Honour | WINWIN

Chapter 21

"Are you alright?" Winwin asked, noticing the look on Lihua's face.

"Yeah." Lihua lied, swallowing the lump in her throat. "It's just a lot to take in."

Winwin had just informed her of everything Yuta had told him during their private meeting. Lihua didn't know how to feel about the news,

"Take your time." Winwin said, rubbing her back. "Even though you don't have feelings for him, doesn't change the fact that we were all close friends."

Lihua nodded, playing with her fingers in her lap. "What does this mean for the Amber Kingdom then?"

"Well," Winwin started, taking a deep breath. "Jaehyun's marriage meanst that the Emperor's death is near. Whatever illness he has must be fatal."

"That means that Jaehyun would be stepping up for his father soon." Lihua said.

"That's right." Winwin said, confirming her words. "But that also means that our job is even more important."

"What do you mean?" Lihua asked, not really understanding what Winwin was referring to.

"We both know that Jaehyun has no idea how to run a kingdom, he's been fooling around all this time." Winwin pointed out. "If we don't defeat the invaders, they'll attack the Amber Kingdom, and with Jaehyun in charge, the kingdom will surely fall."

Lihua let out a deep sigh. "The pressure is really on, huh?"

"Yeah." Winwin said, also feeling down. "But I think as long as we keep working hard, we can do it."

Lihua nodded her head in agreement. "For sure. And with you teaching the villagers, they should be ready for battle in no time."

Lihua watched as Winwin stared blankly at the wall in front of him.

"I sure hope so."

...

It was the last day of training before they would make their attack and Winwin found himself staring at a map of the Jade Kingdom with Xiaojun, Hendery, and Yangyang.

"They reside at the palace, I'm assuming they're planning their next moves so we need to get to them quick." Xiaojun explained, pointing to the palace drawn on the map.

"So we're headed to the palace." Lihua said, staring at the map.

"It seems so." Winwin said, sinking into the cushion he was sitting on. "It's going to be heavily guarded, you know that, right?"

Lihua noticed Hendery and Yangyang turn heads towards Xiaojun who nodded.

"We know, the villagers included. We're ready to do whatever it takes to regain our kingdom." Xiaojun confirmed.

Winwin let out a deep sigh, running his fingers through his hair. "Well if it makes you feel better, General Qian promised to provide as many troops as the Amber Kingdom can afford to assist us with our mission."

"Kun's sending troops?" Lihua asked, surprised. Winwin nodded.

"Yes, Yuta mentioned it. Sorry, I forgot to tell you." Winwin told her.

"That's alright. When will they be arriving?" Lihua asked the male.

"Tomorrow at dawn. Then we'll be setting out to the palace together." Winwin informed them.

The group continued discussing the details of their strategy until the moon was high in the sky. They decided to call it a night, heading to the sleeping quarters for the night.

Lihua felt uneasy, going into battle for the first time against such a strong enemy. As she laid in bed, listening to Winwin's soft breathing sounds, she decided to quietly climb over him, intending to take a walk to ease her mind.