Chapter 63

Julius seemed as though he wanted to protest and persuade Kaichen to not leave. In that, I agreed with Julius. I did not want Kaichen to be in danger. If this incident was the same as the Garten incident, then everyone would be barricaded inside and killed. The palace would order it and that was absolute. No one would be able to protest. The palace would do it. It was genocide but they would still do it to prevent the spread.

In the original novel, it happened in haste. When people later checked the dead bodies, no disease was found. The palace hadn't cared. They had shrugged their shoulders and made the excuse that it had been necessary to prevent a greater catastrophe.

The statement had made the imperial guards proud of their actions as though they had really saved the world and not killed numerous people in cold blood. Some people had claimed, in whispered words, that it had been the Palace's strategy to clear off the Garten region where those people, who had been defeated and their land snatched by the Empire, lived in misery.

With no remorse from the palace, as well as from the guards who carried out the genocide, the people of the old kingdom became frustrated and angry. This unfair treatment was the fuel with which Momalhaut functioned. Many people joined them for justice.

The Garten incident confirmed the discrimination of the palace against the citizens of the old kingdom. It was a blatant infringement of human rights. Thinking about it makes me angry. But the people behind it played the citizens as well as the palace. Julius had lost the loyalty of many people because of that incident. Maybe it won't happen this time. But why is it happening in Acrab?

If Momalhaut wanted to attack Julius and the palace, they would attack the Garten region. Wasn't Acrab already used before for time magic? I didn't understand their motive. I came up with multiple reasons but none of them seemed plausible. There must be something I am not aware of...

It must have something to do with the ending that I was unable to read. I got frustrated.

"Dalia," I heard Kaichen calling out to me softly. I flinched. I was so lost in thought that it startled me. I let out the breath I was holding as Kaichen put his hands on my shoulders, gently comforting me. It made me feel a little better.

I knew that fretting about the situation endlessly would lead me nowhere. It would eventually take a toll on me. I was taking antibiotics, but my treatment was far from complete.

Kaichen investigated the antidote and tried to improve it to make it better. It would take me a year even with the medicine he prescribed for my body to get rid of the poison. I will then have to take pills to soothe my mind once a month. Kaichen wasn't a doctor, but he knew about my poison, and he took great care with the medicine and the pills I was supposed to take and when I was supposed to take them for them to have optimal effect on my body.

"Kaichen...," said Julius sadly, "Are you really going to go?"

Kaichen nodded. I could still feel his gentle hands on my shoulder. My lips were dry from worrying about Acrab.

"Your Highness...," I addressed Julius, "Do you know of any sort of symptoms of this disease? I might be able to know how to make an antidote...." I couldn't brush off my suspicions that this disease might be similar to what Mickey and I went through. If so, there was hope. If it was the same sort of disease, I knew what would happen in Garten. From what I knew of my disease and what Kaichen had told me, it seemed Momalhaut wasn't just dabbling in banned magic but also testing poison in Acrab.

"How would you..." mumbled Julius.

"It's a bit complicated to explain...," I said, not knowing how and when I should start with the whole explanation. I bit my lips.

Thankfully, Kaichen took it from there. "It's likely that the symptoms might be similar to what Dalia went through. It isn't contagious but the symptoms are similar to what happened in the empire in the past."

"Then... is it possible that they studied a type of poison before Acrab was banned from practicing magic?"

"Yes. And she was able to heal a young boy suffering with the same symptoms," said Kaichen pointing with his chin towards me. "There is a possibility that people can be saved from this disease."

Julius looked at me in surprise and admiration. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I guess there is a lot I don't know about, but we don't have time right now. Then, Countess Alshine and Kaichen, I bid farewell to you both. Please head back to Acrab. Will you be able to tell me whatever is going on there once you reach?"

"Of course, Your Highness," said Kaichen, using honorifics.

I found it hard to understand between them. Sometimes Kaichen used honorifics but sometimes he cursed at Julius so casually. In the original novel, even if they were best friends, they never crossed the line. But when I saw them here, casually being friends, it was strange to see.

Julius sighed and swept his blue hair away from his eyes. He looked at the side and saw the bench finally. "What in the world is that? Is that a bed for the outdoors?"