'I don't understand. I'll have to check this out later.'
Raymond shook his head.
Anyway, the questions could wait.
Right now, he had more pressing matters to attend to.
The twins needed to be cured.
"I'll have to check it out first, but if I'm right, I think I can cure you."
"...!"
The twins responded with a stunned silence, their eyes widening in disbelief.
Without delay, Raymond proceeded to initiate the treatment.
Extracting thyroid hormone from an animal, he administered it to the twins.
Then, a remarkable transformation occurred. The twins' symptoms began to alleviate almost instantly!
"This, this...?"
"How?"
The twins' eyes widened in amazement.
They had suffered so much from this poison, and now, with Raymond's help, they had found a cure!
"It's not a complete cure. You'll still need to take the pills I give you."
There was no way to save their thyroids.
They found themselves with no alternative but to persist with their prescribed medication.
"Oh."
Once more, the twins' countenances took on a somber hue.
After all, the medicine was a necessity for them.
Yet now, the dispenser of this crucial remedy had shifted from Archduke Berard to Raymond.
'Our existence hangs on his actions from now on.'
The twin girl, Rune, nervously bit her lip and ventured a question.
"What demands might the Baron make of us in the future?"
"Pardon?"
"What is your intent with our lives? What demands will you impose upon us?"
The twin boy, Ren, mirrored a similar apprehension.
Perhaps due to their shared tumultuous experiences, a profound skepticism of humanity had taken root within them. While they had heard of Raymond's commendable reputation, a residual wariness persisted, suspecting him to be like the rest.
Raymond's brow furrowed at their guarded response.
They were but young souls, he mused.
'These two.'
"Indeed, I do have a condition. You will be required to fulfill it."
"What might that be?"
Tension rippled through the twins.
Raymond's explanation was succinct.
"Education."
"...For what purpose?"
Raymond expounded further.
"Additionally, smile a hundred times a day. Strive to be the best version of yourselves."
"..."
The twins wore expressions of utter bewilderment, as though they had encountered an oddity in his words.
Raymond emitted a faint sigh, then affectionately ruffled each of their heads.
"It's a way of saying that being content and enjoying restful sleep is a valuable achievement."
"...!"
Both twins regarded Raymond with incredulous gazes.
"W-why? You don't want anything from us?"
"Why?"
Raymond folded his arms in contemplation.
"Because I am a healer, and if the people I mend can find happiness, that's all I need."
"..."
Of course, it was a lie.
'I'm going to get paid by Marquis Durak for curing you, and I'm going to make him pay handsomely.'
Ordinarily, it was the parents' responsibility to cover children's medical expenses.
For healers, their role often boiled down to offering comfort and care to ailing youngsters.
Blissfully unaware of Raymond's true motives, the twins found themselves engulfed in a whirlwind of emotions.
"W-what are you...?"
The twins' eyes fluttered.
'There is such a person in the world...'
All the people they knew in the world were ugly, and they couldn't believe that someone like him really existed in the world.
'The... light. Light.'
Rune and Ren fought back the tears that welled up in their eyes.
"...I'll study, like you said."
"I will study, too."
The twins looked at Raymond with determined eyes.
They looked at each other and decided.
'We'll apply ourselves tirelessly, ensuring we can contribute to him and reciprocate his kindness.'
Nothing is free, they thought.
This grace that saved their lives.
They vowed to repay it.
By the way, there was something Raymond didn't know.
The twins' nicknames.
'The Freak Genius Twins!'
As scions of Durak's lineage, the twins had earned this formidable epithet.
Individually brilliant, the twins resolved to harness their talents to the fullest.
All in order to reciprocate Raymond's kindness.
Meanwhile, Raymond remained blissfully ignorant, his thoughts veering in a different direction.
It was time to make peace with Marquis Durak.
It was time to demand payment for curing the children, he thought darkly.
'I'll make him pay for all the trouble he's put me through. I'll rip off a very, very expensive reward in particular.'
***
Deep in the night.
Marquis Durak stepped out of his barracks and sighed.
'I have committed an irreparable act of disloyalty.'
Now, he found himself marching among his subjects, poised to assail King Macapell III.
A profound betrayal had been committed.
'No, it's not merely disloyalty. My transgressions are beyond absolution, even if I am cast into the depths of hell.'
Of course, his inclination was to flee and immediately submit to Macapell III, pledging unwavering allegiance to his youthful sovereign and quashing the treasonous threat.
But.
'Kill Macapell III and that damned Raymond, or your children will die in agony.'
He had no choice but to give in to the threats of that demon Berard.
'What shall I do?'
Marquis Durak once more directed his gaze skyward.
'I would have resisted were it only my own suffering.'
With the lives of his children at stake, he could not know what to do.
For the greater good, it would be right to sacrifice his children and defeat Archduke Berard, but he could not bring himself to do it.
'Ren, Rune. You would admonish me, urging me to attend to my own affairs and sever Archduke Berard's head.'
