Episode 157
“Your Majesty! Wake up, Your Majesty!”
“Damn it, is he breathing?!”
“Yes, he’s just unconscious!”
Elonia couldn’t comprehend the situation. The man who had seemed invincible had collapsed.
She stood frozen in the middle of the hallway, oblivious to the physicians rushing past her, denying the reality before her.
This was how it happened.
As soon as dawn broke, Lucius sought out Elonia.
“You want Heilan metal?”
“Yes, I need it to create something.”
“A holy relic?”
Lucius nodded. Come to think of it, she had asked Artius to show her the treasury but hadn’t actually seen it yet.
“Let’s go together.”
Elonia led Lucius to the Main Palace. She learned Artius was in the conference hall and headed there, but,
“His Majesty is currently in a state council meeting. Would you mind waiting?”
Crash! Bang!
Just as Aaron finished speaking, the familiar sounds of a heated argument echoed from within. Aaron looked embarrassed.
Elonia, trying to comfort him, said nonchalantly,
“It’s not like this is the first time.”
“…My apologies. Please wait in the reception room.”
But Aaron seemed genuinely ashamed. They decided to wait elsewhere.
Elonia and Lucius sat in the reception room, waiting for Artius.
The silence was awkward, and Elonia, trying to break it, asked hesitantly,
“So, is everything alright? Living at the palace?”
“Yes, everyone has been very kind.”
Ah, okay. Good.
Elonia nodded awkwardly.
It felt strange seeing him here, in her home, after seeing him at the Luneus estate.
She didn’t know where to look, and then she noticed a change in Lucius.
‘Has he always been this tall?’
He was the same age as Llewellyn, so he must have grown. But he had seemed so frail at the Luneus estate. Here, at the palace, he looked different.
His body, which had been thin and weak, seemed more muscular now, thanks to Valerian’s treatment. His complexion had improved, and his lips, his signature feature, had regained their vibrant red color.
Lucius, sensing her gaze fixed on his lips, asked, trying to hide his embarrassment,
“Is there something on my face?”
“Huh?”
Had she been staring too obviously? Elonia blushed.
She found it more embarrassing to be caught staring than to lift her skirt.
She felt a pang of envy.
‘I still have a long way to go before I become an adult.’
And then, curiosity struck her.
What did it feel like to be an adult?
She had lived two lives, but she had never experienced adulthood.
“What does it feel like to be an adult?”
Lucius looked puzzled, then understood her question.
“I haven’t really thought about it… But I did feel my vessel expanding, my body reaching its completion.”
“Anything else?”
“Besides that…”
Lucius didn’t know either. The only significant changes that came with adulthood were the legal right to drink and smoke, and the ability to start a family.
Elonia’s thoughts also drifted towards marriage, and she paused.
An even more awkward silence filled the room.
They both acted much older than their age, but the mere mention of marriage had awakened the dormant child within them.
Elonia mentally facepalmed.
‘Why did I ask that? How do I fix this atmosphere?’
Lucius felt the same.
‘I want to die.’
Two adults, trapped in their childish anxieties about marriage.
Just then, the door opened, and Artius entered.
“Elonia, I heard you were looking for me…”
“Dad, welcome!”
“We’ve been waiting, Your Majesty.”
Artius was taken aback.
What was this atmosphere?
Having experienced romance with Philemon, he recognized the awkward tension instantly.
They all wanted to escape. Artius quickly got to the point.
“You wanted to see the treasury, right? Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Elonia jumped up, eager to escape the suffocating silence.
Lucius, also relieved, followed them.
Elonia and Lucius finally entered the treasury.
But there weren’t many metal objects among the spoils of war. Most of it was gold and jewels.
They searched diligently, but their disappointment grew. Artius approached Lucius.
“Didn’t find what you were looking for?”
“No…”
He tried to hide his disappointment, but it was evident in his voice. Artius sighed.
“Does it have to be metal to be a holy relic?”
“Yes. The dead holy relics we’ve found so far were all made of metal.”
Hmm, Artius searched his memory.
Ravanta’s weapons were far superior to Heilan’s, so he had disposed of most of the captured weapons, deeming them unworthy of his knights.
“It seems there’s nothing useful here.”
