10 Reason

The birthday party of King Horace Varence lasted till midnight and as someone who attracted the most attention during the feast, General Eloria had to stay throughout the feast despite her unwillingness.

She might already gained power and influence but... she can't act disrespectfully toward the King if she wished to have an upper hand in the revenge she planned.

Once she returned to the camp of the Camer Army, the first thing she did was enter her tent and settled on the chair behind the desk while Vicus followed her inside right away.

"Did you check what I told you?" She immediately asked her right-hand man who was standing before the desk.

"Yes, General. Lady Rosea isn't present at the feast. I heard that she is sick," Vicus promptly responded. As he spoke, he could see that his General appeared a bit more troubled than before. She was always so composed and it always felt strange to see this side of her.

"Then what about her connection with the Fourth Prince? Do you find any?" Eloria Camer asked after thinking about it for a while.

"The Lady only turned 16 a month ago, General," Vicus replied with curiosity more than evident in his face. "That means it's only been a month since she enters the society. There is not much to know about her. It's even harder to know if she's connected to the Fourth Prince."

As Vicus wondered why his General was suddenly interested in the only daughter of Duke Samus, the General appeared to be very immersed in her thoughts. And despite his curiosity that was only growing, the soldier chose to be silent.

Even if he asked, he won't get the answer anyway.

While he stood there, wondering what to do, one thing crossed Vicus's mind and he decided to speak up while bracing himself. "General... I heard on our way back that the Gevov Province suffered from floods since afternoon." He made a deliberate pause to observe his General's expression and continued, "You told me before that the Gevov Province is in danger of facing heavy floods."

He was wondering why his General didn't do anything about it despite knowing about the flood. But once again, wasn't this ridiculous?

How did she know about it while she didn't even visit the Gevov Province lately?

And no matter the way she knew, why did she maintain her silence and allow such a tragedy to happen to the people of Gevov Province?

He heard that the effect of the flood was huge and that many people lost their lives and their home.

General Eloria knew the many questions that were crossing Vicus's mind. She knew him too well not to see through him. Nevertheless, she didn't show any expression and sat still with her face calm as ever. "Tell me, Vicus. You also didn't do anything about it though I told you days ago. Why? Don't you believe me?"

"I never doubt you, General." Vicus's response came faster than ever. "You are always right in everything and I never make a mistake by trusting you."

"Then?"

The soldier took a deep breath and then let a few seconds pass before he responded, "If you don't do anything about it, there must be a reason. And I'm in no position to do something that you chose to not do."

"Reason," Eloria Camer muttered as she recalled the time 'everyone' shunned her. "What if I keep my silence just because I don't wish to save them?"

There was the slightest hint of surprisement on Vicus's face but just like Eloria, he was quite good at keeping himself under control. He didn't even need much time to give an answer. "It doesn't matter, General. I will still trust you and follow whatever you decide."

As Eloria Camer stared at the soldier who was standing before her, she was reminded of the thing that always bothered her.

In her past life, she had no memory of Vicus. It was why she can't predict anything when it comes to him. However, she still trusted him more than anyone else in the Camer Army, including the ones whose loyalty she was sure of, the ones who were executed for taking her father's side until the end.

Even now, she still struggled to know the reason why she had so much confidence in Vicus. Not to mention that it had only been a year since she knew him. Likewise, it had only been a year since Vicus joined the Camer Army but one fateful event was what made him her most trusted person despite his lack of experience to become the right-hand of a General.

"It's late," she muttered after a long silence. "You should go and rest."

His question was still not answered but Vicus knew not to press it further. "You should rest too, General." With that said, he bowed and left the tent.

Not even a minute had passed since Vicus left when someone entered Eloria's tent, taking her by surprise. But when she identified the person, Eloria Camer hurriedly rose from her seat. "Father, didn't you go home?" She approached her father who was still standing just two or three steps away from the entrance of her tent.

"It's your first time appearing before the public," the Commander of the Camer Army said in a somewhat tired voice. "I come to check on you."

"Father -"

"Eloria."

The General was interrupted when her father called her name. The tone her father used... she knew it too well. Though her father rarely raised his voice at her, she always knew when he was disappointed or angry at her.

Did she make a mistake? She doubted that.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked when the long pause made by her father became quite a torment to her.

Duke Camer stood still in his place yet his gaze never left his only daughter. Then after what felt like forever for Eloria, he finally spoke up. "Do you really know about the flood? What was that I heard?"

He heard her conversation with Vicus?! How long did her father stand out there?

Most importantly... how much did he hear? Something about Fourth Prince Rayan Varence and Lady Rosea Samus?

The thought of it almost made Eloria lose her cool!

She didn't want anyone to get involved in this, especially her father!

"It was only a hunch, Father. How could I possibly know about it?" She attempted to convince her father through a lie but... she can tell that it wasn't working.

"I will believe that if I hear it from anyone else but not you, Eloria," the Commander stated in a surprisingly calm voice. "Considering how much you've changed in the last three years, I don't believe that it was just a hunch. Do you know how confusing this is to me?"

"Father -"

"I can't even understand my daughter anymore," the Commander argued, not giving any chance to his daughter who was attempting to clarify herself. "Am I a failure as a father?"