.
.
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'I'm getting a sense of déjà vu.'
The bed he was in felt very different from his usual one. Not because it was extremely comfortable, but because it was the exact opposite.
'Ugh...'
His whole body felt sore, and the mattress was too firm. He didn't quite have the strength to open his eyes, but he could feel the cool temperature of the room, and he could hear the faint clicking of shoes on tile flooring.
One by one, his senses started to return to their original capacity. All except his eyes however, as he still could not open them for some reason.
The scent of healing potions and traditional medicines entered his nose, and his ears started picking up on muffled conversation.
"...yes... he seems to... poiso...tempora...emory loss... lots of res..."
"Are you sure? ...e's going to be... of cour..."
Click. Click. Click. Click.
Cale's eyelids twitched but still refused to open. He was disoriented, and was starting to panic at the realization that he was in an unfamiliar place without context.
He couldn't move any part of his body as he wished, and the strange smells and sounds around him were foreign. He felt like he was trapped inside a statue which had its eyes closed.
Click, click, click.
The only sound which he could identify was the footsteps, but it felt ominous since he could not tell who was walking. He could feel his heartbeat speeding up with each footstep.
This situation was exactly like when he was a child. Cale Henituse found himself actually paralyzed once again.
Creeeeak~
He tried to keep his breathing steady as he heard a door open. More footsteps could be heard walking towards him. More muffled conversation entered his ears.
"!!...eetings, your h... ye... he still has n... up..."
The footsteps resumed their path towards him; the sound of them growing clearer and louder with each step. Suddenly a vaguely familiar voice started talking, and Cale felt like the speaker was within his arms distance. By now he could tense different muscle groups.
"Is that so?...ell, notify m... en he does... I– !!"
He was right, the speaker was within grabbing distance.
Cale had ignited the muscles in his left arm as much as he could, making it shoot up and latch onto the nearest thing. It must have been a sight to see, as his facial muscles were still relaxed as if he was sleeping. He was putting all his focus and strength into that one arm.
"Ah...re you sure he's..."
"I'll call the ph... please wai...!"
Cale felt a hand on his wrist that was trying to gently pry it from where it had latched on, so Cale clenched his grip even harder. Although he had only grabbed a fistfull of stiff fabric, he could feel an arm through it. He must have grabbed onto this person's shirt sleeve.
Cale's breathing was now out of sync.
He needed to let someone know that he was awake. He needed to get up right now, or else he might go into a panic attack. It seemed the person he grabbed noticed how shaky his hand was, since the hand on his wrist stopped trying to pry it off, but didn't leave either.
Cale immediately felt like a child being comforted by his mother's hand. It made him feel a little more reassured, and reminded him of every time his mother would sit him down and take a look at his scrapes and bruises.
This was the first time. The first time since his mother that someone had tried to comfort him.
Maybe it was because of how panicked he was, or perhaps the sudden wave of nostalgia and yearning for his mother, but Cale felt extremely touch starved. His eyes felt watery as tears pricked their corners.
'Fuck, not now... There are people here, stop. Stop crying.'
Now was not the time to sink into the quagmire that was the memories of his mother.
Hurried footsteps entered the room and multiple sets of clacking heels could be heard. This was accompanied by more muffled conversation.
"...s awake? He still seems to b... scious... but..."
"He's awake... eck his puls..."
"Ah. Inform the coun... you there, inject the seru..."
Suddenly, Cale felt hands checking his pulse in his other arm and neck, then a different person leaned in closer to his body and tried talking to him. Because of the proximity, Cale could hear him pretty well.
"This won't hurt a bit, so just relax."
Well, other than the fact that he could not relax even if he wanted to, Cale attempted to do as the person said. It seemed like they were going to help him.
'UGH—'
It was a bad idea to trust strangers.
Cale's face contorted in immense pain, and the tears which had settled just on the corners of his eyes were now pushed out, fully sliding down the sides of his face. He felt his muscles spasm for a few seconds, and his back shook for some reason.
After a minute or two, control over his body seemed to return at a steady pace. He slowly blinked his eyes open. The bright light located directly above his face made his eyes water even further, and forced him to squint while blinking furiously.
"Hey, what i... light for?"
"Ah, your highne... it is just to check his vision, d..."
The light then moved even closer to his eyes, making him see spots even with his eyes closed. Somehow, he felt like this was unnecessary.
Cale dropped the hand holding onto the person's clothes to cover and wipe his eyes, and tried to move his right arm, but found that he couldn't. It was not physically impossible, it was just in a shit ton of pain if he even tried to move it.
