When Evelyn arrived inside the cave, a scene of despair unfolded before her eyes. The view in the cave, where flames lit the knights in several places was like Hell.
The cave’s ground was filled with the corpses of Devil Eye, and the disgusting smell of demon blood made it hard for her to breathe properly.
“Adrian, how about Adrian?”
But everything became a problem when she confirmed Adrian’s safety. Evelyn shook off the knight’s hand, trying to stop her and ran inside. But soon, her steps stopped when she saw that a pile of stones blocked the narrow cavern passage.
“No way, is he over there? Adrian, is he safe?”
“Princess, please calm down. The Prince is safe. His Majesty is with him.”
But, Serus’ answer left Evelyn more confused.
“I used explosives to destroy the demons, but the fragile cave ground also collapsed. But before that, His Majesty already went to the carriage to save the Prince and defeat all the demons. We will remove this stone rubble soon.”
“Is it true?”
“Yes. The knights are still working on it. Over there, on the less stony side, you can hear His Majesty’s voice.”
“Where?! That way?!”
Evelyn hurriedly went to that place without hearing his answer. She walked on a demon corpse several times, but he couldn’t stop her feet because of this.
“Princess, I need to tell you something first.”
Evelyn suddenly had a bad hunch as Serus grabbed her hand. She was sure that Fabian saved Adrian, but why did her heart beating so fast?
“I will tell you the whole situation, so please listen calmly.”
“What’s going on?! Go ahead and tell me!”
“His Majesty said that the Prince was wounded by a demon.”
Evelyn’s lips quivered all of a sudden, listening to him.
“······W-Why is he now, no. How can he get hurt!”
“Now is not the time to worry about it.”
Serus’s words were a little harsh, but what he said was true. The number of knights currently available wasn’t many, so it would take quite a while to clear the pile of stones. Nevertheless, the reason why he was saying this was probably because she needed to make a quick decision.
“Then, what should I do?”
Evelyn was struggling to hide her emotions. It seemed easy for Fabian to do it, but when she tried it, Evelyn couldn’t help but feel bad.
“Since the last mysterious demon attack, His Majesty has always carried an antidote in his body to deal with poison. It is an emergency antidote to prevent the spread of poison and at the same time will also help to stop the bleeding …..”
Evelyn’s hand flinched at the word ‘poison’. Because it was common knowledge that if the demon’s poison injured someone, there was a risk of being addicted. Now, the poison of anxiety was spreading through her mind.
“Is Adrian addicted? Tell me what’s wrong with him now! Didn’t His Majesty give the antidote to Adrian?”
“There’s a possibility of addiction. The problem right now is that the antidote works only for His Majesty.”
Evelyn’s face turned pale.
“What…..?”
“This is an antidote that can temporarily cope with an emergency situations and was made only for His Majesty. I don’t know if you know of this, but it’s a Imperial blood-medicine that has been extracted from His Majesty ‘s blood.”
Evelyn had heard of blood-based medicine before, but she didn’t know what’s the use of that in the current situation?
“I mean, that antidote can’t be used on Adrian?”
“I’m sorry…..” Evelyn almost collapsed because her legs were weak.
“But, there’s a possibility.”
Evelyn squinted her eyes at Serus’s words.
“If the Prince …… has His Majesty’s blood, that medicine will be effective to a certain extent.”
Evelyn’s head was dizzy. No way, she hoped that it wasn’t Fabian’s trick … He couldn’t do this.
At this moment, Evelyn felt like she was at a crossroads where she couldn’t choose anything.
“Sir Serus! We’ve made a gap here !!” Logan shouted from the corner of the pile of stones. But it was Evelyn who came up there.
“Everyone, give me a little distance.”
Hearing her calm and determined voice, the knights nodded and went to break rocks on the other side.
There was a hole in the lower part of the ground, covered only by a few stones where she could peek inside.
Evelyn sat on the dirt floor and rested her head in the cracks of the rock.
“Your Majesty, are you there? Your Majesty!”
Not long after she had repeatedly called him, Evelyn sensed Fabian’s presence. The gap was so narrow that she couldn’t see his face. Only her low voice could pass through the hole.
“Evelyn, listen carefully……. I don’t think we have time.”
“Yes……”
She felt her heart dropped. Then, Evelyn put her ear in the crack, so she didn’t miss a word.
“Adrian is wounded by the demon and bleeding, and it looks like he’s poisoned too”
Evelyn clenched her hand until the nails dug into her palm.
“This poison won’t threaten his life if he’s treated properly, but since he’s still a child …… Most importantly, Serus said that he needs time to destroy this pile of stones. There’s nothing we can do about it.”
Her eyes quickly turned red. But she couldn’t waste time crying right now.
“Please tell me honestly. Is Adrian’s condition…… really bad?”
“……I’m sorry.”
The words of apology pierced Evelyn’s heart. Fabian’s low voice was full of guilt. And now, she felt so stupid when she thought for a moment that it might be his trick.
“I can’t guarantee that everything will be fine until I can get out of here …….. Have you heard about the antidote from Serus?”
“Yes.”
“That’s the best I can give …… Adrian is bleeding a little now ….”
Adrian was a child who never cried even though he was stabbed with a thorn. Evelyn found it difficult to maintain her sanity when she heard that such a child was bitten by terrible demons and bleeding.
“How bad is it?”
“I can’t judge accurately. So it’s better to use my antidote on him.”
“Then whatever happens, first of all…….”
