Sera saw the Central Courtyard filled with guests and slowly walked along the side, careful and quiet, trying not to draw any attention to herself. The air felt alive with soft laughter and distant conversations, and the glow of lanterns cast a warm, almost dreamlike light over everything.
She spotted the four generals and walked towards them, her steps light but steady. They didn't notice Sera approaching, too absorbed in their own discussion.
"Hi," Sera whispered as she gently tapped General Dan's shoulder.
The four generals turned their heads to see who was calling them. Their eyebrows furrowed upwards in surprise as their eyes landed on Sera, their expressions shifting all at once.
They were speechless, caught completely off guard by the sight of her looking so feminine. They were used to seeing her in her manly clothes and messy hair, always appearing unbothered and rough around the edges.
Now, she stood before them like a completely different person—softened, unfamiliar, and quietly captivating.
Sera didn't notice their reaction, her eyes too busy searching through the crowd for Lord Azron, her focus fixed elsewhere.
"Have you seen Lord Azron?" she asked while glancing at the male guests, her voice carrying a hint of urgency beneath its calm.
The four generals couldn't answer at once as they were still staring at her, their attention lingering longer than it should have. Then finally, General Dan spoke.
"Why do you look like that?" he asked, his tone shifting as his expression changed from surprise to something closer to disappointment. He didn't like Sera's new appearance—it unsettled him in a way he couldn't quite explain.
Sera looked at him, confused by his reaction, then glanced down at her clothes. "Why? Is it too much?" she asked, her voice light but uncertain.
"You look like… a woman," General Dan answered, as though the words themselves were strange to him.
"But she is a woman," General Rin said, his face returning to its usual grumpy expression, though there was something quieter beneath it.
"I know that. She just looks so… fragile," General Dan continued, unable to hide his discomfort. He was used to the Sera who stood strong and unyielding, not this softer version of her.
Sera chuckled lightly, brushing off the comment with ease. "Have you seen Lord Azron?" she asked again, unwilling to linger on their reactions.
General Wang pointed to Lord Azron sitting on his chair, drinking.
Sera followed his gesture and saw him immediately, but there were too many guests standing between them. If she approached him now, she would surely gather everyone's attention. So instead, she stayed where she was, standing quietly with the generals, though her gaze lingered in his direction.
General Jidu noticed the way she was looking at Lord Azron, her face carrying an unspoken desire to speak with him, something almost hesitant yet persistent.
"What mistake did you make this time?" General Rin asked, his tone direct as always.
The other generals all turned their attention to Sera, their gazes settling on her, waiting for an answer.
Sera glanced at them one by one, feeling their expectations press against her.
"Nothing," she lied. She couldn't possibly tell them that she had pressed him against a wall, that their closeness had lingered longer than it should have, and that it had made him angry.
But the generals didn't believe her. Their gazes remained fixed on her, unwavering, as if silently urging her to tell the truth.
"Did you force him to drink the tonics from Grand Ersi again?" General Wang said.
When Sera still worked in the government office, Grand Ersi had given her a health tonic for Lord Azron. Azron didn't like to drink those tonics as they made him very sleepy, but Sera had secretly mixed the tonic into his evening tea. It caused him to sleep in, and he woke up very late, missing an important gathering. It angered him so much that he made Sera eat a bowl of century eggs, knowing full well how much she hated them. One thing Azron despised more than anything was being late or missing his affairs.
The memory of that mistake made Sera's stomach churned as she remembered how awful the century eggs were, the taste still vivid enough to make her wince.
"Yeah… kind of like that," she lied again, using the old incident as a shield to hide what she had really done.
The four generals shook their heads, recalling just how furious Lord Azron had been at the time.
"Do you think he'll change his mind about bringing me to the North?" Sera asked, her voice softer now, her face carrying a quiet worry she couldn't hide.
Meanwhile, Azron noticed her from across the courtyard, standing with the generals in the corner. His gaze fixated on Sera as she spoke, drawn to her despite himself.
He looked at her from head to toe, taking in every detail of her new appearance, as though trying to understand what had changed.
Was she always this beautiful? he asked himself, the thought slipping into his mind before he could stop it.
He brushed the idea away almost immediately, as if it were something dangerous, and averted his eyes as he took a sip of his wine, forcing his attention elsewhere.
The thought of falling in love with her unsettled him deeply, more than he cared to admit, and in the following days, he avoided Sera as much as he could until the day of their travel to the North finally came.
…..
Sera arrived at the Northern gate to join the other warriors for the departure. She carried her travel backpack carefully, each strap resting on her shoulders as if it were a piece of herself. Inside, her travel essentials were neatly packed alongside the items Grand Ersi had thoughtfully given her for the journey.
She even wore her own travel clothes and sturdy boots, fully prepared for the long trip since General Dan had told her it would take three days to reach their destination. Still, she worried that her unusual clothing might draw unwanted attention, so she hid it under the oversized men's garments. Over it all, she wore the armor and cloak provided by the generals, the layers creating both comfort and a subtle shield between her and the eyes of the world.
Sera froze when she looked up and saw Mort's army gathered at the Northern gate, ready for departure. The sight was overwhelming, a spectacle so vast and precise that her heart fluttered with awe. It was the first time she had ever seen so many warriors assembled in perfect formation, each one standing poised and fierce.
"It's just like in the movies," she whispered, her voice caught somewhere between wonder and disbelief.
"What mov…ease?" General Jidu asked as he appeared beside her, holding a lead rope attached to a majestic black warrior horse.
His presence was steady, calm, and somehow grounding amid the grandeur.
