"We have no knowledge of this forest. What if we lost our way, Your Highness?"

Commander Iria and Prince Orius rode their horses as fast as they could. However, the archers came down and chased after them too. As they had no choice, they just follow whatever path was on their way!

"Losing our way is way better than getting killed by those assassins," the Prince replied while maintaining his pace. "Let's survive first and deal with the aftermath later."

"Watch out!" Prince Orius shouted and Iria quickly leaned to the left to let the arrow missed her.

"They are more skilled than I thought," Iria remarked.

"You still have time to praise the assassins who are out to kill you," Prince Orius said, sarcastically.

Despite their conversation, they both had to lean right or left or bend to avoid the arrows repeatedly.

"I'm not praising them, Your Highness. I just thought that it's strange."

"What is strange?"

"I think they are more skilled than the ones who attack me in the Garetth Forest."

"You think it's the doing of another person?" Prince Orius promptly asked.

"Maybe, but I'm not sure." Somehow, Iria Alewine had a feeling that this wasn't the Queen's doing.

Perhaps... the unknown enemy?

"We can think about that later," Prince Orius uttered. "Let's think of a way to lose them first. We can't let them chase us forever."

* * *

Rion rushed back to the place where the Commander and the Prince were supposed to wait for them. After chasing the one who spies on them for a while, he lost him, strangely.

When he reached the place, his Commander and even the Prince were nowhere to be seen. They didn't even know the way and he doubts that they would leave on their will.

Something wasn't right.

He quickly gets off his horse and observed the area. When he saw several broken arrows lying on the ground, he picked them up and then squeezed them.

Did the enemy make a move again?

He instantly stood up and mounted his horse again.

Should he go and look for them right away or... should he seek the Crown Prince and inform him about this?

After a brief thought, he decided to find the Crown Prince. It might be more effective to get help rather than searching alone. Besides, it seemed like the enemy outnumbered them. As such, he set off to find Crown Prince Arin.

* * *

Commander Iria and Prince Orius find themselves at the edge of a cliff. Though it didn't seem to be high, jumping it would be a risky move. They don't know what's below as it was their first time there.

"They will be here soon and the road ends here. We must jump." Prince Orius stated his opinion. He looked down at the cliff and he was convinced that they won't die unless they were super unlucky.

"What if something happened to you? It's risky," the Commander argued. Was there no other way?!

"Listen. Stop caring about me. I will be fine but if we argued here, the enemies will catch up with us and we will be done," the Prince firmly said. He hated how she always put herself last!

Didn't she value her life at all?!

Iria turned to the right and noticed that those assassins were about to reach them. Then she quickly shifted her gaze back to the Prince and nodded. "Then let's jump."

The moment the assassins reached the edge of the cliff, all they saw was the two jumping down the cliff. They quickly get off their horses and rushed to the edge.

"Will they survive?" One of the men asked.

"It's not that high. They won't die," one replied.

"Then let's get down there. We shouldn't fail," the other one suggested.

They all agreed and quickly mounted their horses again and followed the path which would lead them to below.

* * *

The moment Crown Prince Arin heard what happened, he forgot all about hunting. In fact, he could never concentrate ever since he parted with Iria.

Someone was eager to get rid of her and destroy the alliance marriage. If war happened, it will weaken both the two kingdoms and maybe it will give an advantage to the enemy who was waiting for the right time.

"Antony, return to the camp and gather the guards. We must go through every part of this forest," Arin commanded his right-hand man.

Every part of this Brinet Forest which was the largest in Qalagon? That means just a few guards won't be enough! However, Antony knew how sensitive the Crown Prince was when it comes to his wife. So, he complied with the order right away without asking anything.

"Where did you part, Rion? Take me there," the Crown Prince said to Rion who informed him of the situation.

"Yes, Your Highness," Rion promptly responded and lead the Crown Prince and the other guards towards the place where his Commander and the second Prince were attacked.

*

"Arin."

Crown Prince Arin halted and turned around when he heard a familiar voice calling him from behind. Then he saw his friend, Hanson Lorin.

"I saw Antony and he tells me what's going on," Hanson explained when he reached where Arin was. "I came to help you."

Hanson Lorin closed the gap between him and the Crown Prince. "Is it the Queen?" He whispered in the Crown Prince's ear.

Arin Helev recalled the conversation between the King and Queen he happened to overheard a few days ago. "I'm not sure but I doubt that," he replied.

"No?" The General's face hinted at confusion. If it wasn't the Queen's doing, then who would it be?!

"We can think about that later, Hanson. Let's find them first," Arin said to his friend.

Hanson Lorin nodded and they started riding their horses again.

Arin Helev was more than worried but this time, Iria wasn't alone. She was with Davian and he knew that the man was very skilled. This put him at ease in the slightest bit and... he truly hoped that they would be safe.

Who was the one behind this? It was this question that bothered the Crown Prince the most.....