Chapter 67
I put my hand on my chest and felt my heart beating fast.
The power of the Light Dragon changed after it entered me. It turned into ether and mixed with my own energy.
At first, I thought this strange ether would drive me crazy, but because it changed, I was fine until now.
But right now, that wasn’t the important thing.
“…It’s similar.”
The situation now felt almost the same as what I saw back in the kingdom—
The sudden wasteland, the blackened Rune-Tea plants, and the strange poisoning that happened to people passing nearby.
I was certain.
There is something near the wasteland and Rune-Tea field.
Just then—
Bang!
“Lady Rita!”
Harun burst into the room, his face pale.
He grabbed me and ran quickly down the hall. He looked so urgent that I didn’t even think to resist.
“Are we going to see His Highness?” I asked.
“Yes. He’s still in his office.”
“At this hour?”
It was very late. I frowned.
Since I gave Cedric the medicine, he had been sleeping more.
Usually, by this time, he would already be in bed.
I lowered my voice. “…Is he very bad right now?”
Harun nodded heavily.
The office wasn’t far. My research room, Cedric’s office, and his bedroom were all close together.
“Please hurry. Lord Tinte is with him now,” Harun said as he opened the office door for me.
The moment I heard Cedric’s painful groans leaking through the crack of the door, I knew Harun wasn’t exaggerating.
I rushed inside.
The air felt heavy, like I was sinking into a sea of energy.
And there I saw Cedric.
He was pale, clutching at his chest, kneeling on the floor, trying desperately to endure the pain.
His clothes were stained with blood. He had already coughed up blood several times.
“Rita.”
Tinte’s voice brought me back to my senses.
I grabbed Cedric’s hand and carefully poured my ether into him.
The wild, violent energy inside him rushed toward me through my senses.
He squeezed my hand hard—so hard it hurt.
I let out a small gasp.
Right away, Cedric loosened his grip, but I could see his other hand clenched into a fist so tightly that his nails cut into his palm.
Even while suffering so badly, he was still trying not to hurt me.
My chest ached at that thought.
I checked his ether again. It was wild and unstable, but strangely, it wasn’t being pulled toward me like before.
“When did this start?” I asked.
“Since the afternoon,” Harun said. “He seemed very tired.”
“He often gets like this after meeting people from the empire,” Tinte added. “Probably the stress.”
But just meeting people shouldn’t make his condition this bad.
I frowned, scanning the room.
“We need to move him to the bedroom or my research room. I’ll try another medicine.”
Harun helped Cedric stand, and something rolled across the floor.
It was an empty potion bottle.
On the desk, I noticed a strange box.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Some gift from the empire,” Harun said carelessly. “Nothing useful.”
But at that moment Cedric spat blood again.
I couldn’t stop staring at that box. Something felt… wrong.
Surprisingly, Cedric slowly calmed down.
Not because of anything I did—but at least he was stable enough to talk now.
Ignoring Harun and Tinte’s protests, he insisted on coming to my research room instead of resting in his bedroom.
His face was still pale, but luckily the medicine was working a little.
I focused on preparing a new treatment.
As I stirred the pot, I sensed Cedric pacing nearby. His shadow kept passing over my work.
“Please stay still. You’re sick,” I scolded.
“That’s harder than it sounds,” he replied.
“It’s easier to rest in bed than wander around like this!”
“But I actually feel better being here.”
He kept answering me calmly, like nothing was wrong.
When I looked back, his eyes were fixed on me. The light from the magic lamp made his expression strangely intense.
“Why… are you looking at me like that?” I whispered.
His gaze was steady, but it felt heavy. I quickly looked away, but he let out a low laugh.
“It’s strange,” he said.
“What is?”
“These impulses I feel.”
Before I could ask, he continued:
“I want to hold you. I want to keep you close.”
I froze. “Are you crazy? Do you… like me or something?”
Cedric laughed softly. “I don’t think it’s that.”
“Then why? It makes no sense…”
“Exactly. What is it about you?”
The bubbling of the pot startled me, breaking the tense silence.
The medicine was almost ready.
But when I checked Cedric’s ether again, it had shifted—different from before.
“I’m curious too,” I said quietly.
“About what?”
“Your energy. Cedric, it’s really strange.”
I stepped closer to him.
He flinched and stiffened.
