Luciel handed a plant, called Undilarod, to Zaire.
“Turn this into a potion and make it easy for him to drink. It will help stabilize his mana.”
“Huh? But this is just a weed!”
“That weed is effective in stabilizing mana.”
“Are you sure…?”
Zaire’s eyes twitched.
Ever since Delight had a mana outburst, he had been searching for anything that could stabilize mana.
Yet, he hadn’t found anything until now.
“How could I not have noticed it before…?”
He felt a wave of self-doubt as he realized that it was just a common weed. But before he could dwell on it, Luciel continued, unfazed.
“Everyone knows it’s just a weed.”
Luciel cut him off, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“So, don’t overthink it. I only remembered it recently. A long time ago, Sherina used to give this to Delight.”
“You mean the Great Archmage Sherina?”
Zaire also knew a lot about Sherina.
Even though she had passed away long ago and her fame had waned, the name of the Great Archmage Sherina was still well known across the continent.
Zaire was aware that Sherina had been Delight’s mentor.
Because of that, the mention of her name was almost like a guarantee of trustworthiness.
Nodding, Zaire immediately steeled his resolve.
“I will make the potion and give it to His Majesty right away.”
“It’s just a weed, so it shouldn’t be hard to find. It would be good to keep taking it once a month from now on.”
As Luciel explained about Undilarod, he glanced at me.
It was as if he was checking to see if he had conveyed everything correctly.
‘You’re doing well.’
I nodded lightly toward Luciel, and with my lips slightly parted, I silently mouthed the next thing he needed to say.
“Ah, right!”
As expected, Luciel had forgotten about it, but quickly continued.
“While Undilarod can stabilize mana, in Delight’s case, his condition is too severe. It’s like his bones have been shattered.”
“Then…”
“The root cause of the mana outburst can’t be cured. But it can be suppressed to prevent another outburst.”
Actually, I was the one who suppressed Delight’s mana outburst.
Luciel explained it just as I had instructed.
“I see…”
Zaire looked slightly disappointed.
But that didn’t mean that this temporary measure was useless.
Not for anyone else, but for Delight.
“Delight has so much mana that if he manages it well, he should be fine without any damage.”
Given how long it took to recognize the problem with Delight’s overwhelming amount of mana, the recovery process would also be different from the norm.
It was worth betting on the possibility.
“I understand. I will do my best.”
Zaire also showed his determination and spoke resolutely.
“Then, I will get to it right away.”
Zaire left with the Undilarod to turn it into a potion that would be easy to swallow.
He would wake up soon after. As I silently observed Delight’s condition, Luciel spoke up.
“I should be going now.”
“Already?”
“Hiel is probably already waiting in front of the Imperial Palace. We should leave before Delight wakes up.”
After talking with me, Hiel didn’t come to see Delight with us but left first.
“How about talking to Delight once he wakes up?”
After all, the reason Delight is so hostile towards Luciel is because of my death.
But Delight’s belief wasn’t true. Luciel didn’t just stand by and watch as I died.
It was all my choice, and Luciel had his own circumstances.
Even if I can’t explain everything, wouldn’t it be good to clear up some of the misunderstanding?
“Are you feeling guilty? Because of you, that guy hates me?”
Luciel, seeming to understand what I was thinking, lightly shook his head.
“I don’t mind. No matter what Delight thinks, it doesn’t change how I feel.”
Luciel laughed lightly.
“Sigh, I’d still prefer if Delight didn’t hate me so much. So, you need to make sure you tell him that I’m a good person, alright?”
“I’ll make sure to tell him you’re someone he can trust.”
“That’s enough for me. See you later.”
“Goodbye.”
With that, Luciel turned around to leave.
“Luciel.”
I stopped him before he could leave.
“Before you go, could you do one more thing for Terdin?”
“Serdin?”
“The prince from Ilnord who came here as a hostage is Terdin.”
“Oh, that boy. The prince who came as a hostage from Ilnord.”
“Ah, so that diligent prince’s name was Serdin. Since he worked so hard searching for Undilarod, he deserves a gift.”
***
“Huh? Huh?”
Serdin, who suddenly saw Luciel appear in front of him, was so startled that he stumbled backward and fell.
“Haha. Why are you so surprised?”
Luciel extended his hand, offering to help.
“I-I can get up by myself.”
Serdin refused Luciel’s hand and stood up by himself, pushing off the ground.
Serdin recognized Luciel at once.
And Luciel noticed that fact as well.
“You know who I am?”
“……”
“Have we met before in Ilnord?”
Luciel easily guessed how Serdin might know him.
“You’re a dragon… Why are you here?”
Despite his fear, Serdin asked.
He recognized Luciel because he had seen the dragon when Luciel had visited the Ilnord Empire.
“I can go anywhere I want.”
“But aren’t dragons supposed to protect Ilnord?”
“Oh, so even as young as you are, you still know that, huh?”
Luciel responded with a bitter smile to Serdin’s bold statement.
Dragons protect Ilnord.
Very few people still knew this fact.
Only a handful of people and members of the royal family would be aware of it.
Even though he had left Ilnord at a young age, Serdin, as a prince of Ilnord, seemed to know that dragons were the protectors.
“Aren’t you and the Emperor of Promian on bad terms?”
Serdin asked, his voice shaking, his eyes filled with uncertainty.
Luciel could have ignored Serdin’s question, but he chose to answer.
“Delight dislikes me.”
“……”
“But I don’t dislike him. I want to become close again, like before.”
“How could a dragon who is supposed to protect Ilnord… be friends with the Emperor of Promian… this is…”
Serdin couldn’t hide his confusion and mumbled at Luciel’s calm yet sly answer.
“Wait. You…”
“?!”
Luciel suddenly leaned in close, staring intently into Serdin’s eyes before speaking with a meaningful tone.
“Your eyes are very red.”
“…So what?”
Serdin flinched and covered his eyes with his arm, stepping back.
“The current Emperor’s eyes are more ambiguous than red.”
The current Emperor of Ilnord had eyes that were somewhere between orange and brown.
It had been several decades since red eyes disappeared from the Ilnord Empire.
“You have good eyes.”
Luciel gave Serdin a gentle smile.
It was clear now why Sherina—no, Violyana—had told me to see Prince Serdin before leaving.
She wanted to show me this child who had inherited the lost legitimacy of the Ilnord Empire.
No matter how much the significance of red eyes is hidden or distorted, it never completely disappears.
Surely, Delight didn’t take this young prince hostage knowing about that… right?
Is it a bizarre coincidence, or is it fate?
Luciel’s eyes curved into a crescent shape.
“Haha, I’m really looking forward to it.”
Luciel burst into a cheerful laugh, placing his hand lightly on Serdin’s head.
Then, he handed something to Serdin.
“It’s a dragon scale. You can use it as medicine later.”
“Why are you giving this to me…?”
Serdin’s eyes widened in disbelief.
A dragon scale isn’t something you can obtain just because you want it.
Why is he giving me something so valuable?
“It’s a gift to help you grow well. Keep helping the princess from now on. Got it?”
“…Yes.”
Luciel chuckled softly as he watched Serdin obediently respond, then slowly turned to leave.
The eternal time.
During all that time, Luciel had witnessed things that shone brilliantly before vanishing without a trace.
As time passed, they would deteriorate, get damaged, and eventually become unrecognizable.
The longer one remains unchanged amidst that passage of time, the more painful it becomes.
But in the end, the time for Luciel’s frozen time to start moving again would come.
And it seemed that time was drawing near.
