"Don't burn me!"
Tristan screamed, hoping they would spare him. He suddenly desired to live and didn't want to meet the Grim Reaper again.
Although being Tristan Madigan wasn't fun, it only made his head spin. At least people respected and feared him, and he held the highest power in the kingdom.
He was free to do whatever he wanted and could get what he wanted.
Tristan had not used his status to please himself yet. For example, he wanted to have tea with the noble ladies.
"Your Majesty. Are you okay?" Knight Aiden knocked on the door of his king's room. He and Knight Ajax panicked when they heard the king screaming again.
"Allow me to break down your room door, Your Majesty," said Knight Aiden.
The two knights moved away from the door, then broke down the mahogany door until it opened wide.
They ran towards their king, sitting on a chair by the window with his eyes closed.
Knight Ajax closed the window and was thankful no one entered their king's room.
The two knights were confused about how to wake up their king, who had repeatedly screamed in his sleep. They felt sorry for their king, who was having a nightmare.
"Don't kill me! Hot. Hot. Damn it. What did I do wrong? Why did you burn me?" Tristan shouted with an angry face, his eyes still tightly closed.
The two knights looked at each other and shuddered in horror. Their king really had a horrible dream.
"Your Majesty." Knight Aiden patted his king's shoulder. "Wake up, Your Majesty. You are dreaming."
"You are not being burned, Your Majesty. You are dreaming," Knight Ajax said, patting his king's right shoulder.
Slowly, Tristan's eyes opened. He was shocked to see his two knights, then his eyes scanned his surroundings in disbelief.
"I was only dreaming. A frightening dream." Tristan touched his chest. He could still feel his wrath at the people who burned him, as much as his fear of death. Even the smoke made it impossible for him to breathe.
Tristan quickly opened the window to get as much cool night air as possible. His face was covered in sweat.
He forgot he had a penalty from the nightmare system for three days.
"Damn it." Tristan clenched his fists. "This is the first day I've had nightmares. I still have two more days." Tristan pulled at his hair.
The dream felt so real.
Tristan looked down at his hands and feet. There were no wounds left. "I really was just dreaming."
Tristan thanked his two knights for waking him up. Suppose they didn't care about him. Tristan was dead in his dream.
Would Tristan really die if he died in his dream?
***
"The purulent lumps on their bodies have shrunk, Your Majesty. That has reduced the itching they felt, but their eyes are still red," said the physician Joseph to his king.
Tristan nodded. He saw 34 people who were attacked by the purulent lump and red eyes. They had regained their appetite, but they had not been able to meet anyone except the physicians and their king.
Suppose the sacred ritual and water from the Temple of the Goddess of Purity could cure them. Why did the system give Tristan an emergency task?
Did the system assign tasks to him without any meaningful purpose?
Tristan looked at physician Joseph and physician Jennifer, who were still treating the 34 people. They were applying ointment to reduce their itching.
"Your Majesty, the condition of the hundreds of people attacked by the purulent lump and red eyes in the Kavar Kingdom is identical to that of the people here. The lumps on their bodies only shrank," stated the general patrolling the border fence after receiving reports from the general of the neighboring kingdom.
"Thanks for the information," Tristan said. "Go back to the border fence. We'll open the border once everyone is declared cured."
"Yes, Your Majesty. We will do so." The general rode his horse back to his office.
Tristan sat on a chair on the terrace. He had no business in this area anymore. The 34 people would recover sooner or later because they believed in the sacred ritual.
The court physician would keep the medicine and herbs that the kingdom bought from the Monette Kingdom.
Physician Joseph and Physician Jennifer were allowed to study the medicine and herbs so that they would not rely on the sacred ritual in the future.
Tristan did not hope that an outbreak like that would happen again one day. He only anticipated it.
The physicians would continue to find the cause and the process of spreading the disease and find the medicine.
Tristan decided to return to the palace. He had entrusted the palace to the prime minister for too long.
However, it seemed that Tristan was not allowed to sit on his throne. He had to face other bad news.
"Your Majesty." A general entered the courtyard, dismounted from his horse, and walked quickly towards his king. He bowed with a pale face.
"What's wrong?" Tristan asked.
"We found five people infected with the purulent lump and red eyes disease in the neighboring village, Your Majesty," the general said.
Tristan massaged the bridge of his nose. His brain was not allowed to rest.
"Okay. I will ask the palace to send thousands of soldiers to check everyone in the kingdom. They must also check the nobles and the people living in the palace." Tristan's decision shocked the soldiers.
Tristan knew his actions would worry the people, but it was necessary to check everyone to ensure that no one died from the disease.
***
Tristan cleared his head by sitting on the bench in the inn's garden. Of course, he wasn't alone; his two knights stood behind him, and no one dared approach him.
"Why didn't I ever think that it wasn't just the people living in this area who were affected by the disease? Many went to the Kavar Kingdom to trade or buy something they needed." Tristan scratched his forehead.
Tristan remembered the plague cases in his previous life. On average, they lasted more than a year and thousands of people died.
Meanwhile, they had just dealt with the plague of purulent lumps and red eyes for a week.
"I shouldn't have given up," Tristan murmured. "The medicine from the Monotte Kingdom can cure them."
"Your Majesty."
Tristan flinched in surprise as a woman with purple eyes and white hair sat beside him.
Tristan's heart nearly dropped to his stomach. The woman looked like Witch Jane. He shouldn't have been surprised since all the witches had purple eyes and white hair.
The two knights also didn't realize where the woman came from and they pointed their swords at the witch.
"I can help you, Your Majesty, but you must release Witch Jane. Trust me, I can cure everyone," said the round yellow-hat witch.
"Why did you imprison Witch Jane? Haven't you been struggling to find a cure for your father for years?" The witch whispered in Tristan's ear.
"What if the people who love Carlos Madigan find out, Your Majesty?"