“The, the Crown Prince has arrived!”
Raha had been lying there in a state of resignation because Grey insisted on staying by his side until he recovered.
Suddenly, the High Priest rushed in to announce the Crown Prince’s arrival.
It was baffling.
Blizan, who never set foot in the Great Temple except on Mondays and Tuesdays, had shown up on a Wednesday—of all days—knowing full well it was the day Raha treated the Duke.
“You may remain lying down.”
Whether from running or from the pressure of meeting the Crown Prince, the High Priest was repeatedly wiping sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
“The Crown Prince said he would come straight up here.”
“What?”
Raha’s eyes widened so much they nearly popped out.
Usually, the Great Temple did not allow guests anywhere except the reception room.
Grey was only waiting in his bedroom because Raha had lost consciousness right in front of him.
However, for the Crown Prince to suddenly barge in without notice and insist on coming straight to his bedroom was a completely different situation from Grey’s visit.
“Why on earth…”
“Who informed His Highness that the High Priest had collapsed?”
Grey, who had been quietly listening to the High Priest, suddenly asked.
His voice was laced with an irritation so obvious that anyone could notice it, causing the High Priest to falter and look at him warily.
“The knight His Highness left behind told him…”
“His Highness left a knight behind?”
“Yes, as he was returning to the Imperial Palace the day before yesterday, he left one person…”
Surprised by the High Priest’s words, Grey turned his head to look at Raha.
Raha simply shrugged his shoulders back at Grey, who was staring with a look of utter shock.
It was a gesture meant to convey that he didn’t know what was going on either.
Naturally, he had only just found out himself.
He had no idea why Blizan would leave someone behind here.
Just then, a voice was heard from outside the door.
[His Highness the Crown Prince enters.]
The door opened immediately, and the beautiful, red-haired Crown Prince appeared.
“I heard you collapsed, Raha.”
Raha’s name slipped out of his mouth so unexpectedly.
Raha’s eyes widened in shock.
According to the original story, Blizan had never once called Raha by his name—not even until the moment Raha died at the hands of Teore.
In the original novel, Raha had been so hurt that he would scream in frustration, asking Blizan why he called Edrion by the nickname ‘Eddy’ while strictly referring to him only as ‘High Priest.’
But now, for some unknown reason, he was calling him by name.
Furthermore, a man who wouldn’t visit the Great Temple on a Wednesday if the sky split in two had come all the way here.
Raha blinked slowly, wondering if there was something about Blizan in the original story he had misunderstood.
“Why did you collapse? Don’t tell me you’re like that guy…”
When Blizan asked while glaring sharply at Grey, Grey’s face instantly twisted in annoyance.
“What do you take me for? Comparing me to that ill-tempered Teore… you’re speaking recklessly just because we haven’t seen each other in a few weeks.”
There were five nobles in the Empire with elemental powers.
They had been close since childhood, growing up together in the same academy under the tutelage of the previous generation of elementalists.
Thus, outside of official settings, they preferred casual conversation regardless of rank, whether one was the Crown Prince or a Margrave.
“Then why did a person who was healthy until yesterday suddenly collapse?”
“Are you telling me you rushed all the way here just because you heard the High Priest collapsed?”
Grey asked in disbelief. Blizan looked at him as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“My rampage-suppression healer collapsed. Of course I had to come.”
Grey’s mouth hung open at that. ‘My rampage-suppression healer?’
He wondered since when Blizan had started thinking of the High Priest that way.
For a long time, Blizan had disliked Raha for his excessive obsession.
He had even said while drinking together that he wished he could just kill the guy, regardless of the treatment.
Seeing “Of course I had to come” come out of his mouth left Grey looking more bewildered than ever.
“Raha, why did you collapse? When did you wake up, and are you okay now?”
Blizan stepped in front of Grey, who had already taken the chair by the nightstand, and began firing questions at Raha, who was leaning against the headboard.
Forced to pull his chair back and make space for the sudden intrusion, Grey instinctively stood up and glared at Blizan.
“I… I am fine.”
Raha himself seemed incredibly flustered, unsure of what had gotten into the Prince.
He kept shaking his head and insisting he was okay in response to Blizan’s persistent questioning.
Just as Grey thought, Raha was dazed, wondering what on earth was happening.
As soon as he realized the Crown Prince came to the temple because he had fainted, he was baffled.
This was the first time a man who had shown nothing but discomfort and coldness toward him had shown concern and favor.
It was so suspicious he wondered if it was a trap.
For the great Blizan to call him by name and worry about him?
According to the original plot, this was an impossibility even if the world ended.
“Saying you’re fine doesn’t mean you actually are. Why do you keep saying the same thing? Grey, what did the doctor say?”
When Blizan turned to Grey, Grey let out a short sigh and explained that Raha had overused his light attribute for his sake.
Blizan looked back at Raha with a puzzled expression.
“Overused the light attribute?”
“Ah…”
“Isn’t there a set amount of light used to suppress a rampage? What did you do to use enough to collapse?”
“That is… because the Duke dislikes touching me, I filled the entire reception room with the light attribute…”
Raha explained the method of treating a rampage without contact.
He was slightly worried that Blizan might demand the same treatment from now on.
While it was a good method in many ways, it led to him collapsing.
While losing consciousness briefly was something he could endure, treating all five of them without contact was inefficient compared to the effort.
He felt it would be better to stick to physical contact.
Especially since he intended to charge money for treatments from now on, he wanted to choose the most efficient method.
“Is that so.”
However, Blizan seemed quite taken with the non-contact method and nodded.
“Then you should use that method from now on.”
Seeing Blizan suggest he keep using the method that literally made him collapse, Raha immediately thought, ‘Of course.’
‘Right, from the Crown Prince’s perspective, he’d think that’s the best way.’
He understood the logic, but it felt a bit cruel for Blizan to act this way in front of someone who had harbored a long-term unrequited love for him.
But then, as if mocking Raha’s thoughts, Blizan said something entirely different.
“From now on, treat the other guys using today’s method. However, don’t release the attribute all at once like you did today. It would be better to find a way to release it slowly over a long period so they can be treated alone in the room.”
“Ah…”
“However, for me, I will continue to receive treatment through contact with you, just as before.”
“Only you get to do it the old way?”
Grey suddenly interjected in disbelief.
Blizan looked at him as if there was no problem.
“Non-contact is what you guys wanted, wasn’t it?”
“You wanted it too.”
“The current me doesn’t want it.”
“The current me doesn’t particularly want it either, you know?”
