Chapter 26: A Silent Fracture

“Cough.”

“Ian!”

Felix and Zeimer rushed to my side in an instant. Felix, who had been standing up to leave, spun back around, and Zeimer, despite his bedraggled appearance, scrambled toward me in a panic. Claire, who had been standing by the door, also hurried over.

Maintaining a wary eye on the three of them, I quietly slid the piece of dried mango I was holding back onto the bed table. To keep blood from splattering onto the duvet, I kept my head down, catching the flow from my mouth with both hands. I pulled my back away from the pillows, using one hand to cup my chin and the other to catch whatever leaked through my fingers. The blood was still hot with body heat. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure if this was real blood anymore; I never felt dizzy after these episodes.

Felix quickly pressed a cloth to my chin. As it soaked through, the fabric made a faint hissing sound and shriveled up. I marveled once more at the Goddess’s unnecessarily detailed special effects and shifted my gaze to Claire and Zeimer. To burst into my room without warning, they must have been either in a massive hurry or incredibly furious. Moreover, it was a rare sight to see the perpetually fastidious Zeimer covered in dust and grime.

I sat still, waiting for the bleeding to stop while Felix wiped me down. When the first cloth became too saturated to absorb any more, Felix began using his discarded cravat to catch the rest.

“Sigh…”

I exhaled deeply, silently praying for a doctor or anyone else to show up and kick these three out for the sake of “stability.” Of course, that was never going to happen. This had long since become a routine occurrence, and besides, these three were more skilled at handling me than any physician.

Claire whispered to Zeimer, his eyes full of concern.

“Zeimer, I told you to calm down—!”

Zeimer looked down at me with eyes full of regret and agitation. With his white hair covered in ash and soot, he looked like a scruffy white puppy that hadn’t been groomed in ages. He appeared even more disheveled standing right next to the impeccably dressed Felix.

Once the bleeding seemed to have subsided, I pulled the bundle of cloth from Felix’s hand. I didn’t care about the price of the now-ruined cravat. Everyone in this room, except for me, was in a position where they never had to worry about such costs. I spat the last of the blood into the white scrap of fabric—now nothing more than a limp, stained rag—and wiped my mouth. It was nothing.

In the slightly raspy voice that usually followed these episodes, I greeted Zeimer and Claire.

“He- cough… Hello.”

“Don’t speak yet…!” Zeimer cried out urgently.

But he couldn’t stop me. I stubbornly continued, pouring all my desire for them to please take their fight outside my room into my words.

“I’m… fine. Ugh—”

I surreptitiously clutched my chest. There wasn’t a specific reason; it was just for a bit of dramatic effect.

“Ian…”

Claire called my name softly, but I ignored him with singular focus. At first, I had been curious about what was happening, but now I didn’t care about curiosity or anything else. I simply wanted imperial affairs—no, all affairs—to happen without my knowledge. I didn’t want to be involved.

“Ha… ha… Your Majesty. I feel a bit… dizzy…”

When I spoke while looking down and clutching my chest, everyone began to scramble. Since I had caught the blood well, it hadn’t splattered anywhere, and after the bed table was cleared, the situation was quickly brought under control.

Claire removed the pillows from behind my back and helped me lie down.

“Are you thirsty? Is there blood stuck in your throat?”

He didn’t forget his meticulous questioning. I shook my head as Claire lowered my body and tucked the duvet around me.

Zeimer, apparently unable to bring himself to approach while covered in dust, used magic to strip away the grime before finally drawing near. He looked dazed, as if too many things had happened at once.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

I gazed up at them for a moment before closing my eyes. Zeimer angry and disheveled, Felix unyielding, Claire silent… too much information was pouring in.

I stopped thinking for a moment.

“I want to rest for a bit.”

I found out later by catching Ilya during a brief visit that a “slight” argument had indeed broken out between Felix and Zeimer. Apparently, Felix had been so offended by Zeimer’s unfiltered remarks that he had reflected Zeimer’s own words back at him using a Dragon Word.

Hearing the story, I felt nothing but exhaustion. Ilya must have seen it on my face, because he laughed.

“Haha, those two can be a bit… aggressive.”

“Aggressive” was an understatement. You couldn’t use such a mild word for men who could level this entire capital city alone if they felt like it.

I could picture the scene without even seeing it. Zeimer likely let some nonsense fly from his mouth, and Felix probably jumped at the chance to counterattack. Judging by Zeimer’s state, it looked like he had been sent to some remote corner of the continent. Since teleportation magic requires coordinates the caster has “personally” visited, I suspected Felix had used a Dragon Word to shove Zeimer into some godforsaken hole. Of course, that was just my guess.