Sera's breath caught. She had never seen a horse like this before. In her world, such creatures were rare and nearly unattainable, a symbol of power and elegance she could hardly imagine riding.
"Would I get to ride one?" she asked, her eyes lingering on the horse, filled with admiration.
"Yeah…" General Jidu replied, handing her another lead rope from his free hand. "…this one's yours."
Her attention was so consumed by the majestic black horse before her that she barely noticed another animal.
When she finally looked, her excitement faltered. Her own mount was a white mule—small, humble, yet undeniably cute among the proud battle horses that surrounded her.
Her jaw dropped as Jidu placed the mule's rope in her hand. A soft, amused smile tugged at his lips as he watched her expression, a silent acknowledgment of the contrast between expectation and reality.
Sera didn't protest. She was grateful enough simply to be allowed to leave. Tentatively, she approached the mule and ran her hand over its soft coat, feeling a quiet connection with the creature.
A trumpet sounded, sharp and commanding, signaling the army to prepare for departure.
General Jidu mounted his horse with practiced ease, his movements fluid and graceful, leaving no doubt of his skill.
Sera mounted her mule as carefully as she could, settling into the saddle. Her gaze swept over the armor, the weapons, the battle horses, and the proud Mort flags fluttering high. In that moment, she felt minuscule, almost fragile, yet the white mule beneath her made her stand out vividly in the sea of dark colors.
Did Lord Azron specifically give me this mule? she wondered, a flutter of emotion stirring in her chest. Perhaps it was his way of reminding her of the pressing-against-the-wall incident, a message that he was indeed angry.
Since the banquet, she hadn't seen Lord Azron. She had searched for him at the government office, across the Mort Army grounds, and even at the Mort mansion, but he was nowhere to be found. What she didn't know was that he had been deliberately avoiding her, retreating before she could catch even a glimpse of him.
General Jidu's eyes fell on her backpack, curiosity flickering across her features. "What is that on your back?" he asked.
Sera glanced over her shoulder, seeing the simple travel bag she had strapped tightly to herself. "It's, uh… my travel bag," she replied, unsure if she sounded convincing.
Jidu's brow furrowed slightly. "Why don't you put that with the rest of the trunks in the supply wagon?" he suggested, pointing toward the organized pile of heavy sacks and trunks nearby.
Sera shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'll just carry it." She feared her belongings might get lost or misplaced if she didn't keep them close.
The beat of the drum echoed across the grounds, signaling the army to begin their march. Every warrior moved in perfect unison, following the Mort flags at the front.
Sera urged her mule forward, keeping pace with General Jidu as he led the way.
The synchronized thrum of footsteps was almost as loud as the drums and trumpets themselves, a rhythmic declaration of order and strength that left Sera once more in awe.
The sight was majestic, almost hypnotic. She was surrounded by formidable warriors in armor, yet she alone was a delicate presence in the midst of such overwhelming power.
As the formation gained speed, Sera's eyes searched the ranks, curiosity and unease mixing in her chest. She wanted to see Lord Azron, to know where the generals were, to find her place in this moving world of soldiers and flags.
"Where are the other generals?" she asked General Jidu, noticing the serious intensity in his gaze as he scanned the front lines.
"They're guarding the troops," he replied evenly.
Sera's gaze swept across the expanse. The army was vast, stretching farther than she could see, and among the moving mass, the other generals were hidden, invisible to her eyes. Not even Lord Azron appeared within sight.
She turned her head, watching Mort City slowly recede in the distance. Happiness and a strange ache mingled in her chest. After a year of waiting, she had finally passed through the gates—without having to force her way.
It wasn't the freedom she had imagined, but it was freedom nonetheless, and infinitely better than the confinement she had endured.
She didn't know what lay beyond Mort City's walls, but this journey would allow her to observe, to learn, to survive if ever she chose to leave for good.
Mort City disappeared completely from view, and Sera lifted her eyes to the sky. It was the same sky she had gazed upon from the old willow tree in the Grand's Quarters, yet it seemed transformed, vast and boundless now that she was outside the city.
The sun shone high, the sky clear and endless, and yet she didn't feel the heat. Her mind drifted back to harsher times, recalling the grueling desert exercises from her youth, the thirst, the struggle for survival, and the loss of many young women along the way. The images of her friends, taken by wolves, lingered with haunting clarity.
Sera's mind blanked for a moment as memories rushed back, and she didn't realize they had been traveling for half a day already. Then, her stomach reminded her of reality with a soft, insistent grumble.
She remembered the lunch boxes Shrin had given her for the journey. Carefully, she reached into her bag and retrieved one of the three prepared meals, enough to sustain her through the day.
She ate quietly, sharing some with General Jidu, who accepted without protest. And as she ate, she noticed something curious—why was Jidu riding in the middle of the formation, rather than leading his troops like the other generals?
"General, why are you not with your troops?" she asked, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of food.
"I am with my troops, just not at the front," he replied casually, taking another rice ball from her lunch.
"But why?" she pressed, tilting her head as she tried to understand.
Jidu looked down at her, and she realized how small she was in comparison to his horse, her mule's short stature making her reach awkward.
"I was tasked to babysit," he said simply.
"Babysit?" Her voice rose slightly, a mixture of surprise and incredulity. "Babysit me?!"
Sera's mind reeled. Lord Azron had ordered Jidu to watch over her. He had chosen the white mule so she would be visible, and placed her near the supply wagon for protection. It made her wonder—was Azron ensuring her safety, or was he keeping her from escaping?
The thought made her chest tighten. There was a quiet, almost tender calculation in his actions that Sera had not anticipated, and though it was unspoken, the care behind it stirred something unfamiliar inside her.