¡°But, with what insurance would Granoir return Her Highness to us?¡± ¡°Right. We could always push our frontline back after we have Her Highness back. Besides, they are the invaders, so there¡¯s no reason to hesitate.¡± ¡°If it were me, I would have kept the princess to use as a threat.¡± Valhayle pressed his temples. ¡°There¡¯s something strange about this negotiation.¡± Sir Luke rubbed his rough chin with a complicated expression. Valhayle stood from his seat and the knights all saluted with discipline. ¡°Dispatch the black elite troops. Reinvestigate and search for the 8th Princess¡¯s whereabouts.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Valhayle stabbed the letter with a dagger and spoke. ¡°I will request the 8th Princess¡¯s handwritten letter from Granoir.¡± The meeting ended there. When everyone left the tent, Valhayle lifted the basket to let Zelle out. ¡°It¡¯s fine now.¡± But Zelle was too blown away from the shock. ¡®I¡¯m alive.¡¯ Zelle trembled as she walked out and saw the blue waist ornament. She had it with her on the day she escaped the palace with her brothers. It was the only thing she infused meaning to as someone of high status with no ownership over anything as well as her last attachment to this world when she was on the brink of death. It was the blue satin waist ornament the viceroy had bestowed her with on her coming-of-age ceremony. Actually, it didn¡¯t matter who she received that from or when. The only reason she cherished it was because it was her mother¡¯s¡ªher mother who had died while giving birth to Zelle in her 3rd year of marriage. ¡®Your eyes are just like your mother¡¯s.¡¯ That was what the viceroy had told her while bestowing her coming-of-age ceremony present. Then, as if he regretted saying that, the viceroy quickly changed his attitude. ¡®You are at the age to marry now.¡¯ This wasn¡¯t something the viceroy said to change the topic. The viceroy didn¡¯t care about Zelleine¡¯s marriage. He probably wouldn¡¯t even know her age if it weren¡¯t for the coming-of-age ceremony. The viceroy seemed to want Linbessy to deal with Zelle¡¯s marriage. But Zelle brooded over his words and dismissed that notion. Motherhood. And marriage. If she married, she would have to conceive a child like her mother did. And that wasn¡¯t a scenario Zelle ever thought about before her coming-of-age ceremony. To begin with, this only applied if Linbessy did have the intention to wed Zelle off and if Zelle was alive until then. Marrying a man I don¡¯t even know and giving birth to a child in exchange for my life? Nonsense. Zelle vexed. I survived this long. I endured this life that no one wanted solely for myself. Zelle¡¯s thoughts returned to her mother. Her mother was the viceroy¡¯s second queen. She was a young lady from a not-so-highly-regarded family of the Central region. It was due to her family¡¯s weak political power that she could become the second queen. So her mother must have been aware too, that the child she was bearing would have no significance in this kingdom¡¯s history. After all, by the time Zelleine was born, there were already 7 other royal heirs before her. Yet¡­ She still gave birth to me in exchange for her life? Why? As Zelle watched the viceroy fondle the 5th Concubine¡¯s hip like usual, she recalled her mother she never met. The only person in this world who wanted Zelle to live. If she was alive, she would have been the sole person more obsessed with Zelle¡¯s survival than Zelle herself. Even though the kingdom¡¯s history and her own father didn¡¯t want Zelle, her mother still wanted her to live. Even more than her own life. Just because she was a mother. Zelleine never used that waist ornament. She cherished it dearly. There was not a single portrait of her mother but because of the royal record that said she had blue eyes, the blue satin ornament became a symbolization of Zelle¡¯s intent to live. That was why Zelle had brought it with her the night she escaped the palace. And¡­ I handed this over to Granoir? Zelle mumbled absent-mindedly. I¡¯m here though. But I¡¯m alive there. Then¡­ Who is inside me right now? Zelleine, where are you? No matter how many times she called, she couldn¡¯t get an answer. *??:?????:* Valhayle dipped the fountain pen in the ink and brought it over on the paper. Though he had to write, he couldn¡¯t concentrate. He had been like this ever since he sent the Granoir messenger soldier back to bring the 8th Princess¡¯s handwritten letter. ¡°Haah¡­.¡± Valhayle sighed. Pathetic, yet I call myself the commander-in-chief. He scorned himself and glanced over at the bird. It bothered him how the bird remained oddly silent. The bird had been staring at the blue satin waist ornament for a long time now. Valhayle looked at the waist ornament that he had tried so hard to hide from his consciousness. ¡°¡­.¡± He recalled the owner of the waist ornament. The princess with eyes as blue as that blue satin. The 8th Princess, Zelleine. Valhayle reiterated her name. ¡®Zelline Bmaha Meredith.¡¯ Valhayle recalled the last time he saw Princess Zelleine, which was 2 years ago. It was the 8th Princess¡¯s coming-of-age ceremony that day. Valhayle had no connections to the 8th Princess. He had only attended as the representative of the Lumares family. The 8th Princess. He had seen her from a distance in big events but never talked to her privately. It was strange for Valhayle since he was acquainted with all the other royal heirs and had conversed with them. He had even met the 10th and the 11th Prince when they were not even 10 years old because their mother, the 5th Concubine, invited Valhayle over for lunch with her sons. It was because Valhayle was Roheneim¡¯s head and her purpose was to request him to help her sons live even during the reign of the next royal authority. Valhayle was used to these kinds of requests: people trying to meet him and asking for his protection. But the 8th Princess never did. Instead, she¡­ Valhayle contemplated finding the right word. Yes. She fled¡­ He always got the feeling that the 8th Princess was fleeing from him. Valhayle frowned. How is that even possible? I never attempted to chase after her yet she would flee from me. Valhayle had grounds for this impression of her. As the head of the most powerful family of the Queen¡¯s Faction, he frequently met the royal heirs. And he actually had several opportunities to meet the 8th Princess¡ªexcept she always stopped that from happening. Once, he saw her at the end of the palace hallway. But as soon as he was about to greet her formally, she vanished from his sight. ¡°¡­..¡± Thinking about it, it isn¡¯t a pleasant memory. Valhayle peered into the ballroom from outside in the dark. The heroine of the ceremony must be in there somewhere. He never saw her roaming around the center so she was most likely in the corner again. However, the night was dedicated to her, so she would have no choice but to meet the people from her spot. He had no intention to greet the 8th Princess tonight, but he was still satisfied with that fact. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! discord.gg/woopread TL/N: It¡¯s been so long readers! T-T Sorry for the sudden disappearance!!! So much happened and so much had to be done during the past few weeks and I lost track of tling :((. So to compromise, I decided to release 2 chapters this time (up to date with the most recent manwha chapter). . I¡¯ll try to tl more chapters so that the novel releases are faster than the manwha releases~ Again, I apologize for taking a break without notice T-T Also, I read the tled manwha version too and decided to change a few terms to match the terms in the manwha and the novel: King -> Viceroy Supporting families/nobles -> Factions Royal descendant -> Royal heirs Chapter 25 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Valhayle checked the time. ¡®She¡¯s late.¡¯ He was waiting for someone right now. It was the 2nd Princess Demiera who he exchanged words of marriage with. The task he was given tonight was to wait and escort the 2nd Princess. The 2nd Princess. She had a habit of being late so as to ascertain the difference between her status and the waiting person¡¯s status. Demiera was also very obsessed with her entrance. ¡®¡­I should wait a little longer.¡¯ Valhayle looked towards the ballroom. He could see the 8th Princess walk past through the door. ¡°¡­..¡± Valhayle glared at the spot the 8th Princess had appeared and disappeared from. She didn¡¯t seem peculiar. She looked innocent with no dark aspects. Even rumors about her described her that way: an ordinary, quiet, and reserved person. A ¡®bird in a birdcage¡¯, since she knew nothing about the real world except the little world within the castle. That was the public¡¯s evaluation of the 8th Princess, as well as the only information Valhayle had of her. But whenever she incomprehensibly ran away from him, Valhayle felt a vague shadow fall on her. How do I describe it? After a moment of contemplation, he managed to label that feeling. ¡®The last surviving soldier fleeing from an enemy.¡¯ It was a description that came from a soldier who had spent half of his life on the warfield. Valhayle chased after a soldier like that once. The last desperate strand of resistance despite knowing their inevitable death. Even their noticeable despair was a sign of their desire to live. And ridiculously, the same thing he saw from the fleeing soldier could be seen from the 8th Princess. He was satisfied with the description he had settled with, but he soon became displeased. Does that mean I am an enemy to the 8th Princess? A Commander in Chief who is treated like an enemy by his home country¡¯s princess, huh¡­ ¡°What are you thinking so deeply about?¡± Valhayle looked up. The 2nd Princess Demiera was standing in front of him. ¡°Your Highness.¡± Valhayle immediately did the royal greetings. Demiera brought her perfectly dried hair over her shoulders and spoke. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize the time while talking with Linbessy. Let¡¯s enter.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Valhayle pushed the thoughts in his mind away and extended his arm. Demiera lightly placed her hand over his arm. ¡°Princess Demiera Bmaha Meredith and Sir Valhayle of House Lumares are entering!¡± The entire ballroom turned to him and Demiera. Demiera wore a confident expression and walked into the ballroom. People greeted her at her every step. ¡°Princess Demiera.¡± ¡°Your Highness.¡± Valhayle stared at the princess¡¯s proud expression. Though she wasn¡¯t the reason why this banquet was hosted, this was her world. Demiera was the closest blood relative to the next term¡¯s ruler and was probably even more prideful than 1st Princess Linbessy herself who was soon to be the next ruler. She released Valhayle¡¯s arm in the center of the hall. ¡°Will you get me a drink?¡± Valhayle bowed and accepted her order. When he delivered the drink to Demiera, she smiled and said. ¡°I should find Linbessy. Our conversation earlier ended quite abruptly.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Valhayle silently watched Demiera join Linbessy and her husband, Sir Caiburne. It was not an unusual thing since Demiera never left Linbessy¡¯s side. Valhayle remained alone in the center of the ballroom until Sir Luke approached him. ¡°You are very handsome today, sir.¡± Valhayle looked at Sir Luke with annoyance, who says that to him at every ball. Sir Luke scratched his head and said, ¡°¡­She could have stayed a little longer.¡± Valhayle gave Sir Luke a questionable look. Sir Luke lowered his voice and added. ¡°You know, the 2nd Princess.¡± He continued to grumble as if it was him in the situation. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Her Highness, there would be a line of ladies waiting to talk to you¡­¡± Valhayle waved his hand in dismissal at Sir Luke. ¡°I only escorted her and had our first drink according to court etiquette, so it¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Hey, but still. She is on such good terms with our elders, I wonder why she¡¯s¨C¡± Valhayle interrupted him coldly. ¡°I¡¯m not officially engaged to Her Highness yet. If we were close, it would be more scandalous.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Sir Luke withdrew his words. ¡°Anyway, have you seen the 3rd Princess? She is breathtaking tonight.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t met her yet.¡± ¡°What about Sir Evon and Lady Adelle? The 5th Prince¡¯s new fiancee?¡± Valhayle let out a sigh. ¡°¡­Later.¡± He left Sir Luke behind and exited the ballroom. He didn¡¯t want to share meaningless greetings with an endless amount of people today. Nor did he want to listen to people who talked to him with all sorts of schemes and ulterior motives. Valhayle just wanted to think somewhere quiet. He leaned on a wall somewhere dark near the entrance. The celebration seemed to be starting inside. He wondered if he had to enter but decided to stay outside. ¡°¡­Tiring.¡± It was the exhaustion he felt after every encounter with Demiera. Valhayle stared into the dark void. He thought of Demiera who would be roaming around inside the ballroom. Roheneim¡¯s fiancee who didn¡¯t want him. Valhayle and Demiera only came together by marriage of convenience. They didn¡¯t share any emotional, intellectual, or political connections. This engagement was only a pretext to bind Roheneim by the 1st Princess¡¯s side. Valhayle didn¡¯t have any feelings toward her and neither did she. But Valhayle still felt guilty towards Demiera. It was a completely groundless feeling. He didn¡¯t like the fact that this engagement that Demiera clearly didn¡¯t want had to be forced. Even though he was also being forced too. ¡°Ha.¡± Valhayle shook his head and scorned himself. He ran his hands through his neatly fixed hair and tousled it. The fact that this banquet was for the 8th Princess¡¯s coming-of-age celebration topped his exhaustion. The strange feeling continued to bother him¡­ Creak. At that moment, the door slowly opened. Valhayle didn¡¯t want to get any useless questions from anyone so he hid himself in the dark. A head appeared from the door. Curly light brown hair flowed down. Shortly but carefully, the person observed outside and escaped the ballroom quietly. Valhayle looked at the figure of a young lady with indifference. It didn¡¯t matter who that woman was or what family she belonged to since he didn¡¯t care about anything that wasn¡¯t assigned to him. Creak. The door closed behind her and the diminishing light revealed her face. ¡°¡­.!¡± Valhayle scowled at the unexpected face. Princess Zelleine. It was the first time he ever saw the 8th Princess this closely. He could even clearly see that even the loose hair around her forehead and ear was curly. The first impression he had of her when he first saw her at this proximity was that¡­ She wasn¡¯t princess-like at all. The main character of the day who snuck out of her own coming-of-age banquet¡­ It didn¡¯t make sense at all. How did she come out? No, why is she coming outside? Valhayle stared at her face with surprise. Even if the celebration was over, she should remain and greet the people or at least maintain her position there. What is she thinking? The 8th Princess, who was now completely outside, quietly turned to the hallway and disappeared towards the garden. Valhayle stared as she disappeared and lifted his back from the wall. It wasn¡¯t safe for a royal descendant like her to wander around alone. With an uneasy heart, he decided to follow her. ¡®Where is she going?