Second Life, I’m Dying Soon Chapter 39

Chapter 39

 

“…You’re eating it, aren’t you?”

Even while half-dead from the fever, the sharp glare in his eyes hadn’t dulled.

Seeing that, Alexis finally allowed himself to relax a little. It seemed Cecil had recovered enough to snap back. Ignoring the cheeky tone, Alexis straightened from where he’d been bent over.

“We should get moving. There was no point in leaving early at this rate.”

Alexis stood first, brushing off the dirt and straw that clung to his pants. Then, without hesitation, he hauled Cecil up and slung him over his shoulder.

Taking a fever reducer didn’t instantly break a high fever. Cecil hung limply like a bundle of luggage, limbs dangling weakly.

Still, as if holding onto his last shred of pride, he clenched both fists and pounded against Alexis’s broad back—silent protest, demanding to be put down.

“Don’t push it.”

Alexis spoke coldly. Cecil’s fists had all the impact of a kitten’s paw—utterly harmless.

It was frustrating enough to shoulder all this trouble, but now he had to put up with Cecil’s difficult temperament too. Even so, there was no way he could leave the sickly man behind. Alexis gritted his teeth and bore it.

Mounting the horse with Cecil still over his shoulder, he shifted him to sit face-to-face. He secured the slack reins tightly in one hand.

In that brief time, Cecil’s consciousness faded again. He was too weak to even be stubborn anymore—his breathing shallow and hot as he completely leaned into Alexis.

His feverish face was pressed to the broad chest before him. Thin arms loosely wrapped around Alexis’s waist, fingers barely grasping at his coat.

“….”

Blue eyes flicked toward the sickly face with a faint frown. Seeing no sign of improvement, Alexis clicked his tongue quietly and wrapped his arm tighter around the frail body.

He didn’t understand why he felt so uneasy.

When the horse carrying them arrived at the palace gates, the Imperial Palace was thrown into an uproar.

The Crown Prince’s unannounced early return was startling enough, but the man riding with him—Cecil—was clearly injured. Worse, he had passed out, looking for all the world like a corpse on horseback.

Alexis immediately headed to Saint Palace. Amid the chaos, he instructed the servants to fetch the court physician at once and personally carried Cecil into the bedchamber. He laid him on the neatly made bed, and only then did the attendants rush in.

Some tended to Cecil, others assisted Alexis. The sight of bloodstains on the Crown Prince’s hunting outfit caused panic, but fortunately, it wasn’t his. All of it had come from Cecil.

Alexis washed his hands and face in clean water. As he changed into a fresh shirt, the court physician assigned exclusively to the Crown Prince arrived. The old man looked pale and frightened, clearly alarmed by the news he had received.

“Your Highness, are you all right? Allow me to examine you—”

“I’m fine. Start with him.”

Alexis finished buttoning his shirt, nodding toward the bed. There was someone who needed help far more urgently.

While Cecil was being treated, a tall wooden partition was set up around the bed.

The spacious room, which could hold dozens without feeling cramped, was soon thick with the stench of blood. Servants hurried to open windows and fetched clean water and towels without pause.

After some time had passed, the physician emerged from behind the partition. Wiping the sweat from his brow, the elderly man carefully approached Alexis.

The Crown Prince hadn’t moved far.

Sitting with his long legs crossed, leaning back in his chair, Alexis’s expression remained unreadable. He seemed aloof, with no sign of concern, yet he hadn’t left the room once. Whether it was watchfulness or worry, no one could tell.

The physician swallowed dryly and forced himself to speak.

“Your Highness, I have completed the treatment as instructed.”

“How is he?”

“Fortunately, the wound is not severe. It does not require stitches—only regular application of ointment should suffice.”

“…”

“However, because it was inflicted by an animal’s claws, the wound is jagged and uneven. It may leave a scar. I have also provided medication to prevent infection.”

“If it’s not serious, then why is he so feverish and unresponsive? He’s been unconscious for two hours.”

