Chapter 60
“Are you saying… all of that came from Sienna’s body?”
“Yes. That’s what’s been killing her.”
It was a story too unbelievable to accept.
The doll was speaking, and everything Herace was doing seemed more like an attempt to kill Sienna than save her.
But Noah couldn’t stop him. There was no choice but to trust Herace.
He was the one who had discovered Sienna’s illness, the one who had identified the apothecary. Noah could only believe he would help again this time.
Above all, Herace cherished Sienna.
He may be inscrutable, but at least that much is certain.
To Herace, Sienna was absolute. Someone he must protect, someone he must treasure.
Why he held such blind devotion, no one knew—but it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was Sienna’s survival.
“And then? If all that blood is drained, will she be fine?”
“…After that, I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know! You have to find a way!”
Noah seized Ban and shook him furiously.
“How can you expect that of me…! I’m not a doctor, I’m not an apothecary!”
“Find a way anyway!”
Noah shook him harder, demanding answers—until a faint moan slipped into his ear, making him dash back to Sienna.
“Sienna!”
“Ugh…”
Noah cried out desperately, but after vomiting up all that black blood, Sienna lost consciousness once more.
Herace caught her frail, limp body in his arms and called out.
“Ban. Bring me the medicine.”
“Here!”
Ban hurriedly handed over the medicine he’d been clutching so carefully.
Without hesitation, Herace broke the pills apart with his teeth.
She can’t possibly swallow them on her own.
That left only one option.
“What are you planning to do?”
Instead of answering Ban, Herace put the crushed medicine in his mouth and pressed his lips to Sienna’s.
A gasp escaped someone’s throat.
Forcing open her clenched jaw, he carefully pushed the medicine inside.
“Nngh.”
Sienna instinctively resisted, twisting her body against it.
Her teeth split his lip, but Herace never stopped until the medicine was inside.
A twitch, then her throat worked as she swallowed.
He repeated this process several times until she had taken it all.
“Cough!”
A dry cough burst from Sienna’s lips.
Only after confirming that she had taken every bit did Herace cast a spell on her—not anything powerful, just a simple stabilizing enchantment to hold her condition for a while.
“Young Lord.”
At his call, Noah hurried over.
“The immediate crisis is over.”
Noah let out a breath of relief as he held Sienna in his arms.
“But it’s not finished. I’ll step out for a while—watch her.”
“Herace! Where are you going?”
Ban ran up, clinging to his shoulder.
“To bring Oel here.”
All he’d done was douse the flames. To truly stabilize her, they needed an expert’s hand.
But as he stood to leave—
“No need. I’ve just arrived.”
A familiar voice came from the doorway.
“Oel!”
Ban greeted him more joyfully than ever.
“I thought the mansion felt unsettled… Lady Sienna’s condition is worse than I expected.”
Though a man of uncertain standing entered Sienna’s chamber, no one stopped him.
Because he came accompanied by Ethan Dyke, a candidate for High Priest, and because the ever-grim Herace finally let relief show on his face.
“How did you know to come?”
“Know? If I knew, I’d be a god. The medicine was finally ready, so I came to deliver it… and what a mess I walk into.”
Ethan, quicker to step inside, gasped when he saw Sienna.
“What in the world happened, Young Lord?”
But the answer came not from Noah, but from Oel.
“What happened? After all my warnings, she went and took the wrong medicine.”
Clicking his tongue, Oel checked her condition.
“I told you to be careful.”
Herace bit down on his lip at the scolding.
Seeing his uncharacteristically grim face, Oel sighed.
Hard to berate him when he looks like that.
He scanned the room—floor, bed, even their clothes—all drenched in blood.
The urgency of the situation was clear.
“…At least the antidote was administered in time.”
He placed a hand over Sienna’s chest.
“And she was dosed again afterward.”
Finding her body in cleaner shape than expected, Oel exhaled in relief.
“Good. She’s not beyond saving. Treatment was fast.”
That meant the rest wouldn’t be too difficult.
He shed his outer coat, set it neatly on the floor, and opened the box he’d carefully wrapped in cloth.
“The divided doses to ease strain on her heart… that’s meaningless now.”
He pulled out a mortar and a hidden vial of Star’s Tear from his subspace and asked,
“How was the medicine given?”
Everyone looked silently toward Herace.
Following their gazes, Oel sighed.
The faint trace of blood on Herace’s lips said enough.
“By mouth, then?”
Ethan’s sharp eyes immediately locked onto his lips.
“Shameless…”
“Priest Ethan,” Oel interjected, “yes, it was shameless—but with her unconscious, he had no choice.”
He dumped the painstakingly crafted pills into the mortar and began to grind.
“Herace. Do it again.”
“What nonsense is this?” Ethan exclaimed in outrage.
Urging him to repeat such shamelessness? Impossible.
But Oel only rubbed his brow at Ethan’s protests.
“What choice is there? She’s unconscious. Should I force-feed her, or perhaps the Young Lord?”
That would look even stranger.
“Herace has already done it once. Better he does it again.”
Besides, Oel knew—Herace would never let another man’s lips touch Sienna’s.
Brushing the powder off the pestle, Oel turned to Noah.
“Young Lord, do you agree?”
“…We have no choice.”
Noah ran a hand down his weary face.
“If it saves her, nothing else matters.”
“Then it’s settled. There’s no other way.”
Clapping his hands, Oel poured the Star’s Tear into the crushed powder, mixing it thoroughly, and called to Ethan.
“Priest Ethan, bestow a blessing. Keep away any stray forces.”
“…Very well.”
“Young Lord, lay her on the bed.”
“Understood.”
“And you—fetch a wet towel. Her face is a mess.”
Everyone moved according to Oel’s orders.
Ethan bit his lip as he looked at Sienna’s ghostly pale face.
Wake up. I didn’t come here to see you like this.
He had expected to see her radiant, thanking them as she smiled, like that day before. That was why he had carved out time to come with Oel.
But instead of her bright smile, she greeted him with faint, dying breaths.
Wake up. You swore you would survive, no matter what!
Each pass of the wet towel smeared fresh red across her skin, and Ethan felt his chest tighten.
You can’t die like this.
He didn’t want her to die.
Was it because losing her meant losing his backing, his chance at becoming High Priest?
…No.
It wasn’t about power. Ethan wanted Sienna to live—just live.
Better she raise her voice, scream, fight, and rage like before, than lie here like this.
And maybe, just once, smile sincerely again.
Realizing how far she had gotten under his skin, Ethan gave a faint, bitter laugh.
When did you get so deep inside me? I used to wish you’d disappear from my sight.
Slowly, he knelt, taking Sienna’s left hand in both of his.
Don’t die.
Resting his forehead on her hand, he spoke:
“In the name of God, I bestow this blessing upon you—”
For the first time, Ethan offered Sienna a true, heartfelt blessing.
One carrying nothing but his wish for her to live.
