"Brox!"
Brox tried to ignore his parents' shouts as he took a position to stand in front of Kenneth, who could no longer do anything. Even though the little boy's body was trembling from the fear that enveloped him, Brox still tried to hold the heavy sword he had picked up with both hands. To Brox, Kenneth was his first teacher and the person he respected the most. Even if he could never defeat the assassin, Brox wanted him to at least protect Kenneth with his own life.
"I, if you want to hurt my teacher, you have to step over my corpse first!"
Although Brox failed to speak without looking nervous in front of his enemy, he at least managed to finish the sentence he wanted to say. Brox trembled like a dry leaf in front of the assassin. He had difficulty raising the sword in his hand. However, with all his energy, Brox finally managed to lift the sword and point it at the black-clad figure who had not done anything since Brox suddenly interrupted his fight with Kenneth.
"Aargghh!"
In the end, the sword that Brox tried to swing with all his strength was easily held back by the black-clothed figure. The figure held the sword with his index and middle fingers. Meanwhile, his cold eyes descended to stare at Brox, who was already scared to death as his attack ended in vain.
"Kid, why are you helping him?"
Not only Brox, but even Kenneth was surprised when the person who had remained silent since before suddenly asked Brox a question. But instead of answering immediately, Brox tried to pull his sword away from the assassin. Brox had used all his strength to move the sword. But, just like before, Brox again had to give up when fighting the assassin's extraordinary power.
"Kid, answer my question while I ask you nicely."
This time, the assassin spoke in a tone laced with warning. Although Brox was young, the child was no fool. This time, Brox was willing to listen and answer the question even though he was confused as to why the assassin no longer seemed as cruel as before.
"Because he's my most precious teacher."
The assassin's pupils immediately shrank after he heard Brox's affirmative answer. The assassin was silent for a while before his attention turned to Kenneth, who was still trying to get up even though his body was no longer able to. Brox was surprised when the assassin suddenly let go of Brox's sword that he had been holding. Brox thought the assassin would try to hurt Kenneth again. But against everyone's expectations, the assassin kept the sword again.
"Wait!"
Kenneth's shout proved to be in vain because after the assassin finished putting the sword back, the figure simply disappeared. No one knew what was really on the assassin's mind. But now that their threat was gone, everyone could finally feel a little relieved.
The battle was over, so Matias and Amy were no longer worried about getting out of their carriage. The two walked quickly to their son, Brox, who was silent as if he still couldn't believe that his life had survived this far.
"Brox, are you alright, Son?"
Amy immediately crouched down to check on her child with a worried face. Although they could see that the killer had not done anything to their child, their worries remained as parents. It was only when they had checked Brox thoroughly and found that the child was fine that they were truly relieved. The threat had passed them by safely. After Matias was convinced of that, the man finally began to scold Brox.
"Stupid kid! You should know when to hide when danger is approaching you! What ... What should we do if something were to happen to you?"
Nonetheless, in the end, the angry words Matias wanted to let out turned into worried ones instead. Matias was already grateful that his son was fine. He just hoped that Brox would not commit the same carelessness in the future.
"I'm sorry, it's all my fault."
The atmosphere was suddenly awkward when the others heard Kenneth talking to them. Although they had been terrified since the assassins surrounded their carriage, everyone could still hear how they addressed Kenneth as His Highness. Kenneth also discussed something about the plans of the people in the palace in front of them. Thus, without needing to be told, they already knew Kenneth's true identity.
"We...."
Naturally, Matias was angry that Kenneth had put them all in danger. But now that they knew that Kenneth was the third prince of the Lucano Kingdom, they no longer dared to speak carelessly in front of the man. Kenneth also noticed their attitude which changed immediately after they knew who he was. Kenneth smiled bitterly while his gaze dropped to look at his little savior.
