FINALLY GONE

HILDRED looked at the man sleeping peacefully on the bed. His white hair almost blended with the white pillows and white bedsheet. When he first heard Edmund said that Wulf was asleep, he couldn't believe it at first. Not because the other never slept but because Wulf would never ever sleep in an unfamiliar place. Heck, he couldn't even sleep properly at the Imperial Palace.

 There were only two places where he could sleep with no problem – the Beowulf and his own villa.

He could sleep peacefully in the Beowulf because he knew it's safe. No assassin would suddenly appear and try to kill him. Not only because their flag ship was like a flying fortress, but also because all the people in the ship had sworn their loyalty towards Wulf. The same could be said for Wulf's villa at the planet he owned in Alluna. That villa was full of cutting-edge technology that its security was almost at par with Beowulf. 

So, how was it possible that he could suddenly fall asleep in this place?

Hildred shook Wulf's shoulder. "Wulf, wake up. Wulf!"

But no matter how much he tried to wake the other up, his eyelids didn't even shake. Showing just how deep his sleep was.

Hildred then glanced at the fidgeting egghead. Edmund looked extremely nervous which showed that he's either feeling nervous or guilty. He narrowed his eyes at him and smiled. 

Edmund who saw this smile shook even further. 

"Ed, are you sure that Wulf really fell asleep naturally?" Hildred asked.

Edmund hesitated but still nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."

Of course, that slight bit of hesitation didn't escape Hildred's eyes. "Tell me the situation at the moment when he fell asleep."

"He sat down on a chair. Then a couple of seconds later, he fell asleep," Edmund answered honestly.

"The two of you were alone when that happened?" Edmund nodded as an answer. "Wulf didn't eat or inhale anything before that?"

Edmund shook his head. "Well, he ate some snacks. But that was two hours before he even fell asleep. And if he inhaled something, I should have also fallen asleep because we're in the same room."

Those were the things that he already analyzed earlier. And now that he said it, he felt even more that the general most likely fell asleep naturally.

Hearing that, Hildred fell into deep contemplation. Based on what Edmund said, it could be seen that there was definitely no foul play here. No matter how weird of a situation this was, it only pointed out to one thing – that Wulf indeed feel asleep without any kind of influence. 

If we considered the fact that Wulf and Edmund landed on this planet accidentally and that the two were the ones who imposed themselves to the people here, then it's even highly unlikely that this thing was planned. It's even more doubtful that they were trying to assassinate him. 

Especially if he was right about the identity of the madam. She certainly wouldn't do anything that would attract the attention of people who could expose it. Although he doubted whether Wulf or Edmund recognized her. After all, that event involving the death of the daughter of Lord Anthony Grimaldi happened two decades ago. Both Wulf and Edmund hadn't entered puberty yet. He doubted the two even cared about that kind of news.

So, Hildred could only assume that there's no one to be blamed for this situation.

Seeing Hildred in deep thought, Edmund became even more nervous. He remembered again the way the black-haired teenager acted earlier. Edmund seriously didn't want to involve the people living in this house. He didn't want the fear of Astrid to be proven right. 

That's why before he could think of anything, he already stretched out his hand and gripped the sleeve of Hildred's military uniform. "Hil, let's just go back to Beowulf, hmm?"

Hildred's train of thought suddenly stopped. He raised his head and looked at Edmund. The other's expressive brown eyes were now full of pleading. He looked like a puppy asking for his owner to go back home. Hildred smiled. Because he liked this kind of look on Edmund. It's good to see him like this once in a while.

He raised his hand and gently stroke Edmund's shiny bald head. "Okay, let's go back."

Edmund's eyes brightened hearing that. "I'll carry the general."

Before Hildred could answer, Edmund already put the sleeping Wulf on his back. He could only shake his head and the two of them walked out of the room.

Downstairs, the madam and her two sons were waiting for them. 

"Madam, thank you again for your generosity," Hildred said. 

"Yes, thank you very much," Edmund seconded.

"If His Highness is awake, I'm sure he would give his gratitude personally. But alas. It seemed that he was so tired that he fell asleep."

Hildred observed the three people when he said that, but none of them showed any weird reaction. No, if there was anything weird then it would be the black-haired teenager showing a fearful expression. He was trying to hide it but it still showed.

"Please, tell His Highness to take care more of himself," Emmy said worriedly.

"I will make sure to do just that. If Madam and her family ever needed help, please feel free to contact our Fenris squad. We will do everything in our power to help," Hildred said with a sincere smile, giving the woman in front of him a card with numbers written on it. 

Emmy also smiled and graciously accepted the card which was probably a way to contact their squad. But deep inside, she was saying, 'nope, never gonna happen'. "Thank you, Captain. I'll keep that in mind."

"Then, we will take our leave."

Hildred nodded to the two teenagers before walking out of the house. Edmund who was carrying the prince behind his back also nodded to the three before quickly following Hildred outside.

The three members of the Townsend family walked up to the door and saw the two captains jumping up into the shuttle still hovering on the yard of their house. The three stayed there until the shuttle flew up and completely vanished in their sights.

Astrid finally wiped off the 'trying to hide that he was scared' expression on his face. Finally, that royal pain in the ass was gone.