"We were pregnant at the sa ti. Just a month apart... and then we both lost our children." The rchant’s wife sobbed quietly as she spoke to Xion about the past.
"Then one day, when m-my husband was out doing so trading, he brought this girl ho, saying h-he found her abandoned in the forest. Since then, it had been fourteen years."
Xion didn’t respond imdiately. He was carefully checking the girl’s pulse.
He had already administered a fever-reducing dicine a few hours ago, but it hadn’t worked. Her body was still burning up.
Thankfully, with Mycosera Tenberis, he had a lead. That tiny pinch of violet powder could be the key to solving the imdiate issue.
He had already asked the system to run a fast scan on the minuscule sample he had left. Lady Norva had nearly used every last grain of it.
Now, with the new things he’d discovered in the past few hours, he wanted to test a revised dicine on the girl.
Maybe she had too much buried in her heart, as he worked, the woman spoke again. "W-what am I supposed to do now?
Honestly, Xion felt sorry for her. First, she lost her own child. Then, unknowingly, she’d been tricked into raising the daughter of her husband’s mistress.
"I don’t know, madam," Xion said gently, the way he would talk to the worried family mbers of his patients.
"Nor can I tell you what you should do. It’s your decision to make. But..." he paused, then asked, "How did you feel when you first held her in your arms?"
"I was happy," the woman whispered after a long silence. She reached out and brushed the girl’s sweaty hair back. "So very happy. And now..." her voice trembled, "Even a-after knowing the truth, I can’t bear to see her like this."
The lady broke into sobs.
Xion nodded in understanding. "Give her this dicine after she eats sothing light. Porridge will do. No at. No tea, no potatoes either. I’ll return in the evening to check on her again."
She already had her answer. She just needed to hear herself say it.
After giving the sa instructions to Lord Varnehold, Xion left.
As promised, he didn’t treat the other patient in the shed. Now it was up to the father and the two families to decide what they wanted to do.
Then, he ordered his group to set up special tents at the edge of Fayre. These would serve as temporary residences for the influx of sick travelers.
His healers were instructed to distribute the new fever-reducing dicine and share the necessary precautions with each patient which included cleanliness, food restrictions, and limited contact.
And yet, Xion himself couldn’t return to the hospital. Not with the royal envoys standing at the gates of his ho waiting for him.
He had barely managed to order everything when soone ca running toward him.
"Lord Xion! So people are waiting at your residence!"
Even without more information, both Noxian and Xion knew who it must be.
No wonder Serena had warned him.
Now, here he was, staring at an official royal decree. It was an overly lavish blue cloth adorned with gold-inked characters. Just a fancy letter dressed like a peacock.
As he read it, the full weight of the situation beca clear. The pandemic had spread wider than he had expected.
The survival rate was almost zero, and that fear had turned people cruel. Villages were burning the infected alive, claiming they were purging demonic energy from them.
"Of course," Xion muttered, scoffing at the absurdity of it all. "They always find a way to bla demons. I bet even the devil’s confused, thinking, When did I do this?"
Noxian snorted with laughter. It was rare to see Xion this frustrated.
There was even a ti when he and Serena had placed bets on who could make Xion lose his temper first.
Noxian had tried everything: broke his saddle, tossed his notebooks into the well, smashed a chair, got into a fight, and finally scread at Xion himself.
What did he get in return? A new chair. New books. And later that night, Xion gently asked if things had beco too hard on him after they moved into this new place, or if soone was bullying him.
As if he could be bullied. He was the one doing the bully— ahem, protecting. He was protecting the kids from the bad guys.
He never found out what Serena did, but the result had been the sa. After that, they gave up trying to make Xion angry.
They’d seen him annoyed, yes. Frustrated? Occasionally. But angry? Never.
Which was why seeing him roll his eyes felt funny to him.
"Ignore them, brother," Noxian said lazily. "Just write back saying you need to stay in the South to find the cure. Lie and say the ingredients only grow here or sothing. They’re stupid. They’ll believe it."
"You sure don’t like them much," Xion shook his head, "But don’t say that in front of anyone else."
"I am not as foolish as them," While badmouthing the royal family with casual ease, the purple-haired little lord flopped onto the couch and rested his head in Xion’s lap. "So, brother, just how much do you dislike the royals?"
Xion chuckled. His fingers were already weaving through Noxian’s ssy curls, gently undoing the knots. At this point, it had beco second nature.
"Well, let’s see. I’ve t Crown Prince Silas Valeria, who definitely didn’t like . Then there’s Prince Nikolai, who liked a bit too much. And finally, the king, who tried to marry off without even asking. You decide."
"I really hate them," Noxian mumbled with his eyes closed. He was fully enjoying what Aunt Serena called "pampering."
"You two—" Serena sighed the mont she entered the room. "Do you really think you have ti to lounge around like this?"
"Auntie, I still love you!" Noxian shouted while throwing a flying kiss to the cold-faced lady before burying his face in Xion’s lap to avoid her gaze.
Xion wasn’t sure if he should scold Noxian or laugh. As childish as his tricks were, they sohow worked.
Serena didn’t look annoyed anymore She walked over and sat across from them. "So? What have you decided?"
The smile on Xion’s lips faded. His eyes drifted toward the blue decree lying open on the table.
What a ridiculous thing this decree was...
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