The room was as he had left it. Karim once again scanned the documents on the table. As before, most were filled with diplomatic correspondence and strategic reports shared among the generals.

  But the paper at the bottom stood out.

  It was a farewell letter, addressed to his wife.

  Karim began to read carefully:

  "Dear Laura,

  I know... maybe I'm making a mistake, but I truly believe that this war will be the end of me. Even if you don't want it, I have to do it for you - and for the baby growing inside you.

  Before I retire, I want to go back home, buy a piece of land and earn enough money to live in peace. One day, I want to walk hand in hand with our child and raise them not as a soldier... but as a farmer, maybe even a merchant.

  I miss you very much, and if this letter is delivered by a soldier and not by a courier, I am very sorry. I am no longer with you - but I promise you, our child will grow up and take care of you. You will never be alone.

  My everlasting love, Jonathan."

  Karim carefully replaced the letter and turned toward the bed.

  When he had first come to Jonathan's tent, he hadn't had a chance to examine it closely. Maybe under the bed... or under the pillow... might hold a clue.

  He looked under the bed; there was nothing.

  But when he lifted the pillow, he found something he hadn't expected: A small metal spoon.

  He picked it up gently by the end and brought it close to his nose. The smell matched the bottle he had found by the bedside.

  "Did he poison himself?" Karim wondered.

  Without wasting another second, he took the spoon straight to the medic.

  The moment he entered, the medic ordered the other soldiers out of the tent and closed the entrance, leaving them alone.

  “What is it?” he asked, a trace of concern in his voice.

  Karim held out the spoon and simply said,

  “Smell this.”

  The medic took it, sniffed carefully, then furrowed his brows.

  “Where did you find this?”

  Karim hesitated briefly. Then, almost whispering:

  “Under his pillow.”

  The medic turned and stared at Jonathan’s unconscious body.

  He remained silent for a moment, deep in thought.

  Then, turning back to Karim, his voice low but firm:

  “Listen. We don’t tell him, and we don’t tell anyone else. Jonathan couldn’t have poisoned himself deliberately. Mixing nettle into a full vial of A?an and taking all of it—it would’ve killed him.”

  Karim, still unsure, replied softly:

  “He wrote a letter to his wife. Maybe… maybe he just wanted to go home early.”

  The medic sank deeper into thought with this new piece of information.

  "So what now?" Karim asked.

  The medic took a deep breath and replied in a calm voice:

  "No more tracking. Go back to your regular duties. When the general wakes up, I’ll ask him myself. We’ll decide what to do based on that."

  Karim left the medic's tent and walked slowly toward his bed.

  As he lay down, his mind was consumed by thoughts.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "Why would the general poison himself? If he missed his family, why the hell would he want to kill himself? Maybe I’m looking at this all wrong. Maybe someone did poison him—and made it look like a fucking suicide."

  The thoughts spun endlessly in Karim’s head.

  By evening, most of the camp had already gone to bed. But Karim couldn’t sleep—his mind wouldn’t shut up.

  Restless, he got out of the tent and grabbed the metal cup sitting next to his bed, pouring himself some water.

  The cold water cleared his head a bit. It gave him a sliver of calm.

  Right then, he heard rapid footsteps coming from behind the tent.

  Karim tightened his grip on the cup and looked toward the source of the sound.

  He stepped out slowly and spotted a hooded man trying to silently sneak into the medic's tent.

  Karim thought to himself:

  "I know he didn’t poison himself."

  And silently began moving toward the hooded man.

  The man slipped into the medic’s tent. A few moments later, Karim followed, unnoticed.

  The man stood beside the general and placed his hands first on his abdomen, then on his chest.

  Karim assumed the man was there to finish the job—and lunged at him at full speed.

  They wrestled on the ground. The man quickly overpowered Karim and started choking him.

  The noise of the struggle woke the medic, who grabbed the alcohol-coated dagger near his foot and hurled it at the attacker’s chest.

