He had seen it all these days; Isri wished he could lie there and switch places with Ceshir. How could he not come because he was too busy?
For a moment, Hall lost interest in checking the medications and turned to go into the room to help Cecil move around.
They waited for a whole day, but there was no sound of a carriage outside, and they didn't even see a single person.
The sweat on his palms betrayed his nervousness; Hall sat at the table with his brows furrowed.
Hall comforted himself, “Maybe it will come tomorrow.”
The next morning, Hall put on his coat and stood at the entrance of the alley without even washing up. Apart from some noble carriages passing by, he didn't see a single one that he recognized.
At noon, the beggar sitting at the alley entrance finally couldn't help but speak up: "I've seen you standing here all morning. Who are you waiting for? Maybe I've seen you before."
Hall glanced at the person beside him, then described Isri's appearance. Upon hearing Hall's description, a glint of light flashed across the beggar's face, and he clapped his hands.
Hall thought there was hope and stared wide-eyed at the beggar, but then he heard the next sentence and Hall felt like punching him.
"Never seen it before!" the beggar grinned.
Hall got angry, picked up the stick that was still lying next to him, and yelled at the beggar to hit him. The beggar was quick to dodge and ran away.
Seeing that he had no luck, Hall angrily threw the stick aside, went home, and dragged his apprentice, who was still sleeping in bed, out of bed.
"I'm going out for a bit. You'll need to look after the young..." Holden paused, then changed his words: "...look after the Duke."
The boy, still half asleep, nodded in drowsiness.
Hall drank a few sips of water, hired a carriage on the street, and headed towards the forest.
Along the way, before they could even catch their breath, the whip lashed the horses hard, and their cries of pain rose and fell.
As soon as they entered the forest, the horse seemed to have completely given up. It stood by the grass and ate grass, and Hall pulled it several times without making a sound.
With no other option, Hall tied his horse to a tree and ran inside, not daring to linger for a moment.
What should have been a perfectly normal thing became unusual when it happened to Isri. Hall frowned and breathed heavily.
We've arrived! Hall walked through the woods, bent over, coughed a few times, and after a few seconds, continued walking.
As he got closer, Hall's anxiety became even more pronounced. The carriage was still parked at the entrance, showing no signs of having moved.
Hall stepped forward, walked to the door, and was about to knock when the door opened easily the instant his hand touched it.
The room was empty. Hall opened his eyes wide, calmed himself down, and walked around the room. Sure enough, the final result was the same as he had expected.
Hall dragged his feet and slammed the door shut, his subconscious telling him that something had happened!
-
Cecil looked much better than before, but still showed no signs of becoming fully conscious.
When Hall returned, he sat silently on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the person on it.
It was as if Cecil would wake up in the next second if they kept watching.
On the other side, this was Isri's first time inside the palace, but the next second he was pushed into a dark and sunless prison.
Isri was tied to the crosswood, the ropes digging into his flesh, but Isri only frowned slightly.
The Queen was the last to enter. After ordering the soldiers to leave, she sat down opposite Isri again and slowly looked her prey up and down.
"Let me tell you a fact: those two things I showed you are real."
The seemingly casual words exploded in Isri's ears, causing him to furrow his brow.
He wasn't surprised by being abandoned; he was afraid that he might actually have the mental illness the Queen had described.
"Then everything he did to Cesil was done by a real madman," Isri said, his head bowed and his eyes slightly wide.
No, he loved Cecil. He treated Cecil this way because of love. He wasn't mentally ill or crazy.
"What? Are you questioning my abilities?" The Queen removed her veil and placed it on the table, then walked up to Is.
That young and beautiful face was presented to me without any hostility, and her eyes were innocent: "I'm just afraid that you will hurt my Duke."
Isri gritted his teeth and opened his mouth indifferently: "I will not hurt the young master."
The Queen chuckled softly: "I...don't...believe."
“However…” The Queen paused, then continued, “As you can see, I have quite a few guards around me. You can stay by my side.”
Isri kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything. The Queen definitely wanted more than just to keep him by her side; this was just an excuse for her to stay alive.
What is the real purpose?
"So loyal?" The Queen raised her hand and pinched Isri's chin, her innocent eyes suddenly turning sharp. "Then I'd like to see how long you can remain loyal."
The Queen chuckled softly in a low voice, her youthful face showing no trace of boyishness.
Chapter 119
The Queen put her veil back on and walked out of the prison. The soldiers stepped forward and bowed.
"What needs to be done now?"
The Queen stopped and looked up at the sky: "We'll fight until my dear Duke comes."
"Yes, sir!" The soldier remained expressionless, standing still.
"Remember, don't kill him," the Queen said with a smirk.
