The nightmare came again.

The new one.

Once again, he was in the embrace of that person. Once again, he was being choked by them for a crime he did not know he committed. But this time, it was a bit different. As the fingers around his throat tightened, he felt those vines crawling up through his veins and draining the fire in his heart at the same time.

“If only you had not betrayed me,” the voice beside his ear whispered, “You would not have had to suffer so.”

And with those words, came the absolute, irrevocable realization that he deserved this.

He wondered … if he gave into the pain, if he accepted his punishment, would it all be over?

Black started to cover his vision. But strangely enough, it did not come with the agony he had thought it would. It was uncomfortable, suffocation almost. But it did not cause him any pain. Instead, it almost seemed like whatever had surrounded him was clumsily attempting to soothe him.

It’s alright, something seems to whisper. It will be over soon.

And it was.

Emilio found himself blinking his eyes open, not up in a panic, and trying desperately to catch his breath for once. Instead, he slowly blinked his eyes open, like he usually did when he had pushed himself so much that he’d pass out. The soft sun rays now peeking through the curtains told him it was early in the morning. Probably an hour or so since dawn.

He slowly got up, swallowing as he realized how dry his throat was. He reached for the jug of water and glass on the bedside table. As Emilio was chugging down the water, he heard the door open. He looked up once he put the glass away. It was Healer Adron.

“You’re awake?” The man asked, seeming surprised.

Emilio nodded. “I just woke up.”

To his credit, the Healer recovered quickly enough. “That’s good,” he said as he walked to the bed. “That means you are recovering well. Do you feel dizzy? Tired?”

Emilio paused for a moment before shaking his head. “No. Not dizzy. Maybe a little tired.”

Healer Adron nodded and then once again pressed the blue energy coated hand onto Emilio’s forehead. Emilio was ready for the tickling feeling this time. It lasted a few moments before the man pulled back, looking thoughtful.

“You have recovered most of your energy,” the man said thoughtfully. “That is … unexpected. I thought you would need to stay at least one more day here.”

“Does that mean I can go to classes today?” He asked softly.

The man chuckled. “It is nice to see a young man so invested in his studies. Very well, you can go to your classes. But the moment you feel too tired or uncomfortable, you must return to the infirmary. I was told that you have to visit the Research Department after classes. Put that off for today. Come straight here after classes. You will stay here tonight. I will monitor your condition.”

“But-”

“No buts,” Healer Adron said sternly. “I will talk to the Archmaster. I am granting your request to attend classes, on the condition that you stay here tonight.”

Emilio sighed, slumping a bit. “Alright.”

“Good.” Healer Adron nodded. “I will send breakfast and your medicine. The classes will start in two hours so you can take your time. Your fae friend brought your uniform last night. You were already asleep by then.”

Emilio looked at the chair the man nodded to and indeed there was a package there. He smiled softly. He thanked the Healer, who left soon after another warning to come back to the Hub after he was done with classes. A bit after that, food and medicine was sent for him. He devoured the food, realizing how hungry he had been. But the medicine was bitter. He took the very advice he usually gave Jeremiah and pinched his nose before downing it one gp. It was too bitter and he almost threw up. He quickly downed another glass of water. Despite its bitterness, he immediately felt it take effect. He felt energized.

Deciding that he couldn’t just sit and laze around for the next hour and a half, he grabbed the package and took his uniform out. He might as well go down and find Balsea to go to classes together. He started to take off the clothes the Hub had probably given him. He took off the shirt first and put on the undershirt of the uniform. Just as he was buttoning it, he heard the door open and his eyes widened in a panic.

“Stop!” He yelled but the door was already open.

Golden eyes were colored with surprise as they took in the state Emilio was in. His hair was disheveled, his pants were pulled slightly below the hip on one side and his shirt was open, revealing his bare skin.

Emilio quickly turned around. He knew the rules of modesty were a bit looser for men than they were for women. But he had not allowed anyone other than Ronald to see him so bare in the past 10 years. He felt immodest, vulnerable, and embarrassed.

“My apologies,” the voice behind him spoke, soft, smooth, and sounding genuinely apologetic. “I should have knocked. I did not realize you would be changing.”

“It’s … it’s alright, Your Highness,” he said softly. “May I please have a moment to change?”

“Of course! Just let me know when you are done.”

There was the sound of the door closing. Emilio sighed in relief and quickly pulled the curtains around his bed. He should have done that before but he had forgotten. He buttoned the undershirt, put on his pants, and tucked his shirt in as fast as he could.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“I’m decent, Your Highness,” he called out as he started to put on his vest, not wanting to keep the Crown Prince waiting.

The door opened as he pulled his curtains back. Louise Aeloron stepped inside once again, with all the grace and majesty of a royal, as if the unfortunate incident of moments before had not occurred at all.

“You are not burnt at all.” Those were the first words that came out of the Prince’s mouth.

Emilio blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Ah … the rumors of you being burnt badly by that commoner going wild on you has spread across the campus,” the Prince said. “I thought you would be in bed, near death and unable to move. I brought flowers for your recovery!”

Emilio’s eyes fell on the bouquet of flowers he was now waving. He sighed and put his business mask on, giving the Prince an amicable smile.

