How accurate those slave soldiers could’ve been if Joohyun wasn’t born into a military family! When Suho discovered his younger sister had been enamored with the new lieutenant, he was hell-bent on making the rookie miserable. However, his torments didn’t work, on the contrary, this made Namjoo fall for the new recruit even more.

The fire snake’s sudden familiarity with military life was suspicious. The battalion commander became more skeptical of Joohyun. It became very inconvenient for Joohyun and Seulgi to secretly meet up with each other under Suho’s watchful eyes.

“He’s like a hawk preying on a fish for dinner.” Seulgi growled.

“You make it sound as if you’re the fish.” Joohyun raised her right brow.

“What if he figures ou–”

“But he hasn’t.” Joohyun crossed her arms. “I’m still a man in their eyes Seulgi–ah.”

“Too fine of a man.” Seulgi mirrored the older girl.

“What is that supposed to mean?” 

“Nothing.” Seulgi rolled her eyes. “It’s just that Namjoo seems to be liking this man a little too much don’t you think?”

The corner of Joohyun’s lips lifted. “Is that– Seulgi–ah are you…?”

“I–It is nothing! I–I’m just concerned.” 

“Seulgi–ah…” Joohyun softly sighed and reached her hand out towards Seulgi’s shoulders. “It’s alright. I’m fine.”

Joohyun was helping Namjoo manage the Roulette battalion in the kitchen when Suho passed her orders to refill their meat storage. The lieutenant chose Seulgi, along with a few other slaves, to the meat carrier to a farmland outside the camp back in Fu’nan.

“But what if–”

“Then we’ll deal with it when the time comes.” Joohyun didn’t want to prolong the argument during the rare chances they got together. “I’ll just need to climb up the ranks to a position where he doesn’t have authority over.”

“And how are you going to do that?”

“Seulgi–ah, I didn’t drag you all the way out here so I can figure it out myself.”

“R–right.” A moment of silence passed until Seulgi thought of it. “Hyun–ah, how about I break out of camp?”

“What do yo–”

“Seulgi!” A fellow slave called from the back of the farm.

“We don’t have much time, just listen to me alright.” Seulgi moved her hands down her body, towards her boots. “I’ll convince the others to fake an escape three nights from today. When you catch us in the act, it’ll give you the chance to please the generals. Just make sure you’re the one carrying out the punishment and leave the rest to me.”

“Bu–”

“Seulgi?” Another slave shouted.

Seulgi retrieved the item from her boots and placed it into Joohyun’s hand. She gave her a smile and swiftly ran towards the back of the farm to where the other slaves were loading the cargo of meat.  

“Aiya, what does she think she’s doing, telling me she trusts me and then running off like that.” Joohyun stared at the star pendant in her hand.

As Seulgi set the plan in motion, the Roulette Battalion had prepared an escape route three nights later. Oblivious to Joohyun’s identity, they threw themselves at her feet to cover Seulgi’s back. It surprised the lieutenant to see how much Seulgi had worked the past few months to earn their complete trust.

The midnight commotion, as Seulgi predicted, drew the generals’ attention. After Joohyun briefed them of the attempted escape, sh