What Became of the Tyrant After the Pregnant Empress Left - Chapter 46
After coming to Uzephia, her distrust of the royal physicians also played a part.
“It’s done. This time, I’ll apply a painkiller too, so it should be more bearable than before.”
“Still, the cloth.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Just as she had done when applying the herbs for the first time, Ysaris rolled Kazhan’s clothes into a bundle and put them in his mouth. It was to prevent him from making loud groans or biting his inner mouth too hard. She then began to apply the medicine.
“Ugh…!”
His body convulsed intermittently, making it difficult to apply the medicine. Thankfully, he endured the pain well; if he had been an ordinary person, she might have had to bind his limbs to proceed.
A long time passed. Ysaris meticulously applied the medicine all over his body, then sighed wearily and withdrew her hands.
“It’s finished.”
“….”
There was no response. Kazhan, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, didn’t have a clear focus in his eyes.
Ysaris removed the cloth from his half-dazed mouth. Only then did his reddened eyes slowly turn towards her.
“I… might die.”
“But you’re alive.”
“Isn’t that… a strange thing to say?”
It was a pointless conversation. As Kazhan gradually calmed down, Ysaris quietly looked down at him before suddenly speaking.
“Forgive me for the intrusive question, Your Majesty.”
Her eyes moved to his body. Ever since she had hurriedly tended to his wounds after moving him to the cave, she had vaguely thought something was strange.
She had let it go then, but upon closer examination this time, she was certain.
“How are you still alive?”
Kazhan should have been dead. Not that he deserved to die, but it didn’t make sense that he was still alive.
The injuries she could diagnose by sight alone were already beyond severe. If he were an ordinary person, he would have died from shock long ago, having lost too much blood.
And what about his constantly feverish body? Ysaris thought, half-jokingly, that her hands might get burned while applying the medicine.
Yet, look at him. Kazhan was surprisingly coherent for someone in his condition.
Not being able to move was expected, but it was unbelievable that he remained mentally alert.
He was eating, conversing… he seemed more like someone with a temporary disability than someone teetering on the brink of death.
As she pondered this anomaly, Kazhan provided an answer.
“I am a Tennilath.”
…That wasn’t particularly helpful.
“Tennilaths aren’t immortal.”
“No, they’re not.”
“…”
“…”
“…Is that all?”
When no further explanation followed, Ysaris furrowed her brow slightly.
What she knew was that the Tennilath were the only bloodline capable of using the magic of the covenant. That was widely known.
Weren’t all the Tenniiath, except Kazhan, dead? Because he had killed them himself.
So, Kazhan should be mortal too…
As Ysaris’s doubt grew, Kazhan, who had turned his eyes to the ceiling, sighed. After deliberating on how much to reveal, he suppressed his pain and spoke slowly, breaking his sentences.
“The magic in a Tennilath’s blood affects living beings. Especially themselves.”
It was the opposite of what ordinary wizards could do, who could only manipulate elements and concepts. Tennilaths couldn’t use conventional magic but instead wielded their unique form of magic.
Kazhan offered no further explanation. He couldn’t reveal anything that could become a critical weakness for the royal family.
It wasn’t a matter of whether he trusted Ysaris or not. Such a restriction had been in place from the beginning.
The conflicted Tennilath.
Kazhan’s expression darkened as he fell silent, allowing the quiet to stretch out. Only the faint sound of the wind passing through the leaves covering the entrance filled the space.
“…So then.”
It was Ysaris who broke the silence first.
She didn’t fully understand what Tennilath was or the exact meaning of his words. However, she could form a new hypothesis.
“You followed me off the cliff because you knew you would survive.”
It wasn’t about risking his life.
Kazhan slowly looked at Ysaris, recognizing the hidden implication in her words. She still gazed at him with an unreadable expression.
For a moment, Kazhan felt as if they were the only two people left in the world. His heart started to race inexplicably, a tense thumping that he couldn’t understand.
If he were to answer honestly, he didn’t know. How could any human expect to survive plunging into a dark, hidden chasm?
At that moment, there wasn’t even time to calculate the odds of survival. Even if there had been time, it would have been impossible to predict the outcome of such a plunge.
Back then, it wasn’t a rational decision; his body moved before his mind could think.
Rather than witnessing Ysaris’s death before his eyes, it felt better to die together. At the very least, he wanted to make an attempt to save her.
But…
