Chapter 277
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 277
Chapter Title: 77. The Real Gift Was Something Else (1)
The light vanished in an instant.
Before I could even grasp what it was.
I quickly checked my body.
Something had changed.
But I couldn't tell what.
All I could sense was that my heart was pounding more vigorously than before.
The debilitating lethargy that had plagued me ever since I came back from the brink of death was gone.
I felt refreshed.
A vitality coursed through my body—not overflowing, but not lacking either.
There seemed to be something more, but for now, I had no way of knowing what it was.
I'd have to wait and observe over time.
As I told myself not to rush, a drowsy mumble reached my ears.
I turned my head. There was Adelia.
As always, she'd been watching over me while I was unconscious and must have dozed off, only to wake from the flash of light moments ago.
"Yawn."
Rubbing her eyes and yawning, she glanced out the window.
"Thought it was morning."
She muttered softly and staggered to her feet.
I watched quietly as she shuffled toward the fireplace like a sleepwalker.
She stopped, picked up a few logs from the stack against the wall, and shoved them into the hearth.
Then, still crouched, she stared blankly at the flames.
"Ugh."
After a long while, she stood, dusted off her hands, and began bustling around the room.
Opening the window to let out the stale air, then closing it again.
Changing the water in the pitcher by my bedside.
Smoothly straightening the already neat bedcovers.
After tending to these maid-like chores as if they were her own, Adelia suddenly started massaging my body.
She must have been worried my limbs would stiffen from lying still so long.
Her hands moved with such care.
A warmth bloomed in my chest.
This wasn't the first time today, either.
She must have been looking after me like this all along, without anyone knowing.
Her unwavering devotion and service filled me with such gratitude and affection.
I couldn't help but smile.
"Hm?"
Only then did Adelia turn toward my face.
Her half-open, sleep-heavy eyes widened in an instant.
"Y-Your Highness?"
She stammered, staring at me in a daze.
Tears welled up in her droopy eyes.
"Your Highness... Your Highness..."
"Adelia."
I replied with a soft smile, and the tears finally spilled over.
"Your Highness!"
Adelia burst into sobs and rushed toward me.
I flinched.
She halted abruptly, as if about to embrace me.
"It's fine."
Even at my words, she stayed frozen.
"I said, really, it's fine."
I spread my arms wide, and only then did she throw herself into my embrace.
"Your Highness! Your Highness! Your Highness!"
She called my name over and over in a stuffy, tear-choked voice. I reassured her again and again that I was okay.
"I-I thought... you'd... again...!"
For some reason, she wailed aloud in utter grief and sorrow.
Crash!
There was a commotion outside the door.
Bang!
The door flew open violently.
Beyond it appeared the face of my dear Royal Knight.
"You... Highness..."
In that brief moment, countless emotions flickered across his refined features.
In the end, only profound joy and relief remained.
"I-I'll fetch the Royal Physician!"
Kals spun around and dashed out.
"His Highness is awake!"
His shout echoed through the quiet palace.
And so, the slumbering palace awoke.
As if the late hour meant nothing, countless people flooded into my palace.
"You've been through a lot."
The King patted my shoulder lightly, his face a mirror of his complex emotions, yet he smiled.
"You can barely walk properly! What were you thinking, going out in the cold wind? No wonder your body gave out!"
Vincent snapped at me.
"I've been waiting for you to wake."
Arwen offered a faint smile.
"Brother. Please take better care of yourself."
Maximilian scanned me over with his bloodshot eyes.
Their ways of expressing it differed, but the emotions beneath were the same.
Deep concern and relief. And an inexplicable guilt and pity.
The first two were natural enough, but the latter two baffled me.
"You've suffered."
"From now on, don't suffer in silence. Share your troubles with us."
When I asked why, I got only incomprehensible answers.
While we talked, the Royal Physician examined me.
He'd checked my condition several times before, but today he was unusually thorough.
"I told you, I'm really fine now."
His meticulousness bordered on excessive, so I grumbled. Vincent glared at me, eyes blazing.
"Ignore the Crown Prince and check every inch thoroughly."
The King even ordered him to double-check for anything missed.
In the end, I lay pinned to the bed until sunrise, watching him prod every part of me.
"It seems the heavens have blessed you. Far from weakened, your condition is better than before."
Everyone sighed in relief at the physician's words.
"See? I told you I was fine."
I grumbled, annoyed at being confined since waking, but not a soul sympathized.
After that day, my condition improved rapidly.
So much so that by the third day, I could take short walks without support.
