A fool who knows he is a fool has a little intelligence, but a fool that thinks he is intelligent is really a fool.

Vibhorarth was so lost in the moment that he couldn't even hear or sense the presence of heavy boots next to him till the time he was yanked up mercilessly. The water flask fell on the ground and the lieutenant turned to look at Dushyant with an aggrieved look in his eyes.

His superior was really a ruthless tyrant.

Dushyant was disgusted with his subordinate's juvenile and irresponsible behaviour. But he ignored him for a moment and stared at the young girl in front of him. She had a fearful expression on her face right now, as if she had seen the devil.

She sat upright with great difficulty. Looking worriedly at the scary man, she slowly started moving backwards, as if trying to get away from him.

An irrational anger rose in Dushyant looking at her act. He didn't know whether the girl was genuinely innocent or was putting on some sort of an act.

Irrespective, he didn't care!

At the moment, he had more pressing concerns and hence, he extended his hand towards the girl, intending to pull her up and bring her back from the edge of the road that she had moved to.

But the girl showed an extreme reaction to his gesture and shrunk back violently with a shout!

"No… you, you monster! Don't come near me. I… I will… I will jump off," she threatened him, and kept moving further back.

Dushyant was thoroughly disgusted with her fragile act and yanked her arm upwards forcefully. He didn't have the patience to deal with such girls!

"Ahhh…"

The girl was jerked up into standing. But the next moment she pulled her hand out of his grasp with a hard tug and looked at him as if he had committed a huge crime.

Before the besotted lieutenant could intercede and hold her, the girl shifted her feet further back in nimble movements and jumped off.

"Misssss…"

Vibhorarth remained frozen in the moment when he saw her looking at them with grievance in her eyes. She had taken the plunge without even turning to look at the valley.

Dushyant ran to the edge of the cliff and peered down. But the jagged rocks and protruding shrubs prevented him from seeing much.

He remained standing there in deep thought. After a beat, he walked back and closed the distance between him and Vibhorarth, who was giving him the evil eye.

The other lieutenant who had been in the background all this while, came up to him and asked timidly. "General, should we go down and look for the girl or chase the carriage?"

Dushyant came back to the place where the girl had lain earlier and bent down on his haunches.

After a beat, he replied in a stoic manner. "Neither."

He turned around to walk towards his horse who was stomping on the ground impatiently. Dushyant could feel the burning, accusation-filled gaze of the young guy who was still to recover from the incident.

Dushyant looked at him and said in a disgusted voice, "Go back and drink a lot of water to clear out the hallucinogens from your mind. The 'poor girl' isn't dead. She was a part of the ploy. Now I definitely want to know who exactly wants Gangadhar and why?"

With that, Dushyant jumped on the horse in a smooth motion and trotted off.

Both the lieutenants looked at him with confusion and disbelief but neither of them dared say anything.

Vibhorarth shook his head sluggishly. Was he truly drugged? Was that why he thought that she was the most stunning girl in the world?

End of flashback

Vibhorarth went crimson at being reminded of his failure to capture that girl two months ago. Worse was that they had found enough clues later to nearly confirm that she had been a part of the group who abducted Gangadhar, that eccentric mathematician from Adra.

Unfortunately, they couldn't find a trace of the kidnappers nor the person since then. They weren't even able to find the reason why he had been abducted in the first place. But it had been established that the abduction was unrelated to their mission.

"I… I have learnt from my mistakes and that's why I am pointing towards this girl. I think her presence here is suspicious," said Vibhorarth a touch defensively.

The general was a stoic person on most occasions but when irked, he could kill the opposition with just his poisonous tongue, no weapons required.

Dushyant inhaled the fragrant cardamom tea before taking a sip. "Like I said, keep your ears and eyes open. Your mouth doesn't have much value."

Even though his curly, fringed eyes were half closed, and he was leaning against the bamboo wall of the tea stall, Dushyant had noticed the hushed interaction between the noble lady and her maid when they first arrived here.

It seemed that she was either escaping or running towards something.

Though Vibhorarth couldn't recognise the identity of the shadow guards, Dushyant knew that these were the famed royal guards who protected only the royal blood of Mandhaar.

Dushyant had absolutely no intention of engaging with this group of people.

Finishing his tea, he slapped a few bronze coins on the table and motioned for Vibhorarth to leave the place.

"Come again, sir!" The boy's cheerful farewell made Princess Anara raise her head and look at the receding back of the tall man followed by a lanky guy.

Their walking posture suggested that they were ordinary travellers. Nothing to worry about.

She had become uncomfortable some time ago, as if someone was staring at her. Moving her eyes around, she hadn't found the person but had felt the scrutiny come from the darkened corner from where these two just came.

Since she had become vigilant at the time, when the two guys walked out, she paid extra attention to their demeanor.

Princess Anara was very proud of her observation skills and while undergoing military training alongside her brother, Prince Anirudh, she had paid a lot more attention to the soft skills and strategy training than the strenuous physical tutelage.

Had Dushyant been aware of her arrogant thoughts, he would have displayed his 'famous' sneer at her stupid deductions.

"Pri… err… Miss, let's go. I have found a carriage who is willing to take us till the base of the Northern hills," Laasya came back and whispered in her ear.