He grimaced and bit the inside of his cheek. He wanted to know the names of whoever was attending to him.
Bam!
Cale flinched at the sound of the door slamming open. Extremely quick footsteps rushed towards him, and before he could see who it was, he was enveloped in a tight hug which set his body ablaze with pain once again.
"Cale! Thank goodness you're awake! I was so worried!"
'Oh, it's father...'
"Are you in any pain?! Ah! Did I hurt you just now?!Can you see me alright?"
Cale, in fact, could not see anything very well. His vision was spotty and the light was still above his head, not to mention the usual blurriness. But he attempted a neutral face, and responded with as much confidence as he could muster.
"Ugh, I'm fine. You don't have to shout."
It was around that time, when someone interrupted their moment.
"Ahem. Young master Cale, it is a relief to see that you are alright."
Cale subtly pushed his father away, and turned to look at who was speaking. His ears were ringing a little, so his voice was a bit distorted.
'Is that blonde hair...? He has a fancy suit— ah.'
Cale noticed the slightly wrinkled sleeve. It seemed he had latched onto this person. Hopefully he could play the 'incapacitated patient' card, or else he might just go to prison for attacking a member of the royal family.
'Wait... royal family?'
Why the fuck was a member of the royal family here? Actually, why was Cale even in a medical room in the first place? What the fuck happened to him?
Cale almost forgot to respond to the man as he tried to come up with an explanation. For some reason he felt the urge to conclude this conversation as fast as possible.
"Ah... yeah. Thanks for caring about my well being, your highness."
'?'
The man who was probably one of the princes looked at Cale with something like confusion. Did he say something wrong? But the look disappeared just as quickly.
"...Of course. Now that you are confirmed to have awakened, I will have to excuse myself. Contact me after you are healed. Have a good evening."
As Cale watched the man leave through the exit, he couldn't help but feel like he had done something wrong.
___
Right before goldilocks entered the room...
'Haaa.'
Alberu internally sighed. So much had happened in such a short period of time.
It had been almost a week since Cale Henituse fell unconscious shortly after getting rescued. The fake Hans was captured and imprisoned inside the palace dungeon and had been under investigation since the two of them were found.
The fake Hans had been interrogated, but would only repeat how he was also kidnapped and mind controlled by magic. Tasha's elemental had definitely overheard part of the conversation that happened before the knights broke in, but it was vague and they couldn't afford to reveal that Tasha was contracted with an elemental.
But that didn't explain how the fake Hans looked almost exactly like the real one. The fake Hans had made the excuse that he was probably kidnapped because Baron Crassterd mistook him for deputy butler Hans, but everything was extremely suspicious.
The only way to solve this issue with 100 percent certainty, was if Cale Henituse woke up and shared his side of the story. It was another issue altogether if anybody would believe a person with his reputation, but they needed to find an answer quickly.
Alberu was visiting the Henituse territory to check up on Cale and see for himself how bad the damage was.
He relaxed his shoulders and fixed his expression one last time before entering the infirmary.
Creeeeak~
"!! Greetings, your highness."
The first person to notice him was the head physician in charge of Cale's wellbeing. His job was not to heal, but to routinely check his status and vital signs.
"Is young master Cale still asleep?"
"Yes, he still has not woken up."
Alberu walked up to the bed, observing Cale's pale complexion.
"Is that so? Hmm. Well, notify me when he does. I–!!"
Alberu was cut off as Cale's arm suddenly shot up and grasped his sleeve tightly. Now that he looked closer, Alberu could see his eyelids twitching, and his breathing was strange.
"Ah... Are you sure he's still unconscious?"
"I'll call the physician, please wait!"
Alberu tried to pull off Cale's hand in a way that wouldn't hurt him, but that only made him grip the sleeve tighter. He was gripping Alberu's sleeve as if his life depended on it.
'He's shaking...'
Alberu stopped trying to seperate Cale's hand, and firmly held his wrist. Doing so seemed to calm him down a bit. The shaking slowed, but his grip still refused to let go. Alberu also noticed that his pulse was extremely quick.
'Hm?'
If he looked closely at Cale's eyes, there seemed to be tears forming in them. That was probably the last thing he expected from the confident and blunt Cale Henituse.
For some reason he had never imagined that this person also felt things like fear and panic. His relaxed demeanor which he always sported in any given situation distracted everyone from his other, more subtle emotions.
