17: New World

"But Ayleth is a girl!" Aden squealed.

Kamui shook his head a bit.

"She had to. That's the only way she can survive," said Kamui. Aden stared at Ayleth, in panic.

"I bet she can be something else rather than risking her life! Being a royal guard, it will be as same as putting your head on the tip of the sword!" Aden tried to revoke Kamui's suggestion.

"So, what are your suggestion then, sire?" Kamui glared at Aden.

"I... Maybe she can be a kitchen helper!"

"That won't do. We need her to be close to us so we can protect her. She's our witness now," Kamui cleared the fact.

Aden's grip on Ayleth's hand was getting tighter.

"There is one more suggestion. But, it sounds awkward..."

"What is it? Anything but the Royal Guard!"

"She can the royal bride prospect,"

Aden's face turned pale. The idea was even worst for him. Ayleth could end up marrying Hadrian.

He will lose her for good.

"Nope! I don't think so!"

"Why? I mean, she has looks, she's a noble woman..."

"Hadrian had seen her before! But, in a form of a man..." Aden almost screamed in the mid sentence. " Besides, she has to have a solid identity to join the conjugal ties with the royal family. She has to be royal, having a royal family. People will put suspicion if she suddenly appears and claim herself as the future royal bride. We will be in a great danger," Aden upstands his point.

"So, we have no choice but to let her join the royal guard..."

"As a lady?!"

"No... As a man. You're the one who introduce her as a man. So, we play along with it. She will get the protection that she needs. She can practices her skill until she is strong enough to fight the one who killed her family," Kamui patted Ayleth's shoulder. Hard.

The girl stared at Kamui, a fainted smile slowly forming on her face. She felt glad to know that someone understood her feelings now.

"But-"

"Aden, you know I do really need this revenge for my family. And I think, you did knew that I want to join the army so bad..."

Aden halted. He stared at Ayleth, feeling worried for her safety.

"So, I take it as yes?" asked Kamui.

Ayleth nodded. She grabbed the bow from Kamui in silent cry. She knew her life was about to change soon. But she was ready to face everything for the sake of her future.

"No one is ready to face the future. But I know, I made a good choice," she told Kamui.

"Good. But first, we have to do something..." Kamui glared at the lifeless body on the ground.

"What?" asked Aden.

"We need to get rid of that body. And..." Kamui's gaze fell onto Ayleth. "We have to fake your death as well..."

Ayleth watched the man. She slowly put her gaze at Aden then switched them to the body of the contract killer.

"I'm ready..." Ayleth replied.

:::

A mourning morning surrounded the household of Whitrose. A group of people in dark blue army uniform went in and out of the house, brought body after body and gathered them at the front yard.

From afar, the royal inspector unit gathered outside the house, with several members of the Royal Guard. Including Kamui. He wore a subtle but serious face, being pretentious all the time.

"The Army Physician Krea Whitrose was supposed to depart for a mission. When she failed to report herself at the headquarter last night, we sense something was wrong. We thought maybe she was delaying her departure until this morning. But when she still failed to show up, her colleagues start to worry," said one of the officer from the army hospital where Krea was working.

One of the royal investigator scribbled something on his book.

"Did you inform Sergeant Turner, her fiancee about the incident?" the investigator asked the Royal Guard.

"We did sent a dispatcher. Probably he'll be back by tomorrow," Ron answered.

"What about the other girl?" asked the other investigator.

"Another... Girl?"

"Yes. According to the family background, General Whitrose had two daughters; the one that we found in the house, and the youngest," said the investigator.

The Royal Guard exchanged looks with each other.

"She's still nowhere to be found. Maybe she is still alive?" asked Finx.

"There is a chance that she might still alive. But, according to the on-site investigation, we found a track of blood, from the staircase until the front door. Right now, we'll tracking down the scent and the droplet," the investigator respond.

Kamui glanced at Finx before switched his sight towards the road where the main entrance is. He prayed that the decoy setup that he created with Aden and Ayleth works well.

"Inspector!" one of the royal army marched towards them. He handed something to the man.

"I think we found her. Or in this case, her body..."

:::

The whole investigation unit, along with the Royal Guard now gathered at the river bank, just a few miles away from the Whitrose resident. A body of a girl was found, face downward, at the side of the river. She wore a dress in white; which stained by the dirt and sand.

"Officer, flip the body," one of the investigator gave the instruction to the army officer. The man carefully flipped the body, revealing the face of the victim. It was bloated with blue black bruised, almost unrecognizable. The whole squad gasped in shock. Some even ran away from the scene.

"How are we gonna recognize the body now?" asked Yara. He frowned, cupping his nose with his palm.

One of the investigator moved closer to the body. He lifted the decease's hand, as if he's looking for something.

"No mistake. She's the one that we've looking for..."

The man flashed a bracelet on the victim's hand. It's the same bracelet found on Krea and their mother's hand. It's a symbolic memento of General Whitrose's family.

The whole group fell in a deep silence. The injuries were too severe. Everyone wondered, what actually happened to the victim. As they try to process the whole shocking information, an army reached towards them.

"Inspector, we are done gathering all bodies," the man nodded.

"Let's bring this poor lady to the house. We can start preparing for the funeral."

With that, they lift the body carefully and march towards the house. From afar, Kamui fell his gaze at the sky.

I hope this will be a good beginning for you, Ayleth...

He prayed by himself.

May everything is at ease.