The Price of a Miracle
From the train station to the imperial palace, they had to take another carriage. The distance had looked deceptively short from the train window, but it took a solid hour of travel before the carriage finally rolled to a stop.
"From here on, we walk."
The carriage halted at a rotary before an enormous gate.
Rising high above walls bristling with spikes to repel unwelcome guests, the golden crown — emblem of the imperial family — blazed with such commanding presence that it seized the gaze of everyone below.
Beneath it, imperial guards in resplendent armor stood in ten immaculate ranks, and at the very center of the rotary rose a golden tower commemorating the victory of the Ten Years' War, radiating quiet, unassailable authority.
Bayul drank in a deep breath. He hadn't even stepped inside the palace yet, and the sheer weight of the place was no joke.
Not a single surface had been spared the gilding treatment. Whether it was meant to exalt imperial prestige or simply crush the spirit of anyone who approached, the ostentation was undeniable.
So that's why it glitters even from far away.
Overwhelmed by an impression he could never have imagined, Bayul could only stare.
"Pretty impressive."
Unlike Bayul, who stood there slack-jawed in open admiration, Eli's review was brisk and businesslike. Not a flicker of awe — if anything, a trace of boredom — which left Aidan thoroughly nonplussed.
"...That's it?"
"What, you want the lowly gypsy to fawn a little more?"
"No, it's just — you're way too calm about this. Have you seen everyone else? They're all gawking."
Indeed, the rotary was thronged with crowds far beyond the Academy's delegation. The Crown Prince's coming-of-age ceremony was a momentous occasion, drawing waves of visitors from every corner of the continent — though of course, only those bearing an imperial invitation could pass through that magnificent gate.
"Even I, who have seen it before, can't quite shut my mouth. Did you eat something strange on the train?"
"Did you miss the part where I said it was impressive? It's the imperial palace — it ought to be this grand. I like it, all right?"
Who asked whether you liked it?
Just as Aidan was about to lose his mind all over again, Professor Rothius called the party to move out. With him at the front, the first-year delegation's journey into the imperial palace at last began in earnest.
True to its role as the first gate of Vergara, the procedure for entering through the walls was anything but simple. Thorough identity checks aside, they were subjected to a meticulous inspection of clothing and belongings, which swallowed up a considerable stretch of time.
Their lodging was to be Gillian Palace. Vergara boasted dozens of palaces beyond Kappelheim, where the Emperor himself resided — and among them, Gillian had been built expressly as a hotel-style residence for visiting dignitaries of state.
Perhaps that was why it felt different. Never mind its sheer scale; the very atmosphere the building exuded was profoundly antique and elegant.
There was no garish gold here — instead, delicate carved figures adorned every curve of the rounded roofs and the tips of the eaves, and the four great pillars flanking the main entrance bore intricately sculpted reliefs representing spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
"Is this really where we'll be staying?"
"It is indeed, Lubinsky. I do hope it pleases you."
"Of course it pleases me! It's got to be a thousand times better than the dormitory!"
"Lubinsky, we haven't even seen the inside yet."
"Aidan, you have to see it to believe it, don't you? Me, I can just picture it. A crisp white bedsheet with a plump pillow and a downy comforter, linen curtains fluttering in a window frame without a speck of dust. And there's bound to be an antique vanity sitting across from the bed."
Lubinsky wore the rapturous expression of someone lost in a daydream. It was hard to believe this was the same girl who'd been grumbling about missed classes on the train.
"Then let's hurry and find out, shall we?"
Admiration time was over. A full day spent on the train had left everyone's limbs heavy as lead; what they needed now was to unpack and rest.
"And where might you be from?"
"Carrington Academy."
"Honored guests, come such a long way. Right this way, please."
A palace steward in immaculate livery led the group to the topmost floor of the palace. The stair-climbing was punishing, to be sure, but the view — the gardens laid out in a single sweep below — was absolutely unmatched.
"Now then. Aside from the room I'll be using, you've been assigned five rooms in total, so you'll pair off two to a room... The timing is a bit awkward, but since it's the first day, I'd say we'll leave it at free time. Agreed?"
