Ella quietly looked at Arias for a while but the man showed no signs of backing down. He continued to look at her lovingly yet confidently. Finally, Captain Eleanor's lips curved into a smile.

"You always win against me this way, don't you?" She chuckled, forgetting the fact that he teamed up with her best friend just a minute ago.

​​

As always, her smile made the Colonel smiled more wider. "I'm always ready to do it again." He muttered. Before Ella could respond, he gets up and narrowed his eyes at the two women. "There is still plenty of time for dinner. So, you can have a good rest until that. I will return first."

"Okay." The two Captains nodded and Arias made his way back to the base.

They sat still for a while, staring at the stars which started to appear in the dark sky. Ella was the one to break the silence when she looked at Yelena and said, "These days, the thing that you told me crossed my mind very often."

Glancing at Ella with a confused face, Yelena asked, "I told you many things. What could this be?"

"About the path I should walk." Ella shifted her gaze back to the sky. From the look on her face, it was clear that she was very troubled. "Arias always try his best not to show his worries. He loves his job as much as he loves his family. Ever since he was young, he has a very good relationship with his parents. They are always one happy family."

"It is why his parents are also in a dilemma. They can't force him to give up the thing he loves and at the same time, they can't give up their family business which was passed down to many generations. That's why Arias has a hard time these days." Ella explained to Yelena in a low voice.

She always finds it hard to see Arias struggling quietly. Unlike her, he had a loving family and a strong bond with his parents. On top of that, he was always a good son. Ella was very sure that the Colonel would be willing to give up his happiness if it's for his family and she didn't want that to happen.

"Then what will you do?" Yelena worriedly asked when she saw that Ella was smiling sadly.

"We will spend a few more days on this mission. So, I will use this time to give a serious thought. I want to figure out the best option." Ella smiled when one thing crossed her mind. "Yelena, I never thought that love will be this powerful. It can even change someone like me into a different person."

"Do you mean about how your views changed?" Yelena playfully asked.

Ella nodded with a smile. "You know me. Until a year ago, I never think about anything else. My life was so influenced by my father that I couldn't think of anything else. My wish and the things that made me happy; I never considered about making them come true."

Fondly recalling about her memories with the Colonel, Ella added, "Arias taught me how to love myself. He always tells me to think about my happiness first. Before I met him, I never know that I needed such inspiration. But these days, I find myself gradually breaking free from my father. If this goes on, I will be free soon."

Yelena wondered why parents were so adamant in controlling their children's lives. Shouldn't everyone have the right to live the way they wanted? She too struggled for a long time. Come to think of it, Colonel Arias was quite a lucky man. He had a loving family which was very rare in the present world.

"What about you, Yelena?" Ella's voice aroused her from her deep thoughts. She turned her head and looked at Ella again with a confused face. "These days, you never talked about your family."

"I make up with them but it's still hard. Sometimes, I don't know how to behave and I feel awkward around them. Maybe we had grown apart for so long." Letting out a light laughter, Yelena added, "Even when I talked with my mother on the phone, I don't know what to say."

"That's still good," Ella remarked but her eyes widened when she thought of one thing. "Does that mean you will be inheriting your mother's business?!" She gasped.

"No way!" Yelena brushed off the possibility at once. Didn't she knew her well?! Taking over that enormous business will be so tiring! Sometimes, she used to wonder how her mother managed to look after the Group.

"Come on! Didn't you think it would be great? You will become the Representative of the most influential corporation in our country!" Ella deliberately smiled sweetly to provoke her friend. In the past, Yelena never entertained talks about taking over the family business and it's been a while since she pissed her off by this talk!

"What's the use of that? Besides, I won't even live here for long. I will..." Yelena shut her mouth right away. She almost talked about the Prince to her nosy friend! If she did that, it would lead to endless questions again and she would be glad to save that for later!

She immediately glanced at Ella to observed her reaction. Too bad! It seemed like she doesn't miss a single word! She awkwardly lifted her head to look at the sky. "It's late. Shall we return to the base now?"

"Yes." Yelena inwardly sighed in relief when she heard Ella's response but... it was short-lived. "But after you answer my questions."

"What question do you have?" Yelena refused to look at Ella and feigned ignorance.

"Who is this boyfriend of yours? You are even willing to leave your homeland for him. Tell me. Where is he from?" Ella asked as she keenly observed Yelena. She just realized that she doesn't know anything about the mysterious man. All she knows was that her friend was dating a foreigner.

Yelena kept quiet for a while, debating how she should respond. In the end, she decided to come clean to her curious friend. As always, Ella won't easily let the matter go unless she told her the truth! Besides, she was her one and only friend. If she didn't tell her, then who would she tell?

"Fine." She sighed and take out her phone from her pocket. Then she showed a photo on her gallery to Ella. "Take a look. This is him." It was the picture of the couple taken in the orchard of the countryside villa.

Ella wondered why her friend won't just tell her the name of the man with his country and profession. Though she would like to know how he looks, it's not like she knows the mysterious man.

However, she simply takes a look at the photo which Yelena showed her without protest. One glance of the photo and she was about to question her friend about the details. But when she took her eyes off the photo, much to her surprise, she sensed familiarity in it.

Her eyes darted back to the photo and she finds the man more familiar. When did she saw him? She cannot recall. She took the phone from Yelena's hand and keenly observed the man's face as if it was a fascinating object.

After examining for a few seconds, not being able to identify the familiar face almost killed her! She was curious to death! She was that way until... the sound of Yelena's laughing pulled her back to reality.

"Do you know him? How come?" Yelena faked a curious face and feigned ignorance once again. She finds her friend reaction so adorable! She truly put in an effort to identify the familiar face!

"I don't know." Ella rubbed her head while her eyes were still glued to the photo. "I'm sure that I have seen him somewhere but... I can't figure out where." She holds her head with her hand and grunted, "Urgh! This is too frustrating! Who is he?" She looked at Yelena, demanding an answer.

But when Yelena was about to answer her, she back out again. "No. Don't tell me. Let me try to figure it out." She shifted her gaze back to the photo and attempted to identify the man once again.

Yelena laughed at her friend. She was still the same! If something ever bothered her, she won't stop until she personally saw the end! When she noticed that Ella was more than concentrated in the photo, she took the phone away from her hand which earned her a sharp glare.

"You stared at him too much," Yelena stated with a seemingly serious face but she soon burst out into a laughter and playfully added, "He's my man."

Ella could felt her jaw dropped to the floor! She knows that her friend was joking with her but... this was too much! It's not like she was a mistress who coveted her man! She already had a man like Arias, why would she look at any other man?!

While she was staring at Yelena with disbelief written all over her face, something suddenly crossed her mind. To check out her imagination, she quickly took the phone back from Yelena and looked at the photo.

Her eyes widened when she matched the man on the photo with the picture of a man who suddenly crossed her mind.

Pointing at the man's photo, Ella gasped, "Isn't he the Crown Prince of Edeladon?!" She paused to sort out her thoughts and then glanced at Yelena with disbelief. "Are you telling me that you're dating the future King of Edeladon?!"