"Why?" Lia still couldn't understand what this guy was doing. So she continued to stare at his face, wanting to see what this guy was going to say.
Zion didn't answer her and continued to look at her with his cold eyes as if trying to convey a silent message. He knew that if he were to stay here any longer, the black-cloaked man would identify him through his system's presence within a few seconds. So he wanted to escape after finishing his work as soon as possible. Still, he also knew that leaving Lia would also be a bit difficult since, technically, his identity in this world was that of Lia's servant. If he were to go out alone, the problems he faced would increase tremendously.
He just wanted to avoid the issues that could hamper his progress.
But seeing that the princess was also silently watching him with a frown on her forehead, Zion sighed and said, "I'm leaving then."
Before he could walk a few steps, his arm was grabbed, and the princess dragged him back to their previous position. "Where do you think you're going? You still haven't explained everything to me yet. Don't even think about leaving as of now!"
Zion rubbed his forehead tiredly and said, "If we stay here, we will be caught by that imposter. Trust me this once."
Lia's eyes narrowed as she looked at him with suspicion floating in her gaze. Then, she closed her eyes and glanced inside the courtroom before hesitating for a moment. "The kingdom…."
"Will be doomed."
Lia's face darkened, but she still opened her mouth and asked, "My father…."
"Might be dead, might live."
"Then….what about the murder case?"
Zion raised his brows. He knew that Lia was aware of many things about him for some reason. He was still surprised after seeing how upfront she was about it. "So you realized I was the one solving this case."
"I had always known it was you in different identities," Lia said dryly. "And how did I know about this? That's a secret."
Zion nodded as he opened his mouth and said, "So you might understand why I'm in such a hurry to leave. That man can track my presence easily." His words seemed to be blunt as he glanced at the courtroom. "The case will be solved, but I'm not sure if this kingdom will be saved or if your father would still be alive. It would just depend on the soldiers' ability to protect the king after knowing the truth about the imposter. I'm sure they still don't know anything about the black-cloaked man being an imposter. They still think that he's their dear Prince Bradley, and I'm sure this guy has fed them with false truths to bring them to his side."
When Zion thought of this, he couldn't help but click his tongue. "That guy has always been a step ahead of me in every way, leading me around the nose, but he probably didn't expect me to take such a decision." He paused as a frown crossed his forehead, and he glanced at the crowd inside the courtroom that was still very actively debating on the topic he didn't even remember. "Even I didn't think I would be this ruthless and choose to ignore the lives of so many people just to solve this damned case."
Lia didn't say anything. There were many things she wanted to tell him, but she pressed her lips and swallowed the words down her throat. She knew that if she were to open her mouth and let it all out, she would probably end up scaring the guy. So she sighed and said, "Fine. We'll leave. It's not like I have any attachment to my father. I had never loved him, and neither did he care about me in any way. Let's just go."
She didn't mean to leave her father in such a situation. It was just that she had a grudge against Rhesus that created a knot in her heart. It had been burning her chest for years, so much that she found it difficult to forgive her father. So it wasn't strange to see that she would get ready to leave even after knowing that the chances of seeing the king alive were nil. Even after thinking like this, she felt uneasy in her heart, but she buried this feeling deep inside and took a deep breath.
They both got up on the horse with Lia handling the reins as Zion sat behind her, carefully placing his hand on her shoulders before they took off. They passed many streets covered with the trash of household items that seemed to have fallen off while the citizens were hurrying to escape.
Zion averted his eyes and said, "Won't you ask me how I changed so many identities?"
The corners of Lia's lips curved up. "Won't you ask me how I can fight and have such a strange bloodthirsty aura around me?"
Zion was silent after hearing that. He knew that this girl had secrets, but he didn't think she would be so blunt as to agree to the fact that her aura was cold and murderous as if she had been through many battlefields. Every time he would stand near her, he would feel her oppressing energy forcing him to surrender. In the modern-day, she would be the chief of all the soldiers who had been fighting against soldiers with top-notch guns at hand for years.
He could tell from what he read in the Vanne Kingdom's library that they were in peace for nearly a century or two. So it was typically impossible for her to become like this by staying in this place.
Princess Lia must have a reason why she acted like an old queen who had killed many people. So he shut his mouth and didn't say anything. They all had secrets that they didn't want to share with anyone. His secret of the system and reincarnation was unique that he meant to take to his grave.
Perhaps, someday they would be able to talk it all out and share things that had forced them into the current situation, but until that day, he would keep guarding his secret.
Just when they passed the Southern gate, Zion's eyes flashed back toward the East. For a long time, he had been hearing that the enemy had come from that direction. So it must be that the war was still going on. As he glanced, he could see two sides firing cannons one after another without stopping. Both sides faced casualties, but the Vanne kingdom party seemed to be on the verge of death. Many soldiers had burnt to death, and the remaining hid behind rocks, trees, and houses inside the boundary wall.
The eastern gate wasn't far away from the Southern one. So the situation of the battlefield was clear to him just with one glance.
He could see a few of the soldiers still crouching behind a big rock to hide from the enemies as they continued to attack from the shadows. Of course, the only ones who were visible to the enemies were the soldiers who carried cannons right in front of the eastern gate. These cannons were also unique. It seemed like a bulletproof thing that wasn't harmed even after being attacked by many fireballs. It could be that there was a layer of protection that every single one of the cannons had to protect against the fire attack.
So the Vanne kingdom soldiers would light the fireballs and hide again from the enemies.
This strategy seemed to work for a while, but soon, the enemy was able to figure out the position where the majority of the Vanne kingdom soldiers were hiding. The enemies dragged their cannons in that direction and shot out multiple fireballs.
Zion's pupils contracted. "Stop!"