Chapter 100: Ramon (One)

The doctor whom Willow had talked about was immediately bound and brought before them.

Thales carefully observed the strange man before his eyes.

He seemed like he was over fifty years old. He was almost bald but he had sharp features. He had a large nose on his narrow face, and his forest green eyes sparkled brightly. Along with an ugly smile, he seemed weird and made others feel uncomfortable just by looking at him.

"You must be the new prince." The old man had a unique appearance. He was wearing a yellow, leather coat, which was quite dirty due to coming into contact with the dungeon's surfaces, and he had a strange medicinal smell on him. He giggled without any reason as he bowed a little. "My name is Ramon.

"I am a doctor."

Thales furrowed his eyebrows.

He waved his hand and signalled Wya to close the barracks' door after the soldiers who brought Ramon left.

"You know about my identity?"

Ramon extended his neck outwards in a bizarre fashion and nodded his head slightly every once in a while. Along with his smile, which seemed to be frozen across his face, he seemed like a conjurer who performed magic tricks.

"Heh heh, news always travels around very quickly, even quicker than you can imagine... especially when the surrounding soldiers were all talking about your name."

Putray took a step forward and slowly said, "Very good, there is someone here who needs medical treatment. If you are a doctor..."

He looked at Chora.

Ramon was smiling strangely when he stretched his neck outwards and glanced at Chora's direction.

"I can try, but I cannot guarantee success." He walked over to Chora, but he suddenly turned around. Ramon stared at Thales in an unusual manner with his eyeballs bulging out. "I heard that you are heading up north to Eckstedt, Your Highness?"

Wya and Ralf both furrowed their brows.

Thales nodded.

'This old man... He is a little strange and a little creepy.

'But he is a doctor, no matter what.'

"Hmm." Ramon walked slowly to Chora's side, it seemed like he was thinking deeply about something. "It is a good journey... Ah... Eckstedt."

The strange doctor carefully observed Chora, who was slightly trembling. Chora had a really pale complexion.

"Ah, a brave warrior... a supra class swordsman with the Power of Eradication." Ramon lifted Chora's weak arm and his eyes were shining brightly.

"He has a bad habit whenever he swings his sword...

"He prefers to strike and fight face-to-face with his opponent...

"His upper right arm and back muscles will probably start to hurt after he is sixty years old..."

Under Wya and Ralf's surprised gaze, he slowly unravelled Chora's bandages.

"There are cuts and lacerations across his chest and back. The injuries were not immediately treated. I am unsure whether it was because the situation was urgent or because he was unaware of them...

"And he endured this pain for so long..?

"Even if I close my eyes, I can still tell that his wounds were caused by the sharp claws of a vampire..."

Thales' expression suddenly became serious.

'This doctor... It appears that he does have some skill?'

"Average blood loss, weak physical body.

"The main point is that these two wounds were not treated correctly and they have festered quite badly...

"If the wounds are not immediately treated, I guess he'll probably last for one more day? Heh heh..."

Ramon turned around and clicked his tongue twice. He looked at Thales and he smiled without saying a word.

"What now?" Putray slowly asked, "Can you save him?"

"Heh heh."

Ramon stared at Thales with a contemplative gaze.

"Most doctors would probably find themselves helpless before this case."

Thales wrinkled his brows.

"They can only depend on luck and wait for this swordsman to recover on his own or die." He released a puff of warm air and spoke slowly.

Everyone seemed to be concerned.

Putray opened his mouth and spoke quietly, "Wait, you said 'most doctors'?"

Ramon only chuckled in response.

Thales raised his hand and indicated to Putray that he would be asking the questions.

The second prince stared at Ramon seriously and asked, "Do you mean that you can save him?"

Ramon winked with his right eye and sniffed around with his strange nose.

"I did not say so. But I can try. With a little bit of medication, I will treat the wounds and cut off the rotten flesh... As for the chances of saving him..."

Putray, who was standing beside Thales furrowed his eyebrows.

Ramon once again smiled in a bizarre fashion. "That depends on the reward... you know, reward."

Thales once again raised his eyebrow.

