“No, it’s not that. This ti is different, and although I realize it’s impolite, I’m asking despite that. I trust Your Highness will understand.”
“…Hah,” Adea gritted his teeth. Having already bowed to Ruel, he felt he had no remnants of pride left to lose. Yet, anger still simred within him. Staring fiercely at Ruel, Adea finally rose from his seat. “Understood. I’ll be back.”
As Ruel moved to stand, Adea raised his hand. “No need to see off. Let’s go.”
deas stood up from his seat, with an apologetic expression, he spoke, “Then, please take your ti to rest.”
There was a note left on the seat where deas had been sitting.
Ruel grasped the note and watched the two of them leave.
—One person was angry at Ruel, and one continued to apologize to him.
Leo, who was also looking at the door, spoke.
“I know.”
Entrusting the powder to Adea was the final confirmation task. It seed that any serious discussion with Adea would have to wait until after the powder was used. The sound of the door opening was followed by a single set of footsteps. Ruel’s gaze shifted towards the door. It was Ganien and Cassion. The one who walked silently was Cassion.
Ruel unfolded the note and read its contents:
[The one who placed the mark on Lord Setiria is the Marquis of the Kran Kingdom, ‘Nehils Praha’.]
Ruel’s lips curled into a smile. He had finally caught a lead.
“Cassion.”
“Yes.”
“Prince Adea has the powder. Confirm if it’s being used on the king,” Ruel instructed before passing the note to Cassion. “Investigate and verify.”
As Cassion’s gaze shifted to the note, his eyes montarily shook.
“After that, I will go to et him personally.”
“Understood. I will conduct a thorough investigation,” Cassion affird, glancing at a small box on the table. “Ruel-nim, about the necklace in that box…”
“Can that necklace truly conceal the mark?” Ganien interjected, interrupting Cassion. Cassion frowned in response.
“I don’t know.”
Ruel shook his head.
Ganien scrutinized the necklace closely. “It’s not magical, is it? Aris, co here for a mont.”
Ruel chuckled at Ganien addressing his knight like a younger brother.
“Did you call , brother?” Aris responded promptly, glancing towards Ruel.
Through the slightly opened gap, Aris was visible.
How curious he must have been.
As Ganien gestured, Aris entered.
His steps were unusually quick.
“Is this the necklace?”
Aris asked in a hushed tone as he looked at the necklace.
“Were you all eavesdropping outside the door?”
Ruel was surprised that Aris was aware of the necklace. This was the Royal Palace; it should have been soundproofed, preventing their conversation from being overheard.
“I was, although Brother and Cassion-nim weren’t,” Aris admitted, scratching his neck.
‘Well, what can I do? Good nose and good ears.’
It was his fault for briefly forgetting who Cassion and Ganien were.
Ganien was the main character, and Cassion could hear sounds all the way from his room to the mansion’s front door.
But Aris listening at the door was unexpected.
When did he beco so sharp-eared?
In the end, it ant that they had all heard everything.
Ruel held the necklace without any need for further explanation.
“Be careful, Ruel-nim. I can’t properly identify any mana around that necklace.”
Aris spoke uneasily.
Ruel glanced at them for a mont. If anything were to happen to him, he felt quite reassured.
“Cassion, isn’t Fran waiting outside?”
“Yes, she’s been waiting for a while,” Cassion confird.
“That’s good.”
There was no need to hesitate any longer. Ruel imdiately put on the necklace.
‘It doesn’t seem like there’s anything special…’
Suddenly, the white gem attached to the necklace began to spin on its own.
—Whoa! It’s spinning!
Leo’s tail wagged so vigorously it disappeared from view.
A transparent film, resembling soap bubbles, erged from the gem and slowly enveloped Ruel.
It felt refreshing, like a breeze passing by, and it was soft.
As soon as the transparent film wrapped around Ruel’s body, it swiftly sucked back into the gem as if retracting a net.
The once white gem turned pitch black, and Ruel looked at his hand.
He felt a sensation like sothing gnawing at his body had disappeared.
But that was it.
There was no miraculous effect of feeling better.
‘What? Is this really it?’
No matter how much he examined his body, it was just a vague feeling of slight refreshnt and uncertainty.
“How do you feel?” Cassion asked, swallowing hard.
