Chapter 12 – Part 6

I’ve heard rumors about a healer hidden in the southern part of the empire. I’ll gather more information and return, Your Highness.

After reading Noah’s letter, Cedric left his office. Night had already fallen. He went to bed, but sleep didn’t come quickly. After tossing and turning, he got up and stepped into the corridor.

“What brings you out here, Your Highness?” asked Jeff, the attendant standing outside.

“It’s nothing. I just can’t sleep,” Cedric replied.

He opened the tightly drawn curtains, revealing the well-maintained palace gardens below.

The main palace, where Cedric resided, was surrounded by trees. Thinking it wouldn’t hurt to get fresh air, he asked Jeff to bring his robe. As he prepared to go outside, Jeff moved to follow him.

“No need. I won’t be long.”

“Still, I should accompany you, Your Highness. The Empress ordered that you are not to be left alone.“

“I just want to walk by myself.”

Cedric ordered him to follow from a distance, and Jeff reluctantly agreed.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The night air was chilly, but the earlier sunny weather made it bearable. Cedric began walking through the palace’s well-kept gardens, feeling the cool breeze.

As instructed, Jeff followed at a distance. Lost in thought, Cedric walked farther than he had intended, reaching a spot far from the main palace.

When he looked up, he could see the moon shining brightly through the tree branches. The sight of the glowing moonlight lifted his spirits as he continued walking.

Suddenly, his foot hit a stone.

‘I almost fell,‘ he thought, and as he looked up again, he noticed dark clouds moving toward the moon.

‘Maybe I should head back before the moon gets covered,‘ he thought. Just then, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen, causing him to grimace. It was a familiar and unpleasant sensation—just when he thought he had recovered, the same intense pain from the founding day festival returned.

‘Damn it,‘ Cedric cursed inwardly as he instinctively bent over from the growing pain.

“Jeff…“ he tried to call out, but his voice wouldn’t come out correctly.

“Ugh…”

The pain hit him so suddenly and fiercely that he couldn’t hide his panic.

‘I haven’t had attacks this close together since the first time!’

He wanted to believe it was just passing pain, but that didn’t change the fact that it was spreading fast and violently through his body. Sweat began to drip down his forehead. Cedric regretted coming outside and even more regretted sending Jeff to walk at a distance. But it was too late.

“…Jeff!“ Cedric barely managed to call out his attendant’s name.

“Yes, Your Highness!“ Jeff, who had been far away, came dashing. He had been instructed by the Empress to take good care of the crown prince, so he immediately knew what to do.

“Your Highness, let’s return to your room right away.”

Jeff supported Cedric by linking arms with him. Cedric tried to take a few steps, but his feet wouldn’t move, making it impossible to walk.

“Call the doctor… bring him here,“ Cedric gasped.

“Can you not walk, Your Highness?”

“Hurry… I feel like I’m going to die from the pain.”

Jeff panicked, unsure of what to do. He wasn’t accustomed to attending to the crown prince in such situations, so he was extra cautious.

“Please wait here for a moment, Your Highness,“ Jeff said as he prepared to call for help. But just then, Cedric grabbed him again.

“On your way back, bring the blue bottle from my room.“

“Yes, Your Highness! I’ll be back shortly. Please hold on.”

Jeff sprinted toward the main palace at full speed.

Meanwhile, Cedric’s body began to collapse toward the ground. Each second felt like an hour. His knees hit the earth, and his vision blurred. He leaned against the wall to avoid collapsing entirely, just as he had on the founding day. Every deep breath made the pain in his abdomen worse.

‘This is unbelievable,‘ he thought. It hadn’t been long since the last attack, yet here he was, suffering from excruciating pain once again.

‘This isn’t right.‘

Cedric’s blurry vision gradually turned pale and then completely black. He was now blind, unsure of when his attendant would arrive.

The rustling of leaves in the wind made a loud noise. In his current state, that sound did nothing to ease his mind; instead, it only added to the eerie atmosphere. Sweat poured down his forehead like rain.

“Ugh.”

Just as his body was about to collapse to the ground, he heard footsteps nearby.

Though someone was approaching, they weren’t running, just walking quickly. That much, Cedric could tell.

“… Who’s there?”

Instinctively, he knew it wasn’t Jeff approaching.

“I asked, who are you?”