“Of course, I wanted to give it to him. But the side effects of blood-based medicine are severe when it’s used by someone who isn’t blood-related.”
Evelyn bit her lips tightly.
“So,…… I need your confirmation.”
Her eyes were trembling.
“Evelyn, I want to save this child. I really mean it.” Fabian’s voice rang desperately through the cracks in the stone ruins.
“… …whether he’s my child or not, I want to save him. But there’s a limit to what I can do.”
So, that’s why Fabian said he was sorry because he couldn’t forgive himself for hurting his child.
“As an Emperor, no, I promise as a person. After I leave this place, I will forget the truth that is needed to save this child. I will forget it all. And I won’t ask you again.”
Evelyn wasn’t the only one who wanted to save Adrian.
“I won’t force you to admit your sin or take this child away.”
There was a word lingered in Evelyn’s mouth. She thought it was a secret she would never tell even if she had to risk her life. But now Adrian’s life was at stake.
Now Evelyn couldn’t think of anything. No calculations, no judgments, nothing.
“So tell me……. only one word is enough.”
Even in a low voice, there was faint despair. Evelyn opened her tightly closed eyes. There was hope even though she still couldn’t see Adrian.
“Evelyn…”
She promised to keep it a secret until the day she died. She thought it would be all right if she had lost her life.
“Can you help this child?” Tears rolled down Evelyn’s cheeks.
“Your Majesty…..”
Sometimes, some things couldn’t be hung on the scale.
“Help him…..”
It was ……the life of her beloved child.
“Please help Adrian, Your Majesty…..” The crying that she had endured all this time finally broke out. Evelyn sobbed, clinging to the resentful pile of stones that had blocked her.
“Please, help him…..” Evelyn couldn’t stop crying after she spat it out.
“Your Majesty, please save the child…..”
Evelyn begged him, putting everything down. Fabian beyond the wall could felt her sincere heart and despair.
“Fine….. I will surely save this child.” Fabian turned his back from the pile of rocks where he could hear the crying sound of his loved one.
There was something more urgent than comforting Evelyn right now. As Adrian’s face, who was lying on his stomach, looked bluer than before.
Without delay, Fabian took the medicine bottle from his chest. It was an item that couldn’t be used until he heard Evelyn’s answer.
“Adrian…you must take my antidote.” While holding the child, Fabian opened his lips and spilled the medicine. But Adrian coughed and spat it out.
Fabian used the other way. He put the antidote into his mouth and fed it to Adrian’s.
Only then did the child manage to swallow the antidote. Fabian repeated the same thing several times, and the medicine in the bottle ran out quickly. This was all the treatment he could do for now.
“There’s strong blood flowing within you too. It’s the same blood with someone you said was strong’.” Fabian said softly while carrying the child in his arms. “So I’m sure……you can get through this.”
The life in his arms seemed too fleet and small. Fabian had no memory of hugging something so fragile like this.
He had never been so desperate in his life as he was now. How he felt when Evelyn left was completely different from how he felt when he saw his breathless son.
“You’re a brave child.”
This child whispered thanks for being hugged by Fabian even though he just had a terrifying experience, and his whole body was covered with scars. So, he couldn’t lose his life to demons in a place like this.
If that happened, Fabian probably wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.
“So, Adrian….. you have to help me.” Fabian touched his forehead while holding Adrian. The desire to cool down this hot fever was like a string of prayers.”You have to help me so that I can keep my promise.”
Fortunately, only a small amount of blood flowed out of his wound. However, Fabian didn’t feel relieved because Adrian had shed quite a lot of blood. The antidote was working, but his fever was still not completely reduced.
What was left now was the fight between Adrian’s stamina and time to escape from this place.
“Adrian.” Fabian never believed in God. But for this time, he wanted to pray to the absolute being.
“We’ve just met …”
Once he heard Evelyn’s answer, everything became clear. Adrian was his child with Evelyn, whom Fabian loved so much.
“I still have so many things I want to do for you.” Fabian couldn’t say in a second that he knew all about fatherly love. But his instinct to protect the small warmth that was sleeping in his arms coursed his whole body. He felt helpless, just like Evelyn, who was crying now.
“Nothing, I haven’t done anything for you.”It was the first time Fabian hugged him so tightly. And he didn’t want to make this the last.
“Come on, You can do it.”
Adrian’s eyes flinched. Fabian looked closely at his face, and his heart pounded at the moment.
“Ugh….·.”
A weary voice rang through his small lips.
“Adrian?”
“Ughhh…..”
Adrian slowly opened one of his eyes. As he tried to rub his eyes with his tiny hands, Adrian couldn’t move his body as he wanted. And soon his tears came out again.
“Adrian, can you see me?”
“Uhm….”
Only
If the antidote worked well, Adrian should have woken up by now. Because the longer he lost consciousness, the harder it was for him to recover from the poison.
Fabian was forced to pinch Adrian’s cheek. Then, his two small, round eyes opened wide.
“Jimoo….”
Fabian was so happy that he felt his throat tight.
“Jimoo, you pinched me…..” Adrian’s eyes suddenly filled with tears.
Soon, the saddest cries in the world burst out. Only then did Fabian feel relieved, freed from his fear. Luckily, Adrian’s scream was loud. Even Evelyn, who was behind the pile of stones, could hear it clearly.
“Jimoo…… Jimoo has bothered me!”
As his loud cry broke out, everyone who was stricken with despair in the cave could finally let out a long sigh.
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