By Zephyria 
We decided to stay up all night in the same room.
We had properly removed the fragments of Contaminated Mana that had seeped into the children’s bodies, but they had just gone through such a terrible ordeal, hadn’t they? What if the children had a seizure in their sleep? When I said that, Marianne burst into loud laughter.
“Ahaha! Are Benjamin and Your Highness babies? If they get startled in their sleep, they’ll just wake up and say hello!”
“But.”
“Mikael, you need to remember that Mikael is the youngest among us.”
“Hmm.”
It was a pointless remark. Instead of replying, “There are things you don’t know,” I asked something else.
“You said you couldn’t use the Healing Artifact anymore, right?”
“Mmm… The wounds have already healed. Even if they were patched up crudely, there won’t be any scars. It seems they were clean cuts from fighting Sword Masters. They healed well.”
I shouldn’t have sent those bastards to the afterlife so cleanly.
…No. It was wrong to harbor harsh thoughts about the dead. I took a breath.
Instead, I carefully spread ointment on Ruben’s wounds to prevent them from hurting against the sheets and wrapped them in bandages. They were tied diagonally from his shoulder to his chest, and then horizontally across his chest. Since Ruben was quite broad-chested, one roll of bandages was barely enough, so I took Benjamin’s share as well.
Benjamin seemed surprisingly uninjured, but when I turned him over, it was a sight to behold. A large, twisted cross-shaped wound marred his back, leaving a bruise. Martial artists rarely show their backs, so he must have been injured protecting Ruben. A sudden wave of pity washed over me, and I propped him up on his stomach with a pillow so he wouldn’t be in pain.
It was fortunate that both Hugh Benson and I were quick and strong martial artists.
Grabbing the unconscious men, flipping them over, dressing them, applying medicine, and bandaging them was done in a flash, like water flowing. Hugh Benson asked if I had experience bandaging wounds, but I just smiled. I couldn’t tell him that in my past life, I had bandaged men stabbed with swords hundreds of times.
Instead, Marianne chattered away, saying she learned it in class. As always, while Hugh Benson and Marianne chatted, I pulled a chair over to Ruben’s bedside and sat down.
It had not been long since he was recovered, so it didn’t feel real. I kept wanting to check his pulse, kept wondering if his pale cheeks were feverish. So, I kept grasping his wrist and touching his cheek. I couldn’t stop, even with Marianne’s teasing.
And so, as dawn broke, everyone was exhausted.
Marianne sat curled up on the sofa, covered by a blanket, and fell asleep. Hugh Benson sat on the wide windowsill, gazing out the window. I remained seated where I was, counting Ruben’s breaths and lost in thought.
The day Ruben first spoke to me, the Essence light we saw together in the botanical garden, the first dance we shared in his dormitory room, his shining eyes looking down at me from his high position at the New Year Festival…
Was I taking a child who should be an Administrator and forcing him into such harsh deeds? Of course, Ruben wanted this, but if all the child wanted was to be by my side, there were other ways, weren’t there…
Yet, a lingering greed knocked on my heart.
It had been a long time since I had a Life and Death Duel with a Transcendent Peak martial artist. I remembered living every day like today for years before being reborn on this land. I had forgotten the joy of my sword, sticking to my fingertips, reading my will before I did and drawing blue arcs for far too long.
I didn’t like harming people, but the sense of accomplishment when I won and survived…
Yes, it was good. I liked it.
Namgung Jeong-yeon in the Central Plains would kneel before me within two hundred exchanges if he met me now.
It wasn’t just wandering through areas with high Mana Concentration and cultivating my Dantian. Thanks to meticulously examining my strengths and weaknesses alongside a Hwagyeong master, I had gained comprehensive understanding. And thanks to being able to freely use this land’s energy, the aura, along with my internal energy, I had become stronger.
I wanted to become stronger.
But I also didn’t want Ruben to get hurt.
What was I trying to do? A sigh escaped me. I couldn’t reach a conclusion on my own. I desperately wished for Ruben to wake up soon. I felt that the wise child would give me the right answer.
Ruben opened his eyes before all the dawn stars had faded.
Because I had been observing his face, I was able to meet his gaze the moment he opened them.
Ruben blinked his sleepy eyes a couple of times, fully reflecting me in his dark pupils. Only then did I feel I could breathe, and I let out a large sigh without realizing it. My shoulders, tense with effort, slumped, and I naturally adopted a relaxed posture.