He reached out blindly and brushed against the person’s hand. If he had his sword, Cedric would have forced himself to draw it. But right now, he was defenseless.

‘I have nothing to protect myself with.’

This silent approach meant it wasn’t a servant or maid. The person grabbed Cedric’s wrist and pulled him toward them, almost as if they wanted him to lean on them.

“Let go! Let go of me!”

Cedric resisted, trying not to be dragged, but the pain was too much. His body bent involuntarily, and his chin rested on the stranger’s shoulder.

“I told you to let go! How dare you!”

Cedric tried to push the person away in a fit of anger. Even without a word from them, he knew who it was. He had clashed with this person before and recognized the similar height and solid build. The person holding him was none other than the loathsome Elesio.

“Let go!“

“If I let go, you’ll fall again, Your Highness.“

“I told you… to… let go. Get your hands off me.”

Though he tried to shout, his voice grew weaker and quieter. Cedric didn’t want to show any sign of pain in front of Elesio, but he couldn’t hide it. No matter how hard he tried to suppress it, groans escaped between his teeth.

“You can’t even see right now, so stop pushing yourself. I’ll take you back to your room.“

“Shut up! Why would I ever accept your help?”

Cedric despised receiving aid from Elesio, who appeared to be waiting for this moment. Even with his vision clouded, Cedric knew Elesio was probably enjoying the sight of his suffering. He could easily guess why Elesio was pretending to be kind.

‘He’s going to spread rumors about my condition and try to push me out of the succession.’

Cedric summoned all his strength to shake off Elesio’s hand.

“If you hate it that much, I have no choice.”

Elesio stepped back without resistance.

“But you’ve been sick quite often lately, Your Highness.“

“Shut up. Jeff…!”

Cedric called out for Jeff again, his voice laced with anger, but there was still no sign of his arrival.

Although Cedric managed to push Elesio away, it was clear that his strength was not what it used to be. He couldn’t even stand and was left helpless, waiting for his attendant.

The palace garden was incredibly dark. Though lanterns were scattered here and there, they did little to pierce the darkness. But Elesio’s eyes had already adjusted to the night. He had thought he was walking through the garden alone until—

“Agh.”

He heard a pained sound from one side and turned to see Cedric. It was a chance encounter.

‘He looks so pathetic like that,‘ Elesio thought.

Earlier in the day, he had heard from his aides that the crown prince had assigned people to watch him.

‘The first thing he did when he felt better was assign spies. Such deep hatred.’

Seeing Cedric in pain now was just a stroke of luck. His trembling shoulders and helpless expression showed how much he was suffering. Elesio approached him; after all, there was no reason not to. This was a chance to highlight Cedric’s weakness.

“You seem to be in a lot of pain, Your Highness.“

“...”

“You’ve been getting sick quite frequently lately. Was it always this often?”

Though he knew Cedric’s condition was worsening, he asked on purpose. Cedric scowled at his words.

“Shut your mouth.”

Cedric glared in Elesio’s direction, but he could barely see anything. He didn’t want to show such a pitiful side of himself, so he quickly turned his face away.

“Well. I’ll stop talking, then. I wouldn’t want to be inconsiderate to someone in your condition.”

Just as Cedric had assigned people to spy on Elesio, Elesio had also been observing Cedric.

‘What could be causing his symptoms to worsen so quickly?’

It wasn’t alcohol or drugs, nor had there been any significant changes in his life, except…

‘The broken engagement.’

Coincidentally, Cedric’s health had deteriorated after his engagement to Eliana Leiberte was called off.

‘Is it just a coincidence, or is there some truth to what the temple said about Eliana being a help to him?’

Elesio quietly retraced the events in his mind.

“Damn it,“ Cedric groaned again, his tone more desperate now. He was no longer able to hide how much pain he was in.

“Jeff is taking his time. Why don’t you take my hand and get up Your Highness? I’ll escort you to your room.”

As expected, Cedric refused.

Cedric didn’t want to stay with Elesio. He forced himself to stand, using the wall for support. Somehow, he managed to get up and tried to head toward the entrance of the main palace. However, he couldn’t know the correct direction.

“You can’t make it back on your own.“

“Get… lost. I said, get lost.“

“...”

“If you say one more word, I’ll kill you.”

