Chapter 119

I slipped through the bars and ran straight to Lycian’s side.

‘This can’t be…!’

Up close, his condition was far worse than I’d imagined.

His face was drained of all color, pale as paper. Cold sweat beaded across his skin.

His body trembled—thin, fragile shivers.

And… his left hand was clutched tight over the wound in his chest.

‘That wound…!’

‘The scar near my heart was from that time. I almost died.’

‘So that’s it! That was the wound that nearly killed Lycian…!’

“Squeak, squeak!”

The frantic hamster—me—hurriedly canceled the transformation.

‘Transformation release!’

Perhaps because a holy relic operated on a different principle than magic, I didn’t end up naked when I returned to human form.

I quickly pulled out a top-grade potion from my inventory.

‘Thank god I made several in advance!’

Praising my own foresight, I uncorked the crystal vial.

Then, with my free hand, I gently took hold of Lycian’s wrist.

“I’m going to move your hand for a second. I need to put medicine on the wound.”

“Ugh….”

I pried away his left hand, then his right. The injury that had been hidden beneath them was laid bare.

‘Oh my god….’

It was so deep, so wide, it was a miracle he wasn’t dead.

If Lycian hadn’t been a sturdy half-dragon, he would have died long ago.

‘What do I do….’

The thought of how much it must have hurt made my eyes sting.

I poured the top-grade potion over the wound. The bleeding stopped at once, and the torn flesh began to knit together at a visible pace.

But a long, jagged scar remained. That was how severe it had been.

“Whew….”

I wiped the sweat from my brow, then took out a clean towel and carefully dabbed at his chest.

‘The wound’s healed—so why does he still look so bad?’

Curled up like a shrimp, Lycian groaned in agony.

‘His consciousness is fading, too….’

Just then, a system message appeared in midair.

‘…The Elixir?’

I knew it.

‘Sprinkling it on the wound won’t work. He has to drink all 100mL….’

The problem was that Lycian wasn’t in any condition to swallow anything.

He needed to regain consciousness—even for a moment—

That was when—

“…!”

A sinister presence surged in from the direction of the underground entrance.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me… Why now of all times!’

What do I do? There’s nowhere to hide, and even if I carry Lycian to the exit, we’ll run straight into the subordinate….

‘Aaaah!’

My mind on the verge of snapping, a brilliant idea flashed through it.

‘Right…! I have that!’

The Secret Door!

The moment I summoned it, a pure white door materialized in midair, glowing.

I scooped Lycian up in a bridal carry.

Of course he wasn’t light. But he was still within what my arms could manage.

The door swung open on its own. I hurried through.

I brought thirteen-year-old Lycian into my room and laid him on the bed.

The boy, still slick with cold sweat and contorted in pain, looked far from stable.

First, I needed him conscious. Otherwise, there was no way he could drink all 100mL of the Elixir.

‘If I try to feed it to him and he spits it out unconsciously, it’s pointless.’

I took out another top-grade potion from my inventory.

Then I lifted his chin and slowly poured small amounts between his parted lips.

“Ugh—!”

Just as I thought. He spat it out.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s medicine.”

“Mm….”

Still, I managed to get him to swallow about half.

I set the empty vial aside and reached toward him.

Next, I would try this.

‘Sacred Shepherd’s Touch!’

Fwaah!

Light poured from my palm, wrapping around Lycian’s body like bandages.

And then—

The healing power worked perfectly, but the Husbandry skill didn’t activate.

‘Well, I suppose that’s the will of God.’

I let it go and checked on Lycian.

His complexion looked far more at ease than before.

‘Oh, it’s working!’

Just a little more, and he should wake up.

I took his hand and continued channeling holy power into him.

How much time passed like that…?

‘Ah… I’m thirsty.’

I was just about to get some water when Lycian frowned and shifted.

“Mm….”

“…!”

His tightly shut eyelids fluttered. As if he were about to wake.

“Lycian… Your Highness?”

The moment I called out softly, his long lashes lifted, revealing golden eyes beneath.