Rubel smiled faintly and took my hand.
When my rough palm touched his cheek, I felt so flustered, as if goosebumps were tickling my ears. I felt like scolding him, this grown man acting so affectionately. I playfully pinched his cheek, then gently rubbed it with my thumb, careful not to hurt him.
Then, leaning on my elbow on the bed, I asked softly.
“Are you feeling any better?”
“Yes. …I’m sorry. I must have worried you.”
“No. It’s my fault.”
My voice trembled, perhaps from a sore throat or the effort to speak quietly, which I found unsightly, so I coughed a few times. Ruben kept his hand on my cheek and raised his other hand to cup my face. I felt awkward and embarrassed to act spoiled like a child, so I tensed my body.
Then Ruben smiled again. Seeing him happy, all my worries vanished in an instant. My chest swelled with pure joy.
“…I’m sorry I left you.”
“Mmm. …Did you catch them?”
“Yes. One of them.”
He knew I didn’t want to blame him, so how could I not understand him changing the subject?
However, this was the first thing I had to answer and ask once the child woke up. I was frustrated, unable to learn much about the people who had kidnapped him or the circumstances of his capture.
Ruben didn’t ask what happened to the others besides the one. He just looked into my eyes, occasionally stroking my cheek with his thumb, and calmly recounted what he knew in a gentle voice.
“…The one who knocked on the door was Raul. He said he had a message from Senior Benson…”
“…”
“Before I opened the door, I only sensed Raul. But he had brought Sword Masters with him.”
It was true that those with a high realm could hide their presence from those with a lower realm. Hugh Benson and I were able to evade the notice of those four Sword Masters because our skills were similar and we possessed superior Stealth techniques.
I had anticipated this much. I nodded. Ruben continued.
“As soon as he saw the stranger, Lord Claudian drew his sword first, and another one broke through the window. I couldn’t just stand by, so I took off my veil and joined the fight… and then another one came out in the hallway.”
“Three?”
“Yes. Three Sword Masters, and Raul.”
Perhaps sensing my worry, Ruben didn’t talk about how he wielded his sword or who was injured how. In a dry voice devoid of emotion, he simply recounted the events chronologically.
“Seeing me attacked by two of them… Lord Claudian provoked them, and two of them engaged him. And then… Raul said to me. ‘Just hold on a little longer.'”
“…Yes?”
“He just said that. ‘Just hold on a little longer.’ I wondered what he meant… After that, I don’t remember. When I came to my senses… you were there. It was good that I held on.”
Does he have the composure to joke even now?
As I was about to say something in disbelief, a loud snore echoed.
Both Ruben and I turned our gaze. It was Benjamin, lying on his stomach on the adjacent bed. He mumbled and rubbed his cheek against the sheet as if in a deep sleep, making purring sounds before gasping for breath with a “Kuhung.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Marianne, who had apparently woken up, also stifled her laughter, burying her face in her blanket. Hugh Benson, still perched on the windowsill, looked towards the room and smirked, one corner of his mouth lifting.
“Seriously… They’re something else.”
“…Crazy, he’s crazy… Ah, the timing is incredible. Isn’t Benjamin awake?”
“…”
Only then did I start to consider what I had been saying and hearing while holding onto the child. My cheek, which had been feverish, was released as I sat up. I walked to the window and cleared my throat. Hugh Benson nudged my thigh with his foot.
“Ah, why are you coming over here? You should stay by your priest’s side.”
“…Ahem!”
“You were just so… What are you doing? Second Prince, not taking your partner?”
Rubel sluggishly pulled the bedsheet up to cover the top of his head. If only he had an Umbrella Hat to hide his face, it would be perfect.
At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from down the corridor.
Hugh Benson sprang up and opened the door. The gait was familiar, the sound well-known. Tedros. She stopped at the doorway, panting, and quickly delivered the news.
“The bodies, the bodies have disappeared.”
“What?”
“The bodies of the Sword Masters we captured have all vanished. After moving the bodies aside and cleaning the room, they were already gone…”
This was unbelievable.
Who would take the bodies of the dead? What would they do with them? Did Raul know from the beginning that we would kill them? Was waiting without taking Ruben’s life…
…to obtain the bodies of the Sword Masters?
Everyone who was awake was speechless.
Only Benjamin’s snoring cut through the quiet night.