Chapter 23: Aftermath of the Incident
“So, it was just a dream?”
Muen leaned against the headboard, staring at the ceiling adorned with a golden chandelier, feeling an immense sense of relief surging within him.
He hadn’t expected to still be alive.
To be stabbed in a vital spot by that dagger engulfed in the flames of the evil god, yet still be alive.
Finally, did fate show him mercy at this moment?
“According to the master, the suit the young master was wearing at the time was actually a decent defensive magic device. It absorbed most of the damage at a critical moment, which saved the young master from harm.”
“I see.”
I’m sorry, dear outfit. It wasn’t your fault that I spoke too loudly before. Your weight of twenty kilograms was not a flaw, but rather, it provided a reassuring sense of solidity!
If I have the chance, I will definitely have you repaired and wear you once again, not for anything else, but solely to repay you for saving my life!
“So, what about my current injuries…?”
Muen looked at his hands. To be honest, despite the severity of his injuries, he couldn’t feel any pain at this moment, just a vague sense of emptiness in his body.
“It was Princess Selicia,” An said, “She summoned the chief healing mage of the Royal Mage Corps and personally cast healing magic for the young master. That’s why your injuries were healed from the start; it’s just that your body was too weak, which caused you to sleep for so long.”
“So long?”
“You slept for a full three days.”
“Three… days.”
Muen let out a sigh. “That’s really quite a long time.”
“Oh, right.”
As soon as Selicia was mentioned, Muen became nervous and couldn’t help but ask cautiously, “Selicia, did she say anything about me?”
“What did she say about the young master…”
An tilted his head in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well… Did she mention anything negative about me?”
“I wouldn’t know about that, but I don’t think she did.”
An thought carefully for a moment. “When Her Highness left, she had a chat with the master for a while, and it seemed quite pleasant.”
“I see.”
Muen couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. He hadn’t expected that in the end, Selicia hadn’t revealed the despicable act he had committed. Was it for the sake of her reputation, or because… he had saved her?
“Young Master Muen.”
“Yes?”
“Although this question may be a bit intrusive, I still want to ask.”
An suddenly crouched down, and a faint floral scent lingered around Muen’s nose. For some reason, Muen felt that An’s voice was somewhat chilly at this moment.
“Are you so nervous about this because you did something to Her Highness when you were alone with her in the room?”
“…No, of course not.”
Muen shook his head vigorously, his face tense. “She’s the princess, if I did anything to her, I’d lose my head!”
“Is that so? I see.”
An seemed to believe Muen’s words and didn’t continue to probe. Instead, he picked up the medicine bowl again.
“Here, drink your medicine. It’s cooled down now.”
“Can’t I skip it?”
Seeing the dark soup in the bowl, Muen’s previously tense face immediately softened. “I’m afraid of bitterness.”
“You can’t skip it, young master. The first thing you need to do now is to fully recover your body.”
“But my injuries are already healed, aren’t they?”
“In a strict sense, this isn’t medicine, but a tonic. It just looks like medicine. Besides, knowing that Young Master Muen dislikes bitterness, I’ve added sugar to it.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Okay then…”
Muen hesitantly reached out his hand. “Give me the medicine.”
An hesitated for a moment.
Muen raised an eyebrow. “?”
“Young Master Muen, feeding you medicine is part of my duties as your personal maid.”
“But I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself…”
“Young Master Muen, are you trying to deprive me, a poor maid, of my livelihood? Of course, if you dislike me, I can resign immediately and seek employment elsewhere.”
An wiped away tears that weren’t there. “I’m just a weak maid who knows nothing but taking care of the young master. If I lose my place here, I’ll be left with nothing, wandering alone outside. If I encounter bad people, I’ll have no one to…”
“Okay, okay, okay, I’ll let you feed me, just stop talking.”
Muen gave up struggling reluctantly. After all, being treated like a duke’s son wasn’t bad, right? Being fed by a beautiful girl’s hands was the ultimate dream of countless otaku!
“Here, young master, open your mouth, Ahh—.”
“Why does this feel like feeding a child, Ah—
Ugh, it’s so bitter! Didn’t you say you added sugar?”
“Oh dear, I must have remembered it wrong. Here, young master, keep going, Ah—”
“You can’t possibly forget something like that, are you deliberately treating me like a child? Ah—”
“Young master, you’re almost done, just two more sips, Ah—”
“I’ve told you, I’m not a child! Ah—”
…
…
“By the way, were there any negative consequences after that incident?”
Muen suddenly asked. After all, the assassination of an imperial princess was a major event, and it was unlikely that there were no repercussions during his three-day slumber. As his personal maid, An would surely be informed about these matters.
“There have indeed been some consequences,” An responded as she tidied up the medicine bowl.
“Firstly, regarding the identity of the assassins. After being interrogated by the master himself, those who disguised themselves as maids were not professional assassins or killers.”
“Instead, they seemed to be members of a bounty hunter organization known as the Hunters of the Withered King, who operate underground in Belrand and worship an evil god named the Withered King.”
“They’re said to be willing to do anything as long as there’s money involved.”
“The Withered King… Bounty hunters…”
Muen muttered softly. In his memory, the original novel didn’t seem to feature an evil god named the Withered King, let alone a bounty hunter organization that worshiped him.
“Indeed, the limitations of novels are quite significant.”
Muen sighed lightly in his heart.
“Novels are always told from the perspective of the protagonist and can’t fully depict the entire worldview, nor can they clearly present every event happening in the world.”
“It means that once the plot deviates from the original book’s content or strays from the protagonist’s storyline, it becomes completely unpredictable.”
“Young Master Muen, there’s no need to worry. That organization was actually eradicated by the master himself last night,” An added.
“I see…”
Muen was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but smile reassuringly. Even though the plot didn’t follow the original book’s development, he was still the noble son of a duke. He didn’t need to worry about the outcome of this matter because there would naturally be people to handle it for him.
“What about the mastermind behind the hired hunter organization?”
“We haven’t been able to find out yet,” An shook her head. “All the members of the hunter organization were cursed. Whenever this issue is brought up, they will spontaneously combust and die.”
“Is that so?”
Assassinating a princess in such a brazen manner naturally wouldn’t leave any traces. But even the beggars on the street knew that the motives for assassinating Selicia were limited to a few factions.
“I heard that His Majesty the Emperor was furious about this matter and personally ordered the cleaning up of the rats in the underground of Belrand.”
“That’s really…”
Muen shook his head with a bitter smile upon hearing this, thinking to himself:
“It seems that the underground black market won’t be safe for a while.”
