Chapter 236: Chapter 238

“Everyone, make way!”

“Go get a doctor, call a doctor!”

“Lord Ian! Open your eyes. Lord Ian.”

Xiaoshi carried Ian on his back and ran. The situation was already chaotic. His lord had intended to distance himself to avoid amplifying the anxiety with his collapse. He ran to the office, circling around the building. As quickly and discreetly as possible.

“Ian! Please, oh, the blood keeps coming out!”

Philea, who had been desperately following, cried out in horror. At the same time, Xiaoshi felt his shoulder becoming wet. His master was unconsciously coughing up blood.

Nersarn caught Philea as she was about to fall, while Romandro and Jin cleared the way ahead, shedding tears.

Bang!

The main building was deserted. Most of the mages had been conducting the magic confirmation ceremony with Ian, half of them had fallen to Arsen, and the remaining half were dealing with the aftermath. Even though they burst through the main building’s door roughly, apart from the servants, there was no one to ask for help.

“Huk, Lord Ian?”

“Where are the mages? Aren’t there any mages left in the main building?”

“Th-There should be someone on duty.”

“Hurry and bring them! And a doctor too!”

“Y-Yes, understood!”

“Warm water and towels!”

Tap tap tap!

Xiaoshi laid Ian down in the small bedroom next to the office. It was a space where he would occasionally take short naps when tired from work. It was also a place frequently used by Beric in the past, and recently by Romandro.

“Slowly, lower him slowly.”

With his head tilted back, a red shirt with no trace of white, and a pale complexion, it was undeniable that his condition was serious.

“Where is something to cover him…”

As Romandro looked around for something like a blanket, he suddenly realized. Since coming to the central area, Ian hadn’t assigned any meaning to a place of rest.

When he collapsed like this, the only nearby place to rely on was this small room attached to the office. Moreover, the bed and small items were all things used by the former minister, Wesley.

“Here it is.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Lord Ian? Huk, what happened to his condition?”

The servant brought a thick blanket along with Akorella. Judging by the protective goggles she was wearing, she seemed to have been secretly conducting experiments in the basement.

She examined Ian in horror. There were no major external injuries, but the continuous coughing up of blood indicated an internal problem.

“Captain Akorella! Do something for Ian.”

“J-Just a moment. You! Go downstairs and bring everything from the second shelf of the cabinet on the right in my office. And you, uh, send word to the storage room to bring out the magic amplifier! Ah! And syringes too!”

Akorella, who usually didn’t get flustered easily, stumbled over her words as if her mind had stopped. While the servants bustled about following orders, Jin kept holding Ian’s right arm and crying.

“Lord Ian, you must not die.”

“Your Highness. Don’t worry. Minister Ian is…”

Romandro, who was trying to comfort Jin, grabbed his nose. Blood dripped through his fingers.

It wasn’t just Ian who had spent the last few days grinding away his stamina by staying up all night. Romandro too had been artificially boosting his stamina with magic potions. His body was now signaling that he had reached his limit.

Viviana, who had entered late, noticed this and immediately held up a towel.

“Darling!”

“It’s alright, Vivi. Don’t worry.”

“Oh my, haa. Really…”

Romandro smiled and stroked Vivi’s back. His gentle gesture tried to reassure his wife that it was just a nosebleed. Xiaoshi wiped away his sweat and turned to look at him.

“Sir Romandro. You should go rest too.”

“It’s fine. With Ian lying down, how can I leave my post for the aftermath?”

“…If I may say so, we should consider that Lord Ian might not be able to get up for a few days. Since he ordered the cleanup, wouldn’t those who were at the scene primarily take charge for the first few hours?”

It would be truly troublesome if even Romandro, the assistant, was absent when the Ministry of Magic needed to make decisions. So it would be better to replenish his strength for even a few hours to manage the situation.

As Romandro tried to refuse, waving his hand, blood gushed out again as if in defiance.

“Kyaaah! Darling!”

“Ah, alright. Vivi. Please don’t be alarmed. I’m really fine.”

“Romandro. Xiaoshi’s words are reasonable. There were many casualties, but the Prime Minister is safe. So is Captain Jeirat of the Imperial Guard. For just a few hours, a few hours, let’s trust them.”

Jin pushed Romandro’s back. He looked back at Ian lying down several times before reluctantly stepping out. He kept muttering that he would be right back, that he would return after just one nap.

“Captain Akorella. I’ve brought what you asked for. The doctor will be here shortly as well.”

“Put them down here. Haa, as expected of the potion I made. The effects and side effects are so precise, my goodness. Hehehe. If I had known this would happen, I should have done some magic training. Your Highness, I’m an indoor worker. I use my brain more than strength…”

“I understand, so hurry!”

“Yes. Minister Ian. Please pull yourself together. Here we go.”

Akorella injected the magic amplifier into her arm and gritted her teeth. It was still in the experimental stage, but what could she do? Her superior was dying. She opened her magic power and let it flow into Ian.

Zzzing. Zing!

Faintly, very faintly, Ian’s breathing seemed to stabilize. But Jin couldn’t be sure if it was real. Expectations always create illusions. The child pressed his ear close to Ian’s chest and murmured.

“Keep going, keep…”

When Ian suddenly coughed up blood, Jin, Xiaoshi, and the servants all reached out simultaneously to catch it.