While I was talking with Ilya, Claire leaned against the doorframe and knocked on the already open door. Knock, knock. He had changed into comfortable riding clothes, seemingly ready to go home. Claire commuted by horse from the Duke’s estate near the palace.

“Ian. Ilya.”

“Ah, come in, Claire!” Ilya answered for me.

Ilya said he had to work late tonight. He occupied the unfortunate position of Prime Minister, which meant he couldn’t leave until the Emperor did. Felix’s afternoon “hooky” session had been the bolt from the blue that signaled a long night for Ilya.

“Is your throat feeling alright?”

Claire stepped closer and gently lifted my chin with his fingertips. Even though the blood had been thoroughly cleaned, his gaze lingered, scanning my face intensely.

“Yes. Are you heading home now, Claire?”

As a knight’s hands should be, Claire’s were large, blunt, and thick-knuckled. His palms were covered in dense layers of calluses from gripping and swinging a massive sword forged from a Dragon’s claw. They were rough hands.

Claire’s gaze rested briefly on today’s lesson materials on the bed table before returning to me.

“Yes, I’m leaving now. Ian, you haven’t had a full seizure, but your condition took a sharp turn for the worse just hours ago. Why don’t you stop for today and get some rest?”

I felt a prick of guilt and looked away, only to see Ilya wearing a similarly worried expression.

“I’m fine. Anyway, Claire, earlier this afternoon… I heard a bit from Ilya, but…”

I trailed off.

“It was nothing. Just the usual bickering between those two that got a bit out of hand.”

A crease appeared between Claire’s brows and then vanished. Ilya, Claire—everyone was keeping their mouths shut. Judging by Zeimer’s behavior, it was clearly about me. The only thing that made Zeimer lose his reason was something related to me.

If you’re not going to tell me, then don’t make it so obvious in front of me.

I felt a surge of petulance at the fact that they were discussing me while keeping me in the dark, and I twisted my face out of Claire’s hand. Sensing my mood, Claire let out a small sigh.

“It wasn’t much. It was the same as always. As you’ve probably guessed, it’s true the argument was about you. But it’s nothing you need to worry about.”

Behind him, I saw Ilya’s mouth drop open in shock. From Ilya’s perspective, it must have felt like a betrayal. He looked as if he couldn’t believe his old friend Claire could be so loose-lipped. Claire had just blurted out the facts Ilya had been trying so hard to hide, thinking it was too soon.

Ignoring the sputtering Ilya, Claire continued.

“It was about your residence. And there was also talk about going to meet a legendary being. But everything will go according to your wishes, so you don’t have to worry.”

If it was about my residence, Felix likely argued for the palace, while Zeimer argued for somewhere outside. As for the “legendary being,” it was undoubtedly the Dragon. On that issue, Zeimer wanted to go immediately, while Felix wanted to delay it out of concern for my health. In the end, since both were advocating for things I didn’t want, I fell into a pointless internal debate about who I should even root for.

“Everything will happen according to Ian’s will, in the form Ian wants. You don’t need to worry.”

Claire repeated himself, trying to reassure me. He seemed concerned that my momentary daze from deep thought was a sign of distress.

After Claire left, I had a quiet, simple dinner with Ilya. Ilya was comfortable in a different way than Claire. Perhaps because he was brilliant, or perhaps because he was good at reading people, he was exceptional at being considerate of others.

I stirred my slightly cooled oatmeal and then set the spoon down. My mind was too uneasy.

“Ilya.”

“Yes?”

“Tell me.”

Ilya met my eyes with a kind, friendly smile.

“Tell you what?”

I wasn’t falling for that smile anymore. Neither Ilya nor Claire were simply “nice” people.

“You said you were talking about me. Is what Claire said everything?”

I looked straight into Ilya’s eyes. No matter how much it was supposedly for my sake, I didn’t want to live my life ignorant of things concerning me. This was separate from imperial business. I didn’t care about that, but I needed to know my own affairs. I didn’t want to be swept along anymore without knowing anything. Even if it was something small, I wanted to choose it by my own will.

Sensing my firm resolve, Ilya furrowed his brows slightly.

“What Claire said is everything. The reason I didn’t mention it is that I agreed with Claire’s sentiment. Regardless of what the Emperor or Zeimer wants, I am on your side.”

“…”

“Ah, of course, I don’t mean that those two aren’t on your side. I just mean that Claire and I intend to follow your decision.”

My mind felt cluttered and uneasy.

“Ilya.”

“Yes, Ian.”

“From now on, I want to know too.”

Ilya surely understood what I meant. He was smart, after all. Still frowning slightly, he gave a small smile.

“Yes. I will keep that in mind.”