Did he do that on purpose? This question suddenly popped up in Alberu's mind. Now was not a situation to be pondering questions like that, but Alberu could not stop thinking about the concept of Cale hiding his emotions.
It was a common thing that everybody does, but if this specific person hides his feelings to this extent, who's to say he isn't hiding more? If it were any other noble, Alberu would just ignore it or brush it off, but for some reason it made a lot of sense.
'What could this person be hiding?'
Puzzle pieces were slowly connecting together in Alberu's mind, and he was starting to ask the right questions.
At that moment, three people hastily entered the room. The person at the front seemed to be the physician in charge.
All three of them halted as they saw Cale Henituse's arm clinging onto Alberu's sleeve to the point of wrinkling his clothes. It was almost awkward, but thanks to the fact that Cale seemed to not know what he was doing, it was just strange.
The head physician then turned his head towards the physician who led him here.
"You said he's awake? He still seems to be unconscious, but I will take a look."
Alberu noticed the physician glance at him as he said the last part.
The physician then walked up to the other side of the bed and looked at a chart of previous observations. Alberu chose that moment to talk.
"He's awake. You should check his pulse."
Alberu noticed the physician subtly flinch. Something had been bugging Alberu about the servants in this castle.
The physician then reached over and slowly checked Cale's pulse in multiple locations. He hesitated for a moment before speaking again with a fleeting smirk, which Alberu noticed since he was staring at the physician. It seemed that he did not know how to control his facial muscles properly.
"Ah. Inform the count. You there, inject the serum."
One of the other people fetched a syringe and prepped Cale's right arm. Alberu observed the physician lean in and whisper something in Cale's ear. Alberu should have not heard it, but thanks to his dark elf blood, he had better than average hearing.
"This won't hurt a bit, so just relax."
The helper then started to inject the mystery juices into Cale's arm.
Alberu closely observed Cale's face. About three seconds after the injection was finished, it contorted heavily in what Alberu could only assume was immense pain.
Tears also escaped his eyelids and slid down towards his ears. His body, which previously only experienced small tremors, started to fully shake, while his breathing seemed to become even more unstable.
Alberu watched in confusion as the physician moved an overhead lamp directly above Cale's head. It was around that time when Cale slowly blinked his eyes open. The bright light made his eyes water even further, and forced him to squint while blinking furiously.
Alberu's gut feeling was growing larger.
"Hey, what is that light for?"
"Ah, your highness, it is just to check his vision, don't worry."
The physician then moved the lamp even closer to Cale's eyes.
Alberu reached over and firmly raised the lamp, his expression set in a frown. He did not say anything however, as that was enough of a warning for the physician. There was no need to check a patient's eyes after they just opened them for the first time in a week.
Suddenly, Cale let go of Alberu's clothes and covered his face while trying to move his right arm. He flinched and stopped trying to move it, so Alberu assumed it was also because of pain. Needles could hurt, especially if they were as big around as the one the helper used.
Cale's expression dimmed a little, but his breathing was returning to its normal level.
Bam!
Alberu turned his head, only to see Count Henituse rushing towards his bedridden son. A tight hug enveloped Cale, and Alberu internally cringed at how much that probably hurt.
"Cale! Thank goodness you're awake! I was so worried! Are you in any pain?! Ah! Did I hurt you just now?! Can you see me alright?"
'The count must really love his son...'
"Ugh, I'm fine. You don't have to shout."
Alberu glanced back at Cale's extremely pale complexion. This person had just been kidnapped and survived a near death experience, then fell into a coma for a week. He was obviously not fine.
Alberu chose that moment to reveal his presence which the shaky Cale seemed to not have noticed.
"Ahem. Young master Cale, it is a relief to see that you are alright."
Cale then looked towards Alberu, and for a good five seconds, did nothing but stare at him. Alberu felt a sense of déjà vu as he noticed Cale particularly taking his time looking at his hair and outfit instead of his face.
If Alberu's hunch was right, then that look of unrecognition meant...
"Ah... yes. Thank you for caring about my well being, your highness."
'Haa. Is his vision damaged again?'
Alberu looked at Cale, momentarily forgetting to monitor his own facial expression. After a few seconds however, he decided not to dwell on the topic any more than he had to.
"...Of course. Now that you are confirmed to have awakened, I will have to excuse myself. Contact me after you are healed. Have a good evening."
After all, Cale would only be qualified to testify if he was at least most of the way recovered.
A/n: Thx for reading.