The Debt Of Fate
Chapter 151: Guessing

Chapter 151: Guessing

The scarred man cursed under his breath. They had a solid plan with that commander. Although, when he went to fetch the carriage, they realized movement was being restricted but at the time, they didn’t know the King of Nixel had died. They assumed it was because of spy-related concerns, so they didn’t avoid the main road. After all, if they encountered a group of soldiers off the beaten path, they could be killed before ever reaching Wiwell.

So, with a letter in hand, they confidently rode toward Wiwell. Who would have expected that less than half a day’s journey later, they’d be stopped and forced to wait at the checkpoints?

The situation was frustrating. They couldn’t pretend to return to camp and had no choice but to wait.

After a day passed, the masked man received news from Wiwell; there was an injured person left behind by Commander Eldric. According to the message, the person was a soldier. The informant gathering this intel had acted discreetly to avoid detection.

The most frustrating part was that their people couldn’t sneak into the royal city at this time. The king had just died, and with the crown prince away, there was inevitable unrest. It was expected that the royal family would be on high alert. Not to mention, it was only a matter of time before General Robert found out about the injured soldier, especially given how he had been turning Wiwell upside down every few days.

After assessing the situation, the two decided to escape. They feared that now Eldric knew his family was safe, he might choose death over cooperation. So they resolved to leave the camp as soon as possible.

The fire had been set to distract the soldiers, and the thefts were meant to draw attention from the travelers in the camp. The plan had gone smoothly at first the chaos and chase allowed one of them to slip back to the carriage and retrieve Eldric, who had been drugged to remain unconscious.

Who could have predicted that Eldric would be rescued before he returned?

He hadn’t wasted a moment in pursuit, but his efforts were fruitless. The other man had acted strangely; refusing to fight and simply running. "Crazy," the scarred man muttered. He had never seen a soldier so shameless. He was convinced that one of Eldric’s trusted men had taken advantage of the chaos to save him.

After all, Eldric was the commander this time and his sudden disappearance can not be ignored.

He didn’t bother chasing the one on horseback, he knew he’d never catch up. Even if he did, by that time they would be near Lowe, where he couldn’t possibly fight off a whole unit of soldiers. Instead, he focused on catching the other man either to use as leverage to get Eldric back, or simply to vent his anger.

What he never expected was that the shameless man would return to the camp after a few rounds of running in circles. Though the guard wasn’t a match in combat, he was unmatched in one thing ’running.’

After chasing him all night, the scarred man had no choice but to give up. As Aldan neared the camp, he shouted, "Spy soldiers are coming! Ready your weapons!"

No one cared whether Aldan lived or died but if a group of spies was believed to be causing trouble, the checkpoint soldiers would immediately respond. The recent incidents the theft and the fire had already been suspicious.

So the hunter became the hunted. If the scarred man fell into the soldiers’ hands, a quick death was the last thing he could hope for. Worse, if he were recognized as a fake traveler heading to Wiwell, he would expose the spy embedded there and give General Robert the lead he needed.

He still wasn’t sure whether the princess was truly in Wiwell, but he couldn’t take the risk. It took him all morning to shake off the pursuing soldiers, and even then, frustration gnawed at him.

Meanwhile, although Aldan had saved his own life by running back to camp, the princess and the rest of their group had already escaped. The captain in charge of the checkpoint realized too late that he had been careless. Aldan was seized for questioning.

"Will you tell us the truth now?" the captain asked. Aldan had been under interrogation all morning. While not brutal, the torture was still painful. This time, the captain didn’t dare make another mistake.

"You can investigate. Yesterday, my young master went for a walk and noticed that the people in the small carriage were behaving suspiciously. It seemed like they were mapping out a plan. We are transporting a large amount of goods this time, and there was another caravan nearby. My master thought they might be thieves. But without evidence, we couldn’t act, or report to alert them. So he told me to keep watch and report their actions.

"Later that night, a fire broke out. My master saw it as a signal to leave with our goods. She sent a guard to inform the captain, but he was refused. My master had no choice but to continue monitoring those men. Then we saw them begin stealing but it was only an act. Their real aim was to cause chaos. So, we took the risk of entering their carriage to gather evidence or at least understand their purpose. But before we could retrieve anything useful, we were discovered. My companion and I tried our best to escape. The men were highly skilled. Realizing we couldn’t outrun them together, we split up hoping at least one of us would make it back to report."

Aldan said nothing about kidnapping the unconscious man. That would only raise more suspicion. So he gave them a story that was part truth and part lie. He knew that even if he revealed his and Anastasia’s identities, no one would believe him, they might even suspect them to be spies. This was the best he could do.

The captain sighed. No matter how he phrased the questions, Aldan’s answers never changed.

"Then why did your group abandon the caravan and flee?" the captain asked again.

"I had gone to look for evidence with the other guard, so I don’t know why my master made that decision. But I have been by his side for a long time, he values life above all else. Perhaps when the chaos escalated, he decided to evacuate. Our family believes that money can be earned again, but a life lost is gone forever. In a situation like this, it wouldn’t be unusual for him to leave. As for the goods... with thieves running around, escaping with our lives was the priority. If the goods are lost, so be it. If not, I believe my master trusts that they’ll be safe under the captain’s care," Aldan replied.

He spoke anything that came to his mind, after all, he was only guessing his masters thought and did not know the real reason.

So, if others were questions and their answer was different, it can not be used against him.