Chapter 7
Elion, fully aware of the questions written all over Hailey’s face, spoke again.
“There’s been a change in my body.”
“Please explain it in a way that’s easier to understand, Your Highness.”
“By chance, when I did a certain action, I felt as if my slight fever and headache disappeared. I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it, so I wanted you to check.”
“Ah… if that’s the case, I’ll begin the examination right away.”
Hailey immediately opened her bag and took out her medical instruments.
Elion closed his eyes and let the doctor’s skillful hands work on him.
About ten minutes later—
Hailey practically shouted.
“My goodness! Your temperature is normal, and your mana stability is normal as well. This hasn’t happened in an entire year, Your Highness!”
“…”
“I tested twice using two different instruments, so the margin of error is extremely low.”
Before he knew it, Hailey’s violet eyes were moist with emotion.
She suddenly grabbed Elion’s hand.
His dark eyebrows twitched for a moment, but Hailey paid no mind.
“What on earth happened, Your Highness!”
“It’s because of Lady Payson. When I hold or touch her hand, I feel this effect.”
“I don’t know how it works, but do not let Lady Payson slip away, Your Highness. At least not until we’ve identified both the cause of the problem and the way to solve it.”
“…”
“Listen to what she says, look at her with warmth in your eyes, and give her a gentle smile.”
“Why would I go that far?”
“Your Highness…”
Hailey let out a small sigh at Elion’s lukewarm response.
“For the past year, you’ve constantly suffered from abnormal symptoms. Even I, who graduated at the top of the Medical Academy and publish the most research papers every year, couldn’t identify the cause.”
“…”
“Without knowing the cause, your symptoms kept worsening to the point that I felt powerless. I didn’t tell you, but I’ve been deeply troubled about it. And now you’re saying Lady Payson might be the answer? Of course you must keep her at your side.”
Elion shut his mouth tight and stood up.
She was a woman he had met for the first time only a week ago.
He knew nothing about her except her face and name.
Yet suddenly, she had cured his ailment.
It was true he found the bizarre phenomenon intriguing after experiencing it firsthand.
But the feeling that followed wasn’t gratitude—it was suspicion.
“She’s a lady I hardly know. On what grounds should I keep her close?”
“You should trust in the ability she possesses, Your Highness. Trust the sensation you personally experienced.”
“…”
Elion clenched his jaw.
He didn’t like the idea of relying on someone he barely knew, but Hailey’s words were reasonable.
“…Fine. For now, I’ll at least hear what she has to say.”
“Warm eyes and a gentle smile, too…”
“You may leave now.”
Cutting her off with that sudden dismissal, Elion prompted her to leave. Hailey pouted, but without protest, she picked up her bag and left the room.
After a simple bath, Rubiana began putting on the clothes brought by Jocelyn, the head maid.
‘We can’t give a noble lady the clothing of a servant, so we brought garments His Highness Elion wore in his youth—around when he was about fifteen.’
It was a simple white shirt, navy trousers, and a jacket.
When Rubiana stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed, Jocelyn smiled brightly.
“I’m glad they fit. And they suit you well. Now, please sit here. I’ll dry your hair for you.”
“…Thank you.”
Rubiana sat down at the vanity as Jocelyn directed.
Jocelyn and two other maids began patting her long silver hair dry with towels.
Seeing Rubiana in Elion’s childhood clothes made Jocelyn’s eyes glimmer nostalgically.
‘Is she recalling the young Grand Duke? They must have been close.’
In the original story, the unstable mana of the “hidden villain” Grand Duke and the incidents caused by it were described in detail, but little else was mentioned.
So the butler, the doctor, and the head maid she met today were all unfamiliar to Rubiana.
‘But they’re all just… normally kind. Well, I guess not everyone working in the villain’s mansion has to be terrifying.’
No, even the “villain” himself probably wasn’t terrifying all the time.
Surely, he could smile sometimes, be gentle, and even perform acts of kindness—like when he had carried her earlier.
‘Right. Even a villain must feel a bit of compassion or sympathy sometimes. I should appeal to that sympathy.’
Rubiana steeled her resolve in front of the mirror.
Finally, Rubiana sat across from Elion.
‘Let’s do this. My life is on the line. Focus.’
She sipped the black tea the butler had prepared, calming her nerves.
A moment later, setting down her cup, she looked straight at him.
“The truth is, I have an illness where my mana leaks out. If it keeps happening, I’ll eventually die.”
“…”
“That’s why I need Your Highness’s mana. Just a little of your surplus mana… could you share it with me?”
“Surplus… mana?”
One of Elion’s eyebrows arched at the unfamiliar term.
For the past year, he had suffered from slight fevers and headaches due to unstable mana.
But surplus mana?
He had never heard of such a thing.
If her words were true, then his unstable mana meant he had an excess of it?
If so, how did she know that—when even Hailey, one of the Empire’s finest doctors, hadn’t?
Sensing the doubts in his eyes, Rubiana quickly spoke again.
“Ah… I just wondered if you might have surplus mana, that’s all. You’re the strongest in the Empire! I thought maybe you had so much mana it overflowed and… well, there might be some left over.”
“…”
“If you didn’t, I was planning to go to the second-strongest knight in the Empire.”
Her preplanned lie flowed out smoothly.
Rubiana’s heart pounded as she watched his expression.
‘I’m speaking harmlessly and innocently enough, right? Like a naïve young lady?’
She couldn’t let him know she already knew he was a Sword Master—something only his closest aides knew.
‘If I mess up and get caught, I might have to confess everything… even that I’m a transmigrator. That’s absolutely not happening.’
Even Omar, who knew she was a transmigrator, didn’t know the details of her past life.
“You felt it too, didn’t you, Your Highness? How the mana naturally flowed into me?”
“…That much is true.”
Elion, studying her with his narrow blue eyes, gave a small nod.
To Rubiana, his lack of denial felt like a good sign.
‘Now… time to drive the nail in.’
To erase the doubt in those cool eyes, she needed a shocking move.
It was time to use her last resort.
‘I really didn’t want to do this…’
But there was no choice.
If she wanted to survive—and live as a true protagonist—she had to do whatever it took.
Gritting her teeth, Rubiana shot up from her seat.
Elion’s eyes widened in surprise.
She stepped forward and dropped to her knees before him.
Thanks to Hailey’s excellent treatment, her injured ankle didn’t hurt at all.
She grabbed hold of his trousers near his calves.
It was the classic “grab the hem of his pants” tactic.
Elion’s eyes shook as if an earthquake had struck.
His body, once relaxed with his legs crossed, went stiff.
Tears welling up in her eyes, Rubiana looked up at him in a desperate plea.
“Please save me, Your Highness! Without your mana, I’m as good as dead. Don’t let me die. Please share just a little mana so I can live. Please?”
“L-Lady, please stand up and calm down—”
Elion tried to pry her hands off his trousers.
But flustered, his stiffened hands and feet moved awkwardly, failing to function properly.
