Chapter 37

Story 22. The Line between the Light and the Shadow (5)

Chapter 37

I shivered when I saw the prince. Was he okay? What happened to him? When I ran to him and lifted him up, thankfully, he was still conscious.

“Hmm…. Juya? Hehehe…”

He sounded intoxicated. When I checked his eyes, I saw that they were foggy. I was about to take him outside but decided to cover up the bowl with the burning incense first. I used a thick book nearby and placed it on top of the container, but as I did, I realized that I missed a long stick that was leaning against the bowl. I ended up knocking it off the table, and because of the sound, the prince finally woke up a little bit more. He flailed around and murmured, “Oh… that… if you leave it, it will cause a fire… You need to put in on the table…”

However, when I checked it carefully, there was no more fire or even the smallest sparks in the bowl. It was only filled with burnt ashes that smelled very intoxicating.

I needed to take the prince out to get him some fresh air. The only reason his highness was still conscious was that this place was so huge, and it wasn’t very well insulated. However, I still needed to get him to safety as soon as possible.

I held his upper body and began to drag him out. When I got to the hallway, the air felt a little better. To drag him all the way out from this place… I knew it would take me too long. What about all the obstacles?

I looked around, hoping to find a way to go directly downstairs from where I was without having to go to the end of this long hallway.

I thought hard, and I assumed that there must be a ladder somewhere that must lead downstairs. I let the prince lean against the nearby corner, and I began to search for it.

One thing that allowed me to relax was the fact that the prince continued to murmur. He had to be okay if he could talk like this, right?

“Juya… what are you doing… I-I’m fine… Hah… You don’t have to worry… It’s nothing b-bad… No need to hurry or panic… Just need to rest a little… Umm… there… you… there is gunpowder everywhere here… so no… if there is even the smallest spark… We… are all going to die… haha…”

“What are you talking about, Your Highness?! We need to get out first, or else, you are going to die! Dammit!”

I tried to open the lock on one of the doors. When it refused to budge, I used the back of my sword and broke it. The lock could be replaced later if necessary.

“Hmm…? No… It’s… I… I just came here to rest because… I was so anxious… I… I wanted Juya to like me and respect me… Approve of me… But… umm…. But I think… I told you too many of my secrets… I… I couldn’t calm down, so I came here… Juya… Juya… You… Are you going to tell my brother what happened here to… aren’t you, about yesterday, about this… b-because you are the Innocent One?”

“Pardon? What are you saying, your highness?”

“If you tell him… I… he might really kill me… Haha…”

Before he could say more, I broke the door completely and finally found a way out. Inside the room was a metal door on the floor and a ladder beside it. I realized that this was the room I found before when I tried to find his highness a while back.

I returned to the prince and said to him, “Please get on my back. I will carry you.”

“No… I can walk by myself… Ahh… I… I don’t want to go… I want to stay here… Let’s stay here together, Juya…”

I was becoming breathless and dizzy myself. Without his help, I knew I wouldn’t be able to take him with me. All we had to do now was go into that room and go down the ladder… I begged the prince to help me help him. It was becoming tough for me to focus.

I pulled on him and pleaded with him, “Your highness… Please get up! Why would you think the Goddess’ Warrior would kill you? You are talking nonsense. He would never do that! The warrior… Cough, cough. He… would never… He… You are his flesh and blood… I am sure the warrior cares about you the most… in this world! I know it!”

“Hmm? My brother? Hahahaha.”

Prince Camille laughed sarcastically, but it seemed like he was beginning to realize the seriousness of this situation. He hung onto me even as he giggled. Thankfully, I was finally able to lift him and help him into the room. I sat him down in front of the ladder and climbed down a few steps myself first. I then helped him down.

Suddenly, the women who were sitting in the downstairs room noticed us and screamed as if we were vicious burglars.

“GYAAAA!”

I looked down and saw that the odalisques were in the middle of wiping the drops of blood on the floor. It must have been the priestess’ blood from her monthly bleeding. Forgetting that these women couldn’t understand me, I yelled to reassure them, “Excuse me! Sorry, but we need to get down! It couldn’t be helped!”

I jumped down with the prince on my back, and without looking back, I ran out of the room. I had to leave this place as soon as possible. Being too close to the priestess’s blood could result in being cursed.

***

There was no way of hiding this incident from everyone. The servants noticed Prince Camille’s condition. Before I could even report to him, I knew Hakim Karid would hear about this from the servants. I needed to act fast.

I gathered the prince’s servants and ordered them to keep quiet about this day. I said to them, “His highness Prince Camille was experimenting when he accidentally inhaled toxic fumes. Luckily, I was able to save him just in time, but you will all need to keep an eye on him from now on to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.”

When the prince regained his full consciousness, I was the one who cleaned up after him. The first and most important task to be completed was to tidy up the secret place. It was a hidden area only used by His Highness, but it still needed to be clean, so it would be comfortable for the prince.

Prince Camille apologized to me, “Juya… you saw everything, didn’t you…? I’m sorry… I’m sorry you had to see me like that…”

I couldn’t understand why he apologized to me. Although he was intoxicated and behaved strangely, I was told that the special incense made a person more relaxed and therefore more honest. If what he said to me and how he acted in the secret room was his honest thoughts and feelings… then I felt grateful, even honored. It showed how he trusted and depended on me.

How could I not love this fragile boy? How could I not protect this precious prince?