“Are you sure you want to go that way, Lady Bael?”

Linda nodded at the sentry posted at the checkpoint. In the carriage behind her, Cleo was sitting on top of a rectangular wooden box with holes poked into the top. All kinds of preserved foodstuffs were displayed around the interior of the carriage. Cleo munched on a pickle as an angel wearing golden robes rummaged through the Linda’s goods. The guardian glanced at the box Cleo was sitting on.

“What’s in the box?”

“Salted meat,” Cleo said. “Want to see?” She hopped off the box and lifted the cover, revealing a mound of white powder. She shielded her actions with her body and rummaged through the box. A slab of salted meat appeared from her waist, pulled from her personal dimension. She closed the box and offered the piece to the guardian.

The guardian dusted it off and turned it over a few times in his hands before nodding and handing it back to her. “Everything looks good, Lady Bael,” the guardian said as he descended from the carriage. “I know she”—the guardian gestured towards the sentry—“already asked you, but I want to be sure you know what you’re getting yourself into by going this way. Do you?”

Linda nodded. “There’s going to be people out there who’ve been devastated by the rebel army. They’re not going to have food, clothes, shelter. As a member of the Bael family, I can’t just let these people suffer,” she said. “I hope I can prevent as many deaths as possible even at the risk of running into the rebels.”

“You’re a good woman, Lady Bael,” the guardian said and pounded his chest with his right hand. “I wish you the best of luck.” He nodded at the sentry, and the gates of the checkpoint swung open.

When the gates closed, the sentry turned towards the guardian. “I thought we weren’t supposed to let people leave,” she said.

The guardian shook his head. “The higher ups gave us those orders to prevent people from fleeing the first sector for selfish reasons. We have to stand united against the rebel army. Lady Bael isn’t leaving the first sector for her own sake,” the guardian said and sighed. “She’s an upstanding individual rushing into the face of danger for the sake of those in need. She’s not the type of person the capital would want us to prevent from leaving.”

The sentry scratched her head. “It makes you wonder why someone like her isn’t staying in the capital.”

“If I had to take a guess, I’d say she left on her own accord. The people living posh lives in the capital don’t need any help. Lady Bael must be an altruistic angel looking for fulfillment.”

The sentry nodded. “Have you ever been to the capital? I always wanted to see it at least once in my life.”

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“It’s a picturesque place like a field of fresh snow. But, like snow, once you enter the field, it’s ruined.”

The sentry’s brow furrowed. “Then it’s not a good place?”

“It’s a good place because people like us don’t live there.”

“But you’re a guardian.”

The golden-robed angel folded his arms. “And I live here.”

The sentry fell silent. “If the first sector’s destroyed, do you think they’ll let us inside? You heard the rumors about the dissenters, right? That they were executed for seeking refuge.”

“Knowing what I do about the capital…. They’ll leave us here to die.”

“Is a guardian supposed to be saying words like that?”

“Are sentries supposed to question the capital’s motives?”

“Fair enough. Then why do you stay?”

“Because I have nowhere to go.”

The sentry took a deep breath. “Run away with me.”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t want to die. I don’t think you do either. Let’s leave together.”

“Is this a confession?”

The sentry’s face flushed crimson. “Yes.”

“I’ve never been confessed to in my life. I’m not sure what to say.”

The sentry held out her hand. “Accept my proposal.”

“Then … I’ll be in your care.” The red-faced guardian grasped the sentry’s hand. The gates swung open, and the two of them fled.

From a bush near the checkpoint, Carmella let out a cheer. She turned around and stuck her thumbs into the air. “Operation: Seduce the Guardian was a success,” she said. Gerome’s and Owen’s heads popped out of the ground.

“It worked?” Owen asked with his mouth open. He wiped away the dirt that accumulated on his body. “How did that work?”

“Women’s intuition,” Carmella said. “I knew that golden-robed supervisor wasn’t a complete block of wood. Anyone with a pair of eyes could tell he fancied her. Now let’s get a move on before anyone else notices.”

Gerome nodded as he grunted and lifted a bag over his shoulder. “I miss Cleo,” he said with a wince. “Isn’t there an easier way to transport this?”

“We have to make do,” Carmella said as she climbed out of the bush and unearthed a nearby sack. The trio ran towards the open gate and slipped outside into the second sector. In the distance, the guardian and the sentry were carrying their own supplies.

“I never thought I’d become a deserter twice in my life,” Owen said with a dark expression on his face. “I’m not sure why I’m even accompanying you two.”

“Sense of duty,” Carmella said as she found a path separate from the main road. “Friendship. Obligation. Loyalty. Pick any of those. You’d said you’d help me find my family, remember? Don’t tell me the great Owen Caelum doesn’t keep his promises.”

“I was under the assumption that you’d find your family legally,” Owen said as he jogged after her.

“After knowing me for that long, that’s what you assume?” Carmella asked and raised an eyebrow. “I’m flattered.”

Owen shook his head. “I should’ve known better.”

“Hey,” Gerome said and patted Owen’s shoulder. “At least you’re free now too. You can search for Raea and Elrith much more effectively now that you aren’t relegated to checkpoint guard duty.”

Owen fell silent. Gerome had a point. After being turned in by Linda, the trio had been forced to rejoin the army and patrol the southern walls under the supervision of the guardians. He could still ask around about Raea and Elrith, but after the archdemon of wrath’s attack on the western and eastern walls, Carmella, Gerome, and Owen were relocated to fill in the vacant positions. To prevent desertion, no one was even allowed to go to the market in the first sector. He had no way to find out any information about Raea and Elrith. He hoped they were alright.