The walk back to his private quarters felt a lot longer to Alessandro than marching to see Concubine Number 5. The shock he'd had to deal with from learning what happened to 20 after the poisoning incident positively depleted him of his energy. He trudged along the hallway, barely managing to keep himself upright. When he made it to his room, he saw the girl sleeping peacefully in his bed and he sat by the bedside, observing her with a pensive expression.
He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night, staying by 20's side as the doctor tried his best to slow down the effects of the poison. When she had woken up at last after drinking the potion that 5 had made, he'd had to live through another nightmare – finding out the girl in his arms was a total stranger.
