Chapter 5

But everyone knew that Elvira was about to marry Lance, so they all misunderstood the situation.

As a result, Lance was met with accusing looks from everyone around him and forced to care for Elvira for more than a week before he could finally drag his weakened body back to the staff dormitory.

When he pushed open the door, he saw someone who had absolutely no business being there.

Andre was sitting at Lance's desk, playing video games.

"Oh, you're back," Andre said without even bothering to look up. "I've been ostracized because of everything that's happened recently, so Elvira told me I could stay here temporarily. She said you'd take care of me."

Lance didn't respond, thinking perhaps Elvira had indeed mentioned it before.

But over the past week, he and Elvira had barely exchanged a handful of words. Most of the time, he had simply taken care of her in silence.

But he no longer cared.

At that moment, Lance began packing his things. Then, his gaze suddenly fell on the storage cabinet.

The four urns that should have been there were gone.

He rushed over and dropped to his knees. Then, he frantically searched through the cabinet.

"Are you looking for those jars?" Andre glanced absentmindedly toward the balcony. "It's bad luck to keep them in the room, so I moved them to the balcony."

Lance charged over and shoved open the glass door.

All four urns had been carelessly piled in a corner of the balcony, their surfaces covered in cat paw prints.

A cat jumped out of one of the urns, and a foul stench filled the air.

The ashes had actually been used as cat litter.

Everything Lance had carefully preserved, the only thing left that allowed him to express his longing for his family…

"Andre," Lance called out, his voice terrifyingly calm.

Andre stood up and took a step back. He then slipped a hand into his pocket and asked, "What are you going to do? Keeping those ashes around would only pollute the environment. At least putting them to use for my cat will earn your family some good karma."

Lance grabbed a pair of gardening shears from the balcony and strode toward Andre.

Andre screamed and tried to dodge, but how could he possibly be a match for the highly trained Lance?

Yet, just as Lance raised the gardening shears, a distinct roar sounded from outside the window.

The helicopter hovered outside the balcony as the cabin door slid open and Elvira raised a tranquilizer gun.

With a sharp pop, a tranquilizer dart shot out and struck Lance in the right hand.

Just before losing consciousness, Lance saw Andre run toward Elvira and heard her say, "It's alright. I'm here now."

Then, the emergency call device in Andre's hand fell to the floor.

Every Supreme Commander was allocated one emergency call device each year, which could be assigned to the subordinate they valued most.

Elvira had once publicly declared, "For the sake of fairness, I won't give one to anyone unless they're assigned to an extremely high-risk mission."

Lance had undertaken missions classified as extremely high-risk, yet he had never received that device.

…

In the medical room, pain shot through Lance's right wrist. He tried to move his fingers, but they refused to obey him.

Jerome examined the injury, his expression tinged with regret.

"The tranquilizer dart struck a nerve. There may be permanent damage."

"What does that mean?" Lance asked.

Jerome avoided his gaze. "It means you might no longer be able to perform delicate movements, such as manipulating a flight control stick."

Lance froze.

No matter how strong he was, he could barely resist the urge to cry.

But the next second, the door opened.

Elvira walked in and said apologetically, "The situation was urgent. If you'd injured Andre, you would have been charged with assault and faced a military tribunal.

"Lance, I did it for your own good." She sat down. "You're my fiancé, and we're getting our marriage registered in just one week. I couldn't stand by and watch you ruin your future."

Lance gazed quietly at her without saying a single word.

Elvira continued, "Besides, Andre was the first hostage I ever rescued. I have a responsibility toward him. But Lance, you're different—"

"You don't need to explain." Lance closed his eyes. "Please leave."

Elvira stood where she was, gazing at Lance, whose face was pale as he lay in bed.

His indifference stirred an inexplicable sense of panic within her.

This wasn't the Lance she knew.