"Brox, thank you for trying to protect me. However, your father is right. In the future, if you encounter danger that you cannot face, running away is not something to be ashamed of. You must remember that as long as your parents are alive, they will keep waiting for you to return throughout their lives."
"Then why don't you run away? You also have parents waiting for you at home, don't you?"
Unlike his parents, who no longer dared to speak to Kenneth, Brox remained the brave boy Kenneth knew. It would be a lie if Kenneth was not surprised by what Brox said. He could indeed run away with his powers. But if he ran away, Kenneth knew he would probably only put the Matias family in greater danger.
In the end, Kenneth still did something stupid like Brox had done before. Even if Kenneth knew he could die fighting them, Kenneth stayed and fought them to the end.
"I am an adult, while you are still a child. As children, your duty should be-"
Kenneth's words stopped midway as nausea suddenly rose up his throat. Kenneth staggered back a few steps. He spit out whatever was in his stomach, then fell silent as he tried to soothe the pain in all parts of his body.
"Adults and children have nothing to do with it! If you really wanted to be cool, you should have just said that you wanted to be cool!"
When Brox saw Kenneth fall for one more time, worry returned and took over the boy's mind. Brox walked over to Kenneth to check on the state of his wound. The boy looked at Kenneth, who was furrowing his brows tightly while his face was slowly losing all its color. Beads of sweat dripped down and soaked his hair. Although Kenneth didn't say anything, Brox could tell that Kenneth was enduring great torment due to the poison that had begun to spread in his body.
"Dad, Mom, we must treat Kenneth's wounds immediately! Mom, you can treat poison, right?! Please heal Kenneth! He could die if we're not doing anything!"
"Brox, even if you say that...."
Brox was almost at a loss for words as his mother refused to do as he asked. But unlike the simple-minded Brox, Kenneth knew why the couple refused to help him anymore. Now that they knew they could be in danger if they continued to be with Kenneth. All Matias and Amy wanted to do was to get as far away from him as possible.
"Mr. Matias, I'm sorry I couldn't fulfill my promise to escort you safely to Celeste Village. Then, Mrs. Amy, thank you for providing me with a delicious meal to survive our trip. You can go ahead without me. Now that they know my whereabouts, I will surely only drag you guys into danger again if we keep traveling together."
Kenneth did not want them to feel guilty or reluctant to leave him in that place. Although it was difficult, Kenneth was confident that he could survive this danger. Kenneth tried to get them to leave. But before Kenneth could continue his words, his consciousness suddenly disappeared.
"Kenneth!"
Brox cried out in fear when Kenneth no longer showed signs of opening his eyes. Brox's attention focused on his parents after that. Brox did not expect his parents to act so cruelly after what Kenneth had done for them all these years.
"Mom, why don't you want to help Kenneth!? Kenneth saved our lives by not leaving us here, even though he could have. Why can't you understand such a simple thing!?"
Matias clenched his palms tightly because he also knew about that simple fact. Even if he knew, there was no telling what would happen if they brought Kenneth along while there was no one to protect them. Leaving Kenneth to die in a deserted place was much easier for them. But after listening to Brox's stubborn words, Matias knew he couldn't just leave Kenneth behind.
Like it or not, Kenneth had indeed protected them a lot over the years. Kenneth must also have a good reason for hiding his identity and lying to them all this time. Matias turned his head to look at his wife, who was getting affected by Brox's words, then ruffled his hair in frustration.
"Honey, go prepare first aid for this prince! And Brox, if you really want to help His Highness, you should help your mother to stabilize his condition throughout our journey. We will not stop moving from now on. No matter what happens, we must be able to arrive at Celeste Village before other assassins come after this prince."
Brox's face immediately brightened as his father lifted Kenneth's body while continuing to give them instructions. After getting approval from her husband, Amy also moved quickly to prepare the bandages and medicines she needed. The atmosphere inside the train was busy for some time. Meanwhile, Matias tried to keep the carriage moving fast without stopping for the safety of all of them.