"You will receive the proper reward." Thales then added another sentence without changing his expression. "Enough remuneration. I can vouch on the reputation of the royal family."

It was not his money anyway.

"Haha, you misunderstand me." Ramon laid down the dying Chora, and his eyes shone.

"I only have one request." He squinted his eyes to scrutinize Thales carefully. "I have had enough of this dungeon..."

He tried his best to put on a friendly smile and said, "When the prince heads north to Eckstedt, please bring me along."

The barracks fell into silence for a moment.

Thales stared at the miserable looking Chora on the bed and he clenched his fists gently.

'Bring him along?'

"You know I do not have the authority to let you come." Thales forced down the discomfort at the bottom of his heart. "I am not the commander here."

The doctor, Ramon smiled with a fox-like grin, in a manner that revealed the upper row of his teeth. He sneered cunningly. "But your father... is the commander of the commander's commander, am I correct?

"Also, you are not letting me go, but you are placing me under your custody..."

"This is absurd." Wya snorted lightly. "Are you negotiating with the prince?"

"It is only a request." Ramon placed his hands together and laughed. "If my request is granted, I believe I will work even harder and do my utmost in treating this seriously injured, dying man?"

Thales stared at him with a grim expression on his face. "No, you are not only negotiating, you are also threatening me."

"On top of that, you are leaving a man to die without helping him... Are you really a doctor?"

Ramon spread his hands and revealed his yellow, mottled teeth. "How could I be so preposterous? What I mean is, even a doctor can only try his best in saving a person... If I fail, you can throw me back into the dungeon, or even make things hard for me, Your Highness...

"Of course, if he is lucky enough to be saved by me... I just need some of your kindness to bring me out of the dungeon...

"This man, lying on the bed seems like he is in excruciating pain...

"You only need to bring me on this one journey..."

"You have a few too many conditions," Wya took a step forward and said coldly.

"I am only making a suggestion." Ramon laughed. "Whether to accept or not depends completely on His Highness himself."

Thales said quietly, "If I say no and I do not agree to let you out of the dungeon or agree to bring you along with me, will you then refuse to save him?"

Ramon chuckled. "Of course not..."

But a cold light flickered within the doctor's eyes.

"Hehe... but you know, my medical skills very much depends on luck...

"Hehe... If he does not survive, you cannot blame it on me... hehe...

"It is a pity for such a heroic soldier... Haih... it seems like he took a blow for his comrade..."

Putray's expression changed.

"You are bargaining with Constellation's prince." He snorted. "This is disrespectful."

"How would I dare do such a thing?" Ramon shook his head. "I just believe in the prince's kindness and wisdom."

Anger boiled in Wya's heart as well. "You know, we can also send you back to the dungeon."

"The ferryman can also send him across Hell's River." Ramon pointed at Chora who was lying on the bed. He then cunningly spread his hands as if to say he could do nothing about it.

As for Ralf, he was staring at Ramon coldly.

Putray glanced at Chora, who seemed like he was struggling in a nightmare as he leaned close to Thales' ears with an unhappy expression on his face.

"Maybe, we can promise him first... As long as Lady Sasere becomes the one who steps in and arrests him at the very last moment, you will not be considered to have broken your promise—"

Thales pursed his lips tightly together.

He lifted his head and cut off Putray's whisper.

Thales looked over at Ramon.

Was he the only professional doctor around Broken Dragon Fortress?

"You know, I can actually promise to do all the things you have just requested of me," Thales quietly said.

Putray's expression became strained.

"Thank you!" Ramon chuckled and said, "This is as easy as lifting a finger to you, Your Highness. I believe Lady Sasere will respect your—"

However, Ramon's chuckles were cut off.

"But I just had a very bad day, Sir Ramon."

Thales exhaled with a hostile expression on his face.

He lifted his head.

"And do you know why?"

The words that were at the tip of Ramon's tongue instantly died away.

"Because I allowed a stranger to join my diplomat group... even if he was actually loyal to me," Thales took a deep breath and continued speaking under Wya and Putray's worried gaze.

