After one month of living at the training camp and partaking in Vox’s grueling training regimen, Marix was summoned to the palace.

There the king sat in his throne as he always did when summoning Marix, who stood a bit aways from the stairs, in the center of the room.

Marix held his hands behind his back as he gave a small bow.

"Father." He greeted, his tone flat.

The king’s face looked to have aged a few years, his jaw tight and his eyes narrowing at Marix.

"Have you learned your lesson yet." His father’s tone was pointed yet simultaneously reeked of desperation. In fact, it sounded less like a question and more like a pleading demand.

Marix stood tall, his chest jutted out with confidence as he cocked one eyebrow up.

"Yes. I have."

His father let out a sigh, "And what is it you learned?"

Marix shifted his weight and cocked his head to one side, "To follow orders, of course."

"You’ve learned it properly, right?"

Marix nodded, "Yes, I have. Father, I apologize for my previous indiscretions. It won’t happen again, I assure you."

The tension in the king’s jaw eased as he let out another sigh.

"Alright. You are to take a unit to the boarder and secure it."

Marix immediately bowed, "Yes, Your Majesty. What is the rundown of the situation?"

A wide smile appeared over his father’s lips as he began to relay the information that had been shared prior.

"I want you to ensure that there are no suspicious people lurking around there. If Sola’s military is approaching or near there, you have full permission to carry out commands as you see fit."

Marix nodded, "Understood. I will select soldiers for the unit and gather supplies. We will depart first thing in the morning."

He turned to leave but his father stopped him, "Wait, Marix."

Marix halted in his tracks and looked over his soldier.

"Be careful."

"I always am."

A few days later, Marix took a small unit of fourteen men to depart and secure the boarder. Briggs was left at home to serve as a defensive line in case the Solan Army somehow bypassed Marix’s unit, although Marix was positive they wouldn’t.

Due to the covert nature of the mission, he ensured that they would not take the main roads. It would take longer and be more of a hassle, but it was the best route for not only going undetected but to increase the chances of running into any of the suspicious people that had previously been reported on.

The sound of their horses hooves were quieted by the forest floor. Their clothes occasionally brushed against bushes or leaves, but it was nothing out of the ordinary given the amount of animals that inhabited the area.

No one spoke a word, they only continued to stare straight ahead as they followed their General’s lead.

As they traversed through the forest, Marix kept his eye out for a spot to set up camp for the night.

He needed somewhere that wasn’t too in the open, but would allow them to properly see if anyone tried to attack them. Finally, about an hour after the sun had set, he found the perfect spot.

Marix held him his hand and halted his horse to which everyone followed suit. He dismounted and ground tied his horse and naturally, the troop copied his movements.

They approached him in a tight group to hear his instructions.

He spoke in a loud whisper to the group.

"No one is to light a campfire. Bandits or Solan Soldiers may be wandering around. Our goal is to catch them by surprise, not the other way around. The smoke and the light will alert them."

The men nodded in understanding as Marix continued, "I want six people keeping watch. One on each of the four corners, two in the middle watching the two that are to your front and right. We’ll switch in 6 hours."

He pointed to five men, "You will accompany me in the first rotation. For now, eat some provisions, relieve yourselves and once everyone gets to sleep, we will begin."

With a salute and nod of their heads, they headed to their saddle bags and began to unload their provisions and sleeping gear.

Marix stared at one soldier in particular who was sitting and eating an apple. He jerked his head over to the side and began to walk away from their camp, deeper into the forest.

The soldier stood up and followed him, taking bites of his apple along the way.

When Marix was sure they were far enough away from the camp that no one could try to eavesdrop or easily come up on them, he stopped and turned to face the solider.

"I’ve secured your position. You’ll start tomorrow morning. Did you bring the supplies I asked you to?" Marix’s voice was even quieter than when he addressed the unit as a whole.

He nodded and saluted, "Yes, sir. Everything you’ve requested is packed in my bag. I am ready to follow your orders."

He placed his apple core on the ground and covered it with dirt and debris before smiling at Marix.

"Good. I want you to leave early in the morning. Trail behind the group a bit and slowly slip away so you go unnoticed. Make your way back and travel through the main road."

Marix hooked his arm around his shoulder and swiveled him in the direction they had come and pointed as he gave his instructions.

"Yes, sir. I’ve got my map ready. I already marked where we’re at now. I’ll drop it off somewhere discreet once I’ve got my bearings."

Marix nodded in approval, "Good work, Tryde and best of luck."

"Anything for you General." Tryde said before heading back to camp.

The next morning, Tryde was off. He kept his horse at a slow walk until he reached the main road, then kicked him forward into a full on gallop.

He arrived at the Evans Estate in the mid afternoon where he was given his uniform.

Once changed, the head maid gave him a tour of the estate, showing him where his room would be during his shifts, where cleaning supplies were kept, the route he should take when fetching Lord Evans something, etc.

Tryde made sure to keep a mental note of every little detail to secure his stay at the Evans Estate, all the while looking for any clues of Eilownia’s presence.

He was a bit shocked to see how the estate was run. The servants hardly spoke to one another unless vital to their tasks, and everyone was busy cleaning this or polishing that.

The estate was spotless. Tryde was sure that even if all of the staff stopped cleaning for a week, it would still be cleaner than the homes of most nobles.

Then came time of him to do his job and wait on Lord Evans. He was a bit surprised at how calm Lord Evans was, given Marix’s and the other soldier’s descriptions of him when they returned from arresting him.

He even began to question if this was the right man.

There were no maids quaking with fear, or people getting dragged off mysteriously. No one got fired or screamed at.

’Maybe it’s just a good day here? After all, no one’s made any mistakes either? Why do I have the worst feeling about all of this?’

The workday was long, and boring, but Tryde kept his focus.

"Yes, My Lord."

"Of course, My Lord."

"Whatever you wish, My Lord."

"Absolutely, My Lord."

Were phrases he was spewing so often they no longer sounded like real words. He was even sure he was losing his ability to speak at one point.

However, he powered through, getting the door for Lord Evans, bringing him tea and snacks, handing off his cane to be polished by the maids, whatever he was asked, he did without question.

At night, he had free time, until Lord Evans called upon him of course. He sat around the table with the other servants as they ate dinner and chit chatted.

They all seemed to be so happy and thankful to be working for Lord Evans, despite the constant work they were all doing. Hell, they even got to eat fancier foods than he had ever seen in his life.

All of the girls gathered around him, fighting over who got to sit next to him. They giggled and smiled, some even twirled their hair as they watched him.

His short blonde hair and dazzling grey eyes had all of them hooked and swooning over him.

Of course his large muscles were also seen as a plus in their eyes.

"Your muscles are so big! What did you do before that you have muscles like these?" One of the girls questioned, smiling as she gently tapped on his bicep.

Tryde smiled, "I used to be a farmer."