Chapter 59
Ja-hyun blinked his eyes.
“Ugh… ungh…”
His eyes felt sticky, as if he’d been crying in pain through the night. Well, that was unavoidable. Anyone would shed tears helplessly when experiencing pain like their entire body had been beaten with a meat tenderizer.
He sensed movement beside him. Ja-hyun barely managed to turn his head to look at whoever was there.
Brother, his brother was watching him with a stiff expression. His brother never had many expressions to begin with. He was still that way, except for the smiles he worked hard to show for Ja-hyun’s sake. But Ja-hyun could tell. That was a worried face.
“Brother.”
His voice came out somewhat excited with joy at seeing him. Though his severely hoarse voice sounded terrible even to his own ears, it was intelligible enough.
His brother wore pajamas with his hair down, looking exactly as he did at home. Had Ja-hyun manifested his brother’s image in his mental space? Perhaps he had unconsciously created his brother’s presence out of loneliness.
“Brother, I…”
With that thought, he wanted to whine about how much everything hurt and how difficult it was. As hot breath spread between his parted lips, something cool touched his eyes. An outstretched hand carefully wiped away the moisture around his eyes. The gentle touch brought a wave of relief. The coolness of the touch felt similar to his brother’s usual temperature.
Instead of saying he was in pain, Ja-hyun slowly spoke the words he often said to his brother:
“Could you… hug me…”
Though he wanted to lift and extend his arms, his whole body remained limp like a piece of meat, refusing to move. He could barely wiggle his fingers at most.
As he lay there groaning, unable to raise himself, his brother carefully embraced him, sliding a hand behind his back.
Ja-hyun pressed his hot cheek against his brother’s shoulder and whispered that he really loved his brother.
“……”
Words he had spoken several times a day, always.
***
[Your Grace, Grand Duke.]
Two days had passed since Raijin fell ill. Raijin, who had always been sickly, showed little sign of improvement. The Grand Duke of Izatrix had him examined by both the mansion’s resident physician and the most skilled doctor from the nearest city, but to no meaningful result.
[As you well know… let me remind you once again. When a power’s possessor dies, the power itself is completely lost.]
He had summoned biological mages known for their expertise in healing and Aurora priests dispatched to the Grand Duchy, but nothing changed.
The priests in the Grand Duchy were merely mid-rank; to show Raijin to a bishop-level healer, they would need to take him to the Imperial Capital. But using a magical transport stone on an unconscious invalid was impossible, and taking a carriage was even more absurd.
The steward watching by his side had subtly indicated that he had done all this several times before. Calling doctors, priests, mages, and even herbalists—all these actions. He had forgotten these futile efforts and was repeating them again.
[As you can see, being by his side, the Crown Prince, the owner, could draw his last breath at any moment without it being strange.]
The Grand Duke stopped his meaningless pacing and sat again in the chair beside the bed. He placed his hand on the invalid’s forehead, burning with fever. Lowering his hand, he held his fingers beneath his nose. Even his breath was terribly hot.
It had been a mistake to allow him time with the prince, swayed by his childlike plea to make a friend. If he hadn’t permitted it until now, there would have been reasons… He never imagined barely two hours of conversation would leave him this ill.
The rules he had set in the past he couldn’t remember all had their reasons. Not letting him go outside, not even allowing him to walk the corridors freely, controlling his relationships to prevent him from making even one friend, not letting him choose anything freely from what he ate to what he wore—all of it.
[So if the owner’s death seems imminent… you must attempt the succession before their final breath.]
[As I told you before, the succession process itself isn’t that complicated.]
[Feed him this medicine and cut out his heart with this knife yourself. Then break the jewel in the necklace I gave you to summon me. We’ll handle the aftermath.]
He placed his hand on Raijin’s chest. Through the thin nightclothes, he could feel the thin skin and pulse.
He moved his hand up to wrap around his throat. At his fingertips, he felt the pulsing of blood vessels passing through the neck that burned like fire. Though not small in build, his emaciated neck with protruding bones felt so fragile it seemed it would break with just a little pressure.
He kept his hand on Raijin’s hot neck for a long while.
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