“Here’s your coffee, General Rachelle,” Jack said the moment he entered my office. He placed the coffee on my desk and I thanked him for that. “Why did you even drink booze if you can’t even handle it?” He shook his head.
I massaged my temples after sighing. “I only drank one-fourth,” I said and took a sip from the cup. “I felt like my head was pounding and someone was punching on my head.” I shook my head. “I think I drank more than one-fourth…”
I woke up having an overwhelming headache. I am trying to remember if I went on a rampage after taking a drink at that time. I should have listened to His Majesty that I should drink one-fourth of the mug since I am a first-timer.
“You are being stupid, General.”
I pouted. “That’s a harsh comment. I’m hurt.” I faked a painful expression while clutching the left chest of my uniform.
Jack rolled his eyes and fixed his glasses. “Don’t be so dramatic, General Rachelle.”
I chuckled afterward. “You’re so serious. You need to relax and not be a grumpy one, Jack.”
I sniffed when he suddenly put piled-up paperwork on my desk. “I can’t relax if you don’t finish this, General Rachelle.” I smiled wryly.
Just by staring at them. I checked my pocket watch. “It’s almost lunch. You want to work while having my lunch?” I sniffed like I was about to cry.
“Just finish some papers there then you can have your lunch at the cafeteria, General. Don’t give me any excuses.”
“So mean.” I finished my coffee and tried to sign and reread the reports. I waited for Jack to return to his designated desk before I decided to stand up and stretch my hands. “On second thought, I might try to finish them shortly,” I announced to him while twisting the doorknob.
He glared at me. “Don’t you dare leave! Argh! No!”
I laughed and ran away from the office. I made a shortcut from jumping the corridor to the ground. I waved my hand at him when I was already far from the Onyx House.
“I’ll finish them. I swear! I will just grab my lunch!” I shouted. He just frowned at me.
I didn’t care if private soldiers and some Commanders were looking at me as I started running away. Way to ruin my secretary’s every single day was one of the fascinating things I ever did ever since I became a General.
As I was contemplating, I tried to remember what happened last night. I couldn’t even remember some memories. I tried to ask my wolf what happened but she wouldn’t tell me. She’s so frustrating.
I went to the cafeteria where soldiers were taking their lunch there as well as middle-rank officials. It has been a long time since I went here. Only Jack took my lunch food here and brought it to my office. I was greeted and saluted by the royal guards guarding there. Then one of them entered and made an announcement.
“General Rachelle has arrived!”
I chuckled. “You don’t need to do that,” I said and made an entrance.
The chit-chattering I was hearing immediately died down. All soldiers, Captains, and Commanders stood up and saluted me.
I nodded. “It’s been a while, everyone!” I smiled, signaling them they could take a seat.
I spotted Commander Bricks waving his hand at me. He was with other Commanders and Captains. I even saw Colette taking a new tray of food and placed it down to where I was going to sit next to the Commanders.
“Over here, General!” she said.
I approached them and thanked Colette. “It has been a while since I last saw you all, Commanders.” I made a nod as a sign of respect. “And Captains.” I nodded my head at them. “Also, greetings, Your Highness.” I made a bow to Princess Cherish who was with Captain Inkstone.
Princess Cherish or must I say, Captain Iris smiled and nodded at me. Then Inkstone nudged her.
“Hey, Princess. Don’t you need to give something to our General?”
“Oh! Yes, I almost forgot!” She stood up and approached me. “General, my older brother, His Majesty, Claude asked me to deliver you something.” She fished out a potion and handed it to me. “He knew that you might have a hangover after getting drunk last night.” I looked at her, surprised. She smiled at me. “You can take that after you grab your lunch,” she said softly and returned to her seat.
She knew that I was drunk last night? Should I be worried? Did I create a commotion last night?
“Thank you, Your Highness,” I said truthfully. Princess Cherish smiled sweetly at me as an answer.
“Hearsays, Alpha King Claudian brought you to your quarters last night. Did you seriously take a drink?” Walter asked in surprise. “You’re not a fan of heavy liquors, right?”
I hid the potion in my pocket. “I just took more than one-fourth when we went to a tavern in the capital. I didn’t know that I would get drunk so easily.” I smiled wryly. It would be so embarrassing if I went on a rampage last night. “Plus, I got curious as to what they tasted.” I tried to sound like this was nothing and I was able to deal with it. “How did you all even know about me getting drunk?”
Colette answered. “The royal guards chattered about it, General. They saw you on His Majesty’s back.” My eyes widened from that. I was on his back? What?! “Must be the royal guards who made rounds on that last night shift when they saw you?
“Do they even say anything aside from that?” I asked nervously. I hope I didn’t do something stupid against our Alpha King. They told me that they think I’m dating the Alpha King which I hardly declined and moved from another topic. That made me relieved when they got along. “I’m not going to drink again,” I said with finality which earned them a laugh.