¡¯ The garden was often the meeting place of secret affairs so she could be on her way to meet someone. I thought she didn¡¯t enjoy meeting people. I guess that isn¡¯t true. For some reason, Valhayle was a little angry. The 8th Princess carefully observed the garden. It seemed like she was making sure no one was around. After assuring herself that she was alone, she walked towards the fountain. Valhayle watched her every move with curiosity. The hand of a young lady who turned 20 tonight dipped into the fountain. Then, she immediately pulled her hand out, probably because the water was colder than she expected. Valhayle thought once again that she wasn¡¯t princess-like. It wasn¡¯t only because of her actions. It was actually more because of the expression on her face. Or perhaps it was because of her flushed cheeks. And the unfathomable vehement expression she wore. While Valhayle was still in shock from her face, the princess proceeded to do something even more shocking. She lifted her dress up to her knees. Bewildered by her suddenly exposed skin, Valhayle hurriedly looked away. The soft sound of her dipping her leg into the water resonated. Sounds that sounded like she was swirling the water could also be heard. ¡®What could she be possibly doing¡­¡­¡¯ Valhayle clenched his jaw. He still couldn¡¯t get a hold of her. The more he observed her, the more things there were that he couldn¡¯t comprehend. He turned to look at the 8th Princess again with an emotion closer to frustration than curiosity. ¡°¡­..!¡± He froze for a moment. Her fair skin wasn¡¯t the only thing glowing under the moonlight. There was a trail of tears on the cheeks of the woman standing inside the fountain. That was the first time Valhayle found out even tears sparkled. *??:?????:* Tears. Valhayle held his breath, watching as her tears fell into the fountain. He knew it wasn¡¯t proper of him to continue watching her like this. But he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off her. The princess bent forward and scooped the water. She watched the silverlight water escape through her fingers and¡­ Ha. ¡­Burst into soundless laughter. As if it was very amusing, as if it was very saddening. It sounded a little like she was crying. However, based on the movement of her head and chest, he could tell she was laughing. As if attempting to calm down her overflowing emotions, she took a deep breath. She was like a baby who became impassioned even just by breathing. Valhayle clenched his fist. ¡°¡­¡­¡± He finally knew what the shadow cast upon the 8th Princess was. And why he couldn¡¯t identify it. Now that he was watching her this closely, he was sure. The shadow hadn¡¯t been cast upon the princess. Instead, the princess belonged in the shadows. The deep shadows veiled the princess so completely that he couldn¡¯t distinguish it from her. Not long after, the 8th Princess walked out of the fountain. The young lady hid her wet feet beneath her dress. Valhayle barely managed to take his eyes off the princess and turned away. If he remained here, he would eventually have to face the princess. Usually, it was the 8th Princess who avoided him; however, right now it was Valhayle who wanted to avoid her. He strode briskly back to the entrance of the ballroom. And he halted at the spot where he had previously been leaning against the wall in. ¡°¡­..¡± Music came from the inside. The ball was still at its heights. Thoughts that he had been outside for too long lingered on his mind but Valhayle remained standing in the dark. The scene he saw earlier glowed brighter than the chandeliers inside the ballroom. Valhayle tried to remove the sight from his head. Shuffle. Shuffle. Shuffle. Soft footsteps began to approach. Valhayle looked towards the source of the sound. The 8th Princess who had somehow already erased all emotion from her face was walking towards the entrance. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! discord.gg/woopread Chapter 26 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* At that moment. Valhayle grabbed a helmet that was hung on a wall in the palace hallway. He couldn¡¯t remember why he did that. Toggle. He could see the princess freeze at the sound of the helmet. Valhayle quickly put it on. The princess approached to check the source of the sound. ¡°The tail of your dress is wet.¡± The princess flinched away at his voice. Valhayle hoped she would answer him. Or ask his name or give an excuse about her wet dress. However, the princess turned around without hesitation and sprinted away anxiously. ¡°¡­¡­¡± After the princess disappeared from his sight, Valhayle mumbled. ¡°¡­She can¡¯t see my face and yet, she flees.¡± At this point, she wasn¡¯t running away from him; she was running away from people in general. He clenched his jaw. For some reason, he didn¡¯t like that about her. That feeling that she was always ready to flee from anyone. That feeling that she would be here today and gone tomorrow. He knew too little about her to sympathize, and felt too uncomfortable to be indifferent to her. Valhayle finally realized that he was actually angry. He didn¡¯t know why. He didn¡¯t know if it was because of the princess running away in fright, the tears she shed, or even her instability in this world of strict order like Roheneim and the 2nd Princess Demiera¡¯s marriage. People described her as ¡®ordinary¡¯. Valhayle shook his head. No, she isn¡¯t ordinary. But she isn¡¯t noble either. Ironically, while she was fleeing like a frightened prey, he sensed strength. Valhayle leaned against the hallway wall. Princess Zelleine¡­ He remained there for a long time. *??:?????:* In the present, on the war field. The handwritten letter Valhayle requested was rejected. The reason they provided was that the princess was too ill to write a letter. Obviously, the Roheneim camp was furious. ¡°Sir! This is a trap. While we were exchanging these letters of negotiation, they earned time.¡± ¡°On top of that, they are saying that the princess is too ill to even write a letter. Her Highness was fine before the war, there¡¯s no way she¡¯d suddenly fall that ill. It¡¯s certain she passed away.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s a chance that the person Granoir is hiding is indeed the 8th Princess. It¡¯s not like we didn¡¯t have any information¡­¡± Valhayle pressed his temples. Things were getting complicated. While waiting for Granoir¡¯s reply to his request for a handwritten letter, the soldiers searched for the 8th Princess¡¯s whereabouts using the Central region¡¯s information network. Most of them replied that they had no information regarding Princess Zelleinie¡¯s whereabouts¡ªexcept for one place.. In a small port between the Western region and Vishen River, news was heard. It was said that the Granoir army apparently took a few Roymondean women as captives to translate for and serve someone. It was also said that the high military officers of Granoir were hiding someone in high confidentiality. They had a feeling. It¡¯s a royal heir. Since the captives were all women, the person they were hiding would most likely be a woman as well. There was an even higher chance of that ¡®someone¡¯ being the 8th Princess they claimed to have. As long as they obtained the handwritten letter, Roheneim was going to retreat to have the 8th Princess returned. The life of a royal heir was worth all that. However, Granoir rejected it, and things went back to ground zero. Valhayle lifted his finger away from his temples. The knights immediately stopped arguing. ¡°Sir Valhayle. You must make a decision.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll think it over tonight.¡± ¡°But sir¡­¡± ¡°Dismissed.¡± The knights all walked out at their commander-in-chief¡¯s firm command. When he was finally alone, Valhayle pulled the sleeve strap tightened around his wrist roughly. Fury towards Granoir rushed through his body. They killed the royal heirs, humiliated the country with their deaths, and attempted to capture the country using the life of the royal heir. Every single one of their acts infuriated him but the thing that infuriated him the most was that they could possibly have the 8th Princess with them. And that they made her so incapacitated, she couldn¡¯t even write a single letter. Valhayle held his desk and cooled his head. He rather wished it was a lie that they had the 8th Princess with them. If it was, he would have ordered the entire Roheneim army to wipe them out this instant. He would have charged all the way to the palace where they found that blue satin waist ornament without resting. However¡­ If they truly had the 8th Princess with them, they would kill the 8th Princess the moment Valhayle started attacking. The first thing they would do when they found out he was attacking them was to behead the princess. Valhayle slid into his chair and placed his hand over his eyes. ¡°¡­..¡± He let out a sigh and opened his eyes, spotting the bird which sat quietly on the yellow cloth. As if it understood his feelings, the bird was also low-spirited recently. Before, it would come when it pleased and snuggle beside him or demand food¡ªbut it stopped doing all that. Valhayle clicked his tongue to get the bird¡¯s attention. The bird glanced over at him. He tapped the desk softly and called the bird. It hesitated for a moment but soon flew over to him. When Valhayle extended his hands, the bird hopped on them. He ran his fingers along the golden ribbon tied around the bird¡¯s leg and spoke. ¡°Do you know why Roymonde¡¯s flag is yellow?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Yellow is the color of the Meredith Royalty, the dynasty that stood strong through 3 changes in denomination. It¡¯s a color representing 600 years of history.¡± Zelle stared into Valhayle¡¯s eyes. It was something that was impossible for her to not know. But she was currently in a state where she couldn¡¯t even say that. Her human body was being held captive by the enemy, stalling the war Roheneim was winning. Yet, she was merely a bird that couldn¡¯t do anything about it. As a royal heir, she was holding them back instead of being some kind of help. So, it was quite cruel for her to be reminded of what the color of the flag meant at this moment. Valhayle slowly added. ¡°In the past few days, that was the only thing I could think of.¡± Zelle stared at the golden ribbon that ran down his finger and recalled the legend of the origin of the Meredith dynasty. The tale of the gold-blooded. It was the legend that if a person of golden blood shed blood for this land, their blood would protect it. *??:?????:* 600 years ago. There lived a person with golden blood. The blood of The Gold-blooded One had the power to make lands flourish, rivers run undried, prevent disasters, and protect lives. The Gold-blooded One wanted to make this land the land of abundance. Alas, the people who coveted the golden blood started a war to have it all to themselves. The land and water were stained with the blood of the innocent. Animals were butchered. The Gold-blooded One was in agony as they watched the land get destroyed. However, the only powers The Gold-blooded One had was that of revival and restoration. They couldn¡¯t stop the war. Then, two people helped The Gold-blooded One: a man from the mountains and a woman from the plains. No one knew if The Gold-blooded One was a woman or a man. But the man from the mountains believed The Gold-blooded One was a man like him, and the woman from the plains believed The Gold-blooded One was a woman like her. The two snuck The Gold-blooded One out. They escaped and roamed around the mountains and plains, reviving the dead mountains and fields and helping people. During their travels, a child was born. They weren¡¯t sure whose child it was but the Mountain Man and the Plains Woman called the child the ¡°Golden Child¡±. Meanwhile, The Gold-blooded One was slowly losing vitality from losing so much blood. The Gold-blooded One said that they wished to return to the Vishen River where they had lived before, to the origin of the river that flowed throughout the land. When they reached the river, The Gold-blooded One shed their remaining blood into the river and died. Before their last breath, The Gold-blooded One made a contract with the Mountain Man and the Plains Woman. It was a contract to protect the Golden Child while their blood protected them and their land. As promised, the Mountain Man and the Plains Woman gathered people together and protected the Golden Child, serving the child as their king. Neither of them ever claimed the Golden Child as theirs. They both remained as the child¡¯s servants, equally. The blood of the Gold-blooded One was scattered over the entire land and the Vishen River. Hence, this land and its golden descendants¡ªthe royal heirs¡ªlived forever in destinal connection to each other¡­ That was how the legend ended. ¡°¡­..¡± Zelle sighed. She had looked at her blue-veined wrist before and wondered if golden blood ran in her body. Every royal heir would have wondered this once in their lives like young Zelle did. However, as she grew, Zelleine saw the truth hidden in the legend. ¡®With bloodshed, the land revives.¡¯ With this simple belief, the royal heirs justified killing each other. Before, in the dark ages, a royal heir killed another royal heir as a sacrifice. The reason behind so many civil conflicts even after the country was stable was also because of that damned legend. She didn¡¯t know at all if the blood of the royal heirs really did make this land any better, but Zelle always believed the legend was nonsense since so many people died for its sake. The blood of the Gold-blooded One that was originally to save people. The yellow that represented the gold blood of this legend. She couldn¡¯t hate the color of her country. Zelle looked at Valhayle¡¯s face. It was so obvious what he was thinking right now. Valhayle brushed the scar on Zelle¡¯s leg and uttered. ¡°Right now, the Meredith dynasty is in danger of ending.¡± Zelle clenched her talons in pent-up anger. Her talons would have dug into Valhayle¡¯s hands but Valhayle didn¡¯t seem to notice. He was thinking of the royal heirs who were continuously found dead and the 8th Princess who was the first royal heir who could be alive. Valhayle met Zelle¡¯s eyes. ¡°What do you think? Do you think¡­ I should give up on the 8th Princess who could be the only surviving royal heir and save Roymonde?¡± People would say he was insane for asking a bird about this, but Zelle knew he was actually talking to himself. If she wasn¡¯t there, he would talk to his wooden table instead. ¡°Or, should I turn my back on the lives this war threatens and choose the possibility of the 8th Princess being alive?¡± Zelle couldn¡¯t easily nod to either of the choices. Whoever he tried to save, someone had to die. It was despairing. Valhayle mumbled in a self-deprecating tone. ¡°Isn¡¯t it amusing. How this country¡¯s fate is no different from the fate of one princess.¡± Zelle clenched her jaw to the point that it throbbed. ¡°If the Meredith dynasty were to end, the 3 militaries of this country would no longer be allied. We are only tied by the old contract made with the royalty and have weak trust with one another. Even if we retrieved our country, we would be fighting over the Vishen River¡­ And starting another war to capture the capital.¡± Valhayle petted Zelle¡¯s beak. ¡°But if we retreat 40 days for the 8th Princess, Granoir will have the upper hand again in this war. If the war continues for a longer time and the supplies in the West eventually run out¡­ We won¡¯t last.¡± Valhayle placed Zelle on the desk and brought his hands over his eyes again. A great burden was on the man¡¯s shoulders again. ¡°¡­..¡± Zelle stood still for a while. Then, with a heavy heart, she took a step forward. *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! discord.gg/woopread Chapter 27 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Even though it was a decision made after days of contemplation, she was still hesitant. But, step by step, Zelle walked towards the ink bottle and dipped her talon inside. ¡°Gweck¨C¡± Zelle cried out loud. Then, Valhayle looked up at her. She brought her talon over a paper that was spread open on the table. Valhayle indifferently tried to move the paper out of her reach. ¡°Gweck!¡± She squealed sharply and drew two lines on the paper. The lines ran across each other. It was a cross. Just in case Valhayle thought it was a coincidence, she drew more crosses. Just like when she drew circles on the ground before. Valhayle glared at Zelle. ¡°What do you¡­ Mean by this.¡± Zelle bit the golden ribbon around her leg. Gold and Abundance. The color of royalty. And drew another cross. Victory instead of the princess. When Valhayle figured the meaning behind the golden ribbon and the sloppy crosses, his eyes lit up with anger. ¡°Are you suggesting I choose Roymonde over the royal heir?