But my shattered Mana Heart and lost hand sensation showed no signs of recovery.
To say I wasn't anxious would be a lie, and to claim no emptiness would be another.
Seven whole years.
For those seven years, my sword had been part of me. I'd built up mana without fail, day after day.
Desperate to overcome my meager talent, I'd toiled relentlessly.
This body and mana were the fruits of that grueling labor.
Yet it all vanished overnight.
The body that had achieved transcendence became that of an invalid, and the steady mana flow within me was gone.
It would be strange if the sense of loss wasn't profound.
At first, I desperately hid those feelings.
The moment I seemed lost in thought, I'd see their worried faces hovering anxiously around me, and I'd seal away my heart to spare them.
But my beloved knights saw through my efforts with uncanny insight.
They never voiced comfort.
They just pretended not to know, even though they did.
All except Vincent.
"A sword isn't everything in life. Look at me. Haven't picked one up in ages—forgot how to even hold it."
When I spaced out, he'd scold me not to mope.
His blunt demeanor and the heartfelt worry beneath it pleased me to no end.
"Must be nice. Some of us want to hold a sword but can't."
That let me respond just as casually.
Of course, I wasn't uncomfortable with the other knights.
Vincent's rough consolation and the steadfast knights' silent support were both invaluable.
Gratitude I'd never felt when strong, emotions I'd overlooked while charging ahead.
A ticklish warmth in my chest.
I liked the unfamiliar feeling.
That must be why.
Before I knew it, I stopped hiding my true feelings from them.
"Can you even see the sword properly? Don't catch another cold and collapse like last time. Go inside."
As I watched the Royal Knights training in the yard, Vincent grumbled gruffly.
"You mocking me 'cause I've got no mana? That'd really hurt my feelings."
"Hurt? It's not mockery—it's fact. They're slowing their swings just 'cause they're worried about you. Annoying."
"Slow swings are part of training too."
"You never said that before. Lately, you're just full of excuses. Tsk."
"Keep using informal speech."
"Your imagination. Just talking to myself."
Vincent brazenly rattled on, then suddenly asked as if struck by a thought.
"Why do you keep wandering everywhere lately?"
"Bored."
He looked at me pitifully, as if scolding me for troubling the staff over mere boredom.
"Why? Someone complaining?"
I couldn't deny I'd been roaming the palace lately, so I felt a bit sheepish.
"Do I have to spell it out? Of course it's inconvenient."
"You keep using informal speech."
"Frankly, I'm the kingdom's only duke and your cousin. If you want casual, fine by me."
"Then do it."
"You serious?"
Seeing his face, ready to drop honorifics on the spot, I hesitated.
I didn't care about formalities, but Vincent's nagging was bad enough already—casual speech would make it unbearable.
"Anyway, how would you know if it's inconvenient when I didn't say anything?"
I deftly changed the subject.
"Common sense. If the Crown Prince barges into the kitchens, pops into the maids' quarters, or chats up busy staff, of course they're uncomfortable."
Vincent listed my recent jaunts, nagging away.
"They seemed happy to see me. Lit up like they were thrilled."
"Not thrilled—scared of dying if they didn't pretend."
As I geared up to snap back at the repeated jabs, Vincent asked,
"So why exactly are you doing it?"
I swallowed my complaint and replied indifferently.
"Curious."
"About what?"
"Everything. All of it."
I wasn't joking.
Now that my body was like this, the world looked different.
My hearing and sight weren't what they used to be,
yet the world I saw now felt clearer than before.
Like a hazy veil had lifted from my eyes.
I loved that vivid freshness, so I wandered the palace.
"Died and came back, so everything feels new and wondrous."
My words cut Vincent's nagging short.
"Sigh. Do as you like. I'm done trying to understand."
He sighed after a long pause and said no more until sunset, when I finally rose.
"Let's go. It's cold."
I pulled my collar tight and headed back to my palace.
Once inside, I grabbed my carving knife right away.
Adelia handed me a wood scrap as if waiting.
Over the past month, I'd burned the statues I'd labored over to commemorate the past, but those I mourned weren't just old comrades.
I carved, recalling fond memories surfacing in my mind.
As I focused intently, Vincent asked,
"Weren't you done with carving? Why make another weird one?"
I set the knife down briefly, reminiscing.
I pictured a shabby barracks tent after battle, her engrossed in something without even wiping the blood from her body.
Exhausted from endless fights, with scant sleep, wasting precious rest on pointless carving—I'd asked why bother.
