Chris POV
Months had passed since Daniel's meteoric rise, and the empire buzzed with his name. But me, Chris Blackwood—the ruler, the supreme King of the Union—I was restless.
Power isn't just about ruling from the throne. Sometimes, it's about seeing the truth beneath the polished reports, the staged ceremonies, the carefully tailored praises. And the only way to see the truth of a soldier's heart… is to march beside him.
So I stripped myself of the crown, the robes, the aura of the throne. My hair was cut shorter, my beard allowed to roughen. In plain soldier's armor, indistinguishable from the thousands who swore loyalty to me, I joined Daniel's new patrol team under a false name.
No one knew. Not the boy. Not the commanders. Not even General Soren.
We rode together through mud and dust, my hand gripping the same rifle as theirs, my boots pounding the same ground. I ate the same rations—dry bread and bitter stew. I shared the same cold tents under unforgiving rain.
Daniel never suspected a thing. To him, I was just another soldier assigned to his command. I watched him quietly—how he led, how he disciplined, how he inspired. He carried himself with a fire that was rare, yet unpolished.
One night, when the moon hung low, Daniel stood over a campfire, speaking softly to the men:
> "We fight for the empire, not for ourselves. The King gave us order, the King gave us life. Even if our own fathers doubt us, even if the world spits at us, our loyalty is to Blackwood, till our blood is dust."
I felt my chest tighten. He spoke of me without knowing I stood three feet away. And he meant it. His voice was raw, his eyes burning.
I realized something in that moment—sometimes a throne blinds you to the very loyalty you inspire.
The mission continued, and I marched, fought, and bled beside him. The men saw me as one of them. Daniel trusted me with orders, never knowing he was commanding the King himself.
I smiled in silence.
Because here, among shadows and soldiers, I wasn't Chris the ruler. I was Chris the watcher—the King who walked unknown.