¡± Valhayle grabbed Zelle¡¯s neck abruptly. ¡°How dare you decide her fate¡­¡­¡± Zelle was silent. The person Valhayle was referring to right now was Zelleine herself anyway. Valhayle gritted his teeth and added. ¡°You do not know. It¡¯s not a light matter. Even so, you are telling me to proceed with our advance into the Central region even if I could¡­ Lose Her Highness.¡± Zelle glared back at Valhayle. Her eyes glowered with anger too. Do you think I¡¯m being flippant right now? No one values my life more than I do. There¡¯s nothing I value more than my life in this world. I persisted just to sustain that precious life of mine. I didn¡¯t keep anything important in my life just to make that happen. Do you even know what that means? Yet you think this decision is light?? What are you to be angry over my life! Zelle got so frustrated with the situation in which she had to choose her own state that she started screeching, forgetting that her neck was still in his hands. ¡°Gweck! Gweccckk!!! Gweck!!!!¡± You know this is the right choice. You believe it¡¯s right to save thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of people over saving one princess. You know for a fact that the civil war that could happen in the future will cause less damage than this war!! So you should be grateful for my decision. You should be rejoicing that you could save one more of your soldiers¡¯ lives. At least one person¡­ Should be happy with my choice. ¡®That¡¯s the only way I¡¯ll¡­¡¯ But Valhayle didn¡¯t seem happy at all. He actually looked as furious as Zelle was. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Zelle and Valhayle exchanged deadly glares. Zelle already had nothing to lose. Kill me if you want. I already gave up my life. I¡¯m not afraid of anything. As she glared into Valhayle¡¯s eyes, shock drew over his face. His grip on Zelle went slack. ¡°I think I know.¡± With a hoarse voice, he continued. ¡°How to save them both.¡± *??:?????:* A few minutes ago. When his messenger bird drew sloppy crosses with its talons, Valhayle spoke, furious. ¡°Are you telling me to proceed with our advance into the Central region even if I could¡­ Lose Her Highness.¡± His gaze met the bird¡¯s. As he stared into the bird¡¯s golden and infuriated eyes, Valhayle got this feeling as if he was gazing at his own reflection. The anger he was feeling was in the bird¡¯s eyes. So Valhayle glared at the bird even harder. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± He was extremely displeased with the bird¡¯s gaze. It didn¡¯t even make sense that a mere bird was discussing a life-or-death matter with fear and resistance towards death in its eyes when it wasn¡¯t even human. He was lost for words. Why does it have such a gaze? It doesn¡¯t even have any bonds with the dead people and the people at risk. It¡¯s just a 1 year old bird that hasn¡¯t even gone through all four seasons yet. I would release you from the bird cage and save you from death at my last moment. So, why are you so afraid? To consider it to be nothing more than concern for the humans it favors¡­ It¡¯s far too passionate. Have I ever seen such an emotion exhibited by a bird or an animal? No, that¡¯s not even possible. If so¡­ What are you? At that moment, a spark of realization flickered in his mind. [The Eye of the Sky.] He let go of the bird entirely. ¡°I think I know. How to save them both.¡± *??:?????:* The heads of the assembled knights who had been roused from their sleep were all messy like a bird¡¯s nest. Sir Luke, who arrived a little earlier and heard Valhayle¡¯s explanation, did a roll-call. ¡°Sir, they¡¯re all here.¡± Valhayle looked at each of the high-ranked knights aligned in front of him, and pronounced. ¡°We are not withdrawing our forefront.¡± There was a murmur among the knights. ¡°Sir, if so¡­ The 8th Princess will¡­¡­¡± Valhayle shook his head. ¡°No, we aren¡¯t giving up on the 8th Princess as well.¡± Now, only gasps resonated in the room. After a long moment of silence, one of the knights finally mustered the courage to ask. ¡°But how¡­¡± Instead of answering him, Valhayle spread the map open. With the map in front of him, he started explaining the plan in detail. ¡°Granoir¡¯s reinforcement troops are still very far away so this war situation is disadvantageous to Granoir. That¡¯s most likely why they disclosed that they have the 8th Princess as captive.¡± Sir Luke added. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s their petty little trick to try and change the flow of the battle in the Central region.¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t officially in a truce. We¡¯re still in the process of negotiation. So, if a militia attacks them right now, how would they react?¡± (Militia: an army assembled up of regular citizens to respond during an emergency) ¡°¡­¡­¡± The knights all turned contemplative. One of the knights came forward. ¡°They would most likely harm the princess since they were attacked. Of course, that¡¯s in the case where they actually do have the princess.¡± ¡°What if they don¡¯t have the princess?¡± ¡°Then¡­ They would retreat since their plan didn¡¯t work.¡± Valhayle nodded. ¡°If they take flight, we won¡¯t go after them. Since we only have to confirm if the princess is with them or not.¡± Another knight asked cautiously. ¡°But sir. If they really do have the princess with them¡­ What happens then?¡± Sir Luke interjected. ¡°There are many militias that were voluntarily created in each region. They must be aware of that as well so they can¡¯t execute the princess immediately. Since the princess would have to be alive for our negotiation to work.¡± Valhayle tapped his baton on the desk. ¡°That¡¯s right. They would try to investigate if we were behind the militia¡¯s attack. So, while they are comprehending the situation, we have to retrieve the princess.¡± One of the knights raised his hand. ¡°But if they are attacked, won¡¯t they move the princess first?¡± ¡°Exactly. We don¡¯t know Her Highness¡¯s location so it would be difficult for us to rescue her in time.¡± Valhayle silently tapped several spots on the map with his baton. ¡°What if they are ambushed from many directions?¡± He added in a low voice. ¡°It¡¯s guerilla warfare.¡± (Guerilla warfare: a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants ambush the enemies¡¯ back or side to disrupt/destroy them.) Valhayle looked at his audience. ¡°When the militia under our command ambushes them from many spots, the area where Her Highness is located will be agitated more greatly than the other places. Then, they will immediately call for reinforcements.¡± ¡°Their movement would be quite noticeable then.¡± Valhayle agreed with the knight who remarked. ¡°I¡¯ll command the leaders of the militia to signal us with salt fire when they spot such movements.¡± Salt fire. Zelle¡¯s eyes widened when she heard that word. ¡®He plans on using salt fire?¡¯ Salt fire was Roymonde¡¯s unique invention and the military¡¯s treasure that was never shared with any other countries. Usually, it was used in naval battles since it was very effective in burning down enemy ships. But there were other uses of the salt fire. As signals. It had a very differentiable flame compared to an ordinary fire, so it could be used as military codes for exchanging information in night combat. But in that case, a messenger soldier to see the salt fire and deliver the message was necessary. And by the time the messenger soldier saw that signal and relayed the princess¡¯s location¡­ Granoir would have moved or executed the princess already. Valhayle, who knew that fact more than anyone, spoke. ¡°Yes. It will be too late if we use a messenger soldier. But thankfully we have¡ª¡± He continued proudly. ¡°¡ªthe Eye of the Sky.¡± The knights shared looks. Eye of the Sky? Ah, the commander¡¯s bird that sees and hears all of the enemy¡¯s plans¡­? But that¡¯s just a false rumor that we spread to scare them. Ordinary soldiers didn¡¯t know the truth behind that rumor, but the high-ranked knights present in this room did. But their commander-in-chief continued. ¡°We¡¯re going to use that eye.¡± At that moment, everyone turned to Zelle. The Eye of the Sky. The pet bird of the commander-in-chief. The small bird of prey cavier falcon. She was already a bird but, to appear more like a bird, she pretended to peck on the piece of meat in front of her. Valhayle¡¯s eyes glowed as he spoke. ¡°Our enemies do not know what our messenger bird is capable of.¡± Actually, the people in the tent didn¡¯t know either. Amidst the confusion even among allies, the plan to retrieve the 8th Princess began. *??:?????:* ¡°This is salt fire.¡± Zelle stared into the fire in front of her. It had an unrealistic color and brightness compared to a regular fire. In one of Linbessy¡¯s birthday celebrations, a salt fire had floated on the palace pond. However, Zelleine hadn¡¯t been present that day, so this was the first time she ever saw a salt fire in person. Even the palace can¡¯t use it whenever they want to¡­ Zelle stepped closer to the fire as if she was lured by it. ¡°Don¡¯t go closer.¡± Valhayle blocked her way. ¡°It catches on to anything alive easily.¡± He tore a sack of sand over the fire. Zelle blinked in disappointment that the beautiful flames were now gone. Valhayle flicked his finger in front of Zelle. ¡°Pay attention. This is directly related to your life.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Zelle looked up at Valhayle. She knew he said it totally unaware that she was the 8th Princess but¡­ She couldn¡¯t help but feel like his words had a double meaning. Her life. Her life as a bird and her life as a human. This operation was related to both of those. Valhayle started to slowly explain. ¡°If you see the salt fire, you must remember the spot and come back to me immediately. I would already be on the way by then with the advance troops.¡± Zelle nodded. ¡°We will attack anything that flies over towards us since it¡¯s dark. So you have to cry out loud before you enter our range to alert us.¡± He scanned Zelle up and down and added. ¡°Well. Crying is your specialty so I¡¯m sure you can do that with ease.¡± What did you just say to me?! Zelle glared at him with annoyance. I only cried because you humans can¡¯t understand me at all. Valhayle ignored her indignant eyes and continued. ¡°I will be running second in the party. The flag bearer will be running in the front. So you must come to the second man in line.¡± The second man. Zelle reiterated in her mind. ¡°There could be changes later. So, in order to make it easy for you to differentiate me¡­¡± He set his helmet down in front of Zelle. ¡°I¡¯ll tie a ribbon like yours around the tail of my helmet.¡± And he proceeded to tie a golden ribbon just like Zelle¡¯s on his helmet. It was a rough knot, unlike the one he tied around Zelle¡¯s leg. ¡°You¡¯re diurnal but we will carry torches with us so it won¡¯t be too difficult for you to find us.¡± Zelle cried out softly to tell him that she understood. Valhayle looked at Zelle silently for a moment and petted her head. ¡°Your role is the core of this mission.¡± He clenched his jaw and added. ¡°If this plan works, we can drive Granoir out of the Central region completely.¡± *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! discord.gg/woopread TL/N: We¡¯re finally ahead of the manhwa! I¡¯ll try to keep it that way ???? Also, I recommend reading the novel along with the manhwa for the fullest experience since though the manhwa gives a visual representation, I noticed that they don¡¯t contain the details and the delicate emotions the novel has. Enjoy the chap! Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.?????? ?:?* ¡°¡­¡± The weight of the mission placed a lot of pressure on Zelle. She had wanted to be back on messenger bird duty, but she hadn¡¯t expected to be assigned such an important task. A task with the lives of hundreds of soldiers, as well as two of her lives, on the line. And perhaps¡­ Zelle glanced over at Valhayle¡¯s face. This commander-in-chief¡¯s life was on the line too. Valhayle insisted on rescuing the 8th Princess himself. The knights, who were aware of the responsibility the commander-in-chief had to bear, strongly opposed it. However, Valhayle mentioned the battle of the Black Defense Wall and silenced them. ¡°I opened the back gate then. If I, as the commander-in-chief, am not willing to do such dangerous tasks, who would ever volunteer to do so?¡± Even so, Sir Luke persisted. ¡°Sir, I¡¯m not devaluing your swordsmanship but when fighting at night, even a master can be killed by a mere soldier. On top of that, it¡¯s in the middle of enemy grounds!¡± ¡°You must deploy another troop. There¡¯s Sir Toby and Sir Darren here. There¡¯s even me. Can¡¯t you trust us?!¡± ¡°Sir, this isn¡¯t the time to boast of your skills. This is war! One poisoned arrow, one stab at your vital point, and it¡¯s death!¡± ¡°No. This absolutely cannot happen. It just can¡¯t!!¡± He followed Valhayle around even during meal time and bedtime to stop him. After being hounded day and night by Sir Luke, Valhayle resorted to drawing his sword and stabbing it into the ground. ¡°If you continue to pester me about this matter, I¡¯ll swing this sword even if it¡¯s you.¡± Then, Sir Luke scowled and shut his mouth. I guess he still wants his head attached to his neck¡­However, Zelle still deeply appreciated him. To be honest, Zelle admired Sir Luke for persisting for this long. ¡°¡­¡± Zelle studied Valhayle¡¯s face carefully and clenched her jaw. ¡®But, what if you really die?¡¯ For a moment, Zelle thought of a Roheneim without Valhayle and fell into a great shock. No. Never. Zelle shook her head fretfully. If the commander-in-chief were to die in this current situation with no royal heir, there would be no point of unionship in this country. Even if the resistance against Granoir continued, unless they moved as one body, the separate militaries would be hopeless. And the only individuals accepted to be the head of this body were a royal heir or the leader of Roheneim. She thought about the stabilizing effect that a leader had on their military simply by existing. However, Valhayle seemed indifferent about putting his life at risk. She grew up among royal members who protected their lives even at the expense of many others so his behavior was strange to her. He cares so much about other people¡¯s lives but he doesn¡¯t seem to care as much about his own. ¡®Has he gotten used to this type of work or is he just overly confident¡­¡¯ But as a member of a strong family like House Lumares, it would be natural for him to grow up learning that his life came first. Although Zelle was proud of Valhayle for staying in the forefront at every battle, she didn¡¯t enjoy that sight. After I¡¯m done with this mission, I should object too. ¡°¡­¡± ¡­If I¡¯m done with this mission. Zelle mulled over her words. If this mission was successful she would meet her human body. Then¡­What would happen? Zelle trembled. ¡®Will I be able to gain my human body back?¡¯ *??:?????:* Rip¨C Rip¨C Fling. Zelle repeated the same thing over and over again. She pulled a sheet from the pile of paper next to her and tore it again and again. She did this to calm herself before the mission but Valhayle probably thought this was good for destroying confidential documents and gave her more paper instead of scolding her. An hour from now, the militia was going to ambush Granoir and Zelle was going to be on mission. It was an operation being carried out in such confidentiality that even most of the allies didn¡¯t know. Thus, everything had to be done cautiously. The advance troop that was going to leave with Valhayle later was already positioned on the north of the camp as security in order to avoid suspicion. After he deployed Zelle, Valhayle would join them immediately. Zelle spat the torn paper she was chewing. Valhayle called for Zelle from his table. Zelle slipped out of the pile of shredded paper and flew towards him. He then spread a familiar map in front of Zelle. ¡°Here. Study it for one last time.¡± It was the ambush spots of each militia which she studied at least a hundred times during the discussion. Zelle sighed. I can remember that Militia 1 is South, Militia 2 is East, Militia 3 is North and so on even in my sleep¡­ But Zelle knew how crucial this operation was for both her and Valhayle. So, she studied the map once more. Valhayle asserted. ¡°You must fly high. Where you can see everything in one sight. High to the point where arrows won¡¯t reach you.