“Lycian! Are you conscious? Do you recogni—”

Ah. No, that’s wrong.

I hurriedly corrected myself. In this timeline, we’re strangers.

“Ahem. Prince Lysianthus? Are you awake?”

“…….”

Frowning, Lycian blinked slowly.

Confusion flickered in his deep golden irises.

Then the boy glared at me and demanded sharply,

“Who are you? Where is this? What did you—ugh—do to me? And that monster?”

I answered him one by one.

“This is my home. I’m the one who saved you. That monster can’t hurt you anymore.”

But little Lycian stared at me with naked suspicion and pressed harshly,

“Liar. You’re with that monster, aren’t you? What are you planning to do to me?”

He shot upright in bed, golden mana swirling around his entire body.

‘Gah!’

Startled, I didn’t have time to think—I just lunged forward and wrapped him in a tight hug.

“Calm down! You’re a patient right now! You need absolute rest!”

“You—! Wh-what are you doing?! Let go!”

Little Goldie was seriously fierce. Only now did I truly understand how exhausting it must have been for His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress to raise him.

“I’m really on your side, Lycian! God sent me to save you! I swear! Look!”

I loosened my arms and gathered holy power in my palm.

The opalescent glow shimmered like a jewel.

Lycian’s eyes widened slightly.

“…Real holy power…,” he murmured.

“See? How could a witch’s subordinate possibly wield holy power? Right?”

“…….”

He still looked displeased, but at last he seemed to accept it.

Honestly, this little rascal.

I barely restrained myself from ruffling his head like a baby fox.

“The wound on your chest has been healed with holy power, but you’re still under the witch’s curse. To remove it, you need to drink this.”

I took out the Elixir from my inventory and waved it in front of him.

He startled at the sudden appearance of the object.

‘Cute.’

Smiling faintly, I uncorked the crystal bottle.

The Elixir’s strange, elusive fragrance spread through the room.

Lycian stared at the golden-red liquid shimmering inside, then frowned faintly.

“What is that?”

“Elixir. A cure-all. A legendary remedy. I made it myself!”

“…You made it? You?”

“Yep. I’m very capable, you know!”

“…….”

The insolent little brat shot me a dubious look.

Still, perhaps deciding he had nothing to lose, he accepted the Elixir from my hand.

“It’s not poison, is it?”

“I swear on my life, it’s absolutely not poison.”

“If you’re trying to poison me—”

“Oh please. What would I even gain from poisoning a brat like you? Just drink it already!”

“Who are you calling a brat…!”

He bristled, about to snap back, then clenched his teeth and huffed.

I escalated things by pulling a straw out of my inventory.

“Here, kid. Want me to stick a straw in it for you?”

“I don’t need it!”

In a burst of temper, young Master Lycian tipped his head back and gulped down the Elixir.

He’s not going to choke, is he? Not a single drop can be wasted.

“You have to drink all of it. That’s the only way it works.”

“I finished it!”

The little brat flung the bottle at me. I snatched it out of the air and arched a brow.

“You’re really ill-mannered.”

“What does it matter to you!”

“It matters. I’m your lifesaver.”

“…!”

“Is this how you treat your benefactor? Aren’t you going to say thank you?”

His golden lashes fluttered rapidly.

He bit his lip, then turned his head sharply away.

Despite the sulky look on his face, he kept sneaking glances at me.

His lips moved soundlessly before he finally forced out a word.

“Th….”

“Th?”

“Tha….”

“Mm? Thank you?”

“Y-yeah! I said thank you!”

His face flushed bright red as he shouted it, and he was so ridiculously adorable I couldn’t hold back.

“Hahaha!”

I burst into laughter and pulled him into a tight hug.

Flustered and burning hot with embarrassment, the boy thrashed wildly in my arms.

“L-let go!”

“Lycian, you’re too cute. Idiot.”

“…!”

I pressed a quick kiss to his round forehead.

The prickly little fox went stiff as a board.

Right then, the system notification popped up.

‘Oh…!’

Thank goodness!

Cupping his small face in both hands, I asked,

“How do you feel? Better than before?”