And indeed, they would do so, for his offspring were the most brilliant, compassionate, captivating, and affectionate children in existence.
'Shit.'
He stomped off in frustration.
After a bout of aimless pacing, he found himself secluded in a remote corner of the barracks.
Abruptly, Marquis Durak's spine tingled, an icy sensation coursing through him.
A faint swish.
Darkness seemed to undulate, birthing forth a silhouette.
A young man emerged, silver hair gleaming, countenance marked by a striking handsomeness.
A surge of recognition seized Durak, his eyes widening.
"...Are you the Silver Knight?"
Silver Knight!
Elmud's nickname.
Employing stealth, he had drawn near to Durak.
"Greetings, Your Excellency Durak. I am here at the behest of my lord, the great Baron Penin, Light of the Houstonian Army."
"Baron Penin?"
Durak looked surprised.
Baron Penin, the paramount prodigy within the Kingdom of Houston, the very architect who rescued King Macapell III and orchestrated Berard's downfall.
"Why would he do so?"
"My lord commanded me to deliver the following words to Your Excellency."
Elmud spoke, striving to emulate Raymond's voice as faithfully as possible.
"Inform Marquis Durak. The fate of your offspring lies within my grasp."
"..."
"Should you defy my will, the twins will not live."
Marquis Durak's visage paled, a blend of ire and trepidation settling upon his features.
Elmud imparted Raymond's final utterances.
"However, should you adhere to my directive, I shall bestow upon you medicine that will rescue the twins. Thus, if their lives hold worth to you, you must solemnly pledge unswerving fealty to me henceforth..."
***
In that instance, within the barracks, Archduke Berard absorbed his subordinate's account with an expressionless countenance.
Perhaps because he was cornered, his usual neat appearance was nowhere to be found.
Untamed locks fell haphazardly, and an unkempt beard adorned his once-smooth face.
"Hundreds more have deserted overnight, Your Majesty."
"What were you doing?"
The tone was icy.
"What?"
"I mean, what were you doing without properly monitoring your soldiers?"
"That, that..."
The subordinate faltered, engulfed in chagrin.
"With so many soldiers inclining toward desertion, how am I expected to thwart their efforts through mere vigilance..."
The words kindled further fury within Archduke Berard, his gaze taking on a disconcertingly sanguine hue.
"Now even you despise me, nay, you have encouraged the soldiers to desert."
"I, Your Majesty?"
The subordinate's gulp was audible, the gravity of Berard's mood abundantly clear.
"P-please, compose yourself..."
They stumbled backward, but it was futile.
Slash!
Blood painted the barracks in grotesque patterns.
Archduke Berard's sword had swept through the air, severing a life.
"Curse it!"
Berard's oath resounded as he cast his sword to the floor of the barracks.
Yet the sight of the crimson pool failed to appease him, contrary to its customary effect.
Anxiety coursed through him, an almost maddening nervousness.
'It's all due to that wretched bastard. Raymond! Raymond!'
The concept was inconceivable.
Never had it entered his mind - that Raymond would rescue Macapell III and seize control of the capital.
The impact of this sudden and audacious move was tremendous.
He had transitioned from the paramount authority to a renegade.
'If this continues, I'm finished.'
Archduke Berard was undeniably astute.
So he knew exactly what he was getting himself into. They were in the worst possible position.
'Had the capital not fallen. Or rather, if a Houstonian force weren't arrayed before us.'
Ordinarily, the monarch's proclamation of insurrection would have been dismissed as inconsequential.
A vacuous outcry from a powerless ruler, the echoes of such a declaration wouldn't have registered with anyone.
Yet, with Raymond's involvement, the dynamic altered dramatically.
In securing dominion over the capital, the young sovereign had gained a semblance of potency and dominion.
The distinction between having no authority whatsoever and possessing a modicum of influence was a matter of magnitude.
The king's power gave him the impetus to rally others under his banner.
Typically, he would have quashed those who rallied behind the king.
He possessed the capacity to enact such suppression, yet the present situation wasn't conducive to it.
'Damn it, it's all because of that Raymond. More people than expected are gathering around the king because of that guy, and the soldiers' desertions are severe.'
Ultimately, it all traced back to Raymond's influence.
Raymond was the cause of this debacle, unraveling Berard's authority and resolve.
'Damn it, why can't 'they' make contact with me!'
Archduke Berard retrieved his concealed crystal ball.
This very artifact was employed for receiving critical communications from 'them.'
The mysterious benefactors who had elevated him from illegitimacy to the zenith of the kingdom's hierarchy.
Perhaps they harbored the means to reverse this dire predicament.
But no matter how many times he tried to contact them, they never responded.
Berard came to the painful realization that they had abandoned him.
'Damn it! How dare they abandon me!'
He ground his teeth in frustration.
'There's only one course left to salvage this situation. I must eliminate the young king and that damned Raymond.'
At that precise moment, a messenger burst into the barracks from outside.
"Your Majesty, I have an urgent message from Marquis Durak!"
"What is it?"