¡± Zelle nodded as Valhayle removed pieces of shredded paper from her feathers. She stared at him, grooming her body. ¡°¡­.¡± When his eyes met with hers, Valhayle uttered coldly. ¡°White can be easily spotted at night.¡± Oh really? That shouldn¡¯t happen then. Zelle shook her body and Valhayle withdrew his hands slowly. Zelle picked through her feathers and looked up to see why Valhayle had suddenly fallen silent. ¡°¡­¡± When their gaze met, Valhayle grabbed Zelle. She felt the slightly painful pressure of his hands and realized that he was not as calm as he looked. He mumbled. ¡°Perhaps. I already knew. That she¡­ Survived.¡± Zelle was stunned. ¡®She¡¯. ¡®Survive¡¯. He was referring to 8th Princess Zelleine. But¡­ Zelle turned inside his grasp. How¡­? For what reason did you think that? We have never met before. But even so, out of that many royal heirs¡­ Why did you think it was me who survived? Zelle was seized with bewilderment. She got chills just by thinking that the head of House Lumares could have noticed her. ¡®You don¡¯t know me.¡¯ Unaware of her thoughts, Valhayle held her up to eye-level. His silver moonlight eyes flowed with warmth. ¡°I trust you.¡± Valhayle hung the tail of the golden ribbon around Zelle¡¯s foot on his finger and brought it closer to him. Then, he bent a little and, on the tip of the ribbon, left a soft kiss as if he was pleading with all his heart. ¡°I wish you luck.¡± As soon as he said that, the drums signaling the start of the mission sounded. Valhayle brought Zelle out of the tent. Half an hour from the militia¡¯s attack. He spoke in a low voice. ¡°See you later.¡± And Zelle was thrown up to the sky. She still couldn¡¯t comprehend what Valhayle meant, since there was a very slim chance that he knew her back when she was a human. But she recalled his eyes gazing into hers. The first warmth to ever be given to Zelle. And complete trust. ¡°¡­¡± Zelle decided to focus on the task at hand first. Yes. He could have thought the 8th Princess was alive because I am the least important. She felt like something was off but she shook her head and shoved that thought away. Zelle widened her eyes in the dark and soared up high to the clouds. She uttered internally. ¡®I trust you too.¡¯ And, just like how Valhayle did to her golden ribbon, she kissed the silver moon that shone brighter than usual. And prayed with all her heart. ¡®I pray that we are all alive when this mission is over.¡¯ *??:?????:* ¡®It was real.¡¯ Zelle mumbled in disbelief despite having seen it for herself. The flares that danced in the darkness. The stars between the torches. Roymonde¡¯s fire. Salt fire was ignited. Before even being able to think about what that meant, she hastily flew. She put all her might into her wings to fly at the fastest speed. Her heart pounded. ¡®I¡¯m actually alive. I¡¯m alive somewhere down there.¡¯ Her body trembled. Guessing by how shocked she is, even Zelle herself must not have believed in her survival. ¡®No. Zelleine. Get your head straight.¡¯ Zelle focused forward. Regardless of her life-or-death, she was a soldier right now. She was a messenger bird carrying out a mission. ¡®I have to do as ordered.¡¯ Zelle clenched her beak. After flying for some time, she spotted a group of torches. Just like how the horses the soldiers rode while chasing her the night she fled from the palace had done, the mounted advance troop galloped at full speed. If she clashed with them with her current speed and their speed, it would probably tear her apart into shreds. She was scared, but she cried out like promised. ¡°Gwechh¨C!!!!!!¡± Zelle scanned the alignment. Second man, with the golden ribbon on the tail of his helmet. Zelle dove towards that man. The man looked up. Zelle cried again. ¡°Gweckk¨C!!!¡± Then the man running second looked at Zelle. It seemed extremely dangerous to be looking up while riding at such a speed. Then, the man slowly moved upwards. He stood up with his foot on the footrest. ¡°!!!!¡± Zelle, who saw that directly from the front, was appalled. ¡®Are you out of your mind?¡¯ The distance between Zelle and the man decreased as seconds passed. The man standing unstably on the horse extended his arm up in the air while holding the reins in one hand. Wait! What are you doing!! Zelle slowed down unconsciously. Then, her bird¡¯s instinct whispered to her. ¡®Stay still.¡¯ And immediately following that, the man snatched Zelle from the air and buried her in his chest. She could feel the man breathing harshly as he laid low on his horse. The man spoke. ¡°Good job.¡± Only then did Zelle release the breath she had been holding. Valhayle you¡­ She wanted to scream at him or pull his hair for doing that but she still carried out her task. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Zelle poked Valhayle¡¯s hands 4 times. It meant the area where Militia 4 attacked. Valhayle yelled. ¡°West!!!¡± At that exact moment, about 50 people that made up the troop turned west. Zelle got chills from seeing their perfect synchronization. Valhayle held Zelle close to him so she wouldn¡¯t be swept away by the wind and spoke. ¡°Your mission ends here.¡± Then, he pulled the golden ribbon tied onto his helmet and handed it to Zelle. Zelle clutched it in her beak. ¡°Take it and return to camp.¡± After saying that, Valhayle threw her up to the sky. Strong wind rushed through her wings. Zelle was dragged away in that wind for a while and stopped at one point. Valhayle¡¯s words before he had thrown her still lingered in her ears. ¡®I¡¯ll be back soon.¡¯ Perhaps she had misheard it because of the wind. But Zelle decided to trust him. And she soared through the sky. On this late night, the moon was leaning towards the west. Chapter 29 Chapter 29 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.???.?? ?:?* After speeding towards the Western side of Granoir¡¯s camp without rest, Valhayle searched for the 8th Princess and finally found her. There was no time to explain so he wrapped her up in a blanket and carried her. He held her tightly to minimize the impact and got situated on his horse. ¡°Let¡¯s go!!¡± Valhayle hastily galloped away. The more time wasted there, the higher the chances were of the plan failing. The advance troop rescued the other captives that were with the princess and they galloped away as fast as they did coming here. Arrows showered down behind them. Valhayle, covered entirely in armor, blocked the arrows away with his sword to protect the princess and his horse. At that moment, he was relieved that he had removed the golden ribbon from his helmet and given it to the bird. In war, the most noticeable thing got attacked first. The golden ribbon would have definitely stood out.Then the attacks would have been concentrated on him, putting the princess in danger as well. While escaping the enemy camp, Valhayle blew a horn. Vooo¡ª It was the retreat signal for the militia, as well as the signal that notified the success of the mission. As he ran across the field, Valhayle placed his hand under the princess¡¯s head and brought her closer to him since she could get hurt from the horse¡¯s running quiver. He looked down at the princess briefly. ¡°¡­¡± To the princess, she was being kidnapped by a stranger yet she didn¡¯t resist at all. She must have fainted or with a very thin chance, remained asleep the whole time. ...Is this really happening? The princess was in his arms but he still couldn¡¯t believe it. He even checked her face before wrapping her in the blanket yet he felt so uneasy that she wouldn¡¯t be there if he checked again. Perhaps it was because of the memories of her always fleeing away from him. And perhaps, that being the reason, the soft weight on his arm felt nice. The time and effort spent on finding a royal heir this whole time seemed like it was all for this single moment. ¡®I finally caught her.¡¯ Valhayle uttered internally and was surprised by it. What a disloyal statement. I rescued her, not caught her. Valhayle shook his head and faced forward. The mission was not over yet. It only ended when he safely arrived in the Roheneim camp, to the place where his bird with the golden ribbon was waiting. Valhayle continued to ride. *??:?????:* The wooden gate of the camp slowly rose. Valhayle rode across the camp and stopped at his tent located in the center. The knight commanders waiting inside all stood in a line before him. Valhayle carefully carried the princess down from the horse. ¡°¡­¡± There was only silence among the commanders in front of him and the soldiers of the advance troop behind him. The shape of a person covered in the blanket. They couldn¡¯t believe it just like Valhayle couldn¡¯t. That Roymonde¡¯s royal heir was actually here. Valhayle removed his helmet and broke the silence. ¡°1st and 2nd Knight Commanders, take roll call of the advance troop and send the wounded to the medical unit.¡± The 1st and 2nd commanders, who were standing with astounded faces, replied. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± ¡°4th Commander, you let the captives rest and check if my messenger bird has arrived safely.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The 4th commander walked away. ¡°5th Commander, you prevent agitation in the army and hide the news of the retrieval of Her Majesty until my command.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Lastly, Valhayle turned to Sir Luke. ¡°And the 3rd commander comes with me.¡± Valhayle glanced at Sir Luke, who sported a dumbfounded expression, to lead the way. He had commanded Sir Luke to prepare a tent for the Princess to stay in before leaving. After a short moment, Sir Luke answered slowly. ¡°¡­Yes, sir.¡± He started staggering ahead of Valhayle. Guessing by his weakness, he must have been worried sick about Valhayle. Sir Luke guided Valhayle to a small tent in the corner of the camp. ¡°It¡¯s here for now. Nondescript and safe¡­¡± Valhayle nodded. This place was good enough for now. Plus, they could discuss about accomodations later with the princess when she woke up. Valhayle flung the tent door open and laid the princess down on the bed. As he lowered her in the bed, the blanket moved slightly, revealing her face. Sir Luke gasped. He knew that face. It was the 8th Princess Zelleine whom he and Valhayle, who had to attend royal events often, saw once in a while. Her face under the moonlight looked serene. < II-1 The Princess and the Servant : Enemy and Ally > After a long while, Sir Luke finally spoke. ¡°I-Is Her Majesty asleep?¡± Valhayle looked down at the princess. ¡°Either that or she has fainted.¡± ¡°They had said she was too unwell to write a letter. It doesn¡¯t seem like it.¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Sir Luke grumbled in a relieved way. ¡°Seems like Granoir lied to us. It¡¯s not like writing a letter is that difficult.¡± ¡°If she wakes up, I¡¯m going to ask her about the things that have happened to her.¡± Valhayle tucked her in bed. Sir Luke spoke again. ¡°On a side note, Sir. I didn¡¯t expect you to return this uninjured.¡± Valhayle replied coldly. ¡°It¡¯s only because our plan worked.¡± Sir Luke made a complicated expression. ¡°Did that bird¡­ Really lead the advance troop towards the location where the salt fire was fired?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But how is that possible?¡± ¡°If it weren¡¯t, Her Majesty wouldn¡¯t be alive here with us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡± Valhayle raised his hand to stop Sir Luke. ¡°We have many more things to do. When the day breaks, we have to identify the casualties of the militia. We didn¡¯t lose any of our elites, but it would be a different story for the militia.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, sir.¡± ¡°And.¡± Valhayle looked around the small tent and continued. ¡°We will need people to serve Her Majesty. Search for them from her mother¡¯s family or from the castles located in the South. Only hire people who have experience serving a royal.¡± ¡°Understood. Is there anything else?¡± ¡°¡­We might need a doctor. Since we have to confirm if Her Majesty is well or not.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll commend the advance troop and interrogate the captives myself.¡± With Sir Luke gone, only Valhayle and the princess remained in the tent. Valhayle watched the princess¡¯s face. ¡°¡­¡± Even after observing her again, she didn¡¯t feel like a royal heir. In fact¡­ She felt like a fairy that lived near forests or lakes. A fairy that could never be seen in this blood- and dirt-stained war field, one that could never be captured. He felt a stab of guilt from the feeling that he desired and even captured a fairy like that. ¡°¡­Haah.¡± Valhayle shook his head. It didn¡¯t make sense at all. So, Valhayle wished Zelleine would open her eyes quickly. He wanted her to look at him, call his name, and prove to him that his belief in the royal heir¡¯s survival was not mistaken. He wanted to proclaim to everyone that a royal heir was alive here and now. And he wanted to say that the blood of the first Meredith royalty that legends said protected Roymonde with their golden blood flowed in her body too. As he thought that, Valhayle scorned himself internally. I didn¡¯t even believe in legends before. However, he still knelt beside the sleeping princess. ¡°Domus Biden Prossi.¡± In translation, ¡®My noble personage¡¯. It was an ancient language now forgotten. It was only used for female royalties and in modern days, it equated to ¡®Majesty.¡¯ Valhayle pronounced those words and felt chills. He finally felt it on his skin that he had rescued a royal heir. He cherished that feeling and left the tent to commend his soldiers. *??:?????:* After Zelle returned to camp, she waited in Valhayle¡¯s tent nervously. ¡°1st and 2nd Knight Commander, take roll call of the advance troop and¡­¡± And when she heard his voice coming outside¡­ ¡®Lumares Valhayle!¡¯ Zelle was so deeply overjoyed by his safe return that she momentarily forgot the purpose of the mission. ¡®I didn¡¯t lose my country¡¯s commander-in-chief!!¡¯ She shivered from joy and decided to compliment him in any way possible. When the door flung open, she jumped up from excitement that it would be Valhayle. However, the person who entered was one of the knight commanders instead. ¡°¡­¡± Zelle¡¯s shoulders immediately dropped. The 4th Commander approached and checked on her. It was disappointing that it wasn¡¯t Valhayle, but Zelle behaved herself and studied the 4th Commander¡¯s face. She was trying to assume Valhayle¡¯s state with his expression. The 4th Commander glanced at her. ¡°¡­¡± Zelle got a feeling that his gaze felt a little different than usual. Before, he just looked at her as if she was a cute bird but¡­ Now, it was like he admitted that she was something more important than that. It wasn¡¯t logical, but it felt like he now viewed her as one of his comrades in war. But Zelle focused on something else. The 4th commander¡¯s smile. From that, Zelle identified that it was joy like the one she was feeling. The success of the mission. The return of the commander-in-chief and the advance troop. And¡­ ¡°¡­!!!¡± Right. The rescue of the 8th Princess. That was the purpose of the mission. Zelle grew certain from the knight commander¡¯s face. ¡®It worked.¡¯ Then, that meant that her human body was not so far away from her. Perhaps that body was already awake and conversing with Valhayle or anybody else. She was thrilled that her body was retrieved but also creeped out. She had wondered several times if this bird¡¯s soul was in her human body. But if that really happened, she would have been treated like a lunatic by the Granoir army. Considering Granoir¡¯s evil practice of disposing of babies who were physically or mental handicapped, they would have never understood her bird-like behavior. ¡®They would have killed me.¡¯ If so, then how did you survive, Zelleine? Your 3rd eldest sister¡¯s head was hung on the castle walls, yet how is yours still intact? I¡¯m¡­ ¡®Scared of you.