"Can anyone help us!"

"Wren..."

Kaden Xavier struggled to sit up, and Wren Wynter quickly helped support him.

She squeezed Kaden Xavier’s hand. "I’m here. Are you okay?"

"Wren..."

Wren Wynter touched the back of her hand to his forehead, only then realizing that Kaden Xavier wasn’t calling for her consciously. He was running a fever and talking deliriously.

If this kept up, Kaden Xavier would probably die here.

Gritting her teeth, Wren Wynter summoned all her strength and continued to shout, "Is anyone out there! Can anyone help us!"

"Sounds like they’re over here."

Suddenly, a man’s voice came from the opening of the trap.

Wren Wynter was so overjoyed she could have cried. Someone had finally come.

But in the next moment, her scalp tingled with dread.

Several men in enemy uniforms appeared at the opening. She held her breath and fell silent.

"Look, it’s a man and a woman. Go report to the officer."

Wren Wynter shielded Kaden Xavier with her body. ’No matter who they are, I’m a member of Doctors Without Borders. They can’t just harm me arbitrarily.’

The enemy officer arrived.

He glanced toward the pit and said something in English, ordering his men to take them away.

Wren Wynter and Kaden Xavier were hauled up and out of the trap.

She had just gotten her footing and was about to explain her identity, but before she could speak, the lead officer ordered them taken away.

Panicked, Wren Wynter tried to back away with Kaden Xavier, but they were hopelessly surrounded by the enemy soldiers.

"You can’t arrest me! I’m..."

Wren Wynter tried to state her identity, but a sharp pain suddenly struck the back of her neck.

Her vision went black, and she passed out.

When she woke up again, Wren Wynter was shocked to find herself in a cage.

’I need to see Kaden Xavier,’ she thought desperately. ’I have to know what happened to him.’

Wren Wynter grabbed the bars of the cage, shook them hard, and shouted for help in English, "Let us out! I’m with Doctors Without Borders! You can’t hold me!"

But her only response was endless, cold silence.

Wren Wynter squatted in a corner, hugging her knees and burying her head in them.

After an unknown amount of time, a blinding beam of light shone in.

Wren Wynter groggily opened her eyes, instinctively shielding them with her hand as she tried to make out the newcomer.

"That’s her."

People were talking at the doorway.

Wren Wynter forced herself up, staggered to the cell door, and grabbed the gate.

"Why did you capture us?"

The cell door was opened, and Wren Wynter was led out, with no idea where she was being taken.

’Is Kaden Xavier okay?’

’Did he get any medical treatment?’

’Even if we’re the enemy, they wouldn’t just let a spy die so easily, would they?’

"Excuse me, where is my companion? How is he?"

But the people leading her away didn’t answer her questions, not until they arrived at the base of a building in a stockade.

"Sir, we’ve brought her."

Wren Wynter’s fine brows furrowed as she struggled to adjust to the bright light, trying to get a clear look at the person before her.

In the seat of honor was a young officer from The Leittan Nations. He wore a dark-colored military uniform, completely different from those of the surrounding soldiers.

"Hello, beautiful lady. A pleasure to meet you."

The young officer walked up to Wren Wynter, bent down, and placed a gentlemanly kiss on the back of her hand.

Unaccustomed to foreign customs, Wren Wynter awkwardly pulled her hand back.

"Sorry, I’m from Cathay. I’m not used to foreign customs."

"Understandable. My wife is also a Cathayan woman, and she can’t get used to foreign customs either," the young officer said, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Wren Wynter clenched her fists and asked anxiously.

"Excuse me, but what about my companion? Where is he now?"

"Hm? You mean that remarkably handsome man?"

"Yes, him. Did he receive prompt medical treatment? If not, please hand him over to me. I’m a doctor with Doctors Without Borders. I can save him."

The young officer shrugged and said nonchalantly, "He’s dead."

Dead?!

The two simple words struck her like a bolt from the blue.

Her mind went blank, and her whole body trembled.

Wren Wynter didn’t dare to think about it, didn’t want to think about it.

"No! That’s not possible! He can’t be dead just like that!"

"I’m very sorry, but when we found you, his breathing was already very weak. By the time we got back to base camp, he wasn’t breathing at all. We don’t take in the dead."

He said it so casually, but Wren Wynter’s eyes reddened with frantic grief.

She lunged forward, grabbed the young officer’s uniform, and shouted at him furiously.

"You’re lying! He can’t be dead! You must have refused to save him! Didn’t you?! Give him back to me!"

"Insolent!" a soldier behind the officer barked sharply.

The officer raised a hand to stop him, his voice calm and cold. "I truly am very sorry, but I’m telling the truth. His injuries were too severe. Our doctors saw no need to waste medicine on him."

"No, he wouldn’t die! You’re lying to me! You have to be lying!" Wren Wynter refused to accept his answer.

The officer took the opportunity to embrace Wren Wynter.

Her small, soft body made his blood rush. A flicker of calculation and obsession flashed in his shrewd eyes.

"Oh, you poor young girl. I’m so sorry to be the one to tell you this news. If you don’t mind, you can borrow my arms for comfort." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"I don’t need it!" Wren Wynter forced herself to stay clear-headed.

She stared coldly at the man opposite her, her beautiful eyes burning with fury, and asked again, "I’ll ask one more time. Where exactly is my partner?!"

The young officer hadn’t expected Wren Wynter to be so resolute.

He shook his head. While he was captivated by her beauty, he didn’t like to force people.

"He stopped breathing. He was tossed in the woods."

"You!" Wren Wynter was livid. She spun around and marched toward the woods without a backward glance.

The soldier behind the young officer started to follow but was stopped by him.

"Sir..."

"Let her go. I don’t like forcing people. Besides, she’s with Doctors Without Borders. If something happens to her on our watch, we can’t afford to offend any of the nations involved."

Their country was in the middle of a major war with Aferia; it wasn’t a good time to make more enemies.

Wren Wynter searched for any sign of Kaden Xavier in the woods.

The sky was gradually darkening. If she didn’t get out soon, she would likely be trapped in the woods.

But she hadn’t found Kaden Xavier yet. She couldn’t give up so easily.

Wren Wynter gritted her teeth and pushed on.

After who knows how long, she finally found Kaden Xavier’s body in a small ditch.

At the same time, the sight in the ditch made her face turn pale with horror.