After eating my food and taking the potion, I stayed for a moment with them before taking my leave. Although our lunchtime was short, I had fun visiting them. The headache I was feeling had already subsided. Thanks to His Majesty.
It was nice to reconnect with your old pals. I missed hanging out with the other Commanders even though our office was only in the same room, each was having their cubicle. Unlike being a General, it was good having your own office but I could only speak with my secretary. I couldn’t even go to General Benedict and General Cairo as they were busy as well.
I didn’t stay long in the cafeteria because I had a hunch my secretary would go there to make a ruckus and would pull me back to my office again. I just couldn’t take seeing those piles of papers on my desk. I felt like I would grow old there.
I stopped in my tracks when I smelled Claude’s scent from not so far away after entering the antechamber. I lowered my gaze, not glancing at the large painting of the royal family because I felt like something was about to trigger inside me if I look at the former Luna Queen.
In the hallway, I spotted Claude coming out from one of the rooms of the palace. He was with Sir Felix.
“Claude!” I called him. I wanted to see him because I wanted to ask something or I should thank him for the potion he asked to give to me.
Claude stopped walking and immediately turned around. He looked at me with a surprised expression.
I stopped right in front of him but before I could even speak, I immediately jumped backward when Sir Felix tried to swing his sword at me.
“Mind your manners, General Rachelle. You didn’t even make a respectful address to His Majesty. Do you want to be beheaded?” he asked in a mile, dangerous tone while his sword was pointing at me.
But I managed to stop it earlier by holding the tip of his sword with my thumb and forefinger. I stretched out a smug smile and stepped backward. Then I bowed in front of His Majesty while he was just watching me.
“My apologies, Your Majesty. It is careless of me of not addressing you properly,” I said in an honest tone. It was wrong of me to call him by his name. I just got used to calling him by his name because of what happened yesterday.
“Calm down, Felix. No need to threaten her.” I raised my glance seeing His Majesty putting down the sword of Felix. Felix nodded and sheathed his sword to his scabbard. His Majesty’s unreadable expression faced me. “Next time, know your place, General Rachelle. Addressing me on my name in public is a heinous crime unless I permit you to address me.”
I gritted my teeth in annoyance but chose to bow my head, submitting to him. “Your wish is my command, Your Majesty. I shall not disrespect His Majesty again,” I said formally but I felt hurt inside.
My wolf was feeling in pain with the hostility he was giving off. That pained me inside but I tried to ignore it. When I looked at him, something was crossing his eyes that I didn’t manage to read.
“Very well.” He nodded. “To what do I owe the pleasure then?” he asked.
I wanted to smile bitterly. My mood had been ruined because of them. I lowered my head as a response.
“I came here to thank His Majesty for the potion he bestowed to me.” Then I put on a big smile, washing off the negative vibe that glued to my mind. “I also came here to apologize for the ruckus I caused last night. To be honest, I have no memory of my drunken state. So, whatever I have said or done at that time, I hope His Majesty will forgive me for my foolish act,” I sincerely said.
I just don’t want to spread rumors that he and I were dating when in fact it wasn’t true at all. Plus, it was partly my fault as well because I even embarrassed myself.
“Forgiven.” I raised my glance at him and saw some mixed emotions dwelled in his eyes. “But I understand that it is partly my fault that I have let you drink the said amount of booze. I deeply apologize, General Rachelle. I will take responsibility for the other things.”
I smiled wryly and just nodded.
We remained silent for a moment before he spoke again. “I have heard that your secretary is looking for you again.”
I shrugged. “Beats me.” I turned my head when I heard the crying tone Jack.
“General!” Jack said as he ran towards me.
“Greetings, Jack. You look like you have sprinted in the tracking field,” I said which earned him glare at me before he turned at His Majesty and started to cry. “His Majesty, I can’t do this anymore! She can’t stay in the same place! She is a stubborn General!” He sniffed.
“Jack, don’t be so overdramatic,” I said, shaking my head, then rolled my eyes. I sat in the corridor, sighing.
Alpha King Claudian stretched out a small smile. “You are the only one who I think is fit for this role, Jack Pierce.” Jack just slightly frowned which earned the Alpha King a chuckle. “Felix, tell the Department of Budget to double the salary of Jack Pierce if he manages to stay on his secretary position.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I will relay your message later.”
Jack gasped. “D-Double my salary?” His eyes sparkled.
He nodded. Then he turned to me. “As for you, General Rachelle.” I blinked and tilted my head. “Get down there from the corridor.” He approached me, shaking his head in annoyance.
I got down and followed his order. “Is there anything I can help you with, Alpha King Claudian?” Although my heart was a bit hurt by his earlier hostile behavior, I managed to convey a confident voice.
