Chapter 85

I absently tapped my chin as I pondered. Lavis rushed towards me and said, “You will hear more details about His Majesty soon. But now you have to go back to the adjoining room. It was only time until people came barreling here again.”

I didn’t have the chance to respond; Lavis immediately stirred me towards the next room, telling me he would be speaking with the people from the imperial palace to come prepare another room for me.

Not long after, a rush of hurried steps went in and out of the room as the imperial doctors hastily attended to the emperor. I leaned my head against the wood and tried to listen through the thick door. Realizing this would take a while, I sat on the floor and buried my head on my knees, taking a deep breath. Lina was pacing back and forth, also feeling restless.

What do I do now?

I don’t know what to think. In the original story, he was the one who would lead the world to its end. I guess even if you’re in a world where various species and dragons coexist together, the strength you possess doesn’t matter since it’s outright impossible to bring destruction upon the world with your bare hands.

“Be gone!” The emperor had said in an agonized voice while hugging the bloodstained body of the heroine close to his chest in the novel.

“This world is useless! It doesn’t let me have anything! Everything must perish!”

The main character was hysterically crying in despair, wailing and calling for the destruction of the world that was nothing but cruel to him. Then, he mustered all the power he had on his hands and soon enough everything spiraled out of control. The world was sharply covered in endless darkness, and everything ceased to exist.

As I thought about this, a sudden realization came to my mind.

“No way…” I muttered to myself and brushed the thought off my head. It was a thought that was just so sad, and I certainly hope I’m just overthinking.

***

A few hours later.

Deep in my thoughts, I waited until the middle of the night before going back inside the room where the emperor was.

“I’ll come back at dawn.” Lavis said the moment he saw me enter, his face tired and exhausted still. He must have spent the whole day talking to the people from both the imperial palace and the temple about the emperor’s condition. He informed me that he had a room prepared for me and urged me to go there to take a much-needed rest. I thanked him for his concern but I have no plans of leaving.

Two bluish moons were up on the horizon thinly covered by the passing clouds. The window allowed minimal moonlight to come streaming in, casting a dim light on the expanse of the bed where the emperor laid. I stood with my back against the window, gazing at the emperor’s sleeping, vulnerable face. It was such an uncommon sight.

“Well…” His face was pale, but both of his cheeks were red with fever. Sweat pooled his temples and there were dark circles around his eyes but despite his defenseless appearance, he still had the beauty he always possessed and admittedly, I couldn’t bring myself to look away. If this was a normal situation, I would have clenched my chest and dreamily say how dangerously attractive he was, but of course, this was not the time for such antics.

Seeing him in such a fragile position was making my heart feel heavy. I wet a towel to wipe the sweat off his forehead and my fingers brushed against his feverish skin. His eyes were screwed tight that I hesitated tending to him at all, but I decided to place my cold hands on his forehead and saw him visibly relax under my touch.  The coolness of my hands probably made him feel comfortable. I combed his hair with one hand and watched as his tresses slipped through my fingers. After a short while, I brought a chair and sat next to the bed.

Sleep is the last thing in my mind right now. How could I even sleep when the emperor was like this? I tried to think about something else but to no avail, my mind just kept going back to the emperor’s state over and over again. I wiped his face once again to keep myself busy and in the stillness of the night, only the faint sound of water droplets hitting the basin as I squeezed the towel could be heard.

How could I even find this person beautiful? He who locked me up in a room and doubted me? I was definitely angry at him but seeing him in such a state kept my pent-up anger at bay. If he intentionally did this just so I’d feel bad about him, then he succeeded.

“Are you going to run away from me?”

I remembered how upset he was then, how he shouted at me relentlessly a couple of days ago. Feeling disheartened, my shoulders dropped to my sides and sighed heavily.