.
.
.
Yunho was lost in a forest. There were no signs of any other human, and he seemed to just be walking in big circles.
Then, he heard the crunching of leaves behind him, and when he turned around, he saw...
a tiny kitty cat?
Yunho approached the small creature and reached out his hand. The cat did not resist when he began to slowly pet it.
"Aw, aren't you cute? But...really, how'd I get here?"
Yunho looked around the forest, his hand pausing.
"Last thing I remember, I was-"
But, he was interrupted by a hand tugging him forward by the wrist.
Yunho whipped his head back around to see that the cat from before was now...
The Grand Duke?!
The Duke pulled on Yunho some more, closing the gap of space between them. Their noses were almost touching when the Grand Duke opened his mouth, revealing a set of carnivorous teeth.
"Why'd you stop petting me, Yunho?"
.
.
.
Yunho was jolted awake. A shiver went down his spine. He didn't really feel like decoding what that dream meant right now.
Yunho still felt groggy, but he realized that his hand felt like it was touching something soft.
Yunho looked down to see that his hand was currently resting on the Grand Duke's hair. He almost jumped at the realization, but he realized that would disturb the other man's rest. So, Yunho decided to remove his hand quietly.
His dream came to mind again.
"..."
Ever since he came into this world, Yunho had found himself in increasingly bizarre situations.
If someone had told him back in his original world that he'd be peacefully stroking the hair of another man who just so happened to be a Duke and war general, Yunho would've called the nurses to take them back to the hospital's psych ward.
"I don't mean to interrupt, but I have important things to discuss with the Grand Duke." A voice came from in front of Yunho.
He looked up to see the Crown Prince staring back at him.
Yunho's face went completely red. The position the Grand Duke and he were in could probably be greatly misinterpreted.
"I-"
Yunho opened his mouth to explain himself but was interrupted by the Duke raising his head from off his lap.
"I suppose there's been some noteworthy news?"
He replied. Dorian didn't seem to be bothered by being woken up and calmly smoothed his hair.
"Had that guy even been sleeping this whole time?" Yunho questioned, but he kept the thought to himself.
The Grand Duke stood up and walked over to the Crown Prince who nodded in reply to his question.
"Our trip to the villages gave me some insight." The prince answered.
The Duke nodded, and the two men left together.
Yunho watched their figures get smaller as they walked away, but then, he noticed that someone else had been there.
She had been obscured by the prince, so Yunho didn't see her earlier. But now he did.
Irene.
Irene paused for a second before approaching Yunho. She was smiling, but Yunho still felt nervous.
He opened his mouth to say something, but Irene spoke first, leaning in close to his face.
"I know."
Her eyes narrowed, and Yunho felt like her gaze was wrapping around his neck.
But after saying those two words, she turned around and left.
Yunho was dumbfounded. In a short amount of time, so much had happened.
"'I know?' What did she mean by that?"
Now that the only person left in the clearing was Yunho, he decided to hang around for a little bit longer. The atmosphere felt surprisingly peaceful, and it was much quieter than the other places on the base.
*Crunch!*
"Hm?"
Yunho looked around. He swore he heard the sound of something quietly crunching. Like feet on dry grass.
Like someone else was there...
Yunho's heart froze, and he quickly got up and left the clearing.
Even if it was the spy he was looking for, it wouldn't be smart to face them one-on-one. Because there was a 99% chance Yunho was not winning that fight.
He finally reached the center of the base and feeling safer, looked behind him.
Nobody...
"Maybe I should avoid being alone outside..."
---
A few days later-
It was deep in the evening, past sunset time but before twilight.
Yunho sat on his bed, thinking idly. Despite his first 24 hours at the base being eventful, after that, next to nothing had happened.
The Bahitan forces still hadn't made any moves, and days on the base were mostly filled with aid work by the temple workers or training for the soldiers.
It felt wrong to feel "bored", but Yunho really had nothing to do.
He was supposed to be here to help with strategy, but Yunho had begun to feel like the Grand Duke really took him along because he asked and not because he actually believed Yunho would be helpful.
So, currently, he was more of an extra than an asset.
It had been at least 30 hours since he interacted with another human being. Yunho wasn't a soldier or knight-in-training, so he had no reason to be at trainings, and the temple workers hated his guts on Irene's behalf.
It didn't help that he was never that good at socializing either.
Yunho sighed.
"This is a bit depressing..."
*knock knock*
Yunho looked towards the door.
"Who could that be?"
He got up to open the door but paused before his hand could turn the handle.
Yunho remembered how he felt like someone was watching him earlier, and a pang of fear hit him again.
He was alone in the room, too. Had the spy caught on that Yunho knew something? Were they the one waiting behind the door?
"Iris, are you in there?" A voice from behind the voice said.
Yunho immediately took a deep breath of relief.
It was the Grand Duke.
He opened the door, and as expected, the Duke was standing there.
"Oh, it's Your Grace. Why have you come to visit me?"
