Chapter 122
The Second Prince’s Decision (2)
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“Lord Nacht…”
“Eh!? You mean—His Royal Highness…?”
The young knight heeded his friend’s voice and finally realised the identity of the boy in front of him, his gaze constantly darting between his friend and Nacht .
He became paler by the second as the weight of the situation sunk in .
“Why-”
“I think you all know very well why . ”
Nacht flashed a cold glare towards the young knight .
“…That’s…”
“Well, whatever . I will hear your stories later . More importantly, can you let me through?”
With a small sigh, Nacht took a step towards the village . Seeing that, Marx suddenly raised his face .
“No, you can’t-!!”
He screamed . His condition worsened once he abruptly raised his voice, and Marx ended up coughing with a hand over his mouth .
“You too, vice captain?” said the young knight as he saw Leonhard rubbing Marx’s back .
Marx, in turn, wore a wry smile while breathing on his shoulder .
“Yeah . As you can see, this is the state I’m in . ”
The young knight turned away with a bitter expression . Marx shifted his gaze over to Nacht .
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“Lord Nacht . The village is filled with the diseased . Please do not enter the village and turn back right away . ”
“…You should know full well of the reason I’m here, don’t you? And yet, you want me to run away?”
Nacht knitted his brows and retorted .
Marx had probably realised that since Nacht had come all the way here, it was useless to get him to stop now, and he slowly shook his head .
“I am not going to deny the fact that we kept the diseased from the city confined in this village . I will gladly accept any punishment . ”
“Marx . ”
“If you need a witness, then please take Peter with you . He’s young, strong, and less likely to get sick than the rest of us here . ”
“Marx!”
Marx had been running his mouth, refusing to listen to any of Nacht’s words, who had now finally snapped out of irritation .
“Are you going to abandon the sick?!”
“…If that is what it takes . You should not be in a place like this . ”
“This is my home country . Whether it be a city, in the woods, or the countryside, if it’s within our kingdom’s borders, then there is no place that isn’t my home . ”
Nacht spat those words as he continued marching upon the village . The knights tried to stop him, but they were entirely ignored . Using this chance when the knights were restless, I slipped through and grabbed Nacht’s hand .
I pulled him to a stop . Nacht glared at me with eyes that could kill .
“Nacht . ”
“Are you going to stop me too?”
“Please calm yourself and listen to me . ”
“I’m…”
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In order to avoid an emotional outburst, Nacht bit his lips . He probably understood that he was uncomposed right now .
With downcast eyes, he finally exhaled a long sigh .
“…What is it?”
“Let’s review the situation . If what Marx said is true, then there will be many sick people residing in the village . Furthermore, like Marx, the disease infects the healthy and the diseased are increasing by the day . ”
I looked towards Marx and he nodded to affirm my words .
“It’s hard to say whether or not you will be safe out here, but it is certain to be more dangerous if you go inside . We all might get sick too . ”
“So what? I was prepared to do this ever since we set off into this forest . ”
“The fact that the sick are still increasing means that the medicine is not working . Perhaps ours might not do anything as well . ”
In other words, the situation is a deadlock .
When he heard what I had to say, his face turned grim .
I was sure he noticed this as well, but I was the one to say it out loud . Just avoiding the problem wouldn’t improve the situation .
“Nacht . You have no medical or nursing expertise whatsoever, and if you enter the village, all you’ll end up doing is increasing the patient count and cause more problems for everyone . ”
“…Straight to the point, huh . ”
“It’s a fact . I’m afraid that right now, there is nothing we can do . ”
I laid it all out in front of Nacht as he clenched his fists .
“Then-…Then! What should I do?! How can I save my people?!”
“Nacht, please turn back for now . Even if you can’t do anything here, that’s only because you’re limited as a boy . As a prince, however, you can surely do more . ”
“Are you saying to look at the bigger picture? To save the many, do you mean to make me abandon the few before me now?”
“If you don’t act, this village will be eventually discarded . I’m sure you are wise enough to know what to do . ”
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“…”
Nacht bit his lips .
His shoulders, facing downwards, were trembling .
“Please, let’s go back to the capital and gather the best medicines and pharmacists that we can . If that is still not enough, let’s request aid from Nebel as well . One way or another, we will surely find a way to save them all . ”
“And how many do you think will perish in the meantime? How many lives will have slipped from my hands?!”
“I will shoulder that responsibility . ”
“…Wh”
Nacht widened his eyes, as if they were hollowed out, and stared at me, stunned .
“Fortunately, I have some knowledge regarding medicine myself . I had learned from many in my travels around the country, including the knowledge of basic first aid . I will remain here and save as many lives as I can . ”
Nacht stopped moving for a few seconds from surprise .
Then he returned to me, unusually distraught .
“Don’t be stupid! Have you forgotten your position?! An allied country’s prince getting an epidemic disease while studying abroad is no joke!”
“Even if this prodigious son of his dies from an illness, I doubt Father would mind at all . ”
My father probably didn’t expect me to do that in the first place . Thanks to my excellent brother who was first in line for the throne, I have some wiggle room to do what I want .
“If I get sick here, then it is entirely my fault . It will be the result of my foolish actions, and the Kingdom of Wind will not be blamed . ”
“No! If that’s the case, then I will also…”
“Nacht . Do you truly intend to follow me?”
I asked him in all seriousness . Nacht’s face crumpled . It was an expression full of anger and frustration, barging on the verge of crying . It was the first time I’ve ever seen him like this, and it made me feel a little guilty inside .
But I must stand firm .
“I will stay, and you shall return . This is for the best . ”
“…”
Nacht couldn’t find his voice .
“You could die . ”
“Then please come back as soon as possible to make sure that that won’t happen . ”
I laughed it off to ease the tension, but Nacht’s expression was far from cheerful .
“…You’re an idiot . ”
Nacht’s voice trembled as he muttered .
‘I think so too . ’ I was about to join in .
But what am I even saying? I should know by now that being upright in a situation like this won’t get me anywhere . There is nothing more important than your own life, so if someone in my position wanted to run away, I wouldn’t blame them .
But when I thought of what my sister would do in this situation, any thoughts of wanting to escape simply vanished .
If it’s Sister, she would never abandon the sick . Especially if they were her best friend’s subjects .
I am no saint, but I do not wish to live in a way that would cause my sister to despise me .
“Leonhard . ”
“Yes . ”
“Please accompany Nacht . ”
It wasn’t a surprise to see that Leonhard had already anticipated what I was about to say . But his expression completely darkened all the same .
“I want you to protect my friend instead of me . ”
Leonhard wouldn’t budge if I had said it any other way . I thought back on how I chose to force his hand like that… I guess I truly am no saint, after all .