"You sound like the Masked Commander right now," Orius Aventine remarked when he heard Iria. "However, you're still injured." He stood up and observed the enemies before he killed the fire. "They won't be able to aim at us easily anymore," he said to Iria and walked out of the small cave.

The moment the second Prince showed up and used himself as the bait, an arrow was released towards him again. However, the Prince depends on his sharp ears and strike down the arrow while Commander Iria released her arrow which was successfully planted on the chest of the assassin.

When Iria witnessed how good the hearing of the second Prince was, she was taken aback. She was always praised for her extraordinary hearing skills but... Orius Aventine was no worse than her!

He might even be better than his brother!

The duo used the same method to take down one more assassin and if they got it right, only one more assassin was left there in the darkness behind the trees but...

Just when the second Prince was about to take another step forward, they heard the sound of horses galloping. The sound became clear and clear as it became nearer to them. All of a sudden, the remaining assassin was shot down by someone's arrow!

Crown Prince Arin appeared with a bow in his hand and he was followed by some of his men including General Hanson, Rion and Antony. Just before he reached where Orius was standing, the Crown Prince halted his horse and everyone followed suit.

Arin looked at the two corpses of the assassins lying a few steps away and his eyes trailed to Iria who was sitting inside the small cave with... a bow and an unreleased arrow which was still pointed in his direction.

When their eyes landed on the two corpses and the Crown Princess who was holding a bow and arrow, Hanson and the guard's faces were plastered with shock!

Did the Crown Princess shot the two assassins? Forget about that... was she even skilled in archery?!

While the soldiers were too taken aback by what they saw, the Crown Prince already gets off his horse and rushed to Iria. The moment he reached where she sat, the first thing he did was taking the bow and arrow from her hands.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he observed her. When he saw the wound on her leg, he clenched his fist and tried his best to hold back his anger.

While the Crown Prince was busy observing his wife, Antony and the others approached Orius who was staring at the two with an unreadable face.

"Are you alright?" Rion asked the second Prince in disguise.

"I'm fine," Orius Aventine muttered. His eyes never left Iria and the Crown Prince who seemed to be more than worried. On the inside, the second Prince shook his head.

This was bad.

He understood right away that things had already went wrong than he initially thought.

"It doesn't hurt much," Iria finally responded to the Crown Prince who kept on staring at her with concern. "I only hurt my bone a bit."

"Let's return to the camp first, Arin," General Hanson said as he approached the couple. "It's getting late and others will be eager to hear the news."

Arin Helev nodded and helped Iria up. "Let's talk later," he calmly said to her. Though Iria was injured, they find her alive and that put the Crown Prince at ease. All the anguish and anxiety he felt before were slowly leaving him.

When Arin and Iria reached where Orius stood, the Crown Prince looked at the Jerivian Prince in disguise and patted him on the shoulder. "You did great, Davian. Let's return to the camp first and treat your wound. We will discuss this matter later."

Orius Aventine lowered his head without saying anything. Then they all mounted their horse and made their way back to the camp.

* * *

Far away from the capital of Qalagon was a big mansion that seemed to be pretty old. Though it was almost dawn, the guards there were still more than alert and active.

Sitting on a horse, it was Klaus Ermias who was waiting for the gate of the mansion to be opened and when it was finally opened, one middle-aged man came out and bowed to greet him. "What brings you -"

Before the middle-aged man could even finish his words, Captain Klaus gets off his horse and rushed inside. He ran past many chambers and pavilions until he reached a small hall. He opened the door to the hall and rushed in.

Klaus Ermias stood frozen when he saw three dead bodies lying on the floor. Standing above the corpses was another middle-aged man with a blood-stained sword in his hand. He was staring down at the dead bodies with disdain.

"Losers. They can't even handle just one woman," the middle-aged man spatted as he shook his head. However, his expression was completely changed when his eyes trailed to Klaus Ermias. Then he handed his sword to a guard beside him.

One gesture from the man and the guards took away the bodies and walked out of the room, leaving the Captain and the middle-aged man alone.

"I don't know that you are coming today," the middle-aged man calmly said. He walked towards Klaus Ermias while wiping off the blood on his hands with a napkin.

With every step that the man took towards him, Klaus Ermias nervously squeezed his clothes, tighter and tighter. He stood still and narrowed his eyes the whole time.

"What brings you here?" the man asked the Captain.

Klaus Ermias wondered what he would say. He knew his reason for coming here but... would he have the courage to confront this man? He wasn't sure. His anxiety was what made him rushed here, blindly.

"Why did you kill those men?" he asked the middle-aged man after maintaining his silence for a while. He was bracing himself and tried hard to stand his ground.

"Why do you bother to ask me that?" the man said with a calm expression. "I only kill my people for two reasons. One, they betrayed me. Or two, they failed me," he paused and continued, "In tonight's case, it's the latter."

The man's response made the Captain felt the pressure even more! However, he wished to know one thing and he mustered up his courage to ask another question. "Did you kill them because they failed to assassinate the Crown Princess?"