Chapter 116

Lexius’s voice was a little shaky. He spoke just once, then went quiet, his expression darkening.

Seeing this unfamiliar side of him made Ariel nervous. She had no idea why he was acting this way.

“…Was I badly hurt?”

“You fell and hit your head, getting a deep cut that went all the way to your scalp. The wound was bad, you were bleeding a lot. You were totally unconscious. It was serious.”

“So… you’re the one who saved me, right, Senior?”

“Yeah. But don’t thank me.”

“….”

“Please… just don’t, this time.”

Lexius seemed to mean it. He looked like he was drowning in guilt.

Ariel closed her mouth. Even though she wanted to thank him, she was afraid he might break down if she did.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

Lexius handed Ariel the annex key, fully aware she might get hurt. It wasn’t because he wanted to make her suffer. If he really wanted to torment her, there were plenty of better ways. Making her go through the deep barrier, which only served to scare her a little, was too trivial.

He just wanted to confirm his own feelings through all this.

The night before, he’d been scared when he saw that severe bruise under her knee. It was as if a jolt of cold wind had slammed into his chest and his heart dropped, only to start beating fast and hard. Every thump ached so much, it actually felt like he might be getting sick.

He didn’t know what that feeling really was. Was it just a one-time thing, or would it happen again if something similar occurred?

He wanted to find out, so he decided to let her get a little hurt.

There was no way she could be seriously injured in the deep barrier. For most students, it just made them feel weak or maybe gave them a quick nosebleed. It was only meant to keep people from moving around too much. That was why he figured she would be fine as well.

“You said you wanted to go to the annex, didn’t you?”
“So… you’re giving me this?”
“Now you can go. Lucky you.”

Ariel’s magic rank wasn’t likely to be high. If it had been, the court would have known about it.

That was why he gave her the key.

At worst, she would just get a nosebleed. It was the perfect way to see if those feelings he’d had the night before were just temporary or not.

So something serious like her fainting was never supposed to happen. She definitely shouldn’t have slammed her forehead into the metal door and gotten a huge cut running up her head. She wasn’t supposed to collapse on the floor, bleeding everywhere…

“Sometimes you’re a bit harsh and intimidating, Senior… but to me, you’re still a good person. So, thank you. I’m really grateful.”

Her words echoed in his mind.

When he picked up Ariel, who was covered in blood, he was hit with a crushing sense of despair. She felt frighteningly light in his arms, her skin ghostly pale. His hands trembled uncontrollably as he held her. He was terrified she might fall apart at any moment.

His pace quickened.

He couldn’t teleport someone who was injured since magic always put some strain on the body, even if you didn’t notice. It could make her wound worse. But he couldn’t treat her right away, either. Small injuries were easy to handle anywhere, but for something this severe, she had to see a physician first to make sure she wouldn’t have lasting damage.

Lexius ran past the infirmary in the faculty building and straight to Dormitory 1. In a single leap, he crossed the emerald-green fence and passed through the main entrance of the dormitory.

He was moving at lightning speed.

Once inside, he laid Ariel in a properly equipped medical room and summoned the physician who was on standby to examine her. The maids quickly brought whatever was needed, and the physician promptly checked her condition.

“The fainting itself isn’t a problem since it happened after she left the barrier. But the cut is serious, and the heavy bleeding led to exhaustion. The wound needs to be cleaned and stitched, and she’ll need her blood levels restored. We’ll also need to watch out for infection.”

“Okay. Wait outside.”

Lexius had the physician give only the diagnosis and took care of the treatment himself. He carefully placed his hand over the long cut on her forehead. With magic, he cleaned and stitched the wound, erasing any sign of a scar. Then, he parted her lips and slipped his index finger into her mouth, pressing softly on her tongue while channeling magic into her. The magic acted as a substitute for the blood she had lost.

After ten minutes or so, the deathly pallor faded from Ariel’s face, and her color returned.

His high-level healing magic far surpassed ordinary medical treatment. It was thanks to all his years on the battlefield. Once her wounds were fully healed, she drifted off to sleep, her breathing calm and steady.

He collapsed to his knees beside her bed.

Thump, thump, thump, thump—

His heart was pounding so hard his chest heaved, and the sound echoed in his ears. He buried his forehead in the sheets, his vision of the floor wavering as he trembled.

“Hah… hhh…”

His breathing went ragged and uneven. He grabbed the bedrail with shaking hands, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to calm down.

Slowly, his shaky breaths became steady again. Only then did he realize how wound up he had been. He had seen injuries way worse than Ariel’s. He had seen corpses, even mountains of them, and yet, just seeing her hurt rattled him this much. Lexius let out a helpless, hollow laugh. He gave a weak, self-mocking laugh for a moment, then pulled himself together and called for a maid.

“Wash her and change her clothes. Move her to a private room when you’re done.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Oh, and bring the lady’s personal maid, too. Have her collect her master’s personal belongings.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Once the maids bowed and left, Lexius strode out of the infirmary room without another word.