308: 6.68 Thank You

6.68 Thank You

"General!"1

Jillian turned toward the direction of the sound to see His Highness Prince Hayden running to him with a wide smile on his face, heavy cloak fluttering behind him. For a split second, Jillian seemed to see a pair of ears on his head and a tail wagging excitedly behind his butt. He shook his head to dismiss the disrespectful image and had only wanted to pay his respect when all of a sudden, Hayden dropped to one knee in front of him.

Jillian was shocked and tried to lift him up to no avail. "Your Highness…!"

"My Lord…" Hayden lowered his head in reverence. "On behalf of the royal family, I would like to offer my sincerest gratitude for your generous help in saving this country."

"What are you saying?" Jillian gripped Hayden's arms and forcefully hauled him up with brute force. As much as Hayden wanted to keep kneeling, Jillian was way too strong! How cool! "This is my country, first and foremost. I will still be a General until the end of my life."

"My Lord…" Hayden's eyes twinkled with deeper admiration, eyes glistening with unshed tears. Jillian discreetly stepped back whilst maintaining a courteous look. Goodness, Hayden and Maia were really a match made in Heaven. How could they have so much water in them? Hayden sniffled and rubbed his nose, grumbling. "I'm sorry. When that… demon attacked, I wanted to come to you but Imperial Father forbade me to."

"It's as it should be." Jillian nodded. "Your Highness' safety is the most important above all. The country's future lies in your hands."

Hayden harrumphed, as stubborn as ever. "General's well-being is still more important to me, though! I was so worried back then but all of a sudden, everyone spotted a pair of dragons in the sky!" He reached out to clasp Jillian's hands in him, so excited that he might as well be jumping all over the place. "I have always known that the General is a very extraordinary person! The mortal realm is too small to contain your greatness!"

…Alright, this might be getting a little bit excessive. 

Jillian coughed to hide his embarrassment and not so subtly pulled his hands back. "I'm flattered that Your Highness has put me in such a high regard. But I should finish treating the rest of the sick. Please excuse me."

Jillian was sorely wrong when he thought that Hayden would leave him alone after this. He almost tripped on his feet when Hayden exclaimed eagerly — too eager in fact. "I will come with you! Don't worry, I have received Imperial Father's permission! With General Jillian here, nothing will happen to me!" 

An exasperated sigh escaped Jillian's lips. Let's just treat him like air, he told himself. 

Turning on his heels, Jillian continued to make his way through the rows of houses where the sick were quarantined. He had been doing this almost all day long. As he had expected, his power allowed him to gain an insight into a human's heart and pass judgement to them. 

For innocent children, women — especially mothers and pure-hearted girls — and men who were sincere and loyal, Jillian would take their good merit and lift the plague off them in exchange. However, there were just some people whose greed went beyond their capability, whose mind was filled with wicked ideas on how to bring others down, whose act had caused so many people to suffer. Jillian merely stared at them coldly and left, heedless of their despairing cries as he knew that they would likely repeat the same offense once they were healed.

He no longer wanted to see a second Ernoul.

You can't please everyone, Jillian, Lu Yizhou had told him before he left this morning whilst dropping a kiss on his forehead. As long as you do your best, it will be enough.

Lu Yizhou was right, the corner of Jillian's lips tilted up. He no longer aimed to please everyone, ignoring the curses and gratitude that echoed behind him as he walked out and told the soldiers, "Take the recovered ones back to their homes. As for the rest, leave them here. From hereon, their lives will be up to Heaven's will."

"As you wish, General!"

Hayden had kept quiet on their way back, the imaginary tail dropping. Jillian had almost forgotten about him if not for the soldiers' greetings around them. He spared the other a sideway glance, intrigued by what was going on in his mind. "Do you blame me, Your Highness?"

