CH 12

In the bedroom, Loen, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, was talking with Alice with a serious expression.

“Loen?”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, Your Highness the Princess.”

Loen looked politely at me.

“Princess, you said you were going to the library, but you’re here already?”

I could feel the corner of Alice’s lips trembling as she smiled.

It was clear that he had heard about Licht’s condition. Having to know his whereabouts, I went straight to the main topic.

“Alice. I heard that Licht is very sick?”

“…You’ve already know it?”

“Yesh. Somehow.”

Confused, Alice turned to Loen who was beside her. Even in this situation, Loen, who remained calm, made eye contact with me.

“Your Highness the Princess. His Majesty is currently resting in his bedroom. He will be fine soon.”

Judging from the atmosphere, it seems that the Second Prince has failed to distribute his mana to Licht.

‘Because they said that the amount of mana possessed by the Second Prince is only second to Licht.’

Unlike the other princes who still possessed significantly less mana, it must have been a possible attempt because it was abundant. It meant that the other princes, other than the Second Prince, would be in a difficult situation to even try.

While Alice and Loen were away for a while, I sat down on the bed and looked down at my toes.

‘To think that out of all, it’s chanting magic.’

In order to safely transfer my magic power to Licht, I had to go through an intermediate stage called ‘spell’.

However, I’ve never used practical magic using spells and formulas before.

It was because I was conscious of the gaze of an escort I had never seen before that Licht had attached to me.

At most, I hide in the blanket every night and train, trying to control and move the mana in my body.

‘Where the hell are they watching me?’

I tried to use my mana to check their presence, but nothing was caught.

I sighed heavily and curled my body.

‘But now it’s time to slowly announce the manifestation of mana.’

I closed my eyes and repeated the simulation in my head to save Licht until night came. I also didn’t forget to prepare an excuse in case he woke up safely and I’m questioned as to when I was able to use magic.

“Then see you tomorrow morning, Princess.”

Alice, who covered me with the blanket, lightly kissed me on my forehead and turned around.

As I waited for the ray of light that had leaked through the door to disappear completely, I quietly got up.

As I learned recently, Licht and I were sharing each other’s bedroom through a door.

It was a fact that I was completely unaware because Licht appeared using mobility magic every time.

‘Let there be nobody, please.’

Holding my breath, I moved my mana to check for signs in the bedroom. Fortunately, there was only one sign that I could feel, Licht.

Having swallowed dry saliva, I opened the door without hesitation and went inside.

The inside of the bedroom was quiet, unlike the outside that was guarded by the knights. Mir, including the doctor, was nowhere to be seen.

I tried to suppress the sound of footsteps as much as possible and approached the place where I could feel Licht’s energy.

The closer I got to the bed covered with the curtain, the clearer the dangerous energy, as if it was about to go out at any moment.

Licht’s chest was rising up and down as he breathed.

The hand that was sticking out over the thin sheet was full of scratches from sharp things. I quietly lifted the veil, hesitatingly, reached out and clasped his fingertips.

“…Don’t die, Licht.”

Unbeknownst to me, a voice that was locked in a mess came out.

‘It’s against the law to die like this.’

I held Licht’s hand for a long time without moving.

‘Can I succeed?’

If Licht and my mana don’t match, the magic will bounce back and come back to me.

It was unclear whether this child’s body would be able to withstand the recoil, but I couldn’t stand still and watch him die.

‘Please.’

I closed my eyes and started singing, relying on his body temperature, which was cooler than usual.

Contrary to my worries about whether I’ll be able to do it, a spell, supposedly in an ancient language, flowed from my lips as a song.

At the same time, the mana that flowed through my body slowly escaped through the fingertips I held against him.

A damp cold sweat dripped from my forehead, which gave strength to the fingertips I touched.

Even in his unconscious state, Licht instinctively pushed the strange aura that was trying to invade into his body.

My mana that was about to enter his body faltered.

‘Don’t refuse, Licht.’

As the struggle got longer, the sweat dripped down to the tip of my chin.

‘It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.’

How many times have I repeated the same words in my mind?

At last, I could feel Licht’s strong defense slowly breaking down.

I didn’t miss the momentary gap he showed, and I poured my mana into him with a stronger momentum than before. The pale pink mana that had passed through my fingertips permeated his whole body like a mist.

Then, Licht’s mana, which was scarcely left, began to react with the momentum to devour my magic.

My legs stumbled by the mana’s movement, which was like an energy source.

‘I can’t do more.’

I stopped singing because of the ominous feeling that if I went on like this, all of my body’s mana might be taken away.

The hand holding Licht fell off.

And immediately, with burning pain in my stomach, fresh blood flowed down my lips.

My whole body trembled at the terrible pain I felt for the first time since I returned from time.

“Ugh.”

The white sheets were soaked with blood, which I had vomited without a moment to stop.

I covered my mouth and flinched from the bed.

‘Is that a failure?’

My clear vision gradually faded, and my body helplessly fell to the floor like a doll that fell off a string.

“…nian!”

Finally, the world flickered at the familiar voice calling me.

***

Licht stopped walking in the cold darkness and stopped in place.

‘Where am I?’

Rubbing his throbbing forehead, he managed to recall his last memories on the continent.

To be more precise, the huge crystal that spewed out a red light as if it was refusing to approach him and devoured the mana in his body.

A terrifying laugh leaked from between Licht’s lips.

“Ha.”