Dorian ran a hand through his hair. He was dressed pretty casually. It reminded Yunho of when he visited Dorian at his office.
"I've come to seek your counsel," the Duke answered.
Yunho raised an eyebrow but stepped aside to let the other man through.
The Duke walked in and closed the door behind him.
"So what's all this about 'seeking my counsel'?" Yunho said.
"Weren't you the one who offered your strategizing skills?" Dorian replied.
Yunho was about to voice his surprise when Dorian took out a pair of stone-like objects and placed one in Yunho's hand.
"They're enchanted communication devices. Only you and I can hear our conversation now."
The Duke's voice reverberated in Yunho's head. It wasn't like regular talking. Instead, it felt like Dorian's words had been directly transported to his brain.
"Wait, are all my thoughts audible now?" Yunho thought. He cringed at the idea and nervously fidgeted with the object in his pocket.
"No, I can't hear all your thoughts. Unless you channel your words out into the stone, I can't hear them." Dorian quickly said.
"Then how did you know I was thinking that?" Yunho replied.
"Haven't I said you're horrible at masking your thoughts? I can read your mind by just looking at you." Dorian answered with a smile.
Yunho went red.
He really didn't know why he'd been feeling this way around the Duke lately. Like he wanted to get to know him better and be in his close circle.
Why was this side character getting the best of him?
"Well, anyway, what specifically about the war strategy have you sought my help for?"
The Grand Duke's face became more serious, and he brought out a map.
The map detailed the border between Lucivia and Bahit, labelling towns, landmarks, and the location of the base.
"The Bahitan army was moving quite aggressively and quickly before we got here. The locals in the nearby villages say that there was hardly a day without something else happening. But, since we've arrived at the base, there's been no movement from their forces," the Duke started.
"But, yesterday, the Crown Prince received information that Bahitan forces have been spotted moving in our direction, coming from the east. Not a lot of them, it seems, and they're still pretty far away. The next course of action would typically be to meet them before they reach the base. However, something was telling me to ask you first." The Duke continued.
Yunho mulled over his words. In the original novel, attacks came faster, so the Bahitan forces taking longer to attack was definitely partly his doing. It was most likely due to the dewbirds being gone.
Yunho looked over the map. He noticed that to the northeast of the base, there was dense forest.
"Did the informant specify where from the east they were coming?" Yunho asked.
Dorian pointed to a town just to the right of the dense forest.
"Apparently, they were spotted around here."
"I think the Bahitan army isn't going to approach further." Yunho suddenly said.
Dorian looked at him curiously, surprised at the confidence in his tone. Yunho continued.
"They're going to camp in that forest. Since they've been encroaching on the border and moving through the towns nearby, they've become more familiar with the area. It wasn't just blind territorial aggression; they've now had time to learn the area. You should command your men to stop right before they enter the forest terrain. Even if our men are more skilled, in a dark and dense place like that, the odds become more even, especially if the enemy is expecting us."
Dorian rubbed his chin and smiled.
"I was thinking that, too. My commanders thought it would be best if we cut through the forest and quickly push them back. But I really couldn't rationalize that decision."
Yunho nodded. He felt a little shy accepting the praise, especially since he was only confident because something similar had happened in the novel.
"If possible, don't send all the men either. Since it's a small group..."
The Grand Duke nodded.
Suddenly, there was a beat of silence. Yunho rubbed his neck.
"Well, that's all the counseling I can give so far."
Yunho handed the Grand Duke the communication stone back. His fingers grazed Dorian's palm as he did it. Yunho tried to move his hand back quickly, but Dorian grabbed it.
Yunho was suddenly reminded of that dream he had when he and the Grand Duke were sleeping under the tree.
"Huh, is there something else?" Yunho questioned.
But Dorian didn't say anything. He just held his hand quietly, letting their palms touch. The place where their skin met felt abnormally hot to Yunho, but he also didn't make an effort to take back his hand.
Finally, the Duke said something.
"As I thought, you have very soft hands."
Yunho's cheeks became a bit red at the remark, and he withdrew his hand.
"What an odd thing to notice. What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you're a pampered little young master." The Duke said with a slight grin.
The words may have been an insult from someone else, but from Dorian's mouth, they had a teasing lilt.
Yunho suddenly felt a strange feeling that buzzed throughout his body.
He felt the urge to tease the other man back.
"Am I the only young master in this room? I don't think that's your stone to throw, Dorian."
Yunho replied. It was his first time being so direct with the Grand Duke, but he felt like it would be okay. Being honest, Yunho didn't fear the Duke much at all anymore.
A complicated look flashed through the Duke's ruby eyes at being called by his name, but he didn't look offended, more contemplative than anything. He chuckled.
"I suppose that's true... But you're the only one between us who could be described as pampered, Iris." The duke commented before opening the door to leave.
"Well, goodnight," Yunho said as the other man left.
"Goodnight to you too."
The door closed with a soft thud and the room fell back to silence.
"Ah, was it always so quiet in here?"
---
End of Chapter 35