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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Prince's Visit
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“Mooother!”
I burst into the tears I'd been holding back the moment I saw her, crying out desperately.
Elena flinched briefly at my sobbing, then ordered everyone else to leave except for me.
She came over to my side and asked,
“What happened?”
“The spirits said it's a seizure that happens unconsciously in an unawakened state.”
“A seizure?”
Elena's face darkened rapidly. Of course it would—Zeronis had frequently teetered on the brink of death from his own seizures.
As the emperor's sister, she knew better than anyone just how terrifying they could be.
“Actually, this works out for the best. This is the territory of the Dark Dragon Zafarsia, so the pain should be less intense than anywhere else.”
Elena echoed what the spirits had said. Sniffling through my tears, I replied,
“Yes. For now, I've sent a messenger back to the main estate to summon Marsha.”
“Good thinking. It would have been trouble if outsiders found out—you made the right call on the spot.”
As Elena stroked my hair, another wave of emotion welled up in me.
That's when I threw myself into her arms without thinking. She patted my back and said,
“Luckily, there's someone here who knows all about unawakened seizures. Let's ask for their help.”
“Someone who knows well...”
I immediately pictured a certain person and asked cautiously. Sure enough, Elena alluded to Zeronis.
“I can't reveal their identity, but they're a very important person.”
“Ah.”
“The matter's urgent, so we'll request their assistance, but you must never breathe a word about meeting them here to anyone.”
I nodded, and Elena emphasized again,
“Don't even let your curiosity get the better of you about who they are. Even if you figure it out, pretend you don't know. Understood?”
Her solemn expression made it obvious who it was.
“Yes, Mother.”
It looked like today was the day fate had decreed I meet the male lead.
A short while later, Countess Aria led someone into the lodging. The boy, his hood pulled low, had the same crimson eyes as Elena.
Moreover, strands of hair peeking out from under the hood gleamed with the golden hue unique to the imperial family. I muttered to myself upon seeing Zeronis,
'No matter how you roll him front or back, he's unmistakably Zeronis.'
He wasn't even trying to hide his identity—it would have been weirder if I hadn't recognized him.
With just the hood, his features screamed 'imperial family!' loud and clear.
Elena bowed her head in gratitude.
“Thank you for answering our sudden request. Our knights have secured the path here, so there's no need to worry about being spotted.”
Her deferential attitude left Shuri, standing nearby, looking utterly bewildered.
And understandably so—in the empire, the only ones above a grand duchess were imperials. And among imperials, only the direct line outranked her.
That's why she'd told me to play dumb even if I knew.
Fortunately, the only ones present were Akid and me, Shuri, and Elena's group with Zeronis. He shook his head and said,
“I was getting restless cooped up in the lodging anyway. Think nothing of it.”
Then he ordered the man beside him,
“Check the Young Grand Duke's condition.”
“Yes, sir.”
The man appeared to be a physician. Without a word of offense, he took Akid's pulse.
At that moment, a flash of light burst around his hand. It was light-attribute magic.
Light-attribute healers were said to be exceedingly rare, and as expected, the imperial family's personal physician was on another level.
I anxiously watched Akid's complexion. His pale face and sweat-matted hair made him look on the verge of death—it broke my heart.
The diagnosis didn't take long.
“I've cleared the blocked mana pathways first. It seems he was startled by sudden exposure to high-density mana.”
“Does it look like the same symptoms to you?”
The physician replied to Elena's question,
“Yes. The Young Grand Duke seems to have... ahem, the young master has a similarly sensitive constitution.”
The physician, who had nearly said 'Your Highness,' coughed awkwardly and corrected himself to 'young master.'
Seeing that reminded me of how Zeronis had hidden his identity from Mabel in the original story, posing as a young master, with everyone around him playing along seamlessly to fool her completely.
The physician continued,
“With this level of sensitivity, it's unlikely to be the first time. Has there truly never been an episode like this before?”
“Not the first time?”
“Yes. Even in Prodeum, such a hypersensitive reaction wouldn't manifest out of nowhere. There must have been precursor symptoms.”
