After Rian was dismissed, he magically located Ren Xiyang and swiftly headed over.
“Alexius, Prince Pollux,” Rian greeted. “Prince Pollux, welcome to Sedaveria.”
“Prince Rian,” Pollux greeted.
“What were you talking about without me?” Rian asked.
“None of your business,” Alexius said, quickly gathering up all the papers on the table.
Rian looked pointedly to the side. “Why is a floating desk chair here?”
“Nothing!” Alexius retorted.
A palace servant hurried over and pushed the chair away.
“Rian, Prince Pollux wishes to meet with us,” Ren Xiyang said. “Free?”
Rian’s gaze was warm towards Yangyang. “Yes, let’s go to my quarters.”
They farewelled Alexius and went to Rian’s study room.
Rian cast his usual privacy spell and then turned to Prince Pollux. “Whatever we speak about will remain in this room. We can sign non-disclosure contracts if you wish.”
Pollux gave a dry smile at the word ‘contracts.’ “That’s not necessary. Firstly, I wanted to thank you both for the wheelchair.”
“You’re welcome,” Rian said.
“Secondly, I wanted to talk about your duel.”
“Yes? Ask freely,” Rian said.
Pollux looked towards Ren Xiyang. “That final lightning strike, how did you survive it?”
“Oh, that. I set up a lightning path in my body avoiding all key organs and nerves,” Ren Xiyang said.
“—And then I healed him,” Rian followed up.
“Oh,” Pollux said dully.
Rian tilted his head. “Would you like me to try to heal you?”
“What have past healers said?” Ren Xiyang asked.
“Perhaps you’d like us to sign a contract before we talk further?” Rian offered.
With Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood both looking at him, Pollux felt a deep sense of regret and a strong annoyance towards himself. He shouldn’t have asked them about it. Why was he humiliating himself in front of them? Why was he affected by those questions? Sign a contract? It wasn’t that serious! Everyone could see that he couldn’t walk.
“The injury is too old,” Pollux said shortly. The healer that he saw before leaving Angio had said more.
Ren Xiyang narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “There’s always a way.” He glanced at Rian. “You know what I mean.”
Rian felt a zing of happiness as he indeed knew what Ren Xiyang meant. “Indeed! Ayden has a direct-healing method that I’m certain would work.”
Despite himself, Pollux felt a burst of hope. “Explain.”
“It’s a gradual method which requires regular sessions, at least once every two weeks and up to three times a week,” Rian said. “It uses a reference person—in your case, someone who can walk. We would use healing magic to slowly change your body, including regrowing muscles and revitalising nerves.”
The hope in Pollux’s heart grew. It sounded feasible. “Then—”
“Either Ayden or I could do it,” Rian said. “But if so, you must pay appropriately, 10 gold for every session.”
“Or I could teach you the process,” Ren Xiyang said. “How are you with healing magic?”
Pollux’s hands clenched. “I can cast healing spells, but not direct-healing magic.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“You could try. Or I could teach someone else the process,” Ren Xiyang said. “If you have a preferred healer in Angio, then have them come over. Otherwise, there are healers in Sedaveria.” He looked at Rian. “It’d slipped my mind. We really should teach the other healers.” Ren Xiyang had developed this method for himself to improve his own life, not as part of his greater plan to improve other people’s lives. He hadn’t realised that other healers weren’t doing it like this—or maybe they were, but not to the extent that Ren Xiyang had taken it.
“Ktfs rtbeiv qjs jqqgbqgljafis obg sbeg afjmtlcu,” Eljc rjlv lcveiufcais.
Efc Wlsjcu delgxfv tlr ilqr. “Lw.”
Ubiiez uijcmfv yfakffc Uglcmf Eljc jcv Sjgi Ebrfkbbv. “Ofa wf mbcrlvfg atf bqalbcr,” tf rjlv.
Eljc cbvvfv. “Kjxf sbeg alwf. Qf jirb cffv ab olcv rbwfbcf rlwlijg lc yeliv jcv juf ab sbe. Fcali atfc, P ecvfgrajcv sbe’ii yf jaafcvlcu atf eclnfgrlas. Qtlmt mbegrfr jgf sbe ajxlcu? Yg klii sbe yf mbcvemalcu gfrfjgmt?”
“I’ll be taking several courses,” Pollux said. “Advanced spell making, advanced mathematical magic, and energy crystal studies.”
“How useful, that would help with the project,” Ren Xiyang said.
Rian narrowed his eyes at Ren Xiyang. “Project?”
“Between me, Alexius and Prince Pollux, don’t worry about it,” Ren Xiyang said.
Rian pouted. “Why can’t I worry? What if you’re overworked?”
“Hence Prince Pollux’s timely addition,” Ren Xiyang replied pointedly. “You’re busy and rich enough.”
Rian smiled flatteringly. “One can never be rich enough; the new Royal Agricultural Development and Food Security Program requires quite a lot of funds.”
Ren Xiyang pushed him away. “I have other projects ideas we can talk about later.”