"No! I— How could I…?!" Hayden's eyes snapped up, flustered. "It's just that… once again, I am reminded of how exceptional you are..." He scratched his head sheepishly. "I aspire to be a man like you, General. You are my role model and my hero. Without you, I don't even know where I would end up now." He started to count with his fingers. "You are the one who recruited me into your troops, you are the one who led us to victory. Not only that, I also have you to thank for…"

Jillian halted in his tracks and turned to face Hayden, startling the latter ever so slightly. Jillian was half a head taller than him thus it was easy to spot the faint blush that spread across Hayden's cheekbones, which was getting darker and darker the longer Jillian looked at him. 

He didn't know the details of Lu Yizhou's mission but he knew that he was supposed to be condemned by the whole world, that his life would end terribly if not for Lu Yizhou (Izher told him secretly behind Lu Yizhou's back, of course). 

Regardless of which way he would end up, Hayden was destined to shine. It wasn't Jillian but his own perseverance, temperament and sincerity that landed him to where he was now. He had known Hayden was a good guy but it wasn't until now did he realize the depth of his kindness and compassion. 

Without him realizing, his body had moved and he reached out to pat Hayden's head — not dissimilar to how one would treat a pet. 

Hayden flinched in shock but his eyes turned dazed as soon as he registered what Jillian was doing.

General was patting his head… His most respected General was patting his head aaaaahhh!! Hayden wanted to scream and roll on the ground to shake the excitement off! "G—General…" He stammered, barely holding his body still as his soul had already gone ahead of him to ascend to the Ninth Heaven.

At his voice, Jillian snapped out of his reverie and abruptly yanked his hand back, coughing into his fist instead. Heavens, what had he done?! "Thank you for accompanying this humble one today, Your Highness. You should… go back and take a good rest." After saying that, he made his way to the carriage that had been waiting for him.

"Wait—!"

Jillian paused but didn't turn around.

"G—General…" Hayden stammered out. "Will you come to my wedding celebration?"

What kind of question was that? Jillian let out an amused huff and turned his head sideways enough to catch Hayden's eyes. The wind blew, carrying the chill scent of winter mixed with a faint sweetness that signaled the beginning of spring. The corner of his lips lifted into a teasing smirk. "If I, your matchmaker, am not present… won't it be such a pity?"

Hayden squawked and his flush deepened even more. He stayed frozen in his position even after Jillian's carriage drove away, leaving deep marks on the snow. Then without a warning, he crouched down, face buried into his palms and let out a high-pitched keen akin to a dying beast. The royal guards behind him looked at each other, bewildered, uncertain how they should react in such a situation.

"Oh God…" Hayden rubbed his cheeks roughly. It was scalding hot. "Help me. How can he be so cool…"

***

Jillian arrived home when the sky had almost turned dark and as always, Bassil was waiting for him in the main foyer, the light spilled behind him and illuminated his lanky figure. Jillian spent a few long seconds just staring at him, drinking in the sight that he had always taken for granted. 

"Young Master." Bassil smiled and inclined his head politely. "Welcome home. How is your day?"

The usual greeting, the usual smile, yet somehow the back of Jillian's eyes began to burn. He was grateful that except for that one time, Bassil didn't treat him any differently. Jillian's feet moved without him realizing as he enveloped the head servant in an one-arm hug. 

Once again, Jillian only snapped to his senses after the deed was already done. Seriously, what was wrong with him today?! 

Bassil tensed. "Y—Young Master…?"

Jillian coughed and let go of the older man with a rigid movement. "Nothing. I'm just… thankful to you… for staying in this manor for the better part of your life, for staying with my grandfather, father and I." He looked into Bassil's stunned eyes and smiled softly. "Really… thank you so much, Bassil."

"Young Master…" Tears pooled in Bassil's eyes and he looked like he would burst into tears at any moment. 

O–oh, Jillian hastily retreated and bypassed him inside, chuckling awkwardly all the while. "That's all. I will go to my room now. Goodnight, Bassil." He didn't wait for the answer before fleeing from that place.

"Goodnight, Young Master." A wistful smile tugged on Bassil's lips as a lone tear slid down his cheek. He bent down to his waist toward the direction where Jillian was leaving. "It's been my greatest pleasure to serve this family for my whole life."

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