¡¯ I¡¯m scared that you might not be me. I¡¯m terrified that I might have been banished from my body forever. I¡¯m terrified that someone wearing my body of a princess will use it to affect this country. And that as a mere bird, I won¡¯t be able to stop it. But Zelleine, even though I¡¯m terrified¡­ ¡®I missed you.¡¯ Zelle let out a shaky breath. The knight commander placed her in the bird cage and locked it. *?:? ??.???.?? ?:?* Chapter 30 Chapter 30 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.???.?? ?:?* It was dusk. The knight commanders were gathered in Valhayle¡¯s tent. Despite it being late, everyone¡¯s eyes were bright. The squire poured drinks in everyone¡¯s glasses. Having a drink together was a form of celebration often carried out after a successful battle. If the whole army took part in this mission, then the whole army would have a drink. But this operation was an extremely confidential mission; very few people had been privy to it. Those people were Valhaye, Valhayle¡¯s advance troop, and the five commanders. Alcohol was prohibited during the war so a traditional drink called Hazaan that was made of cinnamon and fruits was distributed. The scent of brewed cinnamon, sour fruits (including tangerine), ginger, and sugar cane water filled the room. Valhayle raised his glass. ¡°Today¡¯s success was made possible by everyone.¡± The five knight commanders lifted their glasses in sync and agreed. ¡°But something was especially crucial in this mission.¡± Valhayle brought the bird out of the bird cage and held it in front of the commanders. ¡°Roymonde¡¯s messenger bird.¡± Valhayle added. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for this bird, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to rescue the 8th Princess from Granoir. Moreover, thousands of lives would have been lost.¡± The knight commanders¡¯ eyes all turned to Zelle. ¡°¡­¡± Despite being preoccupied with other thoughts, Zelle detected their eyes and froze, anxious. Valhayle set his glass in front of Zelle. ¡°When the royal court is recovered, I will request for the honorization of Roymonde¡¯s messenger bird policy.¡± He continued. ¡°If my request is accepted, the royal court will bestow a medal of merit to this bird.¡± A medal of merit?! Zelle almost lost her senses. Oi, Valhayle. Are you mad? A medal to a bird? Zelle expected the same reaction from the others. She looked at the commanders, but they were all unsmiling. They are probably angry. The royal court¡¯s medal holds great significance to them. In spite of her wishes, her legs began to shake. Valhayle declared in a low voice. ¡°We are the only country that uses messenger birds. Thus, this success can be said to be the victory of Roymonde¡¯s ¡®messenger bird¡¯ culture.¡± With a sincere gaze, he implored. ¡°So I want all of you here to sign the petition with me.¡± Then, Valhayle pulled out a fresh official document paper and placed it in the center of the table. ¡°¡­..¡± The knight commanders, each representing an order of 8,000 men, all looked at Zelle again. Zelle unconsciously tried to find disgust or fury¨Cthe emotions which she had received her whole life from the people, and even from herself¨Cin their eyes. Amidst their heavy silence, Zelle finally noticed something. ¡®¡­Huh?¡¯ Before she could even define what she had felt, the 1st Commander pulled the paper towards himself. ¡°Signed.¡± The petition was passed on from the 1st Commander to the 2nd Commander. ¡°Signed.¡± It was continuously passed on among the commanders, from the 2nd Commander to the 5th Commander. ¡°Signed.¡± And at the moment when Valhayle signed the last signature, Zelle found the word to describe what she had felt from the eyes of the five commanders and Valhayle. ¡®Reverence¡¯. In this warfield, today¡¯s comrade could become tomorrow¡¯s lost soldier. Even though it wasn¡¯t a weapon that could slay an enemy or food that could satiate hunger, people needed this. Something to put their hopes on. A symbol that God was with them in this war. They didn¡¯t hold reverence for the bird itself. They were kissing the hope of victory this bird symbolized. Zelle froze up in fear, because she realized that she had become a far too important being in this war now. Because she found the reason to live on as this bird. Valhayle spoke with a hint of excitement. ¡°All of our names will be recorded in history.¡± He faced Zelle and raised his glass. The other five commanders raised their glasses and downed their drinks. A strong scent of cinnamon filled the tent. As she indulged in that thick sweet scent, for the first time ever, Zelle looked back at the purpose of her life. ¡®I survived to live.¡¯ Even after she had become a bird, she always asked herself. Will I be able to recover my human body? Can I retrieve my life as a human? But there was a question that she needed to answer the most, a question she had avoided asking herself. ¡®Do I want my life as a human back?¡¯ She couldn¡¯t answer that. She couldn¡¯t easily say yes or no. But, for the first time, Zelle thought that instead of blindly persisting to ¡®live¡¯, she could persist to live for something she wanted to achieve. Today was the first day she ever thought that in her life. *??:?????:* It was 3 hours later when Valhayle heard about the princess again. Sir Luke and the doctor entered Valhayle¡¯s tent with grim expressions. ¡°Sir. There¡¯s something I must tell you.¡± Valhayle saw Sir Luke¡¯s gloomy expression and leapt to his feet. ¡°What is it? Is the princess¡ª¡± Sir Luke shook his head without even hearing the rest of the sentence. ¡°No. She¡¯s not in a critical condition.¡± ¡°Then what is it?¡± SIr Luke let the doctor speak instead. The doctor sweated profusely and parted his lips. ¡°Her Highness can¡¯t seem to wake up.¡± Valhayle scowled. ¡°What do you mean she can¡¯t wake up? I thought she wasn¡¯t in a critical condition.¡± The doctor wiped away his sweat nervously. ¡°Well, it¡¯s really peculiar. She is in a completely normal state but, no matter what I do, she is not regaining consciousness.¡± ¡°Are you saying she¡¯s still unconscious?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s like¡­¡± The doctor added nervously. ¡°She has¡­ Fallen into a deep slumber.¡± Valhayle continued to interrogate the doctor. ¡°Are you sure you tried everything to wake her up? If there is a method you haven¡¯t tried yet, tell me this instant.¡± The doctor hastily bowed his head. ¡°I tried everything I could. I lit the awakening incense, sprayed cold water on her, and¡­ Poked the tip of her finger with a sharp object¡­.¡± Valhayle slammed his hands on the table. ¡°I thought you said she¡¯s asleep! How could that be then?¡± The doctor¡¯s face went pale. ¡°She¡¯s breathing and is capable of moving, but¡­ She shows no reaction to stimuli. It seems like all her bodily functions are in the lowest state, just like when an animal has gone into hibernation.¡± He spoke, almost bursting into tears. ¡°I¡¯m not even completely sure if¡­ Her Highness is still alive or not.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Valhayle mulled over the doctor¡¯s words for a while and spoke furiously. ¡°Bring all the hostages who have served Her Highness to me. Right now.¡± Sir Luke dashed out. Valhayle gripped his chair in anger. Crush. The wood broke into pieces. Zelle, who had been listening to their conversation, almost fell off the porch. Only she could understand what no one else could. Her soul was not in that body. The one and only soul of the 8th Princess was in this bird. *?:? ??.???.?? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! discord.gg/woopread Chapter 31 Chapter 31 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.???.?? ?:?* ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve brought them.¡± Sir Luke came in with a group of women. Valhayle saw their terrified faces and suppressed his anger. Most of the women that were captured with the 8th Princess were maids that worked for the nobles of the Central region. So some of them could have a husband, brother, or son serving in the Roheneim army. ¡°I have a question.¡± Valhayle uttered, trying his best to calm down. The women shared looks with each other. ¡°It¡¯s about Her Highness¡¯s current state. Does anyone know what happened to her?¡± No one dared to speak, so Sir Luke added. ¡°We are in the Roheneim camp. Whatever you say, no harm will be done to you.¡± One of the women cautiously spoke up. ¡°Her Highness has been unconscious ever since we first saw her when we were captured.¡± Sir Luke asked. ¡°Have you heard about what happened then?¡± ¡°No. They only talked in their language¡­¡± Sir Luke turned to Valhayle with a concerned look. ¡°Then what do we do now, Sir? News about Her Highness will spread within days, and if the public finds out that she is in that state¡­.¡± Valhayle didn¡¯t reply to him. Instead, he questioned the women again. ¡°Why did they capture you all? I¡¯ve heard it was to serve someone.¡± The women shared looks again. Another woman spoke up. ¡°We weren¡¯t even aware that we were captured there to serve Her Royal Highness until you said so just now.¡± ¡°So, are you saying you didn¡¯t serve her?¡± ¡°No. I just mean that we had nothing to serve. The only thing we did for Her Highness was brush her hair and balm her lips so they didn¡¯t dry out.¡± Valhayle asked coldly. ¡°Then why did they need 6 servants to do just that?¡± One woman blurted out in a frustrated manner. ¡°We mostly translated or explained Roymondean. The man who knew a little Roymondean always ordered us around.¡± Valhayle recalled Granoir¡¯s messenger soldier who spoke very poor Roymondean. ¡°Sir Luke.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Detain the doctor in your tent. Take the ladies here and find out what Granoir ordered them to explain.¡± ¡°Understood, Sir.¡± The women all gathered at the door. Valhayle pointed at one of the women. ¡°The first one who spoke stays.¡± Everyone except that woman left the tent. Valhayle asked her. ¡°Earlier, you said you don¡¯t know why Her Highness is in that state.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Did Granoir ever come and check whether Her Highness had woken up?¡± ¡°No.¡± They were sure she wouldn¡¯t regain consciousness. Valhayle¡¯s hands balled up into fists. Granoir. What the hell did you do to Her Highness? ¡°Anything else?¡± The woman gulped once and spoke shakily. ¡°It seemed like they had a discussion on whether to keep Her Highness alive or not. They were arguing and someone had to interrupt¡­¡± But they decided to keep her alive. Probably to trade with us. The woman interrupted Valhayle¡¯s thoughts and continued. ¡°There was something strange. They seemed like they were writing down dates¡­ But it was different from our calendar so I couldn¡¯t exactly tell how many days they were counting. This is all I know.¡± ¡°They counted dates, huh¡­.¡± Valhayle frowned. ¡®What are they plotting this time?¡¯ 40 days. That was the only thing that rang in Valhayle¡¯s head. The 40 days Granoir gave them to retreat. He had simply thought they knew how long it would take for the reinforcement troops to arrive, but perhaps there was another reason. Then, Sir Luke ran in. ¡°Sir, Sir!!¡± Valhayle eyed the woman and ordered. ¡°You may leave. Go to the tent that was assigned to you yesterday.¡± When the woman left, Valhayle looked up at Sir Luke. ¡°What is it?¡± Sir Luke breathed heavily and managed to speak between his gasps. ¡°G-Granoir! There¡¯s a messenger soldier from Granoir!¡± ¡°A messenger soldier?¡± ¡°Yes. We are waiting for your orders to bring him in or not.¡± ¡°Bring him in. Directly to my tent. And don¡¯t bring the others.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± As soon as Sir Luke left, Valhayle grabbed his sword. Only the thought of finding out what happened even by piercing the messenger soldier¡¯s neck filled his head. ¡®I¡¯m not even completely sure if¡­ Her Highness is still alive or not.¡¯ The doctor¡¯s words lingered in his mind. The princess¡¯s unconsciousness. 40 days. Granoir¡¯s messenger soldier coming at such a suspicious time. All 3 of these things were pointing towards something. He just didn¡¯t know what. Valhayle glared at Granoir¡¯s messenger soldier who just walked in. ¡°Bind him.¡± Sir Luke tied the messenger soldier¡¯s hands and legs and forcefully made him kneel in front of Valhayle. There was a hint of startlement on the messenger soldier¡¯s arrogant face. From his attitude, Valhayle concluded that he was aware of the 8th Princess¡¯s state. ¡®Then you must also know why I am so infuriated.¡¯ Valhayle gripped his sword. ¡°Say what you¡¯re here for.¡± The messenger soldier saw Valhayle¡¯s sword and yielded. ¡°I here. Deliver letter.¡± He pointed to his pocket with his chin. Sir Luke wrenched the letter out of his pocket and handed it to Valhayle. Valhayle opened the letter. [The 8th Princess drank our poison. It¡¯s a poison that puts a person into deep slumber and eventually kills them in 3 months. If she takes the antidote, she¡¯ll live but only we have that. Only 30 days remain for the princess now. So, give up 4 castles and retreat for 30 days. If you do as said without attacking us, we will send you the antidote.] Valhayle threw the letter onto the ground. He was deeply enraged. ¡°This is it.¡± The scheme behind the conditions stated in their negotiation talks. Granoir confidently demanded 40 days because they had a backup plan. They were going to threaten Roheneim with the princess¡¯s antidote if Roheneim didn¡¯t retreat for 40 days. And if Roheneim requested for the return of the princess after retreating, they would have just returned the princess in her lifeless state to demoralize the army. Ultimately, the retrieval of the princess didn¡¯t change a thing then. Valhayle commanded Sir Luke. ¡°Lock him up.¡± Sir Luke looked at Valhayle, who was clearly infuriated, anxiously. ¡°Yes. Sir.¡± When he was all alone, Valhayle admitted to himself. ¡®We¡¯ve lost.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t let the princess die. So he would have to retreat just as Granoir demanded. But it was at least fortunate that Granoir underestimated the 8th Princess¡¯s value. Just 4 castles. They disvalue her too much. To Roymonde, she was the first royal heir to be found alive and thus possibly their new ruler. But to Granoir, it seemed like she was just ¡®the king¡¯s unimportant 8th daughter¡¯. She was not as known to the public but¡­ They thought Roheneim would ignore the deal if they asked for more than 4 castles in return for her life. Those insane morons. Valhayle tried to calm down but instead, he was even angrier. ¡®So, we have to retreat after all.¡¯ We have to give up entirely¡­ On our spark of victory. In 30 days, Granoir¡¯s reinforcement troops would arrive and wipe off the Eastern and Central region again. Even if all 3 of Roymonde¡¯s militaries were pushed to the West and stood guard¡­ ¡®We won¡¯t even last a year.¡¯ It was even more aggravating that he had to tell this to the army. He had to deliver this tragic news to those who just celebrated the success yesterday. If this spread among the soldiers, they would be greatly agitated. Those who had homes in the Central region would be affected even more. Valhayle pressed his temples. The bird flopped on the ground beside him. Anguish enveloped him. *??:?????:* It was night. Valhayle rose from the chair. Zelle, who was observing him with close attention, hopped onto Valhayle¡¯s shoulder. Valhayle glanced at her and spoke coldly. ¡°I¡¯m going to see Her Highness.¡± Zelle hesitated for a moment. She couldn¡¯t bear the sight of her lying down unconscious but, at the same time, she was eager to see it for herself. ¡®I can¡¯t believe it unless I see it.¡¯ Zelle clung onto Valhayle¡¯s shoulders. Valhayle was about to pull her off but he stopped. ¡°¡­Whatever. It shouldn¡¯t matter.¡± Then, he started walking towards the tent where the princess laid in with Zelle on his shoulder. Despite deciding to accompany Valhayle, Zelle was afraid. She raised her talons and grasped Valhayle¡¯s shoulder tightly. It was the only thing she could hold on to at the moment. Valhayle showed his face to the soldiers guarding the tent and entered. Zelle looked at the face of the woman who laid serenely in bed. Zelle couldn¡¯t breathe at the sight of her own deathly pale face. She had wanted her human body to be alive, but not like this. ¡®I couldn¡¯t even imagine this.