When Iria Alewine regained her consciousness, she finds herself lying on the ground. She thought about it and the last thing she remembered was jumping off the cliff with... Prince Orius?

Where was he?

The Commander tried her best to push herself up despite the stinging pain she felt throughout her body. When she glanced around, she saw the second Prince lying on the right a few steps away from her. Then she walked to him with much difficulty.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!" She shook the second Prince, trying to wake him up. She observed him but she didn't notice any severe wounds in his body. However, there was a small injury on his forehead and it was covered with blood.

After a few more attempts, the Prince finally opened his eyes, slowly. Feeling dizzy, he blinked again and again. Then he pushed himself up and glanced around. However, his movement worsened the pain in his head. He holds his head and ended up groaning.

"Did it hurt a lot?" Iria quickly asked. It looked like a small injury but... was there something more to it?!

"I'm fine," Prince Orius muttered and observed her. "Your leg is bleeding. Did you take a look?"

"It didn't hurt that much," Iria said. However, she quickly looked far away in the back when she heard something. "Horses?" she muttered and quickly turned to the Prince. "I think the assassins are still coming after us."

"Let's hide for now," Prince Orius said and stood up, ignoring the pain in his body.

Iria did the same and followed the second Prince but... walking was much harder than she thought. However, as someone who had gone through many hardships, she was always strong-minded. So, she fought the pain and hid behind a large rock in the left along with Prince Orius.

Just as Iria speculated, the assassins soon reached the place and halted their horses. They glanced around their surroundings, searching for them or at least, some clues.

"I found a bow and some arrows here." One of the assassins shouted.

Hearing him, the others quickly rushed over to him.

"It must belong to the Crown Princess," one man assumed.

"No one will come to this place, especially on a day like today. That means it belongs to the Crown Princess or that guard."

One of the assassins glanced at the above. "They will surely be wounded and I don't think they will be able to go far. Let's chase them."

"If we fail, we will be dead. Keep that in mind." One of the men who was still on his horse said to the other assassins. From his tone and how others listened to him, he seemed to be their leader.

The assassins all mounted their horses and split into four groups to search for Commander Iria and Prince Orius.

"Those men were too eager to kill us and maybe that's why they forget this," Prince Orius murmured and Iria darted her eyes to him. "While facing an enemy, it's best to stick together," he concluded with a little smirk.

"They divided in a group of four and each group has three men. Forget about us, I'm confident that I can tackle each group and take them down alone, one by one," Iria quickly said. "I still have my sword with me and they just left my bow and arrows there."

"Why did you exclude me?" the Prince asked with displeasure written all over his face. "I might not be able to compare with the most elite warrior of our kingdom, but I'm still good enough to fight against those mere assassins."

"They still have their bows and arrows. That was why we ran away in the very first place," Iria argued.

The enemies outnumbered them to a great extent and if they just faced them, the arrows might pierce through their body before they could even start a fight! Besides, the enemies hid behind rocks and it was hard for the two to spot them.

"That's why we should work together," Orius Aventine retorted.

"But you're injured in the head," Commander Iria quickly said.

"Then what about the thing on your leg? Didn't it count as an injury?"

Iria used to think that Crown Prince Zaro Aventine was the most stubborn person she ever knew but... it turned out that this second Prince was the same as his older brother!

No matter what the situation was, putting the life of royals in danger was never an option for a soldier but...

"Alright. Let's work together," the Commander paused and added, "If you put yourself in more danger, I won't forgive you."

Prince Orius remained quiet for a while with his gaze fixated on the Masked Commander. "Jerivia needs you more than it needs me. You don't know that?"

"Just shut up," Iria uttered. "His Majesty will be here after three days. I won't be able to answer him if anything happens to you."

Prince Orius sighed. "That again. I already told you that my father won't care. Who knows, he might even want me dead." His voice trailed off and he turned away when Iria looked at him with a perplexed face.

According to Iria Alewine, what the second Prince said makes no sense. He was the second son of the King. Why would the father wanted his son to be dead?!

"Don't talk nonsense, Your Highness. His Majesty is always a great father," she argued. Her gaze full of confusion never left the second Prince.

"You always believed in him," Orius Aventine muttered and there was a ghost of a sneer in his face. "It's understandable. His Majesty worries about you more than anyone."

"What are you trying to say?" Iria asked. She couldn't understand this Prince.

Why did his mood and talk switch so fast? Was there something going on between him and his father the King?

"That's not important," Orius Aventine simply said and observed their surroundings before he stood up. "Come. We have a lot of enemies to tackle."

Staring at the second Prince who was walking towards the place where they fell before, Iria let out a sigh. Whenever she thought that she misjudged him before, he always does or says something to make her doubt herself.

Just what was his real self?!

"Aren't you coming?"

She stood up when she heard his voice and bracing herself, she fought against the pain once again and followed him.....