“He was likely in great shock. It’s not due to the injury itself, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

The Crown Prince’s pointed questions made the physician break into a cold sweat. He barely managed to hold himself together and answer with sincerity.

Alexis sat with his jaw propped in one hand, glaring toward the bed. He stared at the carved wooden partition with a deep scowl, then pressed his furrowed brow with two fingers.

“…He was burning up. His temperature never dropped the whole way here. I stopped at a civilian home and gave him a fever reducer. Could that have caused problems?”

“It was a wise decision, Your Highness. In emergencies, even household medicine can be helpful. With the fever reducer and pain reliever I’ve prescribed, he should recover quickly.”

“When should he take the medicine?”

“As soon as possible, but first he must regain consciousness—”

“So he’s supposed to suffer through the pain until then?”

“Your Highness is not wrong. If possible, it’s best to administer it even by force…”

The physician kept his hands respectfully folded at his waist and watched Alexis carefully.

Everyone knew the Crown Prince and Cecil Adrian didn’t get along. Yet here he was, personally caring for the man in his own chamber. It didn’t add up unless… unless he truly valued him.

Nonetheless, he fulfilled his duty and explained the medication in detail. Though attendants would be the ones to administer it, a thorough report was still required.

Alexis listened with the same dispassionate expression throughout, occasionally interjecting with sharp questions that made the physician squirm.

“…Understood. You’ve done well. You may go.”

When the instructions fell, the physician left in a hurry, grateful to escape.

The bloody scent lingering in the Crown Prince’s chamber had now been replaced by the pungent aroma of herbs. Servants continued tending to Cecil in silence. Among them all, only Alexis remained unmoving in his chair, lost in thought.

Then, without warning, he stood and walked toward the bed. At his signal, the servants quickly pulled back the partition—revealing Cecil lying there with his legs stretched out, finally at peace.

The blood-stained clothes had been replaced with a clean nightgown. Alexis had suspected there might be some strange secret about his body, seeing how fiercely he had resisted undressing. But judging by how the attendants who changed his clothes had made no comment, it seemed there was nothing out of the ordinary.

“……”

Alexis stood at the head of the bed in silence, gazing down at Cecil. His limp body was reflected in the ocean-deep, wave-like blue of Alexis’s eyes. Seeing him so still and weak, the fury that had been driving Alexis seemed to ebb away, leaving behind a strange sense of emptiness.

He stood there for quite a while without moving, until the chief attendant approached and cautiously spoke up.

“Your Highness, what shall we do with Lord Cecil? Shall we begin preparations to move him to Peridot Palace?”

“What for? He’s in no shape to be moved. Let him sleep here tonight.”

“But this is your own chamber, Your Highness…”

“I’m not planning to sleep anyway.”

Alexis cut him off without room for argument. Then he let out a quiet sigh and brushed his hand through his hair. Understanding the prince’s mood, one of the attendants quickly brought over a comfortable chair and placed it near the bed.

With a dull thud, Alexis dropped into the chair, letting his head fall back against the rest. Just thinking about how to clean up the mess from the hunting grounds made his head ache.

They had to extract as much information as possible from the captured assassin—and uncover the Empress’s involvement behind it all. Of course, that wouldn’t be easy.

As he massaged his throbbing temples and went over his thoughts again, Cecil let out a pained groan and shifted where he lay. Whether it was from a nightmare or the fever, sweat was soaking his bangs and dampening the sheets.

One of the attendants who had been standing nearby hurried to his side to tend to him. Gently wiping the drenched forehead with a clean cloth, the attendant studied Cecil’s distressed expression.

“What do we do? His fever just won’t go down. He needs to take the medicine…”

“I already prepared it mixed in water… but how are we supposed to give it to him?”

“Yeah… doesn’t look like he’ll be waking up anytime soon…”

The attendants whispered among themselves. Seeing the clothes they had changed him into already soaked through with sweat, they muttered that they’d need to bring another fresh set. Though they spoke in hushed tones, there was no chance Alexis would miss a single word.