The Villain Who Returned Wants to Rest

4 : In Sickness and In Health

Caution!

The following contains dark themes. Self loathing and suicide are present in multiple chapters. This story gets lighter as it progress, but be advised that the beginning is rather dark.

Current chapter has depictions of  self-harm, suicide attempts, implied abuse, wounds and injuries, as well as psychological distress. Please be warned.

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"How is he?" Diland asked the priest bluntly. The butler had a dark look on his face, regret, and guilt in those reddish-brown eyes.

The priest, a young man in his early 20's, was frowning. His face held a look of deep worry. "He's stable, for now," the man started.

Diland's face got more worried, no doubt blaming himself for being so negligent to his young ward. He had left multiple people to take care of the prince during his leave, yet none of them had done as they were tasked. A flash of anger passed his eyes, as his annoyance and anger raised at the reminder of those incompetent workers.

"It's a miracle that he's gotten better, I'm surprised he's even alive" the shorter man continued, as Diland snapped back to the conversation. The butler kept silent, but a pool of dread was forming in his gut.

"From the [SCAN] that I used, his condition seems to be even worse than I originally thought" at this, he pulled out a notebook. "The [Scan] showed that his highness is suffering from severe malnutrition, and has been starved for at least a week or two" he listed off.

"If he hadn't subconsciously used his mana to feed himself, he wouldn't be alive right now," was his grim declaration. 

Diland felt faint, he felt horrible. How could this happen? How could no one have taken care of the young prince when he specifically told them to? What had happened? No, it was his fault for being negligent. He didn't ask for a single update, he didn't make a single servant report to him on the conditions of the fourth prince. Diland had forgotten that this wasn't just one of the royal siblings he was taking care of, that he couldn't just trust anyone to serve the prince. The fourth prince is hated by most of the servants, and the boy himself pushed his hateful servants away. No one would have been willing to serve prince Alexander.

He had gotten careless, and now the prince is suffering the consequences. The priest waited for the butler to calm himself before continuing, which was something the taller man greatly appreciated.

"In addition, his body was a mess. My [Holy Heal] was going overdrive, trying to heal his stab wound, as well as the additional wounds he had across his body" the priest added, which made Diland feel a stab of guilt once again.

If only he had finished his task faster, perhaps he could have protected the boy, who although had a crooked personality, didn't deserve to die. Alexander was still young, and his actions could still be corrected. He could still be helped. Yet someone had tried to end him. Kill the youngest prince before he could even grow as a person. If Diland had been a little faster, perhaps he could have protected the boy.

"Yet there is one thing that made me concerned" the priest stated. The butler felt the pool of dread in his gut grow increase. Much like it has when he was entering the fourth prince's room that day.

"His body is failing him, his blood is hot as if it's on fire, but his skin feels freezing cold" was the symptoms he started to list. The butler felt his eyes shake, his face pale. It couldn't be, no way. Perhaps it's just a coincidence.