“I see…”
Lucius lowered his head slightly. Artius thought,
‘He’s always been good at looking pitiful.’
The perfect type to sway Elonia’s soft heart.
He didn’t distrust Lucius anymore, but would he approve of him marrying his daughter? Absolutely not.
Lucius, as if sensing Artius’s thoughts drifting miles ahead, called out to him.
“Your Majesty.”
“What is it?”
Artius feigned ignorance, but Lucius wasn’t concerned about his earlier thoughts.
“…You seem to have injured your arm.”
Artius’s eyebrow twitched, his gaze turning cold.
“How did you know?”
“I can sense the chimera’s aura.”
Lucius, undeterred, continued,
“It must be a wound inflicted by the chimera. You need proper treatment immediately.”
“It’s fine. Professor Julietta already treated it.”
But the chimera’s aura still lingered. It meant the wound hadn’t healed completely.
“Professor Julietta’s power isn’t enough for a complete cure. You need treatment from a cleric of High Priest Valerian’s caliber…”
“The Temple is short-staffed. They’re busy making the purification potion and treating the injured.”
“Your Majesty.”
Lucius’s gaze was insistent. Artius placed a hand on his forehead. He had known Lucius was stubborn, but this was ridiculous.
“Alright. I’ll summon a cleric today. Stop staring at me like that.”
“When today?”
“…”
Artius averted his gaze. Lucius sighed and offered,
“If there are no available clerics, may I treat you?”
“…You?”
“Yes. My apostle’s power hasn’t fully recovered, but my Holy Power is sufficient.”
But Artius still hesitated. Lucius, exasperated, gestured towards Elonia, who was rummaging through a box in the corner, and whispered,
“What will you do if Her Highness finds out?”
Just then, a loud crash echoed through the treasury. Elonia had accidentally kicked a box, breaking it.
Artius thought,
He had been fighting with Elonia more often lately. She had nagged him countless times about taking care of himself. What would happen if she found out he hadn’t gotten proper treatment?
‘She won’t let it slide.’
Artius sighed. Threatening parents with their children was always effective.
“Not now. Ask me again when Elonia isn’t around.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Just as Lucius nodded and turned away, pretending to examine the spoils to avoid Elonia’s suspicion,
Thud.
Artius collapsed, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Without any warning.
“Your Majesty?”
“What was that?”
Elonia, who had been rummaging through the treasures, turned around. Neither she nor Lucius could comprehend what had just happened.
Lucius was the first to react.
“Your Majesty! Wake up! Is anyone out there?! His Majesty has collapsed!”
Elonia finally snapped out of her daze, her face turning pale.
“Dad!”
Just one day after Artius collapsed, the Imperial Palace was in chaos.
Everyone whispered, wondering if he had finally succumbed to the potion of luck. But his symptoms were different.
And his arm…
A servant, who had been helping Artius change, reported frantically that dark purple veins were spreading from his arm towards his shoulder.
Chloe’s medicine and the High Priest’s Holy Power were ineffective.
“…Could it be the chimera wound?”
Elonia, her gaze fixed on Artius, who lay unconscious in bed, asked Lucius quietly.
Lucius, instead of answering, gritted his teeth, his voice filled with guilt.
“I’m sorry. I should have treated him sooner.”
“Why is it your fault?”
“Well…”
Lucius explained what had happened in the treasury. But Elonia still didn’t understand why he was apologizing.
“It’s Dad’s fault for not taking care of himself. Why are you apologizing?”
“But…”
“I’m sorry. Please leave.”
Normally, Elonia would have tried to ease his guilt. But she didn’t have the energy right now.
“…Excuse me.”
Elonia nodded silently, her gaze still fixed on Artius. Lucius left, and silence filled the room.
Elonia thought,
Lucius blamed himself, and she blamed Artius.
But she knew, deep down, that wasn’t entirely true.
She had planned to go to the academy after defeating the chimera. But after hearing Noah’s story, she had chosen to rescue Lucius instead.
Because Artius was strong.
She had chosen to protect Lucius, and this was the result.
Elonia buried her face in Artius’s bed, her shoulders shaking silently.
With Artius unconscious, all imperial authority had been transferred to her. She couldn’t show weakness, but she allowed herself just ten minutes.
Just ten minutes to cry.