Pollux: “…” Was it suitable for them to bicker in front of him like this? It reminded him that he really wasn’t in Angio.
Rian, still being pushed away from Ren Xiyang, looked back to Pollux. “Where have you been staying?”
“In the Angio embassy,” Pollux replied.
“University starts later than the Academy. Why don’t you go with Ayden back to the Rosewood fief for the next two weeks?” Rian offered.
Pollux pursed his lips. “…Earl Rosewood?”
“I can show you around, and Lord Hadrian Terra is there too,” Ren Xiyang said.
“You should go,” Rian said. “The Rosewood fief is an interesting place. If I could go right now, then I’ll go in a heartbeat.”
Pollux wavered.
“You’ll get to see many of the projects undergoing there. There are also scenic locations if you prefer them,” Ren Xiyang said.
“Consider it a holiday,” Rian said. “The food there is divine.”
“I’m leaving tomorrow morning, 10 am. At the Rosewood summer manor, we can prepare a guest suite for you and any of your staff who come along,” Ren Xiyang said.
“…Very well, I accept,” Pollux said. He remembered that he was meant to be here partially for diplomatic reasons, and seeing more of Sedaveria was in its purview.
“You won’t regret it,” Rian said with a smile. He hadn’t offered on Ren Xiyang’s behalf because he wanted Pollux to spend time with Yangyang. Rather, it was because he wanted Prince Pollux to see the Rosewood fief, to meet its people, and to see how Ren Xiyang ran it.
“And if going to the Rosewood fief sparks an idea for a project, then please talk to me, not Alexius,” Rian added.
Pollux: “…”
“Now, if there is nothing else, then we’ll see you at dinner later. I want to talk to Ayden in private,” Rian said.
Pollux had nothing else that he wanted to say right now, so Rian and Ren Xiyang accompanied him to the door.
Pollux wanted some time to himself—Earl Rosewood and Prince Rian had given him a lot to think about.
Once Rian closed the door after Prince Pollux left, he turned to Ren Xiyang. “Yangyang…” he started sadly.
“Yeah?” Ren Xiyang’s expression didn’t change, but he accepted Rian’s grabby hands.
“My Imperial Mother forbids me from coming with you to the Rosewood fief before the academy starts. How about you connect the communication mirror during your meetings with Prince Pollux so I can attend them too?”
“I can’t be bothered,” Ren Xiyang said.
Rian’s brows pinched together in an expression of injured innocence. “Not bothered, for me, your fiancé?”
“Hm.” Ren Xiyang raised an eyebrow. “Won’t you be busy?”
Rian pouted. “Very. But I’ll still have time work on a telepathy spell.”
Rian already knew that telepathy spells existed—Alexius and his little friends had used them during the team duel. But Rian wanted a better spell, one that was personalised to them and was much more secure.
“Hm, I see.”
They looked each other in silence.
“Was that all you wanted to talk about?” Ren Xiyang asked.
Rian’s hands moved, feeling Ren Xiyang’s waist and pulling him close. “Talking yes, doing, no. This is the last time in a while that we get to spend together, so we need to spend it well.”
“Hm.” Ren Xiyang’s eyes lowered to Rian’s lips.
Rian leaned in, speaking into Ren Xiyang’s ear. “To bed?” He felt a thrill when he felt Ren Xiyang’s reaction.
Pollux felt like he had gone through peaks and troughs of emotions since coming to Sedaveria.
He attended the dinner-feast at the Sedaverian Palace and was seated next to Prince Rian. In retrospect, Prince Rian was a very good conversationalist, engaging him in conversation throughout the dinner. He introduced the local dishes, which led to talking about benign cultural differences between Angio and Sedaveria, and which then somehow led to their differing processes in developing new spells.
Prince Alexius and Earl Rosewood were sat together elsewhere in the dining hall.
Afterwards, Pollux returned to the Angio embassy where he was staying.
He still hadn’t decided what he should do.
Having either Earl Rosewood or Prince Rian heal him meant they could start right away, but then it would mean having someone else playing close attention to his body.
The money itself was also possibly an issue—he had a stipend, and he knew that Aurelia would provide more money, but 10-20 gold every week would quickly add up.
On the other hand, Pollux had been waiting for a long time. If he could learn how to heal himself, and do it himself, he wouldn’t need someone else to look at him, and he wouldn’t need to pay so much gold.
That night, he tried to directly manipulate healing magic, but he couldn’t do it.
The more he tried and the more he failed, the gloomier he became.
He could craft new spells, like the metal chains he used to restrain his father, like the charm modifications on his wheelchair.
But he couldn’t directly manipulate magic. Yet another thing that made him worse than his siblings.
Then should he pay? Or should he select another healer who could take on the job?
Pollux had no one to talk to.
His expression became cynical. In the worst case, he’d be able to pay the session fees and recoup the costs through the floating chair profits that Prince Alexius seemed sure that he would receive once the new products were put on sale.
