Second Arc (His Art of War) – 135. One Cold Night I
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Second Arc (His Art of War) - 135. One Cold Night I

"Your Highness, are you sure you want to sleep here?" Angel confirmed once again. Now, they were at Jyne's house, their hands were busy preparing a makeshift bed. Their makeshift bed wasn't a real bed nor hay, but just a rough mat made from weak monster skins sewn together and several blankets. The house's size was smaller than the previous house. Luckily, the furniture was only two shelves, a chair and a small table, so they still had a place to lie down. Even Jyne didn't have a proper bed.

"Of course I'm sure. Besides, this place is quite comfortable," said Rose. She once slept in a camp in the forest when she led an army to clean up the rebel hideout a few years ago. Staying in a place like this for a night wasn't a problem for her.

Meanwhile, even though Jyne was quite nervous about Rose's presence since she was afraid that her identity would be exposed. But she couldn't cover up her excitement. This was the first time Jyne had met a princess from another kingdom and spent time with her. Moreover, unlike noblewomen in general, Rose was quite used to this situation. Jyne remembered, it took her some time to adjust herself to her new life as a villager, but since she had no other choice she could only accept it. Meanwhile, she wasn't sure that a princess from another kingdom or even other nobles would want to live in a place like this.

The mat was laid out, their bed was ready and Jyne gave a blanket to each of them.
"Although not as good as yours, I knit the blanket with my own hands," said Jyne.

As Angel took the blanket from Jyne's hand. Just with one touch, he could feel the blanket quality was quite good considering Jyne's limited resources.

While Rose also thought the same thing.
"This is a good quality blanket, you should be proud of yourself," she complimented.

And Jyne replied with a smile.
"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Thank you for your blanket. Now I will excuse myself," said Angel. He decided not to linger in that place for too long considering their status as princesses. Besides, he knew, even if the mat was enough for three people, he couldn't sleep there. That's why, just like when he was accompanying Ophelia, he decided to sleep outside. Apart from that, he had to send Magic Messenger to Frost and Flare. After he nodded slightly, he walked out of there.

Outside, his eyes caught several pieces of wood in front of the house. Instead of the cold ground, he arranged it before he plopped himself and leaned his back against the wall. Then he put his sword at his side and covered himself with the blanket. His eyes stared at the night sky with the cold biting his skin since the blanket and his uniform wasn't enough to warm him.
'Looks like I have to send two trained soldiers to protect Princess Jyne.' In this case, it wasn't only in fighting ability, but also survival skills since they had to build another room or house for their residence while Angel investigated Pontus' royal family.

He glanced around to make sure no one was around before slipping his hand out of the blanket. A dark aura that came out from there formed a raven that carried a message to Flare about his order to send two elite soldiers to protect Jyne.

After the raven flew, another dark aura emitted from Angel's hand and formed another raven. This time it brought his message to Frost that he would return to the Scarlet Stone Castle in the morning. His eyes followed the raven who flew through the clear night sky as he took a deep breath. The whole village looked empty since the villagers had returned to their homes to rest. The flame in the middle of the square had been extinguished, all that was left was the rebels' ashes and remains that had not been cleaned up yet. Whereas since the blood smell from the corpses had disappeared, this place should be safe from monsters.

This silence made him forget his duties as a king even if only for a moment, reminding him of when he was a hunter.
'It's so quiet ...' he thought as his eyes began to close.

Minutes passed, all that was heard was the insect orchestra's sound mixed with the gentle night breeze. But then, Rose opened the door and came out of the house slowly to minimize the sound. Her eyes looked at Angel who was fast asleep in front of the house, her hand holding her blanket and her feet stepping toward him silently. Jyne was asleep due to exhaustion. While, even though Rose also felt tired, she couldn't sleep because she was worried about Angel's condition. She knew the wind only blew lightly, but still--- it was quite cold tonight. That's why she decided to check on Angel's condition to make sure he was not cold.

Rose sat beside him, her eyes staring intently at Angel's face, trying to guess it from his expression, but his mask blocked her view. So she decided to remove it. She knew she shouldn't have done that, but she didn't mean to reveal his identity, she just wanted to confirm his condition. After all, Euphorion had so many soldiers. Although he was an elite soldier, how could she possibly remember his face among those hundreds of thousands of soldiers?

She stretched out her hand, but as she almost touched his mask. Angel caught her hand. Rose gasped since she thought Angel was fast asleep. While Angel opened his eyes slowly and turned to her. Since he was used to living in danger, he was always alert to his surroundings, even when he slept.
"What do you want to do, Your Highness?" he asked.

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