After three days of illness and a clean rest, Demimore rose from his bed and was now practicing with a wooden sword on the training ground.
The palace was in an uproar over the first prince, who was growing less and less vigorous with each passing day, and the second prince who suddenly became bedridden for three days.
Despite efforts to keep it quiet, rumors had started to spread.
The rumor was that it was retaliation for the imperial family’s mistreatment of the Grand Duchy of Conler, the founding father of the country.
No one knows where it all began, but stories about the spirit of the first Lord of Conler haunting the bloodline of the Royal family have been passed from mouth to mouth.
It happened during those three days when Demimore was sick.
Whether the rumors were true or not, Jasper had come running to Demimore as soon as he regained consciousness. However, Demimore didn’t pay much attention to it.
At least Cameron’s suffering was due to retaliation against the imperial family for mistreating the Grand Duchy of Conler.
“No, why are you doing this as soon as you wake up?”
Jasper was feeling restless next to Demimore.
The country was abuzz with the news of the two princes, and he couldn’t imagine how the sight of Demimore waking up and wielding a wooden sword as if to punish himself would add to the vicious rumors.
Maybe he was just trying to show that the royal family was strong.
Jasper didn’t care much for the rumors about the royal family either, but it was a different story if it was his prince.
‘I thought it was going to get better.’
Demimore had been doing surprisingly well since Mary Conler had run away.
The Emperor, who had been worried about his son, was proud of his son’s unflappable behavior at such a young age.
But Jasper, who had served him since he was a young boy, could tell that Demimore was quite fragile.
He suddenly disappeared, saying he had somewhere to go. Then he returned with the missing Mary Conler.
Jasper was skeptical, but he was relieved to know that Mary Conler was safe and sound, and that Demimore would be back in his place.
But Demimore must have been overworked, because he fell ill. The palace physician who had been tending to Cameron rushed to his aid.
He examined the feverishly pale Demimore but laughed in vain as he could find no diagnosis.
Still, the imperial physician had prescribed medicinal herbs and said he had to see Lausanne too, just in case.
“What are you doing?”
He was watching Demimore train with worried eyes when he heard a shout behind him.
Startled by the familiar voice, Jasper quickly regained his composure.
“When did you come?”
Cameron had been watching Demimore train with disdain.
Demimore, who had been focusing on his training regardless of Jasper’s comments, was startled by Cameron’s arrival and ran to him, sword in hand.
Still, he was glad to see his only brother, but Cameron just stared at Demimore without saying anything.
Jasper looked at Cameron with disdain, but he couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the man’s recently haggard face and hollow eyes.
Why has he withered so much when all the good medicines that only reserve for the emperor are going to Cameron?
“How are you feeling?”
“What have you been up to lately?”
Before Demimore could even ask about his well-being, Cameron cut him off.
Demimore blinked with an expression that seemed to convey he didn’t quite understand what Cameron was saying.
“In case you haven’t heard, I’ve been sick for three days, too.”
“You think I don’t know? I heard you’ve been hanging out with that family lately!”
Oh, what should I do?
Demimore clamped his mouth shut, trying to swallow the laughter that threatened to burst out.
He found it amusing that Cameron was so interested in the Grand Duke and his every move, even in the midst of his illness.
“And I heard you were sick, too?”
“Oh, I’m fine now.”
“You didn’t copy me because I was sick and I was getting all the attention, didn’t you?”
Demimore clenched his fists with both hands, feeling a rising anger towards Cameron’s playful tone.
Yeah, this was the kind of guy he was, and it wasn’t new, but it wasn’t without impact.
He felt pathetic for Cameron, who was telling him this, and for himself, who had to listen and stay still.
“Regardless of that… But haven’t you been sick for too long, Brother?”
Cameron’s face was too unhappy to respond to his every word.
His eyes were red and swollen, and even the whites of his eyes weren’t clear, being slightly yellowish.
‘Did he really get sick because of Rex?’
Rex Bluea may have kicked Cameron’s ass, but it wasn’t enough to be sick for this long.
Cameron might have been a troublemaker, but he wasn’t that fragile.
“Are you getting enough sleep?”
“Who are you to worry about me?”
He’s making a fuss even though he’s worried about him.
“Forget it. Seeing you is tiring. Don’t bother me.”
Cameron turned away as if he were making a hasty retreat. It was obvious he was hiding something.
For a man of Cameron’s character, if he had been ill this long because of Rex, he should have been making a scene at the Grand Duchy of Conler, but he was strangely quiet.
Demimore stared in silence at the spot where Cameron had disappeared, until Jasper asked him what was wrong.
*****
“Are you sure you should be pushing yourself so hard so soon after waking up?”
After focusing on swordsmanship for a while, the day became dark. Demimore was silent at Jasper’s rebuke.
“And you’re skipping meals!”
“Ah.”
At Jasper’s words, Demimore, who stopped at that time, fiddled with his stomach.
“Come to think of it, I’m hungry.”
“Ha, that’s why I told you to eat earlier.”
“I can’t be bothered. Jasper, can you get me a sandwich?”
“Will that do?”
“Yeah. Lots of ham, please.”
Jasper had his doubts, but for the sake of the prince, who hadn’t eaten all day, he moved away at a brisk pace.
Demimore stared down the hall until Jasper’s backside was out of sight, his face expressionless.
Having separated himself from Jasper, Demimore turned towards Cameron’s room. Cameron’s guards approached him, puzzled.
“For what reason is the Second Prince…?”
“I came to see my brother.”
The escort’s expression changed strangely. Perhaps he was touched by the fact that the younger brother was so much more mature and kind than the First Prince he served.
“I know how you feel, but the First Prince doesn’t let anyone in when he sleeps.”
Cameron’s sensitivity was extreme before he fell asleep.
The first prince’s maids, who were tormented by Cameron, mocked him, calling it a sleep tantrum. But Demimore said calmly.
“My brother gave me permission earlier.”
“If you said earlier,…….”
“Earlier, when I was in the training ground, he asked me to speak to him in private.”
Now that he thought about it, the First Prince had mentioned that he went to see Demimore when he woke up.
Did he call Demimore separately? The guard, who hadn’t heard anything else, thought of Cameron, who had collapsed as soon as he arrived. They must have no time to talk.
“You must have come straight from the training ground.”
At the point of the escort, Demimore smiled face to face with a wooden sword in his hand.
“Brother, are you sleeping?”
Demimore, who came in carefully, stood still before entering the room.
Instead of a thin canopy, the bed was draped with thick blackout curtains for Cameron, who was sensitive when he slept.
Thinking it was all just a fuss, Demimore felt a strange sensation from within those curtains. Adjusting his grip on the sword, Demimore slowly approached.
“I told you not to let anyone in.”
A man stood beside Cameron, who lay as if dead.
“Get away from my brother.”
“Are you here to protect your brother? How touching?”
He thought Cameron’s sarcasm had improved lately. He wondered if he’d learned it from this man.
Although he didn’t know anything else, Demimore could now understand why Cameron’s condition was worsening. It wasn’t because of Rex Bluea or Cameron himself.
“Is it our first time seeing each other like this?”
X grinned and offered Demimore a hand to shake, ignoring Cameron’s grunts as he lay there.