The next morning, Ren Xiyang and Rian were waiting outside the Rosewood house when Prince Pollux’s carriage arrived. An Angio guard opened the door to let Pollux out.
Rian sighed and smiled ‘bravely’ at Ren Xiyang. “Well then. Have a good trip.”
Ren Xiyang gave him a deadpan look in return. “We’ll talk tonight, same time as usual.”
“Of course.” Rian turned towards the Angio floating carriage, the one he had gifted to King Augustus in what felt like years ago. “Good morning, Prince Pollux.”
Pollux’s wheelchair floated out of the carriage and descended. “Good morning, Prince Rian,” Pollux replied. “Earl Rosewood.”
“Your Highness, we should talk about the project with Alexius. Do you mind talking during the trip?” Ren Xiyang was carrying a briefcase with the set of notes that he had prepared earlier.
“That’s fine. Sit in my carriage.”
“Earl Rosewood, please enter first,” an Angio guard said.
“Okay.” Ren Xiyang patted Rian. “See you later.”
“Farewell, Earl Rosewood. Farewell, Prince Pollux,” Rian said.
Ren Xiyang entered Pollux’s carriage, while Kel and the others took the Rosewood carriage.
Pollux’s carriage interior had been modified, with the seat near the door removed so that he could take his wheelchair in directly. Once he was settled in, the Angio guard closed the door, and the carriages started moving.
“So,” Ren Xiyang started. He opened his briefcase to reveal notebooks and papers.
“Earl Rosewood—” Pollux said at the same time.
“Call me Ayden.”
“Ayden,” Pollux repeated. The name felt odd in Pollux’s mouth. The distance between them seemed to shorten.
“This adjustment in the carriage is interesting,” Ren Xiyang said, referring to how part of the seat was removed for Pollux’s wheelchair to fit in.
“Queen Aurelia had it done,” Pollux said, half on the defensive.
“Good. You could modify it further, so that all the chairs fold up flat against the wall of the carriage, and the doorway could be widened. It’ll be easier for you to enter, and you can choose to sit where you want, and any others accompanying you can choose to sit elsewhere,” Ren Xiyang said.
Pollux’s lips thinned. “I’ll think about it.” He didn’t want to make such drastic changes. Given the hope that he would be healed in the future, why would he need to do all that?
Ren Xiyang didn’t mind Pollux’s unenthusiastic reply. Regardless, it had inspired him. Maybe they could create versions of floating carriages that had this feature. It could be paired with a table surface inset into the side of the carriage, so that if there were fewer passengers, then they can put away the unnecessary seats and pull down the table surface to use.
But that was a topic for another day. For now, he pulled out the schematics for the first released series of the floating desk chairs and handed them to Pollux. Yesterday, he and Alexius hadn’t been able to tell Pollux very much, aside from the broad overview of the first series and the ideas for the second series. “This was how the first set of chairs were made. These are the construction notes, and these are the spell notes. As you can see, there are many parts that are similar to your wheelchair…”
As it was explained to him, Pollux realised that he could understand it. Some of the gloom from last night faded away as he focused on the spell structure of the floating chairs.
He had seen a floating chair yesterday. Its external simplicity hid its internal complexity.
Slowly, ideas for improvement formed in his mind.
Interviewer: Alexius, why did you agree to let Pollux work with you and Ayden? I thought you wanted Ayden to yourself.
Alexius: *serious* The point is that it’s not Rian. And I know Rian hasn’t collaborated with a foreign prince. This means I’m first!
Pollux: …
Rian: 🙄🙄🙄
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alexius really wants to beat rian in the weirdest areas 🤣
Alexius knows, realistically, that he can’t beat Rian in other areas 🤣🤣
Author’s note is true.
🤭🤭🤭🤭
So true +1
Is this the dreaded little brother complex? Hahahahahaheeheehee…
Isn’t this more like a reverse brother complex? 🤣🤣🤣
Tysm for the chapterrr
Thank you for reading 🥰
Thank you for the chapter!! Love the dynamics 💚
I’m glad you like the dynamics 🤣
Thanks for the chapter!
Thank you for reading!
I mean who could resist earl rosewood’s charm~
🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭
Poor Pollux! So not ready for healthy relationships between people. Hopefully his stay in Sedaveria will heal him a little.
On that note, I want a vacation in Sedaveria for Aurelia as well. At least a short one. And later in Hraun. Thank you for the chapter.
I’m not sure Aurelia has time for a holiday 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 but a “diplomatic visit” might eventually be in the cards
She needs to visit the Rosewood fief and get shocked by the laws there. 😏
🤣🤣🤣
Again grinning from one ear to the other. Fantastic 🤩
🤭🤭🤭 Thank you!
Aww Pollux 🥹
Yeah 🥺🥺🥺🥺
Let’s root for him! I really like him 😊
Cassiopea should give direct healing magic a try… she might be good at it 🧐 (I still don’t like her, but at least I don’t hate her 😅)
You’re right, she may be good at it indeed 😏😏