“Hmm. If he hid them, I wouldn't have known. He's such a inscrutable child.”
Elena looked somber at the physician's words. If he was right, it meant Akid had felt the precursors but kept them to himself.
I mirrored her woeful expression. As she said, Akid was the type to endure pain without a word.
If I hadn't pressed him today, he might have toughed it out until collapsing back at the lodging.
'You stubborn fool. Always bottling it up like an idiot. If only you'd lean on me more.'
I knew it wasn't his fault, but I couldn't help feeling hurt and sorry for him.
Akid's habit of suffering in silence stemmed from his unfortunate childhood and the cold treatment from the grand duke couple and his wife.
I stuck close to Akid's side, not moving a muscle.
As I wiped his sweat and gazed at him tenderly, I felt a persistent stare directed at me.
Turning toward it, I saw Zeronis peering at me intently from under his hood. More precisely, he was glaring at the ruby necklace around my neck.
It must have been because some kind of barrier had formed around the necklace, suppressing my power.
'Keep that on at all times for the time being.'
The grand duke's words from before his trip echoed in my mind. He'd said it was a necklace that concealed my spirit affinity.
'As expected of the male lead—sharp instincts.'
I didn't know if the grand duke had anticipated a meeting with Zeronis, but it was a relief either way.
Had we crossed paths without it, he might have sensed the spirit power swirling around me.
I casually fiddled with my neck area as if adjusting it, tucking the necklace inside.
According to the original story, he'd had exceptional mana sensitivity since childhood, making him attuned to other beings.
Or perhaps, now that I thought about it, he'd become such a powerhouse because he was the crown prince, exposed to the best environments.
If Prodeum was Zafarsia's stronghold, then the imperial palace in Akalimut was like their vacation home and playground.
I recalled from imperial history class that the northern regions were too harsh for the capital, so they'd built the palace in the milder climate of Akalimut.
With what the spirits had said, it didn't sound so far-fetched.
More puzzling, though, was Akid's condition. In the original, he'd awakened normally.
Yet now, diverging from the story, he was showing the same symptoms as Zeronis.
Whether the latent power in him had coincidentally manifested, or if there was another cause, I couldn't say.
This world wasn't a book with a fixed script anymore, not since I'd become a living variable.
I'd already accepted that it couldn't unfold exactly like the novel.
But events happening earlier than expected, or entirely new incidents like this one, filled me with unease.
That's when Zeronis asked me,
“Is that necklace a protective amulet? It seems infused with special magic.”
He must have taken it for some enchanted protective artifact. I nodded and said,
“Ah, yes. Father-in-law had it specially made for me since I'm such a troublemaker.”
“The Grand Duke must cherish his daughter-in-law dearly. That stone is awfully rare.”
“It's rare?”
This was news to me. When he'd given it to me, the grand duke had handed it over as casually as if he'd picked it up on a stroll.
If it were valuable, he would've bragged endlessly about it. So Zeronis must be mistaken.
Then Zeronis widened his eyes and asked,
“You don't even know what it is and you wear it so openly?”
“Pardon?”
Was there something wrong with wearing it openly?
As I blinked in confusion, Zeronis added,
“It's no ordinary gem. It's called a 'Hamar'—a stone mixed with dragon's blood.”
“!!”
D-dr-dragon's blood?
After the Dragon King Zafarsia entered eternal slumber, the remaining dragons on the continent had devolved into mindless high-grade mana beasts.
Even those were few in number, making dragon-related items priceless rarities that money alone couldn't buy.
'So this red isn't from some chemical reaction—it's actual blood mixed in?'
Now that I knew, the stone's glow seemed even more blood-like today. Elena interjected then,
“No need to worry about that. Few people could even identify it as Hamar.”
“But this person...”
“They already possess Hamar themselves, so they recognized it at once. Isn't that right?”
Elena subtly sought confirmation, and Zeronis nodded.
“I've seen it in my father's vault.”
His father—the emperor of this land.
To be kept in the imperial vault, it had to be extraordinarily valuable.
My neck suddenly felt heavier. My commoner brain couldn't even begin to calculate the necklace's worth.
'How much is this thing even worth?'