¡¯ It was not the time to be relieved that she had no mother Granoir could threaten for land. Zelle genuinely didn¡¯t think she could be used as a hostage like this. The princess no one wanted and the nuisance with no mother, father, or sibling who cherished them. But now, she was a burdensome hostage who would bring this country to an end. The most important person in this time in which no other royal heir had been found alive yet, and the most powerless tyrant. Now, she was just a purposeless vessel that would destroy the lives of thousands¡ªif not tens of thousands¡ªof lives. ¡®Is that what I had survived all this time for?¡¯ Zelleine mumbled forlornly. This was the first time she regretted trying so hard to live. Zelle forcefully opened her eyes which were swamped in agony¡ª ¡°Gweck!¡± ¡ªand darted towards her human body. It happened so suddenly that even Valhayle couldn¡¯t react to it. *??:?????:* A few minutes prior. As he walked towards the princess¡¯s tent, he sensed the bird¡¯s fear. Ever since he kept this bird close to him, he realized that birds had facial expressions too. And currently this bird was stiffened in fear, barely managing to cling onto him. Valhayle was perplexed by it. Is the bird sharing a human¡¯s fear? He irrationally thought that the bird was mirroring his own fears. Valhayle pondered the reason why he was going to the princess¡¯s tent right now. Was it to check if the only surviving royal heir is really unconscious or not? Or, was it to see her breathing and be confident in his decision on retreating for the antidote? If not that, then was it to grieve for the royal heir that had fallen victim to this war despite not even being next-in-line to the crown? The moment he opened the door, still mulling over his thoughts, he saw the bird that had been trembling the whole way here dart forward. *?:? ??.???.?? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! discord.gg/woopread Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.???.?? ?:?* Zelle darted towards the human Zelleine who laid motionless on the bed. She aimed straight for the neck. Her beak pierced through the thin skin. She could taste the bitterness of the blood. ¡®Wake up.¡¯ Zelle clenched her beak and uttered. If you¡¯re alive then you must be able to feel pain. So, wake up. But her human body remained still. Zelle was caught up in fear and fury. Why are you lying so still? How is this considered ¡®not dead¡¯? What are you doing just lying there?! What did you do when they gave you that poison? Did you drink it without any suspicions? Even if they forced it on you¡­. ¡®You still wanted to live this desperately.¡¯ Is that why you¡¯re still holding on to your life even in this state? Look at how that turned out. Look at how you¡¯ve done now!! In fact, it was not her fault. Nor was it Lopecce¡¯s or Roheneim¡¯s. Then who was she to blame? Her father is dead and Linbessy is still missing. There was no one to cast the blame on. But it was agonizingly cruel that there would be soldiers who would be killed and civilians who would suffer. ¡°Kyarggh!!!¡± Zelle cried out. Valhayle froze up in shock at the entrance. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. The bird. The bird that didn¡¯t know and shouldn¡¯t know about anything was attacking the princess. As soon as he realized that, Valhayle dashed towards the bird and grabbed it. ¡°What are you doing!!¡± Zelle writhed in his hand. ¡®Let go!!!¡¯ She didn¡¯t want to see Valhayle or anyone at this moment. She didn¡¯t want to be blamed or punished. Zelle broke out of Valhayle¡¯s grasp and stormed out of the tent. The cold evening air swept against her violently. Goooo. The cries of the owls resonated from the forest surrounding the camp. Left alone now, Valhayle hurriedly approached the princess. Blood slowly oozed out of her neck. His eyes went blurry at that sight. ¡®The blood of the royal heir.¡¯ While Valhayle was still petrified, the princess¡¯s blood ran down his finger and soaked the ground in droplets. He ripped a piece of cloth, pressed it on her wound, and called for the doctor. He was still shocked from the bird¡¯s unexpected behavior but stopping the princess¡¯s blood was more important. The doctor sprinted inside the tent. ¡°Y-y-you called for me, Sire?¡± Valhayle immediately drew a dagger to his neck. ¡°If you blab about this, you will be dead.¡± The doctor nodded, sweating profusely. Valhayle then explained the princess¡¯s wound to him. The doctor brought out a few tools he had with him and approached the princess. Valhayle sat on the chair next to the bed to keep an eye on the doctor. ¡°I-It¡¯s a relief that the wound is not deep. But at times like this when her blood is circulating slowly, even a small cut is dangerous¡­¡± Valhayle didn¡¯t reply. His head started throbbing. The doctor saw Valhayle¡¯s pursed lips and started skillfully closing up the princess¡¯s wound without another word. Valhayle pressed his temples. His head was congested with thoughts. The sight of the bird darting towards the princess¡¯s neck replayed in his head again and again. ¡®Why would it do that?¡¯ He sensed an unfamiliar rage and even contempt from the bird as it attacked. The princess and the bird. The bird and the princess. No matter how many times he mulled over it, he couldn¡¯t find a connection. The only thing they shared in common was that they were both on Roymonde¡¯s side. ¡®Roymode¡¯s side¡­¡¯ Valhayle rubbed his forehead roughly. Perhaps one of them wasn¡¯t on Roymonde¡¯s side. If that was the case, the bird would most definitely not be on Roymonde¡¯s side. A gift Granoir prepared for this moment. A spy trying to harm the princess. ¡®But¡­¡¯ Valhayle frowned. Everything the bird did was for Roymonde¡¯s cause. It brought significant damage to Granoir and became the ¡®Eye of the Sky¡¯ they feared. But, was that bird a spy? He shook his head. It can¡¯t be. It¡¯s just a mere bird. On top of that, that bird was just a young bird that had never even flown before the day it scratched the soldier and escaped. His thoughts were getting wilder and wilder. Perhaps the bird knew. That victory can be ours if the princess dies. That as long as she lives, Roheneim wouldn¡¯t give up on the princess. ¡®Perhaps that¡¯s why it tried to kill¡­¡¯ Valhayle¡¯s hand balled into a fist. But you couldn¡¯t. It was too weak of an attempt to kill in the first place. Then what is it? What are you, really? ¡°¡­..¡± He couldn¡¯t answer that. Valhayle shook his head softly. It was not right to dwell on these thoughts at times like this. Valhayle watched the princess who laid horribly still as a needle pierced through her neck. He looked at the blood smeared around her wound and¡­ Turned away. He had seen countless blood in his life; however, the moment he saw the blood of a royal heir, he was nauseated. It wasn¡¯t a revolt for the blood itself; it was a revolt for war. War shed children¡¯s blood, adults¡¯ blood, soldiers¡¯ blood, and finally even the nobly raised princess¡¯s blood. Valhayle felt the princess¡¯s blood on his hands grow cold and shuddered. *??:?????:* It was after a long while that Zelle stopped fretting and came back to her senses. She landed on a branch to rest her overworked wings. She was in a bad state from the multiple collisions with the ground and trees. However, her emotional agony was so painful that she couldn¡¯t feel her physical fatigue and pain. She recalled the knight commanders who signed the petition for her yesterday. Yesterday, she was their symbol of victory. But today she was¡­ Zelle shut her eyes. ¡®The symbol of defeat.¡¯ But now, she wounded a princess¡¯s body so both she as a bird and as a human would be despised by Roheneim. Zelle felt sorrow from the desolation of it all. She mumbled internally. ¡®You shouldn¡¯t have appeared at all, Zelleine.¡¯ Then I would have given up on you at one point. She never wanted to give up her life as a human but she had to admit that her life as a bird felt more like ¡°living¡±. In the body of a bird, she fought for her country and assisted its commander-in-chief. She never really cherished the yellow flag this much either, since she couldn¡¯t show even a grain of her love for her nation when she was a princess. After being a bird, she knew what being acknowledged felt like. She also knew how it felt to earn someone¡¯s trust and learned what kindness was. She wanted to speak the human language, share opinions, and live along with them, but she did more of that as a bird than as a human. When she escaped the body of a princess, she finally became one. Zelle recalled how Valhayle¡¯s face went pale when he heard that the princess wouldn¡¯t regain consciousness¡ªas well as the hint of anger on the faces of the captive women, the arrogance on the Granoir¡¯s messenger soldier¡¯s face, and the faces the knight commanders would make when they found out about this. ¡°¡­..¡± She teared up from the pain. She was a bird with tear glands too small to even cry; and yet, her eyes dimmed. Fweet-! A sharp whistle sound rang. Zelle wiped away her tears and faced the source of the sound. ¡°¡­¡± No one was there. Zelle felt anxious so she decided to stay up in the sky. ¡®Where am I?¡¯ She flew for a long time without thinking so there was a chance she flew quite far away from camp. After reaching a certain altitude, Zelle observed the ground. It was night so she couldn¡¯t tell exactly where but¡­ It was definitely from a human. Then, something caught Zelle¡¯s eyes. ¡®A yellow flag!¡¯ Someone with a yellow flag was lying on the ground. He must have called for me. Zelle carefully descended towards the man who looked like he was dying. Is it a messenger soldier? He could have been attacked by Granoir while on the way here. Zelle went a little closer to the soldier to check his state. ¡®I should go back.¡¯ Just a second ago, she had believed she wouldn¡¯t be able to return to Roheneim camp ever again, but seeing a wounded soldier changed her mind. Even though she could be punished if she returns, she would be able to save this person¡¯s life. Zelle approached the soldier to check if he was breathing. ¡°¡­??¡± ¡®He¡¯s not breathing.¡¯ But he just whistled to call me¨C Wait. Is it not him that called for me? ¡® At that moment, Zelle realized. ¡®It¡¯s a trap.¡¯ As soon as she perceived this¡ª Whish-! ¡ªsomething flew past her. It was smaller than an arrow. Startled, Zelle soared up to the sky. Small arrow-like objects started flying over at her again. Zelle desperately tried to dodge them but she ended up getting shot on her buttocks. ¡°Gweck!!¡± It didn¡¯t hurt as much as when she got shot with an arrow on her leg. There was only a sharp pain like when she was stung by a bug. What is this? Zelle flew to a safer altitude and checked. It was ? the length of an arrow¡­ A needle? Then she immediately got a feeling. ¡®It¡¯s a poison needle.¡¯ Zelle searched the surroundings. She could see the Roheneim camp she escaped from far far away. I have to go back. I can¡¯t let the enemies have my bird corpse. Zelle started flying towards the camp with all her might. If she was to die from this poison, she must die in Roheneim¡¯s hands. Since if Granoir has the bird¡¯s corpse, the enemy¡¯s morale would rise greatly. It was strange how she didn¡¯t get emotional while she was at the brink of death, but Zelle only focused on flying. Her senses became dull from the buttocks. Now, she couldn¡¯t feel the pain from the needle and could not extend her talons even if she wanted to. ¡®I must be getting paralyzed.¡¯ The light of the torches became blurry. The poison reached her wings and slowed her movements. For the first time, she felt sorry for this bird. ¡®I¡¯m sorry to you too.¡¯ For escaping into your body. And for being a weak royal heir who can¡¯t even save a bird¡¯s life¡­ Zelle crashed into the ground in front of Roheneim camp¡¯s wooden gate. Her whole body convulsed. ¡®Sir Valhayle, I¡¯m back.¡¯ With the last of her remaining strength, Zelle smiled. ¡®I didn¡¯t fall into their hands.¡¯ And then, she lost consciousness. *?:? ??.???.?? ?:?* Chapter 33 Chapter 33 Translator: Kimmy Editor: Daed *?:? ??.???.?? ?:?* Valhayle sent the cloth used to wipe the princess¡¯s wound to be burned instead of washed. Every material was scarce right now but the princess was a royal heir. He couldn¡¯t allow her noble blood to be washed away with other filth¡ªeven if her life-or-death was unknown. He grew skeptical now of his groundless belief that at least one of the royal heirs would be alive. With what reason did I think that? The 1st and 2nd princesses who we can¡¯t find? Lopecce, which is utterly desperate in searching for them? Granoir, which would hang the royal heir¡¯s heads as soon as they found one? No, it was none of them. It was the 8th Princess Zelleine. The princess in deep slumber, her crystal blue eyes hidden beneath the tightly shut eyes. She looked so fragile that even a soft touch would shatter her and seemed more isolated than any other person. Yet the tears she dropped inside the fountain contained incomprehensible strength and life. That had given Valhayle assurance. Valhayle halted from the shock of discovering the source of his blind faith. It can¡¯t be. How could I be¡­ At that moment, Sir Luke ran inside the tent. ¡°Sir! Sir!! Come outside! The messenger bird is¡­!!¡± Valhayle stood up abruptly. ¡°The messenger bird¡­?¡± Sir Luke panted heavily as he continued. ¡°The messenger bird must have left¡­ It had fallen on the ground in front of our camp.¡± ¡°Fallen?¡± ¡°Yes, with this on it.¡± Sir Luke brought out something. Valhayle immediately identified it. ¡°A poison needle.¡± ¡°Yes. But it seems like the concentration of poison was quite low since the bird is still alive. It¡¯s barely breathing though.¡± Valhayle turned to the doctor who had just finished treating the princess¡¯s wound. The doctor looked at him with fear. ¡°Can you find out what this poison is?¡± ¡°There are not many types of poison so I think it¡¯s possible.¡± The doctor received the poison needle with trembling hands. ¡°Sir Luke. Where is the bird?¡± ¡°I had it laid in front of your tent. The soldier in charge of messenger birds said nothing could be done.¡± ¡°Alright. Then you take the doctor back to his tent.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Valhayle spoke to the doctor. ¡°You won¡¯t be going home for a while.¡± ¡°Pardon? I¡­ Understood, sir¡­.¡± Although he was basically dragged here in the morning and was now forced to stay, the doctor obeyed the commander-in-chief. After Sir Luke left with the doctor, Valhayle prepared to leave as well. He looked back at the princess once more. A wind must have blown into the tent since her eyelashes twitched slightly. Valhayle stepped out of the tent. *??:?????:* Valhayle went to see his messenger bird that had attacked the princess, escaped from camp, and returned. He quickened his pace. The knight commanders, who hadn¡¯t heard about the princess the whole day, were gathered in front of the unconscious bird. When Valhayle approached them, they all shouted. ¡°Sir!!¡± Valhayle looked at the bird first. It was drooping like the time it had returned injured. One of the commanders asked. ¡°Sir, was it¡­ Attacked while on a mission?¡± Valhayle remained silent. He couldn¡¯t even estimate where this bird went to be attacked like this. If it was awake, he could at least ask. He was astonished at how naturally he thought he could get an answer from an animal by asking. ¡°¡­I dispatched it for reconnaissance. Seems like it had flown too far.¡± ¡°It did a really good job yesterday. It makes me uneasy seeing it like this.¡± Valhayle balled up a fist. He clenched it so hard that his finger joints began to hurt. ¡°It¡¯s not dead yet. I will look for ways to save it.¡± Another commander warily spoke up. ¡°Uh, sir¡­ How is Her Highness doing?¡± Valhayle walked closer and held the bird. ¡°I will tell you all tomorrow. For now, just make sure no rumors about this bird circulate in the army.¡± The knight commanders glanced at the bird in Valhayle¡¯s hands and followed the command. