In the darkness, the faint glow from the burning tobacco was clearly visible.
Puffs of white smoke were slowly exhaled, bringing some calmness with the nicotine, while also soothing the inexplicable restlessness in his heart.
The rising star of the Military Department, Captain Xiya, the youngest military officer in history, was now sitting in a solitary confinement cell, holding a cigarette pilfered from a jailer, drawing on it methodically.
In fact, he had never picked up the bad habit of smoking before, because the highly self-disciplined him believed that such things could destroy a person's will and affect their body—in some sense, equivalent to a Demon's whispering.
But lately, the troubles had come one after another, and his mind was filled with worries.
Under such circumstances, he had no choice but to try the method mentioned by his comrade.
According to the original schedule, Xiya should have been back at the Saint Faros Fortress by now, after returning to the Imperial Capital for the award ceremony presided over by Saint Laurent VI.
But the reality was not so.
Firstly, at the award ceremony which was supposed to star him, a downcast noble youth made a scene, outrageously stealing his limelight and directly robbing him of the honor that should have belonged to him—till now, the ceremony had not been reorganized; the Military Department had simply given him the medal on behalf of Saint Laurent VI.
That was fine, anyway, as Xiya himself didn't care much about such occasions.
He preferred fighting, reveled in the thrill of facing death time and time again.
Besides that, his only concern was to safeguard the people close to him.
Xiya was born in a small border village, his parents and sister perished in the Demon Clan's raid on the day of his birth, leaving him, still in swaddling clothes, to be taken away and raised by a hunter.
With such a life experience, he cared more about his close ones than the average person.
Women, brothers, comrades-in-arms...
Even though he was somewhat headstrong and indifferent to those he found disagreeable, that was Xiya's philosophy of life.
But now, his most important belief had also been shattered.
His woman, Tiya, had eloped with a stranger she had not known for long, in front of everyone.
It might sound unpleasant to say so.
But apart from this possibility, he couldn't think of any other explanation.
Recalling the moment they first met, that young man had unhesitantly disclosed some unique physical characteristics exclusive to Tiya and confidently talked about a past they'd supposedly shared, which made him extremely anxious.
Tiya, who should have been in the palm of his hand for him to protect, seemed to have some secrets that he was unaware of.
And the series of unusual behaviors that manifested in her afterwards made Xiya feel that things were getting out of his control.
For someone as headstrong as him, once things got out of control, the calm and composure shown in the past would disappear completely, replaced by impatience and anxiety.
Therefore, when Xiya refused the return order for the fourth time, deciding to stay in the Imperial Capital to continue searching for Tiya, this action undoubtedly caused dissatisfaction within the Military Department.
However, he had just slain a Fifth Rank Great Demon at the border and was a role model freshly set up by the Military Department. Even if he were to be punished, it wouldn't be now.
But what followed made everything spiral out of control completely.
One day, after finishing a search operation, Xiya, exhausted, returned to the Military Department to eat and encountered a nobleman's son gilding his resume there.
This person had long been at odds with him, so verbal confrontations were frequent.
Already weary in body and mind, Xiya had no interest in arguing with him.
But his apparent indifference provoked all sorts of vulgarities from the other party.
And when the words "cuckolded turtle" reached Xiya's ears, the rage and irritability that had built up over the days were immediately ignited.
When he came back to his senses, the other party had been beaten to a pulp, with broken bones, and like a dead dog, was barely breathing in.
As the one who had started the fight, and under pressure from the noble youth's family, it was no surprise that Xiya was locked up in solitary confinement.
And the inability to continue searching for his woman pushed the already on-edge Xiya deeper into despair.
He coughed a bit, pinched out the cigarette in his hand, and then cursed under his breath.
How much longer would he have to stay in this godforsaken place?
At this moment, Xiya couldn't contain his murderous intent, itching to find that damn guy and settle scores cruelly.
He knew he should have found a way to kill him back in the interrogation room.
Xiya clenched his fists tightly.
Fortunately, every cloud has a silver lining.
Just as he was filled with resentment, the tightly closed door of the solitary confinement suddenly opened.
The blinding white light shone in through the main door, forcing Xiya, who had been submerged in darkness for days, to squint.
He saw a tall, young woman, surrounded by several high-ranking military officers looking up to her with respect, slowly stepping in.
Upon recognizing the identity of the person, Xiya opened his mouth in surprise.
However, the Great Imperial Princess Hillena frowned at the strong smell of cigarettes in the room and the unkempt, utterly dispirited appearance of Xiya, showing a hint of disappointment in her eyes as if frustrated at his failure to meet expectations.
"If I had known, I wouldn't have come to save you."
Her voice suddenly turned very cold, as if laced with unhappiness.
Upon hearing this, Xiya bit his teeth, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately could only lower his head slowly.