Chapter 19

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 20

Chapter Title: The Golden Lion's Treasure and the Polluted Water (4)

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Hexston stood rooted to the spot, gazing down at Jewelry.

Not everyone who came into contact with the water succumbed to the demonic energy. Thankfully, Dennis was fine, but luck had not been on Jewelry's side.

The child's small body was covered entirely in red rashes.

Hexston had seen patients afflicted by demonic energy during his investigation of this incident.

It always began with red rashes, which would swell like boils after a few hours, oozing pus. Then blood would pour from their eyes, nose, and mouth, and before long, they would stop breathing.

He couldn't believe his daughter was about to suffer the same fate. His blood boiled even when she just had a cold and coughed a little.

Kirshan, gloved as he examined Jewelry's body, looked up at Floyd with a grim expression. He gave the slightest shake of his head, but Hexston saw it clearly.

"No!"

Hexston cried out in a voice that tore at his throat as he grabbed Kirshan by the collar.

"Save her! You're a doctor! The best doctor on this continent! Save her!"

Of course, Kirshan had never claimed to be the best doctor on the continent. But his skills far surpassed most physicians, so if even he couldn't find a way, no one else could.

Kirshan stared silently at Hexston, who clutched and shook his collar, pleading desperately. He couldn't tell him not to get his hopes up, nor could he urge him to accept the truth.

Kirshan had no children of his own, but he knew how fiercely Hexston cherished his. Hexston was the type who would gladly die in their place if it came to that.

'If only it ended with him dying in their stead...'

But that wouldn't make Jewelry any better.

There were ways to treat demonic energy corruption. One could request holy water from the Grand Temple and sprinkle it with a priest's blessing to drive out the affliction.

But the Grand Temple was too far away, and the demonic energy from this magical beast eroded the body at an alarming speed.

'At best, three days. But with Jewelry's small body, it'll be even faster.'

Kirshan couldn't bring himself to tell Hexston, who clung to the bed begging her to open her eyes and stop teasing her daddy, how much time she had left.

Kain's eyes were already red-rimmed, his nose sniffling. Adrian and Arsen stood with lips pressed tight in anguish.

And heat was radiating from Floyd's body.

It warmed the previously cool air in the treatment room, but if he got any more agitated, flames might erupt. Kirshan placed a gentle hand on Floyd's forearm and spoke.

"There are many patients, my lord. Please calm down."

Floyd drew in a deep breath and exhaled, surveying the treatment room. It was the first time it had been this crowded—even knights who suffered severe injuries didn't fill it like this.

Fallen maids and manservants, and Jewelry.

People who had no business being here lay lifeless on the beds. It was a reality he didn't want to accept, but something had to be done.

"Is there no way at all?"

"Even if we sent an eagle to the Grand Temple right now, by the time a priest brings the holy water..."

"I'm asking if you have a way to treat it!"

"If the corruption's progression slows, I could try to devise something. But it's too fast. It's beyond my abilities, my lord."

"No, that's impossible! It can't be! Don't talk nonsense, Shan!"

Even though it was said softly, Hexston must have heard it in his despair. He shot to his feet and charged over as if to strike, only to drop to his knees before Kirshan.

"Shan, please don't say that. Please... just save her. Please. Do something. You're amazing—you can do it. Please, save my daughter. She's my girl, Shan. My daughter. Please?"

Kirshan averted his gaze, unable to bear watching Hexston cling to his legs and beg. His chest ached with despair and guilt.

'What kind of doctor am I like this.'

He had been arrogant. He'd thought that with his skills, he could cure any common illness in Torkan.

It was a terrible hubris.

He could do nothing for his dear comrade's young daughter. Nothing for the palace staff who served this grand duchy.

This was the first time Kirshan had felt such defeat.

'Pathetic. What am I doing here instead of just going off to die...'

Roxiana sat motionless.

She forgot to breathe until her lungs screamed in protest, gasping roughly only then, without even realizing it.

-"There's nothing the princess can do."

It was true.

She couldn't help even the little girl who had given her a bouquet.

