Chapter 92

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ୨ৎ ໒꒱ ‧₊ ୧‿︵

“Hey, medicine! Bring it here now!”

A yell rang out from the bedroom, immediately followed by the crash of something breaking. Liam, who had been staring at the closed door with his face set in a hard line, turned to the person beside him.

“Go fetch the medicine from Sir Benson.”

“Yes.”

The attendant from the Crown Prince’s quarters quickly hurried away.

Liam let out a heavy sigh and knocked on the door.

“Your Highness, I’m coming in for a moment.”

The moment he opened the door and stepped inside, something heavy flew past his face. Liam glanced briefly at the paperweight that had narrowly missed him and was now rolling at his feet, then hurriedly added.

“I’ve already told Sir Benson, your physician, to prepare your medicine. He’ll be here soon, so please wait just a little longer.”

“How much longer do I have to wait? How much longer?!”

Vien slammed his desk and began pacing the room, clearly agitated.

Noticing how much his condition had worsened in just a few days, Liam carefully suggested.

“For now, perhaps you could have some tea to help ease your headache…”

“You think tea is going to help a headache that even medicine can’t fix?”

The sharp retort made Liam momentarily close his mouth.

As Vien roughly ran a hand through his hair in frustration, he suddenly turned to Liam as if struck by a thought.

“—oia, bring me Philoia!”

“Pardon?”

Caught off guard by the sudden command, Liam’s voice rose in surprise for the first time.

“Y-You can’t, Your Highness! Philoia is prohibited from cultivation and harvesting…!”

With a sharp crash, a cup whizzed past him and shattered against the wall. A shard from the cup left a long red scratch across Liam’s face.

Drops of blood dripped onto the floor.

“So, are you saying it doesn’t matter if I die as long as the law is upheld?”

“Y-Yes? That’s not what I meant! You’re misunderstanding… Ugh!”

Vien ground his boot into Liam’s hand, pinning it to the floor.

The old man barely held back a scream, his body trembling uncontrollably.

“If you dare tell me ‘no’ one more time, you’ll see your head displayed at the execution ground tomorrow morning.”

Liam froze at the words, which felt like they were whispered straight into his ear.

At that moment, a knock echoed through the office.

“S-Sir Benson has arrived!”

“…You’re lucky.”

With a low mutter, Vien straightened up from where he had been leaning over Liam. Benson flinched at the wrecked state of the room and quickly bowed his head.

“I-I greet Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“I’ll keep this brief. Did you bring the medicine?”

“Y-Yes, of course. As soon as I heard…”

“You didn’t bring me that medicine you’ve been giving me all this time, the one that had no effect, did you?”

Benson flinched noticeably.

Even as he kept his head lowered, his eyes were shaking with fear.

“W-well, the thing is…”

Vien watched the man in front of him gulp nervously, then moved closer. As the distance between them shrank, Benson squeezed his eyes shut.

Then, with his head tilted slightly, Vien spoke in an icy tone.

“I won’t repeat myself, Benson. Will you get me Philoia, or will you be executed for the crime of attempting to kill the Crown Prince?”

“I—I…”

Benson shot a glance at Liam, who was still sprawled on the floor. When he saw how badly Liam’s hand was injured, he seemed to make up his mind and spoke.

“I-I’ll get it for you, Your Highness!”

“That’s the answer I wanted. You can go now.”

“Y-Yes!”

As if relieved to be dismissed, Benson hurriedly bowed his head. As he scrambled to leave the room, Vien called out to stop him again.

Benson turned around, looking thoroughly frightened.

“Take him with you.”

“Ah, yes! Of course, Your Highness!”

At Vien’s gesture, Benson hurried to help Liam to his feet. After bowing quickly, he practically rushed out of the room, dragging Liam with him.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Benson let out the breath he had been holding.

“J-Just how severe must his headache be to make him change like that?”

“How could you promise His Highness you would bring him Philoia?”

Benson, muttering in frustration, turned to look at Liam after being scolded. Startled by the old man’s fierce anger, he hardened his expression before responding.

“What was I supposed to do, let him kill me instead?”

When Benson shot back at him, Liam had nothing more to say. Then, looking at the old man’s injured hand, he let out a weary sigh.

“I’ll notify a healing wizard. Make sure you get your hand treated.”

“….”

“And I’ll handle the Philoia situation myself.”

“…What are you going to do?”

Benson hesitated a moment at Liam’s question, then answered calmly.

“For now, I’ll have to limit how much is used. The pain-relieving effect is strong, but so are the side effects.”

“….”

“And I’ll look for the cause of the headaches as quickly as I can.”

“Do you think you can?”

“I’ll have to try.”

Liam just nodded in silence at Benson’s words.

Seeing how weary the old man seemed, he let out a deep sigh and answered.

“For now, the biggest issue is the party that’s happening tomorrow.”

“Please. Under no circumstances can it be revealed that His Highness the Crown Prince is unwell.”

“…I’ll do everything I can.”

Both men ran a hand over their faces, looking daunted by what was ahead. Before they knew it, the sun was setting beyond the window.