They Called Asher a Fallen War Hero... Biggest Mistake Ever

04: The Truth

The word ‘Young Heir' still resounded in Asher's ears as he maintained surprised eye contact with everyone kneeling before him.

Less than twenty hours ago, he was disgraced and stripped of his military portfolio, and within a twinkle of an eye, he was being honored by people who saw him as their own.

General Hale didn't lead Asher toward the grand hall. Instead, he took a narrow stone path behind the estate.

Neither of them had spoken since the last unexpected exaltation. A loud silence filled the room. It was the silence between people protecting the same memories. They stopped before a small wooden house.

It was old. The paint had faded with time, and vines had climbed across one side of the wall.

Asher stared at it for several seconds and finally widened his lips: "It hasn't changed."

General Hale smiled: "No. We weren't allowed to change it."

Asher slowly pushed the door open. The room was exactly as he remembered.

A bookshelf stood against the wall. A worn sofa faced the fireplace. An old chessboard still rested on the small table between two chairs; one of the black pieces remained tipped over, and nobody had touched it.

It looked as though the owner had stepped outside and would return at any moment.

Asher walked to the bookshelf.

His fingers brushed across the dusty wood. A faint smile appeared on his face: "He always hid books here."

General Hale chuckled: "And you always pretended not to know."

"He thought I never found them."

"He always knew."

General Hale's answer made both men laugh quietly. The chuckle didn't last long.

Asher's eyes settled on the empty chair beside the fireplace. His smile slowly faded: "Where is he?"

General Hale looked at the chair, too. For a long moment, he said nothing.

Finally, he answered: "I don't know."

Asher turned, confusion laced in his expression: "You don't know?"

General Hale slowly shook his head: "The night he left..."

"He gathered all of us."

"He gave us our duties, and looked at this chair, and said one day you'd sit across from it again."

Asher’s curiosity piqued: "And then?"

"He walked away."

"Did he say where he was going?"

"No."

Asher's countenance fell for a moment: "Did he say when he'd return?"

"No."

The room became quiet again. General Hale walked to the fireplace. He picked up the fallen chess piece and placed it back on the board.

"He only left us one command."

Asher stepped closer to him.

"'Never bring him home while he can still stand on his own.'"

"'If he can solve his own battles… Stay out of his way. The day he loses everything… Bring him home.'"

Asher’s eyelids blinked in hunger for more information. General Vale caught that and continued: "The Master always saw farther than the rest of us and knew you'd return someday."

A knock came at the door. An elderly man stepped inside and bowed respectfully.

"General. The accumulated reports as requested."

General Hale accepted the folder, but he didn't open it. Instead, he handed it to Asher.

"For you."

Asher glanced in observation: "I've only just returned."

"And you've always been responsible." General Hale retorted: "You'll understand."

Asher opened the folder. The first page wasn't about business: It wasn't about money or about politics. It was a newspaper clipping from eight years ago.

YOUNGEST MAJOR GENERAL PROMOTED.

The second page… Another clipping.

GENERAL RIVER LEADS BORDER RESCUE.

The third

GENERAL RIVER ACCUSED OF NATIONAL CRIMES

The fifth.

DISHONORABLY DISCHARGED.

Asher slowly looked up. General Hale understood the question before it was asked: "We kept every headline and victory."

"Every insult. We never stopped watching."

Asher closed the folder: "You knew everything."

"We did."

"Then why didn't you come earlier?"

General Hale smiled sadly: "Because you were still standing."

"If we had stepped in… We would have insulted the man you had become."

Asher looked out the window.

For years...

He had believed he was fighting alone. Now he realized he had simply been fighting without seeing the people standing behind him.

General Hale walked toward the door: "Come. There's one last place."

They crossed the courtyard, unlike every other building on the estate. Its doors were made of steel.

But before Asher could step inside…

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed behind them. One of the elders approached quickly, his expression was serious:

"General."

General Hale turned: "What is it?"

The old man lowered his voice: "Our friends have confirmed it."

General Hale's eyes narrowed slightly: "So soon?"

"They've already started looking for the Young Heir."

Asher looked from one man to the other: "Who's looking for me?"

Neither of them answered immediately. General Hale looked toward the dark room beyond the steel doors.

Then back at Asher.

A faint smile appeared on his weathered face.

"It seems… The people who feared your return have learned you're finally home."

He pushed the steel door open, and darkness filled the room. General Hale didn't ask Asher to enter.

He simply asked one quiet question: "Young Heir… If tomorrow the Military Council begged you to wear that uniform again… would you?"

Asher didn't need time to think. He looked once at the headlines in his hand. Then he folded the papers in half.

"That depends..."

General Hale nodded: "What do you really want then?"

Asher looked into the darkness beyond the open steel door. His voice was calm:

"I want something much bigger.”