The Hidden King

Chapter 10

"Joseph used to be my father's guard, so I trusted him. Besides his love for drinking and frequent bouts of drunkenness, he had no other faults. So, I appointed him as the manager of the OLVE New Alliance. When I found him that night, I didn't know why he had suddenly returned to Lawrence's city-state. I thought he had something urgent to discuss with me, but he couldn't control himself after drinking too much. So, I quickly brought out the carriage, intending to take him to the temple for treatment."

"As I was about to lift him onto the carriage, Ethan, that guy, appeared out of nowhere. He shouted loudly, accusing me of killing Joseph. I tried to explain that I was going to take Joseph to the temple for treatment. He threatened me, demanding five hundred gold coins because he knew Joseph was already dead."

"What? He blackmailed you?" Milia was astonished, her fists clenched.

"Yes, believe me, Milia, I didn't kill anyone." Kenny emphasized. "I struggled with Ethan a few times and then pushed him away. I didn't know if Joseph was dead or not at that time. I just wanted to quickly take him away with the carriage. It wasn't until we were close to the temple that I realized Joseph was indeed dead."

"I was confused at the time. I... made a mistake. I did hide something from you. Thomas has been tracking me, demanding I return eight thousand gold coins to him. This scoundrel and cheat, he's capable of anything!" Kenny's face was full of resentment, his hands trembling slightly in the sleeves of his robe.

"Suddenly, I thought, since Joseph was dead, I could use his body to fake my death. I wanted to escape from all this. I thought if I died, the debt would be cleared, and I left two hundred gold coins for you, thinking maybe you could still live well..." Kenny's voice trailed off.

"Kenny, are you out of your mind? You gave up everything, me, the entire Lawrence tribe, just to avoid a debt of eight thousand gold coins? You left me. How can I live well?" Tears streamed down Milia's cheeks.

"No, I didn't. I didn't take Thomas's money. What I wanted to give up was a life that would be irretrievably ruined with one wrong step. I can't be exposed by them, revealing many things. I can't let my father's son become a pitiful tragedy."

"What is it that scares you more than suicide and faking your death?" Milia's trembling voice revealed her shattered heart.

Milia wanted to speak to persuade Kenny, but at that moment, they heard some slight movement outside the door. Kenny was very alert. He stood up immediately, pressed his head against the window, and looked out. Milia looked at Kenny, who was panicking, his expression fearful, as if facing a very terrifying opponent. What kind of power had turned him into this from the courageous and fearless leader of the wolves?

"Who's there?" Millia whispered. Kenny shook his head, signaling for silence. After a moment, the sound ceased. Kenny bent down and quietly returned to sit beside Millia.

"I'm not sure who it is, but I feel like I'm being followed. It's not safe here. I'll be leaving soon. Millia, you should go back to Lawrence City."

"Who would be following you? Who have you angered to make you hide like this?" Millia wanted to ask more, but a noise outside interrupted. This time, they clearly saw a figure moving outside the window. Kenny pulled Millia under the table.

They heard someone walking around the cabin, even trying to push the door. Millia wanted to grab her sword and open the door, but Kenny held her back, whispering, "Don't go. I can't be found. I'm as good as dead!"

A snap, as if something inside broke. Millia felt a loneliness she had never experienced, even with someone beside her. She looked at the stranger Kenny had become, too unfamiliar to recognize. She didn't want to speak, but what about their vows? Would the vows made before the gods about lifelong companionship be nullified? Millia wasn't as scared of the footsteps outside as Kenny. She sat quietly against the wall, not wanting to make a sound to make Kenny more nervous. There was no need to persuade him to return to Lawrence now. Clearly, he had lost the courage of a werewolf. He was no longer himself.

The footsteps outside, the two inside, were comically afraid of one person's steps. After a while, the footsteps left. Perhaps the tracker, disappointed by the empty cabin, had left, or perhaps it was just a passing wanderer looking for food. It was impossible to know.

"Go now while it's still safe," Kenny urged. Millia had no time to say more, so she hurriedly left the shack, struggling in the cold, windy evening, alone, back to the Wild Boar Tavern in the small village.

Closing the door of the tavern room, she sat on the bed. Millia didn't turn on any lights. In the darkness, she pondered. Instead of waiting to be caught, she would take action. Hiding like Kenny had stirred her true voice. In a sense, her husband was already dead.

But she didn't want to live this life of hiding and being threatened or chased. She had experienced this when she was young. Back then, she wasn't strong enough. She thought that getting a promise of love and hiding in the safe haven of Lawrence City would be her refuge. In fact, when the storm of fate swept in, she found herself standing alone in the storm once again.

However, Millia laughed in the darkness. So what if that was the case? She was no longer the fragile girl of the past. Couldn't today's her rely entirely on her own strength to face her enemies?

Regardless, before tomorrow's storm arrived, she would rest well today.

Heidi sat by a tree, nearly dozing off from two days of continuous travel. They barely stopped to rest or eat, just for the horses.

Eric brought back a bag of water from the stream, saying, "Wake up, girl. Have a drink."

Heidi, half-asleep, took the bag and poured some water into her throat without opening her eyes. The cool water partly revived her, and she finally opened her eyes.

In the distance was the village of Shoadan. They should find Millia there, as planned.

Sitting beside Heidi, Eric seemed tireless, his young face showing determination. Heidi felt a subtle change in her attitude towards him. Priestesses couldn't marry, but dating wasn't forbidden.

Heidi sighed, feeling too tired for love affairs. If it weren't for meeting Millia, lying down with Eric on this hillside, even just to look at the sky and leaves, would have been wonderful.

Forget it. Close your eyes and rest. We still have a long way to go later.

Millia was moved to tears when she saw Heidi and Eric. She was so eager to see familiar faces in this strange land.

After a brief chat, they settled down. The three of them found a grassy area near the river to sit down and exchange information.

Hearing about Kenny's appearance at Joseph's cabin, Heidi was surprised and tried to comfort Millia. Eric couldn't hide his disappointment.

"So, Ethan was right. Joseph replaced Kenny's dead body," Heidi sighed, taking out her dossier. They exchanged and read the documents, looking at each other in shock.

"You don't know one more thing," Heidi sighed. "Although this OLVE organization is a charity, it requires a lot of money. Most of this money is not spent by the Lawrence tribe, and only part of it is Kenny's personal wealth."

"Besides Joseph, even the messenger Marbor who died in the Cheno tribe, and Ethan himself, are on the OLVE New Alliance organization's list."

Millia and Heidi discussed. A counterattack plan was taking shape. Eric watched the two ladies quietly, deeply admiring them.

"I have an idea. From where we are now, it will take about three hours to reach the Fang Dock of the River Domain. If we set off tomorrow and find a boat to go downstream, we can reach the territory of the southern Cheno tribe in two or three days."

Heidi and Eric listened quietly to Millia's thoughts, believing in her judgment. Going to the southern Cheno tribe was an adventurous move that would also surprise their enemies.

"Thomas would never expect us to dare to go directly to his territory. Instead, we can get rid of the mercenaries who are crazy about attacking us near Lawrence City."

Heidi leaned back against a rock. She and Millia both understood that it was time for her to play a key role.

In this world, the gods never descended easily. They ruled through the priests they selected from the four major tribes, and through the oracles of the priests, they ruled. If the gods found any violations of their rules, they would punish them through the highest spiritual power of each tribe's unique high priest, and the other priests would each perform their duties according to their positions and the level of their spiritual power cultivation.