Chanyeol shook his head, refusing the request his wife had just made. “Please Chanyeol, I’m telling you this because of Haesol. What will she feel once she get to know Jongin was punished because he left me to search for her? I’m sure the girl would think it’s her fault.” Seora continued to explain.

“So just because he had to rescue someone else, is it fine for him to neglect his duties? And that too, he failed in keeping you safe Seora, not just anyone!” Chanyeol snapped back at his wife. “No matter what you say, forgiving him for not fulfilling his duties cannot be done. And he still didn’t report to me after all this chaos, even after two days had passed!”

Seora sighed and took hold of his hand, standing beside him on the balcony. “What if he has a good reason for not showing up? And I’m sure he’s feeling extremely guilty about what happened, and must be troubled thinking about how to face you. I’m sure he has his own reasons Chanyeol, otherwise he’s not the type to run away from anything right? You should know him more than I do.” she peeked into his face and gave him a smile. “Now tell me you won’t go too hard on him, hmm?”

Chanyeol stood staring at the view ahead of him, without answering her. “Chanyeol... at least lets let this slide for Haesol’s sake hmm? She’ll be hurt if you punish Jongin for taking care of her.”

Chanyeol finally heaved a sigh and nodded. “We’ll see once he meets me. And what was that you said earlier about those two? Jongin and Haesol?” he asked curiously, recalling something he remembered her mentioning the day before.

A smile crept onto Seora’s face again. “Haesol likes Jongin. She never have told me that directly, but I’m pretty sure about it. I know the girl too well for her to hide anything from me.” She said with a grin.

“What about Jongin?”

This time she pouted at him. “That I’m not quite sure. Jongin is friendly with everyone so it’s not clear whether he’s just being nice to her or has anything more than that for her, but I think he too might return her feelings.” She said, beaming ear to ear. “They’ll make a great match, don’t you think so?”

Chanyeol shrugged nonchalantly. “You’ll never know. Men are not totally what they seem like.”

* * * * * * * *

Chanyeol entered his office after spending some time with Seora after the breakfast. And the guard, who had been waiting for him to arrive, fell on his knees in front of his master as soon as the door opened.

“You’re finally here.”

Jongin didn’t raise his head to meet the general’s eyes, but stayed staring at the wooden floor beneath his knees, gripping onto his sword in his right hand.

“Get up Jongin, we need to talk.” Chanyeol made his way towards his table and sat on the edge of it. “Stand up I said.”

Jongin bit his lip, and leaning on one knee, he slowly got back onto his feet. Yet his eyes didn’t look up to meet his master’s gaze, and he continued to stay casting his eyes downwards.

“So what brings you here now, when you didn’t dare show up even after we rescued Lady Shin? Where were you all the time that you didn’t even have a time to report after making such a huge mistake?”

Jongin was much eased after noticing the calm aura of his master. He knew very well, that Chanyeol was not pretending to be calm and patient; because the Last Hunter was not someone who could hold back his anger once he was enraged about something.

“I know very well that I made a serious mistake my lord. I put Lady Shin’s life in danger, I ignored my duty and I-”

“Since this is the first time you’ve ever made a mistake during all the years you were with me,” Chanyeol cut off the guard. “I plan on letting you off just this once.”

Jongin widened his eyes and looked up at his master for the first time that day. “But my lord, I’m ready to accept any punishment-”

“Just make sure you won’t leave Lady Shin’s side even for a second while I’m not with her or palace guards are not with her. I’m trusting you about the safety of my wife Jongin, I hope you understand the seriousness of the situation.” Chanyeol explained remaining in his calm demeanour. Jongin saw how the look in Chanyeol’s eyes changed as he spoke about his wife, and the grip on the guard’s sword tightened without his realizing it.

“Now tell me Jongin,” Chanyeol continued his inquiry. “Where were you until now?”

Jongin’s head turned downwards again, and bit his lower lip.

“I was with Kang Haesol, my lord.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened, remembering Seora’s words. But his thoughts were cut off by Jongin’s words.

“I think you already know that she was abducted by Xuan’s men to distract us from Lady Shin’s Security my lord.” He explained, gaining a patient nod from the general. “And when I found Haesol, she was on a river bank, drowned and unconscious. I managed to get her consciousness back, and brought her back to the mansion by the next morning. But she had fever ever since then my lord, which didn’t come down no matter what the house maids or the local physician did.”

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow. “How is she now? Did she get proper treatment?”

Jongin nodded. “I had to take her to our temple my lord, to get her treated by the monks there. And they said her fever is not going down not only because she was in water for too long, but also because she was traumatize because of the unexpected abduction. She’s been treated right now, and has turned quite better now.”

Chanyeol nodded in silence. Maybe Seora was right about these two. May be he really has feelings for her and that might be the reason he was distracted from his duties for a moment...

“So you took care of her until this morning?” he asked in the end.

Jongin nodded. “Yes my lord. I thought it was better to stay beside her until she recovers.”

“Hmm.” Chanyeol stood up, and walked around the table to get seated on his office chair and grab some parchments. “Stay with her until she recovers then. Lady Shin won’t be leaving the palace for the time being, so she’s under my watch. You’re excused from you duties for a few days.” He looked up at the guard. “You can leave now.”

Jongin bowed down at once in gratitude. “I’m grateful my lord, and once again, I’m extremely sorry for neglecting my duties.”

Chanyeol nodded, and the guard bowed again and left the office.

“Now to the hardest part...” Chanyeol muttered to himself.

I wish Sehun arrives before Baek, so I don’t have to deliver this news to baek...

He rubbed his temple and sighed.

* * * * * * * *

The door to Chanyeol’s office opened and Baekhyun darted in. “Greetings General Park! Your trusted disciple is back!” the young man walked towards his superior, his face enlightened with a wide grin. “Is Seora alright? I heard Sehun also is on his way back. Don’t mind missing those men, I have a hunch about what’s gonna happen next.” He went on with his non-stop blabbering, taking a quill from Chanyeol’s table and spinning it with his fingers.

Chanyeol slowly stood up f