Just as Cedric gritted his teeth and spoke, Jeff arrived with several people holding a blue bottle.

“Prince Elesio.”

Jeff couldn’t hide his surprise at seeing Elesio.

“What are you doing here?“

‘Of all people, it had to be Prince Elesio who saw this…‘

Jeff’s face filled with distress.

Elesio could easily read Jeff’s mind without needing any explanation.

“Why, is there someplace in the palace I’m not allowed to be?“

“That’s not what I meant, Your Highness.“

“I happened to see him in the garden by chance. I was merely trying to help.“

“Is that so, Your Highness.”

Jeff hurried to support Cedric. He handed Cedric the bottle, and Cedric quickly drank from it. Once he had finished, the bottle slipped from his hand and shattered loudly on the ground.

Elesio watched the entire scene unfold.

‘The blue bottle.’

The way Cedric drank from it so desperately showed he depended heavily on whatever was inside.

Jeff then carried Cedric on his back and headed toward his room in the main palace. As they passed through the entrance, Empress Heather, dressed in nightclothes and holding a lantern, came rushing down from the second floor with a maid in tow. Her face was pale.

“Cedric!”

She called out to her son, starting to follow him, but then she abruptly turned toward Elesio.

“What are you doing here?“

“I found His Highness unwell during my walk and offered to help.”

Suspicion filled the Empress’s eyes as she listened to his explanation.

“We don’t need your help. And keep quiet about what happened tonight.“

“But it seems His Highness is quite unwell.“

“That’s not true.”

The Empress’s tone was stern.

“Is that so? He didn’t even recognize me just now.“

Elesio’s words struck the Empress like a dagger. If Cedric couldn’t recognize someone, it meant he was in severe pain.

“That’s nonsense. If you want to stay in the palace, I suggest you watch what you say and stop making things up.“

“What I said is the truth, Empress. I saw it with my own eyes. His condition seemed severe, both at the Founding Day celebration and tonight. It looks like something more needs to be—”

*Slap!*

Before Elesio could finish his sentence, the Empress slapped him hard. The blow was so forceful that the ring on her hand cut his cheek. The maids beside her gasped and quickly bowed their heads in shock.

“Why did you hit me?”

Elesio stared directly at the Empress.

“Because you said something deserving of it.”

The Empress leaned in, her face mere inches from his. Her eyes, even her lips, trembled with rage.

“What do you mean by ‘something more needs to be done’? Who do you think you are to say such reckless things?”

Elesio found her reaction amusing.

‘She’s panicking over a word like “action,“ as if I’d suggested stripping the prince of his right to succeed. She’s practically admitting how bad his condition is herself.‘

“What reckless thing have I said? I was merely suggesting that a new treatment might be necessary. Did you interpret that another way? You seem awfully agitated.“

“What nonsense. Who would believe you? I won’t let you off easily if word gets out about tonight tonight.“

The Empress warned him before rushing after Cedric.

Elesio touched the cheek where he had been slapped.

‘A bit sensitive, aren’t you?’

He let out a bitter smile.

***

“Are you cold?”

As she gazed out the slightly open window, Mila asked.

“I just feel a bit stuffy.“

“Would you like to step out, even just in front of the house?“

“I’ll wait for Callix.“

“All right, miss. I’ll go make something to eat.“

“Okay.”

After Mila left, Eliana turned her gaze back outside. The sun had been shining brightly, but now the sky was turning to dusk. She could have gone outside with Mila but decided to wait for Calix.

Calix visited Eliana every day, bringing a bouquet of flowers each time. Although he was busy with his estate duties, he never missed a single day.

‘He’s quite late today.’

Eliana found herself waiting for him naturally.

‘Oh…’

Suddenly, she realized that she had opened the window not only to look outside but also to hear the sound of his footsteps approaching.

‘This house was meant to be a place to live alone until I left for a foreign Island.’

Yet somehow, Eliana had grown accustomed to spending time with him in her home. It was like being slowly soaked by a gentle rain, unaware of how much she had taken his presence for granted. Now that he hadn’t shown up at his usual time, she felt an unexpected emptiness.

‘The thought that he might not even come today made me feel slightly disappointed. Even though I turned him down… I still haven’t given a proper answer to the confession he made by the lake.’

Before she knew it, she had become completely immersed in the affection he was showing her without ever having the chance to address it.