Jin looked at the blood-covered Ian with a face full of despair. Was death this close? As if he couldn’t believe it.

***

“Iaaan. Ian.”

“…I said to watch quietly.”

“No, after having my insides turned over a few times, I know. You need to regain consciousness for faster recovery. Iaaan. Wake up. Master? Master?”

A whispering voice was heard. Jin startled awake and sat up, realizing he was on the sofa in Ian’s office. He seemed to have fainted and fallen asleep without realizing it.

As Jin turned his head towards the commotion, he met eyes with Beric, who was grinning widely.

“Beric?”

“It’s not the master who woke up, but Your Highness.”

Was it a dream? Beric, wrapped up in a blanket, was being carried by Xiaoshi.

“Can you move?”

“Eh. If I could, I wouldn’t be like this.”

Despite not being able to take a single step, he had an uncanny sense of smell for blood and came to ask what had happened. The servant had no reason to lie and told him the truth that Ian had collapsed. Thanks to that, Xiaoshi was left with the trouble.

“Iaaan~. Shall we eat meat without you~? That thing we ate last time, I’m going to order twice as much this time~. If you don’t wake up, I’ll order three times as much~?”

Beric kept chattering and calling for Ian. Ian’s brow furrowed slightly at his calls. See, it’s working, Beric rejoiced.

“How is Lord Ian?”

“They said his life is not in danger.”

Xiaoshi answered as he turned around. Breaking the promise to just look, making such a ruckus. He seemed about to put Beric back in his place. Realizing this, Beric twisted his body in resistance.

“Just a little, really, just a little more!”

“…Shh.”

“Shush! So put me down. Okay?”

While Beric was whining, Jin observed Ian. His complexion had definitely improved. His clothes had been changed in the meantime, looking neat and tidy. At a glance, he might just look like he was in a deep sleep.

Jin let out a sigh of relief and looked out the window. The sunset was falling.

“How long has it been?”

“Three hours, Your Highness.”

Three hours. A world without Arsen had already passed that long. A demon who looked exactly like him and tried to kill his very soul. A brother who had inflicted countless wounds too numerous to count. Those days when he existed had been so burdensome and heavy that this moment felt truly unfamiliar.

‘It’s strange.’

Arsen’s shadow had been too deep. So, he thought the world would look different when he disappeared.

But the sunset was still red, the wind still blew, and the clouds still drifted. Arsen, now that he looked back, was nothing.

Clench.

Jin tightened his grip on his knees and made a resolution. No matter what difficulties he might face in the future, he would not forget this moment. Even if it seems like an insurmountable burden, from afar it’s truly trivial. Just as Arsen had been.

Knock knock.

“Your Highness Jin. Have you awoken?”

“What is it?”

At that moment, a servant carefully made his presence known. He stood at the door, as if waiting for Jin’s voice.

“The Prime Minister has called an emergency meeting. We’ve informed them that Lord Ian and Sir Romandro cannot attend due to their physical condition, and since the Ministry of Magic is still in the midst of cleanup, only Captain Hale will be going. The captain has already left, and Your Highness’s carriage is waiting.”

“…I see.”

Jin slowly got up and adjusted his clothes. This was no time to be idle. He was the only prince currently in the imperial palace. With even Ian collapsed like that, he needed to pull himself together.

Jin signaled to Xiaoshi. An order to follow.

Thud.

“Ow! It hurts!”

Xiaoshi roughly put Beric down under the bed and followed Jin. The Ministry of Magic was still quiet. Although mages could be seen occasionally, they all looked busy, perhaps having stopped by briefly during the cleanup.

“This way, Your Highness.”

“What about Romandro?”

“Lady Viviana is nursing him.”

Jin hesitated for a moment before getting into the carriage. It was the first major meeting he was attending without Ian. He felt anxious and nervous, but it was something he would have to do eventually.

‘They probably want to confirm what happened inside the meeting hall. After all, I was the last one to walk out of there. Besides that, what else could I contribute? Is there anything I should be careful about?’

Clop clop!

He wasn’t sure if it was the carriage making him nauseous or if it was due to nervousness. To avoid causing trouble when Ian wakes up, he couldn’t make any mistakes…

‘You Ian, a member of the imperial family! Hahaha!’

Arsen’s final cry suddenly came to mind. Jin shook his head in surprise. But strangely, the words that followed wouldn’t go away.

‘Jin. Didn’t you know? Why would Ian help someone like you? It’s because he has his own agenda! …Only those of imperial blood are blessed to be immune to mind control!’

Jin had been the same. When the mages and priests were collapsing, clutching their heads, he had faced Arsen unaffected. Gale too was the same. He had entered the poisonous energy that soldiers couldn’t approach without any problem.

But why did Ian…?

‘That’s impossible.’

Ian, a member of the imperial family? Then what about Philea? The former Count Dergha? This demon Arsen must have been trying to deceive him until his dying moment.

As Jin bit his lip gently, the carriage slowly came to a stop. They had arrived in front of the main conference room of the First Imperial Palace.

“We’ve arrived, Your Highness.”

Xiaoshi, sitting in the back seat, opened the door and guided him. Jin carefully got out and climbed the stairs nervously. And then he slowly realized.

Swish.

The gazes of nobles who were not favorable to him, whispers full of sharp edges, and the gestures of those on guard were flashing all around.