Chapter 8

<p>"How's the matter I asked you to investigate?" Jamie asked.</p><p>He didn't even bother to look up as he spoke.</p><p>Clark bowed respectfully. "Your Highness, since the Duke of the North came back to Valemont City, he's kept to himself. Other than showing up for court, he hasn't met privately with any officials.</p><p>"The Crown Princess has been in the Lunarae Palace the whole time. Except for her trip to the Grand Abbey today to pray, she hasn't stepped outside the Prince's Palace.</p><p>"Her prayer trip didn't raise any red flags."</p><p>Jamie tapped his finger right on the most well-hidden supply depot marked on the map.</p><p>"Come take a look at this," he said.</p><p>Clark stepped forward, and the moment he saw what was on the map, his face went pale.</p><p>He said, "Your Highness, where did this come from?</p><p>"This is a troop deployment map for the Northlands—classified at the highest level. How did this even end up here?"</p><p>Jamie briefly recounted to Clark what had happened in the plum grove tonight.</p><p>Clark fell into a long, uneasy silence after hearing the story.</p><p>"Your Highness, something about this just doesn't add up," Clark finally said. "This map showed up almost too perfectly. It's like it was meant to be found.</p><p>"Either the Duke of the North leaked it to you on purpose, hoping to use you as a pawn to pull off something big.</p><p>"Or it's a ploy from the Northern Tribes—a fake map designed to bait our army right into their trap."</p><p>Jamie nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking."</p><p>"But take a closer look. The style of this map matches the exact format used for military charts. And a lot of these symbols are coded signals only the border troops in the Northlands would know. No outsider could possibly forge them."</p><p>Clark noticed it as well, his expression becoming even more grave.</p><p>"If this map is legit..." Clark began.</p><p>But he didn't need to say more. The weight of it was clear to both of them.</p><p>Jamie stood up and started pacing around the study.</p><p>Inside, he was wrestling with himself, torn between conflicting thoughts.</p><p>'Should I just report this to the King?' Jamie thought. 'No way.</p><p>'Father has always been wary of the Gibson family. If he saw this map, he'd just think we were working with the enemy—or trying to snatch back the army for ourselves.</p><p>'Then, not only would there be no way to send more troops up north, but the Gibson family could end up getting wiped out. Ignore it? No way.</p><p>'If the map was real, and I just watched the border collapse and innocent people suffer, how could I ever stand in the court again?'</p><p>His conscience would never find peace for the rest of his life.</p><p>The only way was to bypass the court and deliver the map to Blaze at Northgate Pass as quickly as possible.</p><p>Let Blaze judge the situation and make his own decision.</p><p>But by doing this, he'd be openly defying the King's command to hold the line and not take action.</p><p>If anything went wrong or the truth got out, his time as Crown Prince would be finished.</p><p>This was a massive gamble.</p><p>If he won, the nation would be safe; the people would know peace, and his name would be remembered as a savior.</p><p>If he lost, he'd be ruined with no hope of redemption.</p><p>Clark watched Jamie's face flicker with uncertainty and spoke in a low voice. "Your Highness, this is serious. Please think it through."</p><p>Jamie stopped in his tracks, his gaze falling back to the map.</p><p>He remembered the King's wary, distrustful expression in the court.</p><p>He remembered Tommy's smug grin.</p><p>He also remembered my defiant yet sorrowful eyes under the plum trees.</p><p>This country was already sick.</p><p>The sickness ran deep. In the King's paranoia, the princes' constant infighting, and the loyal ministers losing faith.</p><p>If even he, the Crown Prince, was only concerned with his own prospects and safety, then what hope would there be for this nation?</p><p>After a while, Jamie finally made up his mind.</p><p>His eyes were filled with determination.</p><p>"Clark," Jamie called out.</p><p>"At your service, Your Highness," Clark replied.</p><p>"I need you to head to the Northlands yourself," Jamie said. "Take the fastest route we have and get a copy of this map to Blaze.</p><p>"Let him know the map might be real or fake, so he needs to be extra careful and decide what to do based on the situation.</p><p>"Not a third person can know about this. Keep it strictly between us."</p><p>Clark was visibly shaken.</p><p>He knew Jamie had just made a decision that would change everything.</p><p>Clark didn't try to stop him anymore.</p><p>Instead, he knelt on one knee and saluted, his expression deadly serious.</p><p>"At your command, Your Highness," Clark said.</p><p>Clark grabbed the map copy and slipped away into the night, disappearing before anyone could notice.</p><p>Jamie was left alone in the study.</p><p>He gazed at the original map lying on the table, his mind a tangled mess of confusion and uncertainty.</p><p>'Michelle, are you true loyalists, or just rebels and traitors?' Jamie wondered. 'Where will this game you've set in motion take me—and this nation?'</p><p>For the first time, he realized he couldn't see through his so-called wife, the one he thought was nothing but a disgrace in Sovereign Hall.</p><p>*****</p><p>The next few days in Valemont City passed without a ripple. Everything seemed perfectly normal.</p>