"But in the end, I lost more than half of my manpower... All of them bled for me and sacrificed their lives for me.

"This may even include Chora, who is lying on the bed now," he said coldly.

"I do not like it when someone uses this to negotiate with me."

Ramon was slightly stunned.

Thales lifted his head and heard himself speaking in a low voice, "Also, this lesson has taught me to always maintain enough vigilance towards things I do not understand."

Ramon lowered his head and listened to Thales as he enunciated each word.

"For example, at the border, where the confrontation of two kingdoms is currently happening, a suspicious doctor with strange characteristics has been locked up in the fortress' dungeon. For some unknown reason, he has made a request to join my team to head towards Eckstedt, where his future will not be certain because that place is even more dangerous."

Ramon furrowed his brows without realizing it.

'This prince...'

Thales continued and said, "The dungeon of Broken Dragon Fortress may be uncomfortable, but at least, it is safer and more reliable than the border of the two kingdoms. The atmosphere there is tense as of now. It is also safer and more reliable than my diplomatic journey, where the future is uncertain.

"Yet, you requested to head north to Eckstedt.

"You are not doing this to leave the dungeon at all," Thales raised his head slightly as he spoke.

Ramon stared at the young prince before him with a peculiar expression on his face.

'He...'

"You are willing to sacrifice your safety and benefits to provide medical services to the prince's team, and you request to follow him in this dangerous journey." Thales sat on his chair and crossed his arms.

"You must be a saint, Doctor Ramon," Thales shook his head as he slowly said, "If you are not...

"Then you must have some hidden motive."

Ramon furrowed his brows tightly.

'This is bad.

'It appears that this young prince is not as easy to fool as I had imagined.'

"I just need to leave this place," Ramon exhaled as he lifted his head and said, "but the imminent war in the world outside is too dangerous. I thought it might be safer to follow the prince's diplomat group..."

"Safer?" Thales stared coldly at him. "Even a child as young as three years old knows that we owe a blood debt to King Nuven, and we are going to the country he governs... Safe?"

"Alright, alright. I will not place any hopes in obtaining your guards' protection anymore! You do not have to bring me along the whole journey. I will immediately leave once we arrive in Eckstedt." Ramon blinked and laughed wryly, feeling helpless. "I only want something so simple! I guarantee you I will cure him!

"Besides, I can also help in other matters." Ramon adjusted his breathing and turned to Wya and Ralf. "For instance, this young man's injury... I guess it was also caused by the vampire? And also you, the fellow with the silver mask, your arm is fractured... This cannot afford to wait..."

Wya exhaled.

Ralf expression was hostile.

"Are you certain that you can cure him?" Thales asked in a loud and strange tone. "Oh, that is not what you said just now."

Ramon's mind went blank as he mumbled under his breath, "I am very confident in myself... Earlier, I was just trying to ensure that I would be able to get out of the dungeon and also avoid being dragged into war—"

But Thales did not believe him.

The prince once again cut him off.

"I will give you another chance to answer my question. What is your motive?"

Ramon was dumbstruck as he stared at Thales.

'Damned little sh*t.'

After a second, Ramon suddenly laughed.

He spread his hands and shrugged indifferently. "Alright, since the prince does not believe in me, then I better go back to the dungeon—"

But he did not manage to finish what he wanted to say.

"You have used up your chances, Doctor Ramon." Thales suddenly smiled at him. "You are the one who forced me to do this."

Ramon's pupils contracted.

'What? What... is he going to do to me?'

"Passing out punishment indiscriminately as one pleases is a privilege that only belongs to a tyrant." Ramon grinned as he slowly said, "Also, you are still young, right? If news travels out..."

Putray stared at Thales in confusion.

The prince visibly leaned backwards as he looked at the confused Ramon.

Thales raised his right hand and pressed it against the side of his forehead.

"I will apologize to you in advance." Thales chuckled and slowly said, "I also do not want to... treat you like this.

"I did not want to use this sort of forbidden power."

'What?'

Putray, Wya, Ralf and even the constantly inattentive Aida, who were standing by the side were all stunned.

'Power?

'What power?'