Rise of The Withered Flower

in.

”Its already raining for a while, ” the young man said to General Eloria. ”Please rest in your tent now. Commander will be back soon. ”

He knew that it wasn raining when his General climbed up the pavilion but… why didn she go to safety now that it was raining heavily?

For a while, there was no response from General Eloria Camer only to make the soldier more anxious.

Was something wrong? He tried to speak up again, but…

”Vicus. ” General Eloria muttered his name and pointed her chin at something which was far away from them. ”What is that? ”

Confused, the soldier named Vicus trailed his Generals gaze and saw something red which he identified after a few tries. ”Its a flower… ” His voice trailed off when he realized one thing. Then he quickly lowered his head. ”I apologize, General. I will have it removed right away. ”

The moment Vicus finished talking, the General turned around and started walking while Vicus followed her all the way to her tent.

”Today is an unlucky day, ” General Eloria uttered when she took a seat on a chair behind her desk. She briefly glanced at the outdoors when she continued, ”The rain won stop and that useless flower too… they make me feel uneasy. ” She looked up at Vicus who was standing and rhetorically asked, ”Do you think Im feeling this way because the feast is coming up? ”

Vicus didn know why his General hated rainy days and flowers but he did know the feast she was talking about. The 50th birthday of the King will be in three days and General Eloria was also invited. In fact, Vicus didn understand.

His General hated this kind of gathering and she spent almost all her time in the camp. Why did she insist on attending this one while she can just come up with an excuse like she often did?

”You can skip if you wish, General. I don think it will cause you harm, ” he cautiously replied after thinking about it for a while.

Eloria Camer still remembered too well. The feast in question was the event where she met Rayan Varence for the first time.

So, why would she skip after she spent three years to become the person she was now? She had no intention to prevent it like a coward.

In fact, she was curious. Now that she was famous for being a cruel and powerful General and not for being a beautiful and gentle daughter of Duke Camer… would that man still try to use her as a tool for him to take over the throne?

After all, he was currently just a powerless Fourth Prince and not the King.

Eloria also doubted that Rayan Varence would know her face. She never appeared in public or at any events. Even to the people, her face was still a mystery, unlike her name which was more than well-known.

”It will be a royal event and there will be many flowers there, General. Do you really wish to go there? ” There was a hint of humor in Vicuss tone and Eloria saw through him. After all, he was the one whom she trusted the most, one of the few people whose loyalty she could be sure of.

”I hate flowers just like I hate the rain. However, being traumatized by it is a different thing, Vicus, ” she wittily explained with a smile that Vicus failed to read. ”My hate for flowers won stop me from going to that place. ”

That place – a palace that was much more of hell to her than home. She will be going there for the first time since this mystery happened to her.

In the past three years, she received many summons from the King but… she ignored it all. In Aritish, girls usually entered society when they turned 16 and when she started going down her current path, she was 13. So, even the King and the officials won know what she looked like. She also knew that they were more than eager to see her.

The ones who knew her face were the soldiers and… the enemies whom she fought against on the battlefield. Even her childhood friends won be able to identify her anymore. Thats how much she had changed in three years!

”Send someone to the palace to confirm my attendance at the feast, ” Eloria Camer finally said to her confused right-hand man. With a little smirk on her lips, she added, ”I think its time for me to finally show myself to the world. Im prepared for it. ”