“Is it the sa?”
The three of them, who had been tense awaiting Ruel’s answer, let out a sigh of disappointnt.
“Really, nothing has changed?”
“Surely, there must be sothing that feels a little different, right?”
Ganien and Aris asked in turn, but Ruel’s answer remained unchanged.
“There really isn’t anything different.”
As Ruel pondered about his condition, he glanced at Leo.
It seed the best way to check his state was through him.
“How about it, Leo?”
Only then did Leo, who had been staring intently at the necklace, look at Ruel.
—…Hmm. There’s still so black stuff. But…
Leo’s half-closed eyes widened.
—Whoa! It’s… it’s not getting worse! That’s strange. It should keep growing and shrinking in a cycle, maintaining the food for this body…
Ruel understood everything from Leo’s reaction.
Fortunately, the necklace was genuine.
Ruel’s clenched fist expressed his bubbling joy.
“Bring Fran.”
He wanted to quickly confirm whether the illness had disappeared.
“Understood.”
With Cassion’s words, Ruel got up from his seat and walked over to the bed.
“Aris.”
Observing Ruel’s steps, Ganien urgently called out to Aris.
“Doesn’t it seem like Ruel is walking better than before? The way his muscles are being used seems a little different?”
“…Hmm, it seems like there’s more strength in his calf muscles.”
‘What are they talking about?’
Ruel was stunned by what Ganien and Aris were saying.
His walking was the sa. He was still tired from dealing with Adea and deas at the welco party.
As Ruel lay down on the bed, the necklace swayed.
Leo’s previously dull eyes gradually sparkled as he stared at the necklace.
—It’s sparkling…
He tentatively stretched out his paw, glancing at Ruel.
Ruel patted Leo’s head and said, “Go ahead and touch it.”
—Is that okay?
“Yeah.”
Leo carefully grasped the necklace.
And soon, as if forgetting his previous sadness, his eyes began to shine brightly.
—Whoa! It’s so smooth! It sparkles!
Leo’s tail, which had been still, started to wag in excitent.
Knock, knock.
A knocking sound was heard.
When Ruel turned his head to look at the door, Fran and Tierra entered after opening it.
They looked at Ruel, who was lying on the bed, and soon smiled brightly.
He looked a bit tired, but he didn’t seem to be in any pain.
Ruel waved his hand lightly toward them.
“I kept my promise.”
He smiled and ntioned his promise to et Fran again in the Kran Kingdom.
“Indeed, you have, Lord Ruel,” Fran responded cheerfully before her expression turned serious. “But your health… that’s a different matter, isn’t it?” she inquired, observing Ruel closely. Despite a slight fever and residual discomfort, there were no alarming symptoms.
Shouldn’t that be a positive sign?
Taking Ruel’s hand for an examination, Fran noticed the tension in the room. “Why is everyone so concerned? Is Lord Ruel truly so unwell?” she questioned, puzzled by the atmosphere.
“Don’t worry about it.” Ruel, feeling inadequate, spoke up.
Then he looked at Ganien and Aris. Cassion might understand how urgent the situation is, but why were these two acting this way?
“Step back two paces.”
Unlike Aris, who stepped back resolutely, Ganien retreated with a smirk.
“Lord Ruel?”
She looked as if she had just witnessed a student, who was always late, arriving on ti for the first ti, filled with surprise and emotion, like a teacher.
“Speak.”
“It seems Lord Ruel has finally realized the importance of his health.”
“…?” Ruel silently looked at Fran.
He could hear laughter coming from sowhere.
It was probably Cassion’s laughter.
“You’re in better shape than last ti’s examination results.”
Ruel’s face darkened with disappointnt as he had secretly hoped for the illness to be gone.
“Could it be that the illness hasn’t disappeared?”
“…Yes?”
“No.”
Although he had covered the mark with the necklace, it seed like his condition wouldn’t improve imdiately.
“L-Lord Ruel, there’s no need to rush at all. Of course, you might be a bit weakened from exhaustion, but considering that, your current condition is actually very good.” Fran hurriedly spoke to comfort Ruel, seeing his dark expression, and continued, “This illness is sothing that takes ti to heal. You don’t need to get anxious just because it’s not going away imdiately. If you maintain the way you are now, you will be just fine, just fine…”
“I understand.” Ruel smiled, albeit a bit late.