This fucking crystal bastard…

He still couldn’t believe his failure.

It wasn’t easy to admit that his efforts over the past three years had gone to waste in an instant.

“I’m annoyed.”

He couldn’t get a single crystal of that kind, and he was in danger of dying because his mana was taken over his limit.

As the owner of the Myo World, his appearance was utterly pathetic and wretched.

‘Ah, it’s all annoying.’

Should he just give up everything, he wondered.

If it wasn’t for the oath he swore to Akamar’s remains on the day of his coronation.

No, if only he had known sooner that the position of the head was full of annoying things like this.

Licht, who had been walking recklessly with a tired expression on his face, suddenly stopped. A faint warmth was felt in the space filled with chills enough to let out his breath.

He turned his head in the direction of warmth.

A faint pale pink light penetrated into the dry cavity-like space.

“…Yernian?”

The energy he had vaguely felt from Yernian created a haze towards him as if it wanted him to follow it.

Without realizing it, Licht started walking along the light pink energy resembling Yernian.

He had a feeling he had to do something like that.

‘Ah.’

Come to think of it, he remembered squeezing out the remaining mana at his last moment and moving to the Myo World.

Licht felt a strange feeling, but in order not to lose sight of the light, he speeded up his steps.

The dry space, which was on the verge of drying out, was filled with a warm and full energy that couldn’t be described in words.

Crack.

At the sound of something cracking, Licht reflexively raised his head.

“…Butterfly?”

At that moment, the mysterious space that had kept Licht locked up was shattered.

Finally, the scenery changed as dozens of butterflies flew towards him. Licht, who touched his head on the light that pierced his eyes, barely got up.

He was unfamiliar with the scenery of the bedroom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

Before he could properly comprehend the situation, a painful groan pierced his ears.

“…?”

Licht recognized the unfamiliar body temperature on his fingertips and turned his head.

“Ugh.”

The small body, which had vomited blood, collapsed to the floor helplessly.

Her wavy, pale pink hair flopped haphazardly across the carpet.

“…Yernian?”

“…”

“Yernian!”

Licht, who raised his voice infrequently, picked up the pale pink-haired child who had fallen to the floor, presumably a Yernian.

The arms of the child in his arms stretched down helplessly. The child’s thin pajamas were already drenched in blood.

She’s the only hope to save the crumbling grave world. She should never be allowed to die.

Licht, who was trying to use the healing magic quickly, stopped.

No matter how hard he tried, the mana that followed his will like breathing didn’t move.

“Mir!”

His nervous call quickly made a fuss outside the bedroom.

Immediately, Mir ran into the bedroom with an expression on his face not knowing whether he was delighted or shocked.

“Your Majesty! I thought I would never see you like this again!”

“I need it right now. The doctor.”

“…I will bring him right now.”

Mir, who found Yernian drooping in Licht’s arms, quickly grasped the situation and withdrew.

After a while, the doctor, who had already received an emergency call for the second time just today, examined Yernian, who didn’t move.

“Did the Messiah save Brother?”

The Second Prince, Ignis, who felt the commotion in the night, asked while leaning at the door.

“It seems to be the case under the circumstances. Wouldn’t it be good for the Second Prince to take a rest too?”

Originally, it was the Second Prince Ignis who tried to save Licht.

However, as Licht’s body repelled the magic he was trying to inject, Ignis lost consciousness on the spot.

Ignis pulled up the corner of one of his lips at Mir’s subtle greeting.

“It’s okay. I think this will be more fun.”

“Yes?”

Ignis, who was grinning at Mir’s bewildered reaction, shrugged his shoulders lightly.

“It’s my first time seeing Brother like that.”

“…He’s the same as usual in my eyes, though?”

“Won’t you both shut up?”

Mir and the Second Prince quietly shut their mouths at Licht’s remarks, who was more nervous than usual.

The doctor recited the results of the examination as he was followed by Licht’s eyes.

“Your Majesty. It seems that Her Highness the Princess suffered internal injuries in the process of using magic.”

“…Injury?”

“It’s not serious, so if she eats for a while and gets enough rest, she will recover quickly.”

The doctor was someone who had studied abroad on the continent like Mir.

He must have had experience treating humans, that’s why he can be trusted.

When Licht nodded his head lightly, the doctor withdrew the last word that he would prepare a drug to help her recover from internal injuries.

“Then I’ll be going, Brother, get some rest.”

Ignis, who was staring at Yernian who had occupied Licht’s bed, grabbed Mir and left the bedroom.

Finally, a heavy silence fell upon the sound of the door closing.

He looked down at his hand with an expressionless face. Licht, who was awkward with the warm energy floating around his body, swallowed a heavy breath.

“It’s stupid.”

He leaned back on the bed and looked at Yernian’s pale face.

The child, whom he met again after three years, was as foreign as the mana that wandered through his body.

“…You’ve grown a lot.”

She had grown so unbelievably that if it weren’t for Yernian’s unique aura and pale pink hair, he wouldn’t have been able to recognize her at once.

“Ummm…”

Yernian frowned, tossed and turned.

Licht, who had unintentionally moved his hand to remove the hair attached to Yernian’s cheek, opened his mouth.

“Tod.”

Another shadow popped out from Yernian’s shadow stretched by the lamp’s light.

“…”

Licht, who had been staring at the clone he had made with mana for a moment, shook his head.

“Start looking at the undone.”