'And yet, what could someone like me have done...'

She replayed the past countless times. If only she hadn't gone to the Grand Temple, if only she'd seen through Lucas's intentions sooner, if only she'd warned her family ahead of time... She repeated impossible imaginings and regrets dozens, hundreds of times.

But now she understood.

There was nothing she could have done. Even if a miracle rewound time and sent her back, she still wouldn't have been able to change anything.

Suddenly, a fierce impulse surged within her.

'I want to die.'

She had tried to live for at least a year because of Floyd's words, but now even that felt pointless. A worthless wretch like her didn't deserve to die and reunite with her family.

Adelia Flowers, coffins—it no longer mattered.

'What a waste...'

Breathing, consuming the grand duchy's food when she could do nothing—it was all a waste.

'If only they hadn't let me come...'

If she'd yelled at them furiously by the pond that first time and chased them away, told them never to return, this wouldn't have happened. She'd let them be to sate her own longing, and that was why this horror had unfolded.

It was the same with her family.

If she hadn't trusted Lucas, if she'd thrown a fit and refused the engagement when it was proposed, if she hadn't saved Elise, if she hadn't cared whether that girl and her family lived or died.

Things would have been different now.

'It's all my fault.'

She truly believed it. She couldn't escape the thought that her very existence made everything worse.

The unshakable gloom, confronted with fresh tragedy, became an immovable weight that plunged Roxiana into pitch-black despair.

Roxiana rose unsteadily and staggered to the window. She flung it open, stepped out onto the terrace, gripped the railing, and leaned her upper body forward.

The building was tall; even from the second floor, it was a dizzying height.

'Falling from here would surely kill me.'

She used to fear heights, but now it felt distant. The emotion called fear had been devoured by immense grief the moment she lost her family.

That was when Roxiana's torso tilted even further forward.

"Princess!"

Startled by the sharp cry, she turned. Petria stood there holding a vase, staring at Roxiana with wide, terrified eyes.

"Wh-what are you doing? Come inside, quickly!"

Petria set the vase down and rushed over, wrapping her arms around Roxiana's waist.

"Y-you can't, you can't do this, Lady Roxiana. No."

Ah, right. If I die here, it'd burden Petria too.

She hadn't thought of that. Foolishly. Stupidly.

Roxiana's dazed eyes drifted to the vase Petria had set down. It held the wildflowers Jewelry had given her.

Even after so much time, the flowers in the vase brimmed with life, as if freshly bloomed. Only then did Roxiana recall what the voices had said.

-We'll take good care of them.

-These will live on for a long, long time.

They had kept their promise.

Even though the water was contaminated, the vase's water still kept the flowers fresh and alive.

It wasn't just the fresh water.

It was their power.

The power that breathed life even into cut flowers.

-"They're incredibly strong, Roti. They can do so many things. But the priests who serve Weden refuse to acknowledge it, so they ignore their existence and kill those who communicate with them. Long ago, an emperor betrayed by his empress—who could communicate with them—backed the priests' claims."

Mother always called them 'them.'

Beings who existed but whose names must not be spoken. Once a blessing in ancient times, now branded a curse.

-"So, Roti, you must never let it be known that you can hear their voices. I'm sorry to them, but it's the only way for you to live peacefully."

It felt like a blow to the back of her head.

She could do nothing, but they might be different. Even though they hated humans for ignoring them and persecuting those who communed with them, refusing to lend any power as a result.

'Maybe. They're speaking to me now, keeping my flowers from wilting just for me... maybe.'

Roxiana pried off Petria's arms still around her and dashed back into the room. She snatched the vase from the table and peered into the water.

"Lady Roxiana, the water's dangerous. It might be contaminated."

Petria hurried over to take the vase away. Roxiana clutched it stubbornly and turned away.

Petria feared that Roxiana—who had just tried to leap from the terrace—might drink the possibly tainted water. Fortunately, she didn't bring it to her lips but whispered something to the vase.

Only then did Petria remember the flowers inside were from Jewelry.

'She must be in shock from seeing Jewelry collapse. What should I do?'