TISND Chapter 168

Chapter 168

After drinking the medicine, Helena soon fell asleep. A short while later, the physicians began to draw blood from her body, and the dead blood gushed out. Strangely, as it did, the bluish limbs that had looked like those of a corpse began to regain color. Her body expelled the dead blood for a long time, and along with it, the poison that had been eating her away like a parasite.

After some time had passed and the dead blood stopped flowing, fresh blood began to emerge. At that moment, the physicians started to stop the bleeding. Helena had already lost an enormous amount of blood during the detoxification process.

“Quickly! Hurry!”

The physicians moved frantically, bringing medicine and clean cloths. They quickly applied medicine to the wounds and stopped the bleeding, while someone else administered another dose of medicine into her mouth. Perhaps because they had used every good medicine available to stop the bleeding, it finally ceased.

The bandages, which had been changed several times, no longer soaked with blood, except for a slight stain. As if they’d just come to a halt after running at full speed, the physicians checked her condition with labored breaths. Fortunately, it seemed the most dangerous phase had passed. Only then did Caligo let out a breath of relief and begin to relax his tense body.

But the rapid deterioration of what they thought was a stabilized condition happened in an instant. Just as she had started to regain color and breathe steadily, something began to go wrong. Caligo was the first to notice the change. Watching over Helena, he realized her breathing was becoming irregular—like someone holding their breath to endure pain, she intermittently stopped breathing, and faint groans escaped from her slightly open lips.

“Her breathing is unstable.”

“What? Let me take a look.”

As a physician approached, Helena twisted her body slightly in her sleep, as if in pain. Her entire body was soon drenched in cold sweat, and her breathing became even more erratic. She desperately inhaled and exhaled.

The bit of color that had returned to her face turned ghostly pale—almost translucent. Her arms and legs, writhing in pain, had stiffened like logs.

“Duchess!”

“Can you hear me?!”

The physician rushed to her side and shouted, but Helena did not respond, lost in pain.

“What’s going on?”

“Her body can’t take it.”

Even if the poison had been expelled, the patient’s body needed the strength to endure the process. But due to the extreme blood loss and her already fragile condition, Helena’s body couldn’t withstand it. She continued to groan faintly and thrash about. During the struggle, she hit her arm on the bedside table and scratched her hand.

“Helena!”

Unable to bear it, Caligo held her down, and she began to cry softly. Even in her unconscious state, her pain was evident. Watching her suffer, Caligo felt a deep sense of helplessness. Helena, as if trying to recognize Caligo in front of her, reached out a hand—but couldn’t even do that properly, only flailing.

“It hurts. It hurts so much.”

Though unconscious, she kept crying out. Caligo lifted her from the bed and held her tightly. Even as she tore at his shirt and scratched his neck, he didn’t move. As if making one final struggle, she twisted and whimpered—but then suddenly, her movements stopped.

“…Helena?”

Sensing something was wrong, Caligo quietly checked her condition. On the surface, she appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Unlike before, when she writhed in agony, her face now looked calm, as if simply sleeping. But something was different.

“Helena?”

Instinctively, he checked for her breath—and realized there was none.

Seeing the shift in Caligo’s expression, a physician calmly approached and checked Helena’s pulse. Over and over, he checked again, in case he had made a mistake.

“…Her heart has stopped.”

The worst-case scenario they had feared had come to pass.

“The treatment was already delayed, and the Duchess’s frail body couldn’t endure it.”

As the physician spoke with cautious sorrow, Caligo thought to himself. He had seen countless deaths on the battlefield—many comrades who died without even closing their eyes. But Helena was peaceful. Among all the deaths he had seen, none had looked so serene.

So it didn’t feel real. Was she really dead? Had he killed her with his own hands? Was he really to let her go like this—without ever truly asking for forgiveness, without ever helping her?

“No… no, please…”

Gripped by fear, Caligo embraced her tightly. Her body had already gone cold, and he felt like he was about to lose her forever. He did everything he could. He tried to pour the remaining medicine into her tightly closed mouth. He massaged her arms and legs.

Meanwhile, the physicians, already resigned to her death, began to clean up around her. They removed the blood-soaked sheets, wiped the blood from her hands with clean cloths—almost like preparing a body for a funeral.

But Caligo still couldn’t accept her death. Even though she was still in his arms, even though he could still feel a trace of warmth, the others had already accepted it. Some even stepped aside to give him space, as if allowing him to say his final farewell.

Her sleeping face didn’t look like it would return to life. It looked like she had finally found peace, like she had chosen death over the pain of living. She had once said it herself—she was too tired.

But Caligo couldn’t let her go like this. Not like this.

If he just left her now, she might never come back. If he didn’t try something, he might lose her forever.

“No. I can’t. I can’t let you go like this.”

In desperation, Caligo spoke as he held her close.

“You once said you were a poisonous mushroom. That you only harmed and ruined the people around you. But I don’t believe that. At least not to me.”

“…”

“You changed my life—one that was unbearably dull. You brought back the normalcy I never even tried to reclaim. You’re the one who made me feel alive.”

“…”

“So please, come back to us. Please come back. Don’t give up on yourself. Please…”

Caligo continued pouring medicine into her mouth and massaging her limbs.

“I was wrong.”

He sobbed as he pressed his forehead against hers, like someone praying over a sacred relic.

“I was selfish. I only thought of myself. I didn’t consider what you felt or how hurt you were.”

“…”

“I’ll spend the rest of my life begging for your forgiveness. Please, I’m begging you.”

He cried out in agony.

“I’ll regret this for the rest of my life. So please, live. Please…”

He kept massaging her arms and legs, kissing her forehead, and praying to the heavens with all his heart. His hands trembled, and sweat poured from him from fear, but he didn’t stop.

“Fight. Not for me—just this once, fight for yourself.”

He feared that if he gave up, Helena would give up on herself too. No. He couldn’t let go. He wouldn’t give up. Just one more chance—please give her a chance.

“You can do it, Helena. Please…”

He didn’t know how long he had been doing it—how crazed and desperate he must have looked—when suddenly, a faint breath escaped from between Helena’s lips. It was so soft and thin, it could have been a hallucination, but Caligo heard it clearly. He immediately checked her pulse.

And finally—like a miracle—Helena’s pulse returned. Overwhelmed by relief, Caligo burst into tears and embraced her tightly. At last, faint breaths escaped from her lips once again.

Hey Guys you can read advanced chapters on Patreon
If you liked my work and want to support me then you can visit my page for tips. As I can’t create Kofi because of the unavailability of Paypal in my country, I’ve made this tier which is being updated every week so that you won’t be charged again till you want to donate again by yourself or you can exit the tier after donating 🙂.

Happy Reading 🩷