(From Blue''s Perspective)


    "Are you doing okay?" Dem asked as we rode our horses side by side.


    "Yeah... It''s easier than I thought. By the way, why are we taking this route? It''s inside a forest... Is it to avoid attraction or something?"


    "Yeah, and we have news that there are a group of rebels in the forest. They have captured two of our knights. They do not know that we found out about it," he said and grinned in an evil sort of way. "I will show them hell today."


    I gulped and looked away. "Your Highness should not worry since we will not let anything happen to you," a knight said from my left side.


    "Yes, I know that. I am not worried about my safety," I said, smiling a little.


    Dem was talking to the beta. I did not pay much attention to that and looked around. "There are a lot of animals here, huh?"


    "Yes. We are going deeper into the forest. For now, there are small animals around. But the deeper we get, the more dangerous animals there are," the knight said.


    "I see... By the way, what''s your name?"


    "I am Rhett, Your Highness."


    "So, Rhett, how much do you know about Calix?"


    "Calix? He is the youngest among us, but really amazing. He has got a natural talent for swordsmanship. I don''t know much about him since we are not that close. Julius might know more about him since he is his room partner and his best friend."


    "Julius is not with us today, is he?"


    "No, he is not. He is not selected for today''s mission," he replied.


    "Hmm..."


    I needed to meet Julius after I would go back. There were a few things I needed to know from him about Calix. No one knew a knight better than a fellow knight, even better if it was that knight''s friend. It was the same for everyone.


    "Can I ask something, Your Highness?"


    "Yes?"


    "What happened to Your Highness''s arm? There is a bluish mark...," Rhett asked.


    "... I hit my arm on the bedside table. I had a nightmare, so I woke up hastily and moved quickly. In the process, I hit my hand," I said.


    "Your Highness should apply ointment on it. It surely hurts..."


    "My arm is a bit hard to move. But it''s not as bad as it seems," I said. "Thanks for worrying."


    Ruby applied makeup on it to conceal the mark, but I rubbed the ce unconsciously, rubbing the makeup off as well.


    I did not lie to Rhettpletely. But I did not tell the truth either. It happened a few nights ago when I was sleeping. I heard that voice again and even after I woke up, that voice was still ringing in my head. I thought I was still dreaming, so I hit my arm to see if I was dreaming or not. After doing that, I realized that I could just pinch myself.


    But I was not in my right mind, just like every other night when I heard that voice when I slept.


    Dem asked me about it too and I told him the same thing I told Rhett. I could not tell him the truth because in that case, I needed to tell him about what that voice said. Dem was already very insecure. He always thought that I would leave him. I feared that if he found out that the voice was telling me those things all the time, then perhaps he would tie me up for real.


    I did not usually keep anything from him. I felt a bit bad that I was keeping him in the dark about it. But I had no choice. I did not want him to lose his mindpletely, feel insecure more, and perhaps do something dangerous because of it.


    Dem eyed me sideways and then told something to the beta before he gave me a sudden kiss on the cheek. It was very sudden. My face burned up and I red at him. I told him many times not to do this in front of others. I did not hate it though.


    "Does your arm hurt?" he asked.


    "No..."


    "You should have shown it to the doctor," he said.


    "It''s fine. The bruise will go away soon," I shrugged.


    In reality, I did not show it to Doctor Dimitri because I had a feeling that he would find out that I was lying. He was very observant, after all.


    He did not say anything, just kept his eye on the bruise for a long time. We did not talk much on the way.


    Content from m-vl|em|p,yr


    We had reached deeper into the forest. Suddenly, all the knights started talking to each other through their minds and eyes. I could not join their conversation since I was not a werewolf and could notmunicate with my mind. But I knew right away when they started giving each other signals since they were looking at each other a lot and looked cautious all of a sudden.


    Dem stopped my horse and looked around, before pointing towards us with his index finger. Within a second, the knights marched ahead and I saw them capturing some young boys and girls. They did not expect it.


    Even though werewolves had an extraordinary hearing, since the knights had the training to move without making much of a noise, they still got confused a lot. Among them, Dem could move even more silently.


    The boys and girls were fighting back as well. I saw a girl no more than fifteen hitting one of the knights with an ax. The cut was not too deep and the knight tackled her down pretty quickly.


    "Is it enjoyable, my wife?" Dem whispered into my ear.


    "Huh? No..."


    "But you seem to enjoy it."


    "I am just watching," I said.


    The boys and girls were gathered around a fire and they seemed to have been discussing something until we came. No matter how confident and determined they were, they could not possibly stand a chance against our well-trained knights.


    The knights tied their hands and mouths up since they were swearing and shouting. I sighed and looked away. The knights did not torture them and went easy on them, but that did not make me feel any better. But it just had to be done. There was nothing I could do in this situation.


    "Do not think too much. It''s only natural. Do not pity them," Dem said. "They are the ones who went against you and me."


    "What are you going to do now?" I asked.


    "We will take them to the duchy residence. The other rebels are there for questioning as well," he replied. "The duke requested to y a huge part in this investigation."


    "Why?"


    "It''s because I helped him win a very important case against his ex-wife."


    "The duke was married?"


    "Long story. I will tell you on the way," he smiled.


    On the way, he surely did tell me a lot. We took a shortcut and reached the duchy through the forest. The duke already knew about it and made the way clear for us.


    So, the reason why the duke wanted to do the investigation himself was because Dem helped him win a case against his ex-wife about sexual abuse. His ex-wife was a countess and she sexually abused the duke''s sister and also almost got her raped by some men. His sistertermitted suicide.


    I felt very bad for the duke and his sister. No one deserved something like this. The duke married again this year, and his wife was a distant rtive of Demetrius and from a not-so-well-known noble family.


    Dem did not know her enough though and could not say much about the rtionship between them. He got confused and said that the whole family tree thing was not his thing.


    "I think she will be my aunt or something... I don''t know actually... Or perhaps niece..."


    "You don''t have to think about it. I understand enough," I said.


    "I wanted to give you a good exnation...," he mumbled sulkily and the knight beside him looked at Dem with a shocked expression on his face. Perhaps it was the first time he had seen their king make such an expression.


    "It''s alright, Dem. You told me enough," I said, patting him on the arm.


    While talking to Dem, I tried as much as I could to avoid looking at the captures who were walking behind us, tied with ropes.