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Valhayle brought the bird inside the tent and laid it on the yellow flag. ¡°¡­¡± He had planned to take that yellow flag away after it fully recovered, but he had completely forgotten about it. It was far too valuable to be used on a mere bird. But now¡­ It¡¯s basically a shroud so I guess it¡¯s fine. Valhayle petted the bird lying serenely on the yellow fabric. He felt guilty. ¡°I should have stopped you from escaping.¡± Then I could have interrogated you on why you attacked the princess and¡­ You wouldn¡¯t be lying here looking like this. Now, the reason behind the bird¡¯s attack on the princess will remain unknown forever. This small bird was shot with a poison needle that even killed people. It was a miracle that this bird was even alive. For the first time, it felt like mine. Valhayle mumbled internally. Mine. My own. Something I can be attached to. Valhayle looked around the tent. Everything was exactly how it used to be¡ªexcept for the empty bird cage. He lifted the bird to see its wound more closely. And as he leaned in¡­ ¡°¡­??¡± Valhayle touched the bird¡¯s beak. It was unconscious yet its upper and lower mandibles were closed shut. Valhayle parted its mandibles softly and something fell out. A piece of yellow cloth. Valhayle raised his brows. It looked very similar to the color of Roymonde¡¯s flag. Where did it get this from? Valhayle rubbed the torn piece with his finger. It was like the fabric of the flags used in the military. Valhayle called for a squire thinking the bird must have not gone that far away from camp. ¡°Tell the commanders to dispatch the black elite soldiers to search the area.¡± ¡°Yes, sire.¡± When the squire left with the order, Valhayle paced back and forth in the tent with the flag piece in his hand. Not even an hour later, there was a report that there was no sign of Granoir soldiers near the area. ¡°¡­¡± If it didn¡¯t get it from around here, where did it¡­ Valhayle stared at the bird that could no longer answer him. Where did you get this from? There are no flags like this where Granoir soldiers are. Then, he recalled the training this bird had received. Flag to flag. Yellow flag to another yellow flag. Could it have gone looking for another flag? But it had come back too soon for it to have gone to Lopecce and it wouldn¡¯t make sense for it to be anywhere else. There is no way Granoir soldiers would be around a yellow flag. The yellow flag found inside the bird¡¯s beak and the bird¡¯s unconsciousness from Granoir¡¯s poison needle gave him proof. ¡®This bird is not a spy.¡¯ Valhayle reiterated as he looked at the smeared blood stain on the bird¡¯s beak. This bird can¡¯t be a spy. It would be unreasonable for them to attack such a valuable spy that earned the trust of Roheneim. ¡®I will find out why you attacked Her Highness.¡¯ Valhayle clenched the yellow piece of cloth in his hands. For that to happen, the bird had to regain consciousness. *??:?????:* Zelleine was on a soft cloth when she woke up. She turned as she opened her eyes. She couldn¡¯t see clearly. Zelle attempted to cry out but a moan came out instead. ¡°Uergh¡­¡± She flexed her back muscles to move her wings. ¡°¡­¡± My wings aren¡¯t moving. Then, Zelle recalled the events before she had fainted. She was poisoned and gradually being paralyzed. Am I paralyzed now? Zelle shook her head to clear her head. But my head is moving though¡­? She lifted herself up. ¡®But why is it all so unclear?¡¯ Zelle bent forward to touch her beak with her wings. Then¡ª Fwish. ¡ªsomething drew over her shoulders. Zelle turned to it unconsciously. She could see hair that fell from her neck to her chest. ¡®Hair?!¡¯ She pursed her lips in shock. She could feel her soft lips. Lips? There are no lips in a beak though? That was when Zelle realized something was different. She slowly blinked to regain focus, and tried to move her ¡®arms¡¯ which she hadn¡¯t used in a while. Then, according to her will, her arms rose. Zelle stared down at her hands. ¡®What is going on?¡¯ She touched her hair. Hazel brown¡­ Zelle hastily pulled the blanket up. Her legs were revealed. Gasp. Zelle covered her scream with both hands. ¡®It¡¯s a human body!¡¯ She looked for something to see her reflection in. Her eyesight as a human was way worse than her bird eyesight. Never before in her life had she thought she had bad eyesight; however, compared to a bird, a human¡¯s vision was so inferior. Zelle stood on the ground. Her legs trembled from her weakened muscles. She tried to stand for a longer time but she soon got dizzy and fell back onto the bed. ¡°Haah, haah¡­.¡± She barely moved but she panted and her heart paced. Zelle felt a strain on her neck so she touched it and could feel the bandage along with a sharp pain. ¡°Ouch.¡± Zelle pulled her hands away. It seemed like this body had a wound there. ¡°It hurts¡­¡± A hoarse voice came out. Startled from the tone of the voice, she froze. ¡®This voice is familiar.¡¯ Zelle hurriedly lifted her clothes and reached for the right side of her waist. A small dent. Chills ran down her spine. She slowly looked down to check her waist. There was a scar Zelle got when she was 6 from a burn. Zelle started shaking as she was struck by a realization. ¡®This is¡­Me.¡± Then she remembered the wound on her neck. The very wound she had left on her human body when she was a bird. Valhayle must have treated the wound after I left then. ¡®But why did I wake up in this body?¡¯ I was definitely a bird, but why am I human again so suddenly¡­ Her head spun. I remember getting shot with a poison needle and collapsing in front of the gate¡­ She couldn¡¯t think logically from the bewilderment. What happened to me after that? Then, the tent door opened. With messy hair and a flustered face, Zelle looked at the door. ¡°¡­¡± There was a man standing, frozen in front of the door. Zelle recognized his stunned face immediately. Lumares Valhayle. Zelle panted heavily and shouted. ¡°Sir Valhayle!¡± His chest rose up and down strongly. He seemed astounded. Zelle held her dizzy head up and managed to speak. ¡°T-the bird, what happ¡­¡± He yelled towards the outdoors. ¡°A doctor! Bring a doctor here right now!! This instant!!!!¡± Then he strode towards her. Zelle faltered from fatigue. Valhayle caught her in time. Zelle mumbled. ¡°Valhayle, you¡­¡± Why are you so surprised? Are you not the one¡­who made me wake up in my human body? If so, how did this happen¡­? Why am I here¡­ She could feel that her body was out of power now. Her heart raced weakly. Valhayle softly placed his hand over her forehead. Zelle shut her eyes from the dizziness. ¡°Your Highness!¡± Valhayle¡¯s familiar voice. With that lingering in her ears, Zelle laid her head on Valhayle¡¯s chest. ¡®Hungry.¡¯ That was her last thing on her mind before she fell unconscious again. *?:? ??.???.?? ?:?* Report mistakes or chat with us in discord! discord.gg/woopread Chapter 34 Translator: Ruyi Editor: Sasha Forenoon. Valhayle had been sitting motionlessly next to the royal princess for two hours now. He had woken up at dawn and was waiting for the princess who had fainted to wake up. As per what the doctor said, the reason why the royal princess became unconscious again was because of ¡®malnutrition.¡¯ ¡°It takes an exorbitant amount of calories just to bring a body, whose metabolism has significantly dropped, back to normal. As a result of using all the calories she had stored in her body to wake up¡­.¡± The doctor explained, making small conversations. After the treatment, Valhayle dismissed the doctor after telling him to prepare for the princess¡¯s recovery. Then, he kept vigil beside the royal princess¡¯s bed. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± He couldn¡¯t forget how he saw the royal princess awoke for the first time just earlier. He would probably never forget that moment for the rest of his life. He checked the condition of the royal princess again in the morning and then summoned the Knight Commanders to explain the situation. He was reluctant about letting them enter the unconscious royal princess¡¯s tent, but it was also difficult to assure the other Commanders without going in. The royal princess hadn¡¯t woken up. To tell the truth, he had been suffering from the temptation of wanting to continuously look into the royal princess¡¯s condition. He wanted to check on her again and again after every minute and every second. So, he thought about speaking frankly about the princess¡¯s condition in front of everyone to completely break their hopes that the royal princess was just having a long sleep and would wake up since more than a day had passed. But the royal princess had regained her consciousness. It was like some lie. To even call it a miracle was not enough. The princess had just abruptly woke up. ¡®Sir Valhayle!¡¯ The royal princess had called him in a choked voice. His entire body had frozen. He needed a moment to decide whether this was real. He only felt a sense of reality when he shouted to call a doctor and embraced the body of the royal princess who had become unconscious again. Valhayle sat vigil beside the princess after hearing from the doctor that she would not fall into that terrible coma again and would wake up soon. He had to check with his own eyes that she would wake up. Before that, he didn¡¯t intend to do anything. If you wake up, the history of Roymond will begin to be written anew from hereinafter. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Valhayle sat down and looked down intently at the royal princess¡¯s face. At first glance, she didn¡¯t look much different from when she was unconscious yesterday, but the sound of her breathing now was different. It was uneven; it went fast and then slowed down repeatedly. Valhayle forgot to even breathe for a moment while listening to it. The princess probably dreamed about eating something as she opened her mouth a little wide and smiled repeatedly. Valhayle could barely breathe after seeing that. He realized that even though she was unconscious, it was rude to blatantly look at her like this, so he turned his head away. As he sat there alone quietly, his tangled thoughts cleared up a little. First, he got the news that the princess was alive. Then the bird poked four times on the back of his hand. It had poked four times to tell him the location of the royal princess. The princess they had saved could not wake up. The bird had rushed towards the royal princess and attacked her. After that the bird returned to the barracks in a half dead state. And¡­ then the princess woke up. Since a lot of things had been happening all at once, he didn¡¯t get the time to sort out his thoughts about these things. So, Valhayle now went through his thoughts one by one. There were two questions in his mind. Firstly, why did the bird attack the princess? Secondly, how did the royal princess suddenly wake up? * * * First question. Why did the bird attack the royal princess? ¡®The bird¡¯s attack¡­.¡¯ Valhayle¡¯s gaze fell over the bandage that was wrapped around the princess¡¯s neck. He didn¡¯t know what to say to the princess when she would find out about the wound on her body. Should he say that their own kingdom¡¯s messenger bird hurt her? This was something that no one knew, not even Sir Luke. Then should I cover it up? And lie that she got hurt while being rescued out of the Granoir camp. But why? Just because I have a great faith in the bird? Is that something over which the commander-in-chief of Roymond should lie to a royal heir? Valhayle suddenly remembered something which put his unpleasant thoughts on hold. Come to think of it, out of all the words that came out of her mouth¡­ ¡®T-the bird, what happ¡­¡¯ Bird? Valhayle frowned. What bird was she talking about? The only guess he could come up with was that she might have been with a bird before taking Granoir¡¯s poison. In this cold country, the royal members raised hunting falcons as a pastime, so the fact that the princess might have raised a bird was not at all surprising. The bird could have been a source of comfort while she was held captive. After which, she consumed a poison and fell into a deep sleep. By the way¡­ ¡®Why did she ask about the bird while looking at me?¡¯ He clearly remembered the time when the princess called him, ¡®Sir Valhayle!¡¯ She shouted his name as if calling someone she knew very well. That voice, he had never heard once. ¡®But I¡¯ve never talked to you before.¡¯ And the way she inquired was as if she had been talking to him until fairly recently¡­. Moreover, the bird. To think she would suddenly ask about a bird when he had lost his own. It was too big a coincidence. Valhayle felt an unpleasant feeling, as if he was missing out on something. No. As long as she wakes up, I can ask her directly, so I just have to do my own thing. The second question he had was¨C How did the royal princess wake up? He racked his brain to think of a number of possibilities, but nothing could explain it. Only a day after returning to Roheneim¡¯s camp, Princess Zelleine woke up with a wound on her neck that she did not have before in Granoir. How on earth did she wake up? What could be the reason for the comatose princess to suddenly regain her consciousness? ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Valhayle, who had been contemplating this for a long time, shook his head. It didn¡¯t matter how she woke up. Only her waking up was important. As long as the princess regained her consciousness, there was now only one thing left for the princess and him. If the fully recovered royal princess were to stand in front of the Roheneim, they would be able to retake the Central region together from Granoir. Maybe one day, he would be able to tell the princess about the messenger bird. When this land would be free from war. When the royal heirs were safe from the clutches of the enemy. When that time comes, he will tell the princess that there was a bird, and it was that bird and the Royal Princess who helped Roheneim win this war. He would also explain to her that the scar on her neck was from that bird. ¡°Sir Valhayle, are you inside?¡± Sir Luke¡¯s voice came from outside the tent. Valhayle got up from his seat. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I have something to report to you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Valhayle glanced at the sleeping princess once. There was no sign of her waking up yet. So, Valhayle went out of the tent and Sir Luke followed after him with an anxious expression. ¡°The Lords of the Central region have requested an audience.¡± Valhayle furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say I¡¯d deal with them once I¡¯m done settling the Eastern region¡¯s matters?¡± Sir Luke hesitated with an awkward look on his face. ¡°I think you should look over this now.¡± Sir Luke began to brief Valhayle. So far, the lords of the Central and Eastern regions that they had retook from Granoir had sent many letters to Valhayle. This was because due to the absence of the royal heirs, Valhayle was now the highest-ranking authority. Since Valhayle didn¡¯t have time to check them all, Sir Luke worked on inferring the letters. That was what Sir Luke¡¯s family, the Tenealphs, did mainly. Helping with Lumares family¡¯s administration work. Even before the war, Valhayle and Sir Luke had worked together many times. Valhayle had prioritized the matters of the Eastern region, which had suffered a lot of damage. Since the rescue of the subjects was still ongoing, he needed the cooperation of the castle lords. However, Sir Luke, who was in charge of the central affairs in place of Valhayle, got some strange reports. He had come to report it to Valhayle. Sir Luke said with a somber look. ¡°I think we should look more into this war¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± While looking at Sir Luke¡¯s face, Valhayle recalled the confusion he felt when he met the Eastern Lords. It was a suspicion that haunted him ever since the war began. ¡®There is something strange about this war.