The Queen had only taken a few steps when she heard the sound of a whip whistling through the air behind her, followed by a sharp crack as it struck her.
I gave you a chance.
The soldiers dared not disobey the queen's orders and kept raising their whips to strike Isri hard. The whips, soaked in water, quickly swelled up, making the blows even more painful.
Isri endured it well, only letting out a few muffled groans, until the soldiers were tired and he finally had a moment to catch his breath.
-
Having not seen Isri for two days, Hall was pacing back and forth in his room, his brow furrowing deeper each day.
The roses he had brought back and soaked in water were also somewhat withered. After wandering around the room for a while, Hall finally fixed his gaze on Cecil.
Hall sat on the stool, a tenderness in his eyes, and raised his hand to stroke Cecil's cheek. His voice was soft, but clear enough.
"Young Master, do you still hate Isri?"
No one responded, so Hall lowered his head further.
“He’s a lunatic,” Hall cursed, then his voice softened. “But he’s loyal to you.”
"You are his irreplaceable master."
Hall gently stroked Cecil's eyes with his fingertips, as if looking at his own child, a hint of heartache flashing in his eyes.
At this age, one should be carefree and spoiled in front of their parents, but now... Hall didn't think any further, but just lowered his head and sighed.
“Isri has disappeared…” Hall began, “You should know better than me that he wouldn’t disappear for no reason.”
Although he hated Isrith to the core, he still had feelings for him before, and now that he was getting older, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Hall took a deep breath, looked up at the person on the bed, and after a long while, got up and slowly went out of the door. A minute later, he pushed the wheelchair back in.
It's time to go out for some fresh air.
Hall put a hat on Cecil, covering his face as much as possible, before they went out.
The sunshine outside was quite nice, and knowing that Cecil liked quiet, he didn't hesitate to slowly push the cart towards the back of the mountain.
It was still under the familiar tree, but the leaves overhead were even thicker than a few days ago, and the wildflowers on the ground had grown into a continuous expanse, their fragrances mingling and filling the air.
There weren't many people on the mountain, so Hall took the hat off Cecil's head.
Sessil looked almost sickly, and he had lost a lot of weight in recent days, with his clothes hanging loosely on his body.
Hall didn't seem to mind; he sat down on the ground, looking at the distant mountains, occasionally glancing back at Cecil. His expression shifted from surprise to disappointment, until finally he lowered his head and mumbled something.
"Young Master, there's someone who wants you to wake up even more than I do. He's going crazy with worry."
……······
The sunlight in West Asia is always short-lived. After only a few hours, the sun began to set. Hall gasped and stood up, dusting himself off.
Just as Hall was about to bend down to pick up the hat from the ground, he suddenly froze on the spot as if his limbs were made of iron.
"Cold..." A sound that didn't belong to anyone around Hall reached his ears.
Hall's eyes widened, and he slowly twisted his neck to turn his head, his voice choked, finally fixing his gaze on the slightly furrowed brow.
"cold……··"
Those pale, thin lips parted slightly, and their eyes blinked almost imperceptibly a few times.
Yes! He hadn't misread it! Hall, panting heavily, looked exactly like a child who had just seen a surprise. He suddenly knelt down in front of Cecil and took off his clothes to drape over Cecil.
"Young Master?" Hall opened his mouth excitedly.
Feeling the warmth of the clothes, Cecil's eyebrows twitched, his eyes opened a crack, and the unchanging corner of his lips finally curved into a smile.
"Mm," Cecil responded.
Hall gripped the sides of the wheelchair tightly with both hands, feeling no chill even as the wind blew around him. What was happening before his eyes was undoubtedly the most surprising thing of the day.
“I’m hungry.” Cecil tilted his head and stiffly moved his fingers.
“Alright! I’ll take you back!” Hall quickly got up, put the hat back on Cecil’s head, and quickened his pace.
As we came down from the mountain, the sun had already set halfway, and the wind in the alley had picked up considerably.
Just as he reached the door, before he even opened it, a sudden gust of wind blew Sehir's hat off to the ground.
Almost simultaneously, Cecil and Hall reached out to grab it, but Hall quickly picked up the hat and pushed Cecil inside.
Meanwhile, in a dark corner outside the alley, a person was still standing in front of the carriage, seemingly adjusting his clothes. If you looked closely, you could see that the person was saying something.
"We can move now, Kritis is awake."
-
Back in his room, Hall immediately went into the kitchen to cook congee. He was so excited that he burned his hands several times on the edge of the pot.
"Master, should I do it instead?" The boy glanced at the person sitting in the wheelchair and opened his mouth somewhat awkwardly.
This was the first time he had ever seen Hall so excited.