Lucius approached the comatose body, hovering his hand above Noah's head. Brilliant light shone from his palm as Noah's pale skin seems to gain life. The redness of blood was restored, making him less of a living corpse. After a while, Lucius withdrew his arm and turned towards the Baron.
"I've purified him, he will wake up soon," he said before asking rather coldly. "Indeed, it was no poison but dark magic. How did this happen?"
"A-A ruckus occurred in the small village of our barony," the baron answered, his expression turned glum. "I've sent him to check on the people there and ease the surfacing concern so he didn't return for a while…but when we found him, h-he's already unconscious."
The baron must have been worried sick since then. His eyes filled with genuine distress as he went through the tale. Although Noah is just his second son, he still cares for him just as much as the eldest. This old man is kinda growing on me, I'd say.
"Perhaps," I intervened. "Was the ruckus caused by the gradually missing people?"
"Huh? Uh, yes!" The baron confirmed. "The people got panicked…"
I'm half-relieved but half-worried. I'm relieved that it's not a real dark attribute, since a real one would be much more powerful than the artificial one. However, the terrifying fact on the production of artificial dark magic couldn't be ignored. The missing people might have been a victim of their shenanigans.
My gaze fell on the sleeping Noah, currently looking a lot better than the first time I saw him. Just a small amount of dark magic could make someone suffer that much. Just who had planned such a filthy thing?
"How is Noah?!" A female voice echoed through the room.
Barging through the door was a small figure with messy pink hair, sticking to her sweating temple. Her dress was slightly disheveled and her heels were about to tip over. She looked as if she'd just finished a whole marathon!
"Oh, you're here, princess," I greeted her.
As she finally caught her breath, the princess turned to me for an answer. She could see her lover still being bedridden, but her eyes were overflowing with hope.
"He's only sleeping now. He'll wake up soon," I said.
Hearing that, a smile tugged on the princess' lips, but the hint of doubt still remains. Not wasting her time, she dashed towards Noah's side and clasped his hand tightly.
"Really? Will he really wake up?" The princess asked with great yearning.
The thing is, I don't know, either. I only parroted what Lucius had said, but I do hope he really would, though. Just as I was about to get nervous on the uncertainty, the eyes of the young man fluttered open. His eyes was unfocused, that was until he saw the princess.
"El….?" Noah called weakly.
Finally hearing the voice of her lover, Eleanor burst into tears, diving into his embrace. "Noah! You're up!"
The man gently stroked her long pink hair, relishing on their union. With the little strength he had, Noah subtly tightened their embrace, calming the emotional princess. He kissed the top of her head as his gaze softened visibly.
Finally noticing our existence, Noah's eyes wandered on our faces. I'm glad Lucius is here or I'll feel like a third-wheeler of a romantic drama. His eyes especially widened when he recognised Lucius. Not shocking, I would be scared out of my life, too, if I saw Lucius right after waking up from a coma.
"Um…greetings, Marquess," Noah said awkwardly.
"The Marquess healed you, Noah!" the princess beamed.
"....Is that so?" Noah smiled softly at the princess before looking back at Lucius. "I am greatly indebted to you, Marquess. Thank you so much," he nodded his head a bit, showing his gratitude.
"Never mind that and tell me about what had happened in the village," Lucius directly got to the point.
This is how the Lucius Leonhart usually is. Although he had been unexpectedly laid back recently, he was originally a very cold and direct man. Look at how he interrogates a person who just gained consciousness after months. Tch, tch, habit dies hard, I suppose.
"….I've found a suspicious place in the Forsaken Woods," Noah began.
The Forsaken Woods is the forest located North of the barony. It serves as a good border between the Empire and the Kingdom. It had been left alone for as long as it had existed, given that there's a lot of monsters in there.
"I was following a cart that left the village. I thought it was weird for it to go that wa—"
"Just tell me what you found," the impatient Lucius interrupted.
"…. a hamlet was made there," Noah shortened his tale. "Something I deemed as a ritual was held when the sun sets. I got found by one of them and…. poisoned. I barely managed to run away before I collapsed."
"You were very fortunate for having made it to the village, son. Don't act so rashly next time," the baron said with a sigh.
Realising his father's great concern, Noah replied with a hint of guilt "…Forgive me, father."
While the father-son bonding continued, I threw a glance at Lucius, who seemed to be deep in thought. Wondering on our next move, I shifted closer to him and gave a light nudge to his side.
"So," I cleared my throat before asking, "Are we going there now?"
"You, go back," he replied. "I'll go see it by myself."
"Huh? What nonsense!" I exclaimed. "Have you forgotten? I promised that I'll throw myself to save you if we ever got into trouble, right?"
"It's an order."
"Fine, then!" I huffed, totally frustrated. "You're strong, anyway. I sure am not needed, huh? So much for being a personal knight," I muttered in dissatisfaction.
Without even a single reply, Lucius left the room and disappeared out of the door. Not wishing to bump into him again, I waited a bit before leaving. The princess had introduced me to Noah, as if I'm an old friend of hers. He's a nice guy, no wonder the princess fell for him. Not like that other jerk, ugh!
After bidding my farewell, I also made my way out, searching for my horse. Apparently, Cassie had been taken away.
"That damned bastard!" I grumbled. "He took my horse!"
Stomping my way to the carriage, entity asked, *You won't be going with him?*
"Nah," I said resentfully. "He said he'll go alone, let him! I'm sure he'll be fine."
*Skill: Foresight activated*.
"Huh? What? No, I don't want to se—"
Not caring whether I agreed or not, a vision appeared.