She'd laughed and said,
'Faces of the dead fade fast. But carving forces me to keep picturing them, so they linger longer. When even that's gone, I look at the statue again. Brings 'em back.'
I resumed carving.
"In case I forget a face, to remember by looking at the statue."
I added curtly,
"And it's not weird at all."
"Fine, the sentiment's nice, but shouldn't you make it properly then?"
I ignored him.
As I concentrated on the statue, Vincent asked again.
"So, who's this one?"
I replied indifferently, knife still moving.
"My uncle."
Vincent fell silent.
But only briefly, before a reluctant voice came.
"That's Father?"
"Yeah. Looks just like him, right?"
"I can't see a single similarity, even if I scrub my eyes."
"Well, you do take after him a bit. Not surprised anymore."
"Have you ever thought maybe you're the problem, not me?"
"I'm fine, and my work's fine."
"Your own son says it doesn't resemble him, and you keep insisting."
"Should I call Arwen to check...?"
Before I finished, the statue snapped.
Right at the neck.
Roll.
Staring at the head tumbling across the floor, I yelled without thinking.
"U-Uncle!"
"Why is that our father?!"
By day, I roamed the palace.
Exploring places I'd never seen, taking in sights I'd overlooked before.
"Not cold?"
"I'm fine."
"Geez, old man. You're spry. I'm freezing."
I'd chat idly with elderly servants,
Snip, snip.
watch gardeners trim flowers while crouched,
"Smells good."
"Have a bite. Perfectly ripe."
or snag food from the head chef stirring a pot.
Tailing the maids to watch their work was pure fun.
Vincent nagged a few times, but I ignored him.
His nagging had intensified lately.
The casual speech creeping in, the scolding fiercer than ever.
Dying and reviving was good. My loved ones' devoted care was good. Seeing the sharp new world was good.
But not everything was.
Since reviving—and collapsing again—they treated me like a child left by the water's edge.
I wasn't some snot-nosed kid.
Every step I took was followed by four or five, up to dozens of footsteps.
They watched quietly, but blocked any unusual move.
I couldn't do a thing.
Really, nothing at all.
All I could do was hole up carving or wander the palace.
While roaming, I overheard something by chance.
Something had happened in the kingdom.
"No issues. The kingdom is at peace."
Asking about outside affairs got the same reply.
The King's orders, no doubt.
Not the first time, and I understood.
I'd just died and revived. Recently fainted, turning the kingdom upside down.
I'd expected as much.
But expecting didn't mean I'd obey.
I wandered toward the throne room subtly.
Having roamed everywhere, my followers trailed without suspicion.
"Your Highness. What brings you here...?"
The Royal Knights guarding the doors stiffened at my sight.
"Oh. Good work, everyone. Just out for a stroll."
Pretending to greet while they blocked me discreetly, I emphasized it was coincidence.
"Got a guest, huh?"
Alert flashed on their faces.
They clamped their mouths shut, saying nothing.
Didn't matter.
I already knew.
Overheard important guests visiting the kingdom.
Vincent, who frequented my palace, hadn't shown all day. Marquis Villepeldt had emptied his marshal's office. The Prime Minister had vanished from his too.
Key figures all absent as if by appointment.
Bet they were all inside that throne room.
"Whatever, none of my business. I'm off—keep up the good work."
I waved lazily and turned.
Or pretended to, then bolted for the doors.
But my broken body was too sluggish. Before I reached, knights blocked me.
"His Majesty's orders: no one enters. Please understand."
Watching the unflinching knight, my face heated.
Embarrassing.
But embarrassment couldn't quell curiosity, so I eyed them and darted between again.
But a wall formed before breaching the first line.
Try after try, same result.
"Please return."
The knight urged gently, face resolute as ever.
I slumped my shoulders.
"If my body weren't like this, I wouldn't be suffering this humiliation."
A crack appeared in the knight's iron facade.
"Y-Your Highness."
As the flustered knight spoke, I sighed again.
"Since I'm powerless, you all feel free to disregard me."
"I harbor no such thought!"
"If not, how could the Crown Prince be barred from the throne room, where ministers come and go freely?"
"We couldn't bear it! Please retract your words!"
The Royal Knights knelt before me.
And I,
Snap.
passed them and reached the doors.
"I see. I misunderstood you all."
"Y-Your Highness?"
Realization dawned on their dazed faces.
"Anyway, thanks for clearing the way."
Ignoring them, I focused on my task.
"Your Highness!"
Their shouts rang in my ears as I flung the doors open with all my might.
Bang.