Villain Saving System (BL)
Chapter 266 - 6.26 Secret Message

Chapter 266: 6.26 Secret Message

Jillian stormed out of the tent to see a faint commotion in the field. The soldiers were surrounding someone in the middle, cheering. When Jillian approached, they automatically parted to give way to him and Jillian directly made a beeline to Hayden, who was already up and running when the doctor said he needed a few months time to recover. Hayden, who was still covered in bandages and his left arm in a cast. Hayden, who was still clutching a walking stick between his armpits.

Upon seeing Jillian, his eyes instantly lit up and he straightened his back, saluting. "Sergeant Hayden, reporting to work!"

"Reporting your ass." Jillian cussed out loud with a scowl. "What the hell are you doing here in this condition?"

"Ah, I—" Hayden looked around for help but the other soldiers had rapidly made themselves scarce in face of the General’s murderous look. Hayden scratched his head sheepishly. "My sincerest apologies, General but... I couldn’t just sit still, not when I know you all have been fighting in a war. I know I can’t offer much help," he hastily added before Jillian could smack some sense into his head. "I can’t join you in the battlefield but at least, let me help in another way...? You can put me in charge of cooking or bandaging. I can even run an errand for all of you!"

Jillian scowled at him for one long moment before heaving a sigh. Who else understood the helplessness of being unable to do anything more than him? "Whatever, you should help to cook our meals starting from tomorrow. If you’re useless, I will send you back, understand?"

Hayden smiled so bright that Jillian was a bit blindsided by the force of his sincerity. "Yes, sir! I definitely won’t let you down!"

Jillian hummed dismissively and started to turn on his heels but then he suddenly recalled Maia’s words. "I like someone who is tall, handsome, attentive, strong and gentle, has good humor and a smile as blinding as the sun. It’s even better if his hair and eyes are light in color." He turned to give Hayden a thorough glance over. Wasn’t this man her ideal type?

Alas... He shook his head in dejection. Hayden wasn’t even a nobleman, why did he even consider it?

"General...?" Hayden inquired tentatively after Jillian finished having an entire conversation in his head. "Do you need me for something else?"

"No." Suddenly irritated, Jillian barked out. "Just scram! Shoo, don’t parade your stupid face around here!" With a harrumph, he stomped his feet back to the tent, leaving a dumbfounded Hayden behind.

"Why... Why did he suddenly get angry with me?" He wondered sadly. If he was a puppy, then his ears would have folded back and tail hung down listlessly.

One of the patrolling soldiers, who had coincidentally witnessed the scene, clapped him on the shoulder and offered sympathetically. "Don’t worry too much, Sergeant. You will get used to it sooner or later."

***

As much as Jillian hated to admit it, the presence of Hayden in the basecamp easily alleviated the gloomy mood that had been hanging over them for days. When they returned from the battlefield, Hayden was already on standby to help the wounded soldiers and passed them warm cloth to wipe their faces. Not only that, the quality of the meals also improved so much that Jillian found himself digging in almost ravenously after days of eating dry ration.

Hayden was also good at cracking a joke. He knew where to insert himself and where to stand back when the situation called for it; even after the depressing body count, Hayden was able to make the soldiers laugh again when he animatedly relayed a story from his childhood where he pissed on his pants after being spooked by a stray dog. And when the soldiers were clearly devastated from losing their comrades, Hayden stayed by their side and comforted them with his mere presence. Once in a while, he also hummed a song. His low, soothing voice traveled along with the wind and enveloped the basecamp in a peaceful atmosphere.

The more Jillian observed him, the more he thought that Hayden would be the perfect candidate. Witty, gentle, humorous, attentive, had a great smile and most importantly, his appearance also checked all the lists in Jillian’s head. He couldn’t help but sigh wistfully. "If only he was born of noble rank..." An idea popped up in his mind and he couldn’t help but propose. "Should I officially adopt him as my little brother? This way, he can step up into the ladder of nobility."

Beside him, a half-translucent Regius merely hummed.

Jillian knew it meant that Regius was hiding something from him. Honestly, he had acted all strange and mysterious for the past few days. When asked about it, he always told Jillian to wait a little bit more. Hadn’t he been patient enough already? Throwing a skeptical look at him, Jillian demanded. "When are you going to tell me?"

Regius opened his mouth but before he could say anything, a flying bird overhead tugged Jillian’s attention away. There wasn’t anything weird with birds flying in the sky but Jillian noticed that this bird had been circling around the perimeter of the basecamp a few times as if searching for something. Not only that, it was also pure white in color with red marks on its forehead, clearly showing that someone had been taking good care of it. Jillian observed it for a few more seconds before he decided to come out. To his surprise, the bird instantly zeroed in on him and Jillian raised one arm to let it perch there.

The bird’s beautiful eyes gleamed like ruby and it let out a series of excited little chirps.

"Are you looking for me? Who do you belong to?" Even though Jillian had heard of animal taming before, he hadn’t seen it personally. It was intriguing to see the bird shuffled around to draw Jillian’s attention to its feet. There, slightly hidden by its long white feathers, was a roll of paper.

A secret message, Jillian realized. Almost in an instant, he knew whom this bird belonged to.

Looking around to see nobody noticing him, Jillian brought the bird inside and it let out a terrified squeak when it caught sight of Regius, wings flapping wildly in panic. Jillian clamped onto its scruff tightly to settle him down before snatching the thing on its feet. "Why is it so afraid of you?" He asked whilst unfolding the paper. "Is it because you’re a God?"

Lu Yizhou blinked slowly. "Maybe... it’s because I used to be a predator?"

"You what?" Jillian was quickly distracted when he scanned the content of the paper. A thoughtful look appeared on his face. "Indeed, it’s her. She’s ready on her side. Do you think I should advance with the plan?" It’s risky but enthralling at the same time. If someone with bad intention caught sight of them, Jillian would instantly be executed for colluding with the barbarians, labeled as a traitor and had his noble titles revoked just like Ouin did. But at the same time, if the discussion went through, then the war could be stopped once and for all. It’s do or die.

Regius nodded with a serious look. Jillian hadn’t seen him look so serious before. It made him think that Regius knew something afterall. Maybe because he was a God thus he could predict the future? Either way, Jillian trusted him, even at the risk of his own life. "Alright." He burned the letter first before composing a new one. "Let’s do this."

"One more thing."

"Hmm?"

"You should take Hayden with you."

Jillian lifted his head and narrowed his eyes at him, trying to dig into the depth of his soul to see what was going on in his pretty head. But as always, Regius’ face was like a serene lake; deep and unfathomable. Jillian blew out a breath. "Fine." He grumbled. "I was going to adopt him anyway."