¡¯ The more he won the battle and met the lords of the retook castles, the more his suspicions about the war grew. Before the war, he was commanding the war preparations, so he didn¡¯t know much about the internal situation of the Central and Eastern regions. Rather, he was more familiar with the situation of the Western region, where he frequently traveled to and from to transport the grains. Even though it was the Central region where his family was based. However, when he put the testimonies of the castle lords and the circumstances before and after the war side by side, he noticed something strange about the overall picture. Just before the Granoir¡¯s invasion, the defense was strangely slackened to a great extent. The defense measures that Roheneim had prepared before the war were destroyed in an instant and the central region was quickly occupied. The gates to the capital were strangely open even before the siege. ¡°Strange.¡± It was just as if there was a spy among them. There were also similar testimonies in the reports that Sir Luke received from the Lords of the Central region. ¡®What is this? This is ridiculous¡­¡­.¡¯ Even though his thoughts were in a knot, Valhayle looked straight at Sir Luke. ¡°I¡¯m already aware of the strange occurrences. But now there¡¯s something more important than that.¡± ¡°¡­What is it?¡± ¡°To win the war and rebuild the country. Only when there is a country can we be held accountable.¡± Valhayle spoke firmly. ¡°For now, our top priority is for Her Highness, the 8th Princess, to wake up.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± ¡°Handle the documents from the Central region as highly confidential documents.¡± Sir Luke nodded. ¡°Okay, Sir.¡± After sending Sir Luke back, Valhayle entered the princess¡¯s tent again. He sat next to her bed, and thought for a moment. Valhayle had found out several facts during his meetings with the eastern lords. Some nobles displayed strange movements after he went for the battle. In this war, Roheneim was sent to Granoir as a vanguard. And by the time Roheneim crossed the Granoir border, Granoir headed straight to the Roymond¡¯s eastern region without defending their own land. The Roymond¡¯s border fell in five days and the east fell in ten days. The Roheneim hurriedly returned after hearing the news but by that time, the capital and the royal palace had already been occupied. What happened after Roheneim had crossed the borders? No, was there any other intention to send Roheneim as the vanguard in the first place? From Sir Luke¡¯s report, he also learned that the suspicious nobles had met some of the royal heirs. There was no way to know who those royal heirs were now. ¡°The royal heirs¡­¡± Valhayle¡¯s jaw clenched tightly. ¡°Umm¡­¡± The royal princess tossed and turned. This broke Valhayle¡¯s train of thoughts and he looked at the royal princess. The princess¡¯s eyelids opened slowly. Blink. The princess closed her eyes and opened them. Valhayle quickly dragged back his chair, which was right next to the princess, and got up from the seat. When the princess tried to raise her listless body, he politely stopped her. ¡°You should keep lying down.¡± The princess mumbled softly, ¡°I don¡¯t have any strength.¡± Valhayle called someone outside and ordered them to bring food. ¡°You¡¯ll feel better after eating something.¡± When he talked about the food, the princess¡¯s stomach rumbled. Valhayle pretended not to hear it and avoided looking at her. The royal princess looked down at her stomach with wonder, at the sound that came from her body. After an awkward silence, the princess asked. ¡°What¡¯s the date today?¡± For any errors and issues contact me through discord:- https://discord.gg/Q3dStgu Chapter 34 (1) Translator: Ruyi Editor: Sasha Forenoon. Valhayle had been sitting motionlessly next to the royal princess for two hours now. He had woken up at dawn and was waiting for the princess who had fainted to wake up. As per what the doctor said, the reason why the royal princess became unconscious again was because of ¡®malnutrition.¡¯ ¡°It takes an exorbitant amount of calories just to bring a body, whose metabolism has significantly dropped, back to normal. As a result of using all the calories she had stored in her body to wake up¡­.¡± The doctor explained, making small conversations. After the treatment, Valhayle dismissed the doctor after telling him to prepare for the princess¡¯s recovery. Then, he kept vigil beside the royal princess¡¯s bed. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± He couldn¡¯t forget how he saw the royal princess awoke for the first time just earlier. He would probably never forget that moment for the rest of his life. He checked the condition of the royal princess again in the morning and then summoned the Knight Commanders to explain the situation. He was reluctant about letting them enter the unconscious royal princess¡¯s tent, but it was also difficult to assure the other Commanders without going in. The royal princess hadn¡¯t woken up. To tell the truth, he had been suffering from the temptation of wanting to continuously look into the royal princess¡¯s condition. He wanted to check on her again and again after every minute and every second. So, he thought about speaking frankly about the princess¡¯s condition in front of everyone to completely break their hopes that the royal princess was just having a long sleep and would wake up since more than a day had passed. But the royal princess had regained her consciousness. It was like some lie. To even call it a miracle was not enough. The princess had just abruptly woke up. ¡®Sir Valhayle!¡¯ The royal princess had called him in a choked voice. His entire body had frozen. He needed a moment to decide whether this was real. He only felt a sense of reality when he shouted to call a doctor and embraced the body of the royal princess who had become unconscious again. Valhayle sat vigil beside the princess after hearing from the doctor that she would not fall into that terrible coma again and would wake up soon. He had to check with his own eyes that she would wake up. Before that, he didn¡¯t intend to do anything. If you wake up, the history of Roymond will begin to be written anew from hereinafter. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Valhayle sat down and looked down intently at the royal princess¡¯s face. At first glance, she didn¡¯t look much different from when she was unconscious yesterday, but the sound of her breathing now was different. It was uneven; it went fast and then slowed down repeatedly. Valhayle forgot to even breathe for a moment while listening to it. The princess probably dreamed about eating something as she opened her mouth a little wide and smiled repeatedly. Valhayle could barely breathe after seeing that. He realized that even though she was unconscious, it was rude to blatantly look at her like this, so he turned his head away. As he sat there alone quietly, his tangled thoughts cleared up a little. First, he got the news that the princess was alive. Then the bird poked four times on the back of his hand. It had poked four times to tell him the location of the royal princess. The princess they had saved could not wake up. The bird had rushed towards the royal princess and attacked her. After that the bird returned to the barracks in a half dead state. And¡­ then the princess woke up. Since a lot of things had been happening all at once, he didn¡¯t get the time to sort out his thoughts about these things. So, Valhayle now went through his thoughts one by one. There were two questions in his mind. Firstly, why did the bird attack the princess? Secondly, how did the royal princess suddenly wake up? * * * First question. Why did the bird attack the royal princess? ¡®The bird¡¯s attack¡­.¡¯ Valhayle¡¯s gaze fell over the bandage that was wrapped around the princess¡¯s neck. He didn¡¯t know what to say to the princess when she would find out about the wound on her body. Should he say that their own kingdom¡¯s messenger bird hurt her? This was something that no one knew, not even Sir Luke. Then should I cover it up? And lie that she got hurt while being rescued out of the Granoir camp. But why? Just because I have a great faith in the bird? Is that something over which the commander-in-chief of Roymond should lie to a royal heir? Valhayle suddenly remembered something which put his unpleasant thoughts on hold. Come to think of it, out of all the words that came out of her mouth¡­ ¡®T-the bird, what happ¡­¡¯ Bird? Valhayle frowned. What bird was she talking about? The only guess he could come up with was that she might have been with a bird before taking Granoir¡¯s poison. In this cold country, the royal members raised hunting falcons as a pastime, so the fact that the princess might have raised a bird was not at all surprising. The bird could have been a source of comfort while she was held captive. After which, she consumed a poison and fell into a deep sleep. By the way¡­ ¡®Why did she ask about the bird while looking at me?¡¯ He clearly remembered the time when the princess called him, ¡®Sir Valhayle!¡¯ She shouted his name as if calling someone she knew very well. That voice, he had never heard once. ¡®But I¡¯ve never talked to you before.¡¯ And the way she inquired was as if she had been talking to him until fairly recently¡­. Moreover, the bird. To think she would suddenly ask about a bird when he had lost his own. It was too big a coincidence. Valhayle felt an unpleasant feeling, as if he was missing out on something. No. As long as she wakes up, I can ask her directly, so I just have to do my own thing. The second question he had was¨C How did the royal princess wake up? He racked his brain to think of a number of possibilities, but nothing could explain it. Only a day after returning to Roheneim¡¯s camp, Princess Zelleine woke up with a wound on her neck that she did not have before in Granoir. How on earth did she wake up? What could be the reason for the comatose princess to suddenly regain her consciousness? ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Valhayle, who had been contemplating this for a long time, shook his head. It didn¡¯t matter how she woke up. Only her waking up was important. As long as the princess regained her consciousness, there was now only one thing left for the princess and him. If the fully recovered royal princess were to stand in front of the Roheneim, they would be able to retake the Central region together from Granoir. Maybe one day, he would be able to tell the princess about the messenger bird. When this land would be free from war. When the royal heirs were safe from the clutches of the enemy. When that time comes, he will tell the princess that there was a bird, and it was that bird and the Royal Princess who helped Roheneim win this war. He would also explain to her that the scar on her neck was from that bird. ¡°Sir Valhayle, are you inside?¡± Sir Luke¡¯s voice came from outside the tent. Valhayle got up from his seat. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I have something to report to you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Valhayle glanced at the sleeping princess once. There was no sign of her waking up yet. So, Valhayle went out of the tent and Sir Luke followed after him with an anxious expression. ¡°The Lords of the Central region have requested an audience.¡± Valhayle furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say I¡¯d deal with them once I¡¯m done settling the Eastern region¡¯s matters?¡± Sir Luke hesitated with an awkward look on his face. ¡°I think you should look over this now.¡± Sir Luke began to brief Valhayle. So far, the lords of the Central and Eastern regions that they had retook from Granoir had sent many letters to Valhayle. This was because due to the absence of the royal heirs, Valhayle was now the highest-ranking authority. Since Valhayle didn¡¯t have time to check them all, Sir Luke worked on inferring the letters. That was what Sir Luke¡¯s family, the Tenealphs, did mainly. Helping with Lumares family¡¯s administration work. Even before the war, Valhayle and Sir Luke had worked together many times. Valhayle had prioritized the matters of the Eastern region, which had suffered a lot of damage. Since the rescue of the subjects was still ongoing, he needed the cooperation of the castle lords. However, Sir Luke, who was in charge of the central affairs in place of Valhayle, got some strange reports. He had come to report it to Valhayle. Sir Luke said with a somber look. ¡°I think we should look more into this war¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± While looking at Sir Luke¡¯s face, Valhayle recalled the confusion he felt when he met the Eastern Lords. It was a suspicion that haunted him ever since the war began. ¡®There is something strange about this war.¡¯ The more he won the battle and met the lords of the retook castles, the more his suspicions about the war grew. Before the war, he was commanding the war preparations, so he didn¡¯t know much about the internal situation of the Central and Eastern regions. Rather, he was more familiar with the situation of the Western region, where he frequently traveled to and from to transport the grains. Even though it was the Central region where his family was based. However, when he put the testimonies of the castle lords and the circumstances before and after the war side by side, he noticed something strange about the overall picture. Just before the Granoir¡¯s invasion, the defense was strangely slackened to a great extent. The defense measures that Roheneim had prepared before the war were destroyed in an instant and the central region was quickly occupied. The gates to the capital were strangely open even before the siege. ¡°Strange.¡± It was just as if there was a spy among them. There were also similar testimonies in the reports that Sir Luke received from the Lords of the Central region. ¡®What is this? This is ridiculous¡­¡­.¡¯ Even though his thoughts were in a knot, Valhayle looked straight at Sir Luke. ¡°I¡¯m already aware of the strange occurrences. But now there¡¯s something more important than that.¡± ¡°¡­What is it?¡± ¡°To win the war and rebuild the country. Only when there is a country can we be held accountable.¡± Valhayle spoke firmly. ¡°For now, our top priority is for Her Highness, the 8th Princess, to wake up.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± ¡°Handle the documents from the Central region as highly confidential documents.¡± Sir Luke nodded. ¡°Okay, Sir.¡± After sending Sir Luke back, Valhayle entered the princess¡¯s tent again. He sat next to her bed, and thought for a moment. Valhayle had found out several facts during his meetings with the eastern lords. Some nobles displayed strange movements after he went for the battle. In this war, Roheneim was sent to Granoir as a vanguard. And by the time Roheneim crossed the Granoir border, Granoir headed straight to the Roymond¡¯s eastern region without defending their own land. The Roymond¡¯s border fell in five days and the east fell in ten days. The Roheneim hurriedly returned after hearing the news but by that time, the capital and the royal palace had already been occupied. What happened after Roheneim had crossed the borders? No, was there any other intention to send Roheneim as the vanguard in the first place? From Sir Luke¡¯s report, he also learned that the suspicious nobles had met some of the royal heirs. There was no way to know who those royal heirs were now. ¡°The royal heirs¡­¡± Valhayle¡¯s jaw clenched tightly. ¡°Umm¡­¡± The royal princess tossed and turned. This broke Valhayle¡¯s train of thoughts and he looked at the royal princess. The princess¡¯s eyelids opened slowly. Blink. The princess closed her eyes and opened them. Valhayle quickly dragged back his chair, which was right next to the princess, and got up from the seat. When the princess tried to raise her listless body, he politely stopped her. ¡°You should keep lying down.¡± The princess mumbled softly, ¡°I don¡¯t have any strength.¡± Valhayle called someone outside and ordered them to bring food. ¡°You¡¯ll feel better after eating something.¡± When he talked about the food, the princess¡¯s stomach rumbled. Valhayle pretended not to hear it and avoided looking at her. The royal princess looked down at her stomach with wonder, at the sound that came from her body. After an awkward silence, the princess asked. ¡°What¡¯s the date today?¡± For any errors and issues contact me through discord:- https://discord.gg/Q3dStgu