"You know, whenever I'm with you, I feel like a little girl who needs to be taken care of."

Staring at Crown Prince Zaro who was cutting the beef for her, Iria Alewine chuckled at her own words. Though she didn't have a family, it's great to know that there was someone who never stopped worrying about her.

"Who will take care of you other than me?" the Crown Prince simply said. However, there was a little smile on his lips when he briefly looked at her smile. "No matter how skilled or capable you are, you're still someone who needs to be taken care of in my eyes."

"I know," the Commander quickly admitted. "And I'm glad to have someone who cares about me." She leaned back on the chair with her gaze fixated on her friend. Then a mischievous smile was formed on her lips. "Don't you dare change once you get married. I won't forgive you if you do that."

Her joke made the Crown Prince paused whatever he was doing. However, it was for just a split second. "I won't marry," he muttered and placed the beef before her. Then he sat down.

The Commander blinked, surprised. "That's not possible. What about the throne then?"

"Orius can just succeed me," Zaro replied as if it wasn't a big deal.

Iria Alewine laughed at his words. "You can dream on. The officials won't stop bothering you until you agree to get married. The throne can be stable only if there is an heir. Besides, the Second Prince will never want to be your successor, let alone rule."

As if he wasn't listening to her at all, Zaro Aventine pushed the bowl of soup towards her. "Have some," he simply said.

"I'm serious here," the Commander uttered with displeasure.

"Then what about you, Iria?" Zaro suddenly asked which made her raised a brow. "Will you ever get married?"

Arin Helev crossed her mind in an instant. However, the Commander forced a smile and tried her best to not let her friend see through her. "No. I'll just focus on leading my soldiers."

Zaro Aventine nodded as if he agreed with her. "Then let's just stay unmarried."

Iria Alewine frowned. "We are different, Your Highness. You're the Crown Prince, the successor to the throne."

"So, I have to marry someone I don't love just for that reason?"

"Why are you so confident that you won't love your future wife?"

"Then shall we just get married? You and me."

The Crown Prince stared at her face, determined to not miss her reaction. However, Iria Alewine let out a sigh and hopelessly shook her head.

Did the fact that he was serious ever cross her mind?

Maybe not.

"I don't want people to say that the Masked Commander is a witch who seduced her best friend," she dryly said.

"I can just say that I'm the one who seduced you."

"As if anyone will believe that," she muttered and shook her head. However, she soon chuckled again, having no idea about how the Crown Prince wasn't joking around. Then she simply continued with her lunch.

Zaro Aventine quietly stared at the Commander but soon, there was an amusing smile on his lips. He was supposed to be feeling down but... her thoughtlessness amused him.

Why did she never think that he could be serious?

Was he that unattractive?

He shook his head, refusing to think further. Then he quietly continued eating the dishes too.

*

The two friends just finished their lunch though it was already evening. However, the Commander was very quick to grab a bottle of wine, making the Crown Prince frowned.

"It's not even night yet and you want to drink?" he asked with a bit of flusterment.

She never liked wine and her tolerance wasn't that high either. Why was she so obsessed with alcohol these days? He couldn't understand.

"I have no plan to return to the camp for today and His Majesty is busy with the Crown Prince of Nardodia. He won't summon me today. So, I think it's the perfect time for me to have some," Iria Alewine simply said and walked to her chamber with a bottle of wine and a cup.

Letting out a sigh, Zaro Aventine glanced at the right and took another cup for him. Then he followed her to her chamber. He saw Iria sitting on a chair near the balcony and the bottle of wine was placed on the table before her. Then he took a seat opposite her.

"Let me," the Crown Prince said and poured a cup of wine for Iria. Much to his surprise, the Commander gulped it down in one go.

"You should slow down. Iria. You will get drunk at this rate," he calmly reminded her.

Iria Alewine smiled and stared at the empty cup. "I don't really care if I get drunk today. You already stopped me last night."

"This is the same as torturing yourself," Zaro argued. "Tomorrow, you will have many things to deal with and if you get drunk today, you will regret it. You won't want to spend your day with a heavy head."

"I will be fine," the Commander retorted. She poured another cup for herself and gulped it again just like before.

"Then what if I ordered you not to drink too much?"

The Commander lifted a brow when she heard the Crown Prince. She observed him, trying to figure out if he was serious. Then turning away, she replied, "You can't do that."

"Why?"

"Because there's no way for me to drink in my room with the Crown Prince. That's possible only if he comes here as a friend."

Zaro Aventine sighed in defeat. However, he didn't protest anymore and only watched her as she gulped down another two cups.

"Tell me the truth, Iria," he finally spoke up again. "You know the Nardodian Crown Prince, right? Is that why you're behaving so strange?"

"He's just some jerk," Iria promptly said without even looking at her friend.

The Crown Prince could sense that she wasn't in her right mind anymore. The alcohol already started having an effect on her. With another cup which she gulped down just now, she had five cups and that's already beyond her limit.

"He fooled me," Iria muttered, blankly staring at the filled cup. "He disguised himself as a Qalagon soldier and spied on them for years. He even saved my life when the Queen of Qalagon sent her men to assassinate me."

"What?!" the Crown Prince exclaimed. Queen Lorey Helev did that?!

"I was grateful to him and at some point, I even thought that he was reliable, like a friend," Iria added, paying no attention to the Crown Prince's reaction. She was already too drunk to care about that.

When Zaro glanced at the Commander who was staring at the filled cup as if it was some fascinating object, he let out a sigh. However... he noticed a lone tear in her eyes.

What happened?! His face turned pale as it's the first time he ever saw her tear since her father's death. Feeling anxious, he quickly rose from his seat and crouched down beside her.

"Iria, what's wrong?" He made him looked at her and wiped the tear away from her face. He was too taken aback that his mind even went blank!

The Commander slowly leaned towards him but just a second later, her head was in his shoulder, passing out due to the wine which she consumed beyond her limits.

Letting out another sigh for the many times in a day, Zaro Aventine remained still before he carried her and tucked her into the huge bed. For a few seconds, he stood beside the bed and glanced down at her.

He was still bothered by that lone tear. It wouldn't be because of the Nardodian Crown Prince, right?

However, she wasn't in a condition to answer him now. Then he turned her back at her and only managed to take a single step towards the door when he heard her mumbled in her sleep.

"Don't leave, Arin."