He had been so focused on the imdiate situation that he couldn’t see the bigger picture.
The necklace covering the mark didn’t an that the mark had disappeared; it seed to signify that the thread connecting him to the Great Man had been severed.
The curse was still lingering in his body, which was why the illness hadn’t disappeared, but there was a power of recovery within him.
Whenever it may be, that power of recovery would eventually gnaw away at the curse.
‘Ah. This is exciting.’
Ruel’s lips curled up in a smile.
No matter when that day might co, now there was truly only the prospect of getting better.
His heart began to flutter again.
It was a genuine hope, not a futile one.
His body would get gradually better, and a day without pain would surely co.
Fran felt relieved seeing Ruel smile brightly again.
It was a smile fitting for his age, so very delightful to behold.
She soon looked at Cassion.
“Has Lord Ruel taken any fever-reducing dicine?”
“He took so before the welco party.”
“He may have another fever tonight. He might even be quite unwell.”
“Yesterday, he had a fever too…”
Fran moved away to talk to Cassion about Ruel’s condition.
Ganien, who had stepped back, approached with a faint smile, unsure on which side to align.
“So… are you okay? Or not okay?”
“Ruel-nim.”
Before Ruel could speak, Cassion called out to him.
“Since it seems like the conversation with Ms. Fran is going to be lengthy, I will move to a different location.”
“Got it.”
“Then, Lord Ruel, make sure to sleep well, take your dicine regularly, and don’t overdo it…”
“Sister.”
Tierra interrupted Fran as she began to go on about the advice.
“I’ll be taking my leave now, Lord Ruel.”
After greeting Ruel, Tierra grabbed Fran and headed outside.
“Wait a mont, Tierra! If we don’t firmly inform Lord Ruel, his body will turn to stone…”
Thud.
With Fran’s cut-off words, the door closed.
“Well then,” Cassion said with a smile that seed like a sneer, and followed them out.
Only then did Ruel answer Ganien’s question, “I’m fine. It seems the mark has stopped.”
“Really? That’s a relief…”
Aris abruptly halted his words.
It was because of Ruel’s expression.
Aris recognized that expression.
It resembled the face Ruel had when he climbed the mountain and reached the summit, holding back tears with great effort.
Aris rolled his eyes and called out to Ganien.
“Brother!”
“What is it?” Ganien was slightly surprised.
This was the first ti Aris had raised his voice like this.
“That thing you said you would tell before… That! I want to know right now, imdiately!”
“When did I… oh, that?”
Seeing Aris’s eyes pointing towards Ruel, Ganien awkwardly smiled.
“Ruel, I’m just going out for a bit. Oh, right. You said you were tired from the welco party, didn’t you? Hurry and lie down.”
“That’s right. Please rest quickly. My brother and I will, uh, talk for a long ti, so don’t worry about it at all.”
“Right. Right. Don’t worry.”
Ruel sighed and rubbed his face.
Both of them were so bad at lying that it was almost embarrassing.
“Okay.”
Hearing Ruel’s nonchalant response, Ganien and Aris awkwardly smiled and left the room.
“…Pftt.”
After a mont, Ruel burst into laughter.
‘They really can’t lie. Both master and disciple are too alike.’
They must have stepped aside because of him.
He had tried to hide his expression, but today it seed he couldn’t conceal it.
Ruel looked at Leo, who was still fiddling with the necklace.
He wondered if it was really that good.
‘The mark.’
The fluttering in his chest began again.
The smile that had lingered on Ruel’s lips slowly faded away.
‘Has it stopped…?’
Ruel quietly covered his face with the blanket.
Leo perked up his ears.
—Ruel?
“It’s nothing.”
Ruel’s voice sounded muffled.
“…Really, it’s nothing.”
Leo set down the necklace and ca closer to Ruel’s face.
Ruel’s breath sounded subrged, like it was drowned in water.
Leo didn’t peek under the blanket but simply patted him.
—This body heard nothing.
Even the trembling in Ruel’s tightly clenched hand.
Even the occasional sniffle.
Leo, as if he saw nothing, heard nothing, gently stroked Ruel with his short paws.
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