Chapter 39

My throat was scratchy, and my head felt fuzzy. Lately, I hadn’t been eating well or sleeping properly, so it seemed like my ironclad immune system, which had kept me healthy throughout my 10th life, was finally starting to fail.

“Cough, cough…”

“To catch a cold on the first day of joint training…”

Tessarion clicked his tongue, frowning. He then took a cloak with warmth magic from the wardrobe and draped it around me. The soft white rabbit fur, stretching from the collar down to the shoulders, was a high-quality piece.

“You should have eaten well and rested. You brought this on yourself by being stubborn.”

“…”

I slapped Tessarion’s hand away. He stopped in midair, looking at me with a blank stare.

I was too tired to even say “I’m fine, I can handle it,” so I just loosely tied the cloak’s knot and put on the hood. At least when it covered my face, I felt a little less suffocated.

“Looks like you caught it from Berieta, huh?”

Would that be possible?

I was taken aback and shot Tessarion an incredulous look.

I’d last seen Berieta over a week ago. The moment we arrived at Claremont Castle, I heard that Berieta had been suffering from a terrible fever, but the updates had stopped there. Even if she had caught a cold, by now there should have been some progress, but it seemed strange. Helios must have confined her and restricted all her activities.

The problem wasn’t just Helios. Even though his fiancée had been missing for nearly ten days, Tessarion still hadn’t asked about Berieta’s condition, nor had he even visited her.

“You bastard, you bastard, you bastard.”

I cursed under my breath, and Tessarion wrapped his hands around my swollen cheeks before exclaiming in exasperation.

“You’re running a fever too. This isn’t good. We’re canceling all your plans for today.”

This crazy idiot…

“C-Cancel? No, that’s not— cough, cough.”

“You haven’t had any rest. Today, you’re going to rest properly.”

I grabbed onto Tessarion as he started to take off his military uniform. Was it right for him to throw a fit just because I was coughing a little? I was the one who was sick, yet he was the one insisting on taking a break!

I glared at him intensely as I shook my head.

“I’m really cough, cough fine.”

“Stop lying. Your voice is completely gone. You don’t look fine at all, so don’t argue. When I tell you to rest, you rest.”

Tessarion took off my hood and yanked on the knot of the cloak. I pulled the cloak tighter around myself, coughing in a hoarse voice as I shouted.

“Your Grace, it’s the first joint training! Thousands of knights have gathered. Cough I can’t just cancel now, especially on the first day of the Crown Prince’s lesson… Cough, cough! How could I… skip it?”

Tessarion’s eyes widened as he grabbed me by the shoulder and hauled me up.

“If you don’t treat a respiratory illness early, it becomes pneumonia. Pneumonia is… especially dangerous in the spring. The mortality rate is 18%. For the elderly, it’s nearly 40%, and once you get it, it’s hard to recover. You’ll suffer from complications for life and won’t even be able to do strenuous activities. This is not okay.”

What a load of nonsense!

A few coughs were not going to be the death of me! What kind of ridiculous behavior is this?!

Tessarion forced me onto the bed and started to remove my boots. I struggled, squeezing out a sound from my parched throat.

“Cough! Your Grace! I’ll rest after the training. I can’t just skip joint training! The Crown Prince will definitely use it against me, cough cough… and if the command is transferred… cough…!”

“Don’t say another word.”

“Cough, cough! Your Grace, I’m really fine. I’ll be able to talk again soon after some warm tea… cough! I’ll make sure no one notices I’m sick. Please don’t worry.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

“Your Grace.”

“Your Grace, all preparations are complete.”

It seemed like Director Winston and Deputy Commander Ibis had come to greet Tessarion. I jumped up and shouted.

“He’s leaving soon!”

I gripped Tessarion’s back, trying to pull him, but he glared at me with a stiff face.

“…”

What now?

“…”

I scrunched up my blocked nose, trembling, and hid my hands behind my back, tightly clenching my fists.

…They say a beating is the only way to deal with a crazy person. I suppressed the urge to slam my fist into his broad back.

A black flag with two wolves engraved in silver thread and a red flag with a roaring lion in gold thread fluttered in the wind. The Black Wolf Knights and the First Imperial Knights had already lined up, their swords drawn in perfect formation.

Not long after Tessarion arrived at the training ground, Helios appeared. Everyone on the platform knelt on one knee and placed their right hand on their chest in greeting.

“May the goddess’s blessing be upon Bellatinaum.”

“…”

Helios scanned the area with a sour expression, his gaze sweeping over everyone. His eyebrows and the corners of his mouth were marked with red scratches. A faint, claw-like scratch was visible on his uniform collar, showing that something had definitely happened between him and Princess Berieta.

After looking around, his eyes landed on me.

He sharply raised the corners of his eyes and gave a sickly smile. Instead of feeling the dignity of the Crown Prince, he looked more like a nasty thug. If it was a beating, maybe, but I didn’t think he was going to teach me swordsmanship.

He beckoned me with his finger.

“Come here, Roy Dover.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I sighed quietly and stood up. Tessarion, who had been standing in front of me, stood up too and stretched his arm across to block my path.

“Before you go, may I ask something?”

Helios crossed his arms and tilted his head, looking at Tessarion as if amused.

“No. The Duke has no right to ask me anything.”

“…”

Tessarion ground his teeth and glared at Helios.

“A lord of the North dares to ask the heir of the South for a favor?”

A dangerous spark of tension flared between them. Helios smirked, looking like he dared Tessarion to do something. The knights behind Helios, from the First Imperial Knights, gripped their sword hilts, and the Black Wolf Knights behind Tessarion did the same.

“…”

I felt dizzy standing between them.

“This is a joint training session. I have no intention of taking it lightly, but I hope you’ll be cautious and avoid injury before the real combat begins.”

“Well, as long as you don’t start trouble, that is.”

“I trust you will act like a knight, as per the knight’s oath.”

Tessarion extended his hand for a handshake. Helios, with a wide smile, took Tessarion’s hand and approached, but suddenly, he grabbed me instead.

“…?!”

“Well then, good work, Duke.”

Helios’s cold hand gripped my neck. It felt like he was dragging me along like a kitten, and he walked forcefully toward the left side of the platform. Tessarion, who had extended his hand to shake, watched me being dragged away and said:

“No matter what he says, don’t draw your sword. If it gets dangerous, call for me.”

I gave him a thumbs-up, signaling that I would be fine, as I sniffled, my nose clogged.

Helios threw off his fur coat and grabbed a training longsword. His pale, see-through shirt with dangling gold trinkets made me shiver just from looking at it.

After swinging the sword around in his hands, he didn’t seem satisfied with it and grabbed another sword.

“First, I need to assess how skilled you are.”

I pulled out a sword as well. It was an ordinary training sword without any particular features.

Suddenly, my neck started to ache, and a chill ran down my spine. I flinched and turned around.

“…”

Tessarion was glaring at me.