Ailwin hung up his call with both Braeden and Kaze staring at him in surprise."What?"
"You said you love her." Braeden almost choked on his words.
"Whwhat are you talking about?"
"You said, "I love you" to that brat!"
"No, I didn"t. I said, "I like her jokes."
No, no... you said you love her!" Ailwin looked at Kaze who nodded his head yes, then looked back at Braeden.
"I said that...?"
"Yes,"
"That"s not possible. I"ve only known her for a couple of months, and only a couple of times out of those months do I get to see her through a comm screen to talk..." Ailwin was just as shocked by his words as Braeden and Kaze were.
"Reporting!" A soldier knocked on Ailwin"s closed office door.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
"Come in."
"Commander. There are royal guards and a Counsellor here to see you."
"d.a.m.n, again?"
"Yes, General. They are waiting in the main hall."
"Got it, thank you." Ailwin dismissed the soldier from the room.
"Do you want me to come along...?" Braeden could feel the tension coming off of his friend.
"No...but be at the usually spot just in case they try anything."
"Sure." Braeden left the room promptly to follow Ailwin"s orders.
"Kaze..."
"Yes."
"Mikaela told me about you finding those spies...I want you to keep an eye out for any new faces that might be walking around."
"Sure." Kaze left just as swiftly as Braeden did.
Left by his self, Ailwin walked to the full-length mirror in his office and adjusted his attire before leaving the room. Calm, steady footsteps echoed in the halls as he and his men walked towards the main hall.
Inside the main hall, twenty royal guards stood around waiting. When Ailwin entered the room, they all saluted to him before moving side for Counsellor Beluar to be seen.
"Prince Ailwin." Giving a brief bow, the Counsellor turned away from Ailwin"s presence and took a seat in one of the chairs.
"I didn"t know Counsellor Beluar would come all this way just to visit me." Ailwin sat down in the head seat and served himself some tea.
"Your father asked me to deliver this personally to you." Pulling out a his tablet, he pa.s.sed it to Ailwin to read.
"You know it"s almost time for the "Exchange", unfortunately for us and the other kingdoms, we don"t have enough honey for our people live and to give away. The King is asking for you to go on a expedition to locate new honey trees. It may help with the declining harvest we have been having."
"Honey Trees? Me?... This seem like a job for any of my other siblings or officials to do. Why me?" Ailwin shut off the tablet and pa.s.sed it back into Counsellor Beluar"s hands.
"...because you are Commander of the Shadow Wolves, the most accomplished army in Kaia Kingdom, and the biggest. Every task given to you, you have completed it wonderfully. Plus, the most important reason...the King wants you to do it." Counsellor Beluar looked Ailwin dead in the eye as he spoke these words.
"...and if I refuse-"
"Then you will be giving up your freedom and t.i.tle as Commander of the Shadow Wolves."
"The Shadow Wolves are my own personal army..."
"Yes, but you would be defying a direct order from your King...and the laws are clear, Prince Ailwin. Any citizen in Kaia Kingdom, who has their own army must obey every order given to them by the King. If not, then you will be considered an usurper to the crown."
"Are you trying to frame me as a traitor...?"
"No...I"m telling you, your King demands your service."
The two stared at each others until Ailwin spoke again.
"Is this all?"
"No. The King would also like to meet with you personally at Imperial City in three weeks."
"What for?"
"I don"t know, you will have to ask him when you see him."
"Is that all...?"
"Yes"
"Good. The exit is that way. My soldiers will see you out." A group of forty soldiers opened the doors and ushered the royal guards and Counsellor Beluar towards their waiting aircraft.
Once the main hall was empty of all but Ailwin, Braeden open the hidden door and sat in a empty chair.
"What do you think this means?"
"I don"t know, but it"s true that the "Exchange" is coming up and the kingdom"s trees have been dying..."
"You know that is not what I am talking about. Why would he pick you for this job? If you find any trees, you have the right to claim them, those are the laws. Why would he give you this opportunity to gain more power..."
"...because he knows I don"t want the throne..."
"So, he thinks you are the safest bet...?"
"I can only a.s.sume...I"ll know more once I meet with him."
"You want me to go with?"
"En...and also Kaze."
"Okay." Braeden left the hall to prepare for the upcoming trip.
Ailwin looked over the information he sneaky took from the Counsellor"s tablet while he was talking.
Majority of it was nonsense, but one thing did catch his eyes.
Counsellor Beluar was lying, he wasn"t the only person his father asked to go on an expedition. In the travel logs, it showed that their aircraft had visited three other sites before coming to him. And those places were all places his older siblings live.
"What are you planning....father?"