  The blade shattered the man’s ribs and pierced his lungs, burying itself deep.

  The man collapsed, struggling to breathe. The medic rushed to lift Karim and lit the torch.

  He grabbed the man by the throat and shouted:

  "Who the fuck sent you, you bastard? Spit it out!"

  Wheezing through his blood-filled lungs, the man gasped:

  "H-he sent me..."

  His eyes shifted toward the general.

  “He wants to get injured and leave this place.”

  Blood began dripping from his mouth.

  As the medic and Karim exchanged glances, the light in the man’s eyes slowly faded.

  It was now clear how the general had been poisoned.

  The war had already been dragging on for months. The gold he earned each month was more than enough for him. By falling ill, he would fake an injury and use that as an excuse to leave the army—taking all the money he had earned with him.

  But that... that was a serious fucking crime.

  The medic took a deep breath and quietly said:

  “No one will know, Karim. Otherwise, we’re dead too.”

  Karim, seething with anger:

  “So what? He wakes up, takes his gold, and just walks the fuck home? That’s it?”

  The medic lowered his gaze and said:

  “Let him go, Karim. A man who goes through this much just to return to his family faster... doesn’t deserve to swing from a fucking rope.”

  Karim clenched his jaw tightly:

  “Then what about me? Did I deserve to have my balls ripped off just for stepping into General Kuno’s tent?”

  The medic spoke in a cold, composed voice:

  "First of all, no one told you to do that. And since you’re standing in front of me perfectly fine, I’d say nothing actually happened."

  He ignored the rebellion burning in Karim’s eyes and added:

  "Now go to sleep. And forget everything you've been through these past three weeks."

  Karim walked out of the tent, his steps heavy, and headed toward his bed.

  ***

  In the eighth month of the war, General Jonathan had finally recovered and returned to active duty. But not long after resuming his post at the front, a decision was made to withdraw the army.

  The General declared that he would reward those who had saved him—and that they would return with him.

  So, in the eighth month of the war, Karim, Luca, the medic, and the medic’s assistant all went back to the Academy alongside the General.

  The hooded soldier who had poisoned the General and unintentionally paved the way for his return was already six feet under.

  In the eighth month of the war, General Jonathan had finally recovered and returned to active duty. But not long after resuming his post at the front, a decision was made to withdraw the army.

  The General declared that he would reward those who had saved him—and that they would return with him.

  So, in the eighth month of the war, Karim, Luca, the medic, and the medic’s assistant all went back to the Academy alongside the General.

  The hooded soldier who had poisoned the General and unintentionally paved the way for his return was already six feet under.

  The moment they arrived at the Academy, Karim’s first stop was to see Junya.

  Junya had continued his training and had grown even closer in friendship with Linda.

  Meanwhile, Luca dropped the first coin he’d earned during the war into the drawer in his room and granted himself a well-earned break.

  After all, both of them were now fully authorized soldiers of the Academy. They weren’t bound to attend lessons like before.

  The next day, Karim and Luca climbed the hill without a second thought. It was a special place for them—filled with memories, a sanctuary they'd cherished since childhood.

  Before long, Linda and Junya joined them.

  "Come on, brother! Tell me what happened!" Junya asked excitedly.

  Karim smiled at his brother's excitement.

  "We just got back... let's at least take a breath first," he said, but he couldn't stand Junya's insistence for long.

  He took a deep breath and began:

  "As soon as we left here, they told us to just follow the soldier in front. We learned that in about two days we would be besieging a village near Bahlar."

  Luca interjected:

  "It was horrible, my friend. We didn't even fight, but it was still terrible. But it was worth every second!"

  Karim gave Luca a brief look and then continued:

  "Like he said, they didn't send us to war. Mostly we did errands. But after a while, we were assigned as paramedics."

  Junya asked curiously:

  "What did the doctor do?"

  "He treated wounded soldiers," Karim replied.