"Wake up, I don't want to lose you. I love you, Yosan." Reina.
￣￣￣￣
Dusk sunlight peeked through the slightly opened curtains, illuminating the figure of Yosan who lay unconscious on Reina's large bed. His face looked pale, his body covered in bruises, and several small wounds from his hard training with Elexon. Beside him, Reina sat with a tense face, clutching Yosan's hand tightly. Her breathing was short, as if trying to hold back tears.
The palace physician deftly checked Yosan's condition. His skillful fingers checked his pulse, opened Yosan's eyeballs, and noticed every little movement that might emerge from the man's body. All the medical equipment was set up on the table near the bed. After a moment that seemed like an eternity to Reina, Harzel, Beile, and the butler, the healer finally sighed heavily.
"Your Highness," he said carefully, "the blow to her left ribs was quite fatal. I'm afraid one of the bones has fractured. In addition, there are several internal injuries that require immediate treatment."
Those words sent shockwaves through everyone in the room. Reina widened her eyes, her face reflecting a mixture of worry and anger. Lia, who was standing not far from her mother, started sobbing at the sight of her father's condition.
Reina stood up with anger mounting. She stepped quickly towards Elexon, who stood in the corner of the room with a flat expression. Irritated, Reina slapped Elexon hard across the face, making the man turn his head the other way.
"You're too much! What were you thinking? Why are you taking her to practice like that? Look at what's happening now!" exclaimed Reina with a voice that trembled with anger.
She shook Elexon's body, her voice getting louder, "You shouldn't have trained him like that earlier! Your way of 'testing' almost killed him, Uncle. If anything worse happens, I will never forgive you."
Elexon remained unmoved, just looking down without defending himself. His face stiffened slightly, but no words came out of his mouth.
Harzel and Beile immediately stepped forward, trying to calm Reina down. The butler also approached, whispering soft words to ease her emotions. However, Reina just stood there, staring intently at Elexon, her eyes radiating a rage that was hard to quench.
Meanwhile, Nils decided to take Lia out of the room. He looked down and spoke softly, "Come on, Lia. Let's go for a while, shall we?"
Lia protested, her tears continuing to flow freely, but Nils carefully guided the little girl out, keeping her away from the ongoing argument.
As the door closed behind Nils and Lia, Reina looked back at Elexon with a sharp gaze. "Anyway, what did you mean by 'approve' and 'prove' earlier?" she asked in a demanding voice.
Elexon just sighed, remaining silent without answering. The silence that followed made the atmosphere even more tense and suffocating. For a moment he felt guilty that his previous training had caused Yosan to lie unconscious in such a bad condition.
After a while, Elexon finally raised his gaze slowly, as if considering every word he was about to say. "You'll find out from Yosan himself later, Reina," he replied simply.
Silence fell over the room again. Reina clenched her fists, holding back the emotions that were about to explode again. She was annoyed by Elexon's answer, which she felt did not answer her question at all.
"Uncle better leave now," she said in a cold tone. "I don't want to see your face for now."
Elexon stood still, but the butler, with a face full of tenderness, soon approached him. He placed his hand on Elexon's arm, looking at Reina respectfully. "Never mind, Elexon. Let's go. Give Reina some space," she said gently as she led her husband out of the room.
Elexon nodded respectfully as he bowed and followed his wife.
Reina did not answer, just gave a small nod with a tense face. The butler slowly guided Elexon out of the room. Beile, who felt the situation was getting uncomfortable, followed behind them with hesitant steps, leaving the room with Elexon.
Now only Reina, Harzel, and the palace physician remained. The room was silent, punctuated only by the sound of Yosan's intermittent breathing. Reina looked at Yosan's figure lying helplessly on the bed, her eyes reddened from trying to hold back the tears that wanted to spill.
Harzel looked at Reina with concern, but she chose not to say anything, letting Reina process her emotions. On the other hand, the palace physician resumed his work, examining Yosan's wounds with great care.
Reina held her breath. Her voice trembled when she finally broke the silence. "Can she recover completely? How long will he lie like this?"
The palace physician hesitated for a moment before answering, "With complete rest and intensive treatment, there is hope. However, if she pushes herself too quickly, her condition could worsen."
Reina's eyes shone with a mixture of anger and worry. "If only I could have stopped her training earlier, surely this wouldn't have happened. She's not strong enough to train like that with Uncle Elexon."
The healer tried to soothe her, her hand gently rubbing the queen's head, blurring the formal boundaries, seeing how sad and downcast the woman was. "Elexon only wanted to encourage her to be stronger, Reina. But it seems he did not foresee the impact on Yosan's body. Uncle will do his best to restore him, so calm down."
"For now, we can only monitor his progress," the healer said in a low tone, as if not wanting to disturb the peace of the room.
Reina nodded silently, her eyes still fixed on Yosan. She sat back on the edge of the bed, clasping Yosan's cold hand. Harzel, who was standing by the door, could only shake his head slowly. She felt heavy watching this situation, but chose to stay where she was, just in case Reina needed help.
As the healer left to get more medicine, Reina stroked Yosan's face gently. His whisper was soft, yet filled with unspoken feelings. "Why are you doing all this? Why did you accept Uncle Elexon's challenge? And what exactly are you talking about?"
Yosan's body remained still without giving any response, but Reina hoped her words would reach Yosan's heart somehow.