He gave me the folder. “Since you are just strolling and making excuses to your paperwork, you might want to do this as a field agent.”
I opened the folder and saw that it was a list of unpaid taxpayers residing in the capital. “Um… What am I going to do with this list, Your Majesty?”
“Go to the capital. I am assigning you as a temporary taxpayer collector. For the rest of the week, I want you to collect the tax from those unpaid taxpayers.”
I blinked. “For the rest of the week?”
He nodded. “I have already conveyed this to the Department of Tax Enforcement. You’ll be their temporary tax collector together with your secretary. Since I can’t have you playing around the palace, slacking off with your job, maybe assigning you as a field agent may take off your boredom here.”
“But how about the paperwork?” I asked. I appreciated that His Majesty cared about assigning me to this job but what if after a week, my office would be piled up with lots of paperwork?
“I’ll be giving it to General Cairo.”
What? To General Cairo? But he already had so many things to do… I wanted to protest but His Majesty was glaring at me. It was like he was expecting me to protest his decision.
“Are you going to question me, General?” he asked in a mile, dangerous tone.
I gritted my teeth and shook my head. “I dare not, Your Majesty.” I calmed myself. “Does General Cairo already know this?”
“Yes, he already knows this morning and he has no complaints.” I lowered my gaze when I saw him clenching his hand then I looked into his eyes. “He said that he knew you would like to be a field agent rather than doing some paperwork so he happily obliged.”
“Really?” His Majesty nodded. I sighed from it. “That’s a relief. I should thank General Cairo later.” My mood lightened up.
“Huh? Shouldn’t you be thanking me?” There was a distaste in his tone.
I bowed my head. “I thank you, Your Majesty.” Then I smiled. “I’ll assure you that you won’t regret assigning me as a field agent.” I turned at Jack who was already twitching his lips. “Isn’t that exciting, Jack? New job position?”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s just temporary, General.”
“At least not a boredom working in my office all day,” I smirked while he just shook his head. I turned to His Majesty who was silently watching me. “I shall take my leave, Your Majesty.” I bowed my head again.
“Wait.” I stopped in my tracks, pivoting around to see him. Hesitant, he spoke. “You don’t remember what happened last night?”
I shook my head. “Did I do something embarrassing last night while I was drunk?”
I watched him getting flustered. He cleared his throat. “N-Nothing specifically.”
“Oh.” Why do I feel like he was lying to me? “But my wolf said I did something that made you happy, Your Majesty?” I asked, unsure. I remembered my wolf’s words the moment I woke up. “She said that it is a secret between you two…” I almost puked from those words. Secret? My wolf could even have a secret from me?
His Majesty opened his mouth then curled up a smirk. He chuckled afterward even though his face was already red.
“Of course, she witnessed that,” he said, not to me but he was talking to someone else, or maybe he was talking to his wolf. Then he looked at me. “Indeed. She is correct. It’s a secret between us.”
My wolf giggled from His Majesty’s words. I could feel her feeling giddy which confused me. I wonder what that secret was.
Frowning, I just nodded, unsure what was fascinating about it. “I shall take my leave,” I said politely. Then I gave the folder to Jack. “Let’s go to my office. We’ll deliver my papers to General Cairo today.”
But before we could leave, General Cairo arrived with his secretary, Asher Washer from the opposite direction.
“Greetings, Your Majesty, Sir Felix, General Rachelle, and Jack,” he greeted us and approached me.
“General Cairo, greetings,” I said, already smiling so widely. “Asher,” I nodded my head at Asher. He greeted me back with a polite smile.
His Majesty nodded and his stoic expression was palpable.
“General, we were about to go to your office to deliver the paperwork,” I said, even clapping my hands with excitement.
General Cairo chuckled. “I heard about your new job. And I’m happy for you as well, General.” He caressed my head which made me smile more.
“Let’s go, Felix.” I was surprised when His Majesty passed by between General Cairo and me, making General Cairo remove his hand from my head. “Don’t just block the way,” he said sternly at us after Felix followed him.
We bowed our heads. “Yes, Your Majesty,” we said in unison.
“What happened to him?” I asked out of nowhere after we were watching them leave.
“Who knows.” He shrugged. Then he smiled at me and offered his arm. “Shall we go then, General Rachelle?”
I giggled and clung to his arm. “Yes, General Cairo.” I leaned the side of my head to his arm which earned him a chuckle.
As we were both walking out with our secretaries behind, I became alert when I felt a stare coming from one of the corridors in the palace. When I turned my head, I spotted His Majesty with a grim expression looking in our direction. He was with Sir Felix.
His Majesty turned around the moment our eyes met. Then he went out of sight which confused me.
What happened to him?