“Thank you for your kind thoughts, Your Highness. As you can see, I am not burned. I was just exhausted. I’m recovering well and, as you can see, I will be attending classes today. Please leave the flowers here. I’ll put them in a vase.”

“Oh don’t be like that,” Prince Louise said as he walked close. “Now that you are up, I would love to have a talk with you. And please, call me Louise.”

“A talk?” Emilio frowned in confusion.

“A talk,” the Prince confirmed, nodding. He sat down on the bed and crossed one leg over the other, leaning back as if it was his throne. “You see, there was another, a more interesting rumor. The rumor said you upended the forest and called upon nature itself to protect you from that boy. Some say you used it to fight back. Some even say you killed him.”

“Those are mere rumors,” he replied immediately. “Just like the ones about me being burnt to death. As you can see, I am alright. And I have not attacked or killed Evan.”

“But you did protect yourself,” the Prince said. Emilio clenched his teeth and kept quiet. He could not deny that. Especially since so many people saw it.

“Fascinating,” Prince Louise breathed, leaning forward. “No one has ever called upon nature so strongly that it would become a shield for them. Even the most powerful druids can only manipulate the energy already within nature to bring out its potency. They cannot use nature as they please. How did you do it?”

Emilio gulped, realizing that the Prince was trying to test him. For what? He did not know. What he did know was that he had no wish to get swayed by his flowery words and swept into whatever scheme he was planning. He had no intention of mixing with royalty, especially in this turbulent time when the nobles were dividing into factions of the current Crown Prince and the Second Prince, the son of the Second Empress.

“I don’t know,” he said softly. “This is all new to me as well. I doubt someone like me can achieve much with whatever it is.”

The Prince chuckled. “Oh, quite the contrary. You can achieve so much. Just the fact that you made a wall out of tree roots is proof of that.”

So, he had already seen it and had just come here to probe Emilio.

Emilio looked away. “It does not matter. Whatever I may or may not achieve will be of little consequence in this world.”

After all, not many would accept or even tolerate a Laik, no matter how accomplished the Laik was.

“Not if I support you,” the Prince spoke immediately. “You have the ability to achieve great things. I can give you the opportunities you need, and help you get the recognition you want.”

Emilio shook his head. He may not have had much exposure to the nobles outside of their territory but he was aware enough of the current politics. He refused to become another pawn in their games.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” he said softly. “But I do not wish for recognition. I only wish to learn about these strange abilities of mine. So that I can protect myself and mine.”

The Prince leaned forward, his intense gaze boring into Emilio. “But without me, you won’t have anything of yours to protect.”

“What?”

Emilio blinked again, this time trying desperately to hide the panic rising in his chest. Was the Prince threatening his family?

Another soft chuckle.

“Well, is your little brother not on the fence of becoming the Heir of the Florian Barony?” He asked. “You will lose your right, your title, everything that is rightfully yours as the first son of Baron Florian … to him.”

Emilio clenched his teeth. Of course. Another person who thought that he hated his brother. It was … expected, he supposed, in this society. They hated bastards. They hated Laiks even more. Therefore, a bastard with exceptional mana with talents would be better than the legitimate son who was a Laik. It was the “least bad option,” as other nobles liked to say.

They could not have known that the Laik was the one who raised the bastard and acted like father and mother and brother to the bastard all at the same time. That the Laik would die and kill for his little brother. He did not blame the Prince for his mindset, not when it was just the way of things.

But it annoyed him, how many people just assumed that he hated Jeremiah and that he wanted to be the next Baron. How could anyone hate that sweet child? And while it stung a bit that he could not carry on his family’s legacy, and could not fulfill his dreams and his father’s expectations, he would never hate Jeremiah for that. Jeremiah deserved everything he got and more.

“I have no need of that,” he said, forcing himself to remain calm. “I do not care to take the Barony. And Jeremiah has more of a right to it.”

“Is that what you tell yourself?” The Prince said, a tone of pity coloring his voice. “I’m sure you must have had to. How could you ever inherit the Barony when your talented brother is there? But now it’s different. You have talents of your own. I can help you. The High Society will accept you once they see you have the support of the Crown Prince. You can take what is yours from that bastard.”

“Prince Louise!” Emilio finally snapped, his breath trembling ever so slightly. “Do not speak of Jeremiah like that. It does not matter to me who becomes the next Baron, that child is my little brother. This is a family matter and you have no right to interfere.”

It was one of the rules of royalty. They could not directly interfere in the internal matters of the noble families. Of course, that did not mean they did not pull strings behind the scenes for their benefit. But they did have to keep up appearances.

Emilio wanted to say a lot more. But he shut his mouth, fearing that he would run his mouth off and offend royalty.

Instead, he said, “Please leave, Your Highness. I am grateful for your good wishes. Classes will be starting soon. I need to get ready.”

The Prince stared at him for a long moment, his golden eyes shining in the sunlight. After a few moments, he let out a soft smirk and stood.

“Very well. If that is your decision, so be it. But the offer will always be open. Do let me know if you change your mind.”

He would never change his mind. But he kept quiet as the Prince made his way out. Emilio let out a shaky breath and turned around to put on his coat and belt. But before he could, there was another knock on the door.

Emilio frowned in annoyance and turned around. “I already said-”

He cut himself off as he saw the figure at the door, red eyes unreadable as the man looked at Emilio.

“May I come in?”