He was seated on the chair inside his father's living room when his father entered.He stood on his feet to welcome him“Dad” he called but a slap landed on his cheek.He barely recovered, trying to raise his head up when another landed on his cheek again.“Dad!” He groaned.“Bastard! How dare you! You made me a laughing stock. You failed yourself and also failed me! Idiot!” Anderson shouted.“I know I have done wrong but please, forgive me. I have turned to a new leaf and will not do that again” he pleaded.“You want me to forgive you? Have you gone nuts? What made you steal! We have more than enough and congratulations to you, your name is on the school blacklisted list. You are no longer a student of the military academy and before you would apply again, that will take two years. The bride I want you to marry has gotten married and your rival is still winning. Return all the silvers and gold you took from him, go back to the village and wait for my instruction” Anderson sternly mur

The military clinic became noisy after Anderson proposed the protest.Patients groaned weakly from every corner while frightened relatives crowded the hallways. Some were crying. Some were praying. Others sat helplessly on the floor beside their loved ones.The smell of herbs, sweat and blood filled the air heavily.Outside the clinic gates, more people continued arriving.Anderson stood quietly for several seconds after hearing the crowd support him. His eyes slowly moved across the suffering people around him.“I did it!” He felt excited that he had managed to pull the crowd to do what he wanted.“I'll be back” he informed Adam, who was getting better already.An old woman was crying beside her unconscious husband.A young boy with rashes all over his face clung tightly to his mother’s clothes.Even some soldiers looked weak already., “This is madness,” Anderson screamed again One of the elders beside him lowered his voice carefully:“My lord… the situation is getting worse. The E

“You?” She mumbled in her sleep Wesley who was sitting beside her stood up, watching her.His gaze was fixed on her lips, her lips were pink, adding to her beauty.“ She is pretty” he murmured, plating a soft kiss on her forehead Slowly, her eyes were opened.“Wesley” she called almost like she whispered.“Close your eyes and sleep” he instructed.“Have you been staring at me? Am I that beautiful?” She asked, with a smile escaping from her lips.“Selene, you need to sleep” he said again, then wanted to stand up.“Where are you going?” She asked.“I still need to help Keiran downstairs.”“You’ve been helping everyone all day.”Her fingers tightened slightly around his hand.“Stay with me tonight.” she whispered, then slowly looked away.The way she said it made his chest tighten.Wesley sat slowly at the edge of the bed.For a few seconds, they simply looked at each other.Selene reached up and touched the side of his face gently.“You look exhausted.”“You do too.” he responded “I’

The audacity,” the Emperor snapped the moment the palace doors closed behind them.He ripped the outer robe from his body and threw it across the room.“i was humiliated last night! I was stoned and sustained injuries!” he yelled again.The Warlord winced while one of the servants cleaned the bruise near his forehead.“You should be grateful we escaped before the crowd killed us.”“They threw stones at me!” the Emperor barked. “At me!”The Empress rushed in immediately after hearing the noise.“What happened to your face?”“Your precious Anderson happened,” the Emperor replied bitterly.The Warlord sat down heavily.“The hospital was filled beyond control. People are angry. Desperate too. Anderson used that anger against us.”“He called people outside like we were criminals,” the Emperor growled. “In front of commoners.”The Empress looked worried.“What if the people start believing him?”“That’s exactly the problem,” the Emperor muttered.A servant brought wine quickly. The Emperor

“Don’t forget we need fresh leaves this time!” Marcus shouted from the entrance.Wesley rolled his eyes immediately.“You’ve repeated that since morning.”“And I’ll repeat it again if both of you come back empty-handed.”Aria laughed softly while tying the sack properly around her shoulder.“Relax. We’re not children.”Marcus folded his arms.“That forest stopped being safe a long time ago.”Wesley grabbed the second sack.“Now you’re making it sound like we’re hunting monsters.”Marcus looked at him seriously.“You joke too much.”That wiped the smile off Wesley’s face a little.Aria noticed it immediately.“Let’s just go and come back quickly.”The road toward the forest looked strangely empty.Even the usual sound of birds felt absent.Wesley noticed it first but stayed quiet for a while.After several more steps, he finally spoke.“Something feels off.”Aria slowed down beside him.“I was thinking the same thing.”Broken branches littered the ground ahead. Some trees carried deep