As Professor Rothius finished sketching out the rough schedule and looked around at the students, Professor Blake produced a pocket watch, checked the hour, and added his own verdict.
"We should all rest until the midday meal. I'm rather tired myself."
"Let's do that."
Professor Rothius nodded and offered one final word of caution.
Breaking his expectation that no one would speak up, Eli raised his hand.
"Professor, there are nine of us."
"So what?"
"If we pair off two to a room, someone gets left over."
"Ah, right. Nine, isn't it."
Professor Rothius smacked his forehead as though he'd genuinely forgotten.
"Whoever it is, the gods have smiled on him — a private room all to himself in a palace this vast. We'll hear your impressions later. I'm exhausted, so I'm off. See you all!"
Professor Rothius flapped a hand and turned abruptly on his heel. Professor Blake, the staff, then Lanasa and Lubinsky followed him out one after another — with only two girls among them, they'd never had a say in the matter in the first place. Four rooms remained for the seven who were left.
"...We'll share."
Perhaps still feeling sheepish about what had happened on the train, those two exchanged a glance and slipped away first.
That settled everything else. Bayul and Quinn were roommates in the dormitory as it was, and Aidan would hardly bunk with Logan — so the private room was as good as Logan's already.
"So what do we do now?"
"What do you think? We've got some unfinished business, don't we?"
No one needed to spell out what that was. As if bound by a pact, Aidan and Eli seized Quinn by either arm and hauled him straight into a room.
"Now. Explain."
"Explain what?"
"What happened on the train! You said you'd tell us later!"
"You saw what you saw. What more explaining do you need?"
Quinn's brusque response to his friends' interrogation was worlds apart from how he'd been on the train. No more sweat beading at his brow; his face glowed with its usual light, and not a trace of fatigue remained.
"So it's true... you really healed yourself?"
"You all have some kind of special ability, don't you? Mine just happens to lean toward healing."
"Since when is your ability an ordinary one? Compare it to things that are actually comparable!"
"I don't know how things work in the Mermaid Kingdom, but in the human world at least, power like yours isn't something you just stumble across!"
"Doesn't the same go for you, Aidan?"
Aidan's gift for communing with animals was hardly ordinary either. From where Quinn stood, the two abilities were about equally remarkable.
"I appreciate the flattery, but Quinn, you're genuinely incredible! No high priest alive could mend injuries in the blink of an eye like you did. Isn't that right, Eli?"
"Even healing magic can't do that. It can dull the patient's pain, sure, but setting broken bones right in so short a time? Impossible."
"See? And it wasn't even your injury in the first place. Bayul was the one with the broken finger, so how did you—"
It seemed even now the memory refused to make sense; Aidan swallowed the rest of the sentence, his eyes darting between Bayul's healed finger and Quinn's.
"Uh, sorry, but could somebody please make this make sense to me? Quinn was the one who healed me? Quinn has the same healing power as the priests?"
Bayul had wanted to ask from the moment they were on the train. But there had been other students around, and more than anything, Quinn had seemed reluctant to talk about it.
Bayul still remembered the excruciating pain that had radiated from the fracture. He had to know why he was standing there whole and unharmed.
"You heard it just now. One of those abilities everyone has — nothing special about it."
Which was as good as confirming that yes, Quinn had been the one who healed him.
"Then what was that, back there?"
What Bayul had glimpsed in the moment the pain fell away was Quinn — bearing the very same injury he had. And then Aidan had said this:
"I told you — my finger moved to Quinn, didn't I? I've been turning it over since the train, and I know it sounds insane, but... did Quinn take my injury? Is that why his finger was broken, same as mine?"
There was simply no other way to explain it. And if all of it were true, Bayul couldn't in good conscience sit easy ever again.
"Then Quinn — your healing power... you pull someone's wound into your own body and heal yourself? Feeling every ounce of that terrible pain, all of it...?"
Quinn said nothing. But Bayul and the others already knew the answer. Hadn't they witnessed it firsthand on the train — the sight of him writhing in agony?
Quinn's gift of healing could only be called a blessing of the gods. But such a magnificent talent had never come free.
"Quinn..."
Bayul felt he owed him an apology before he owed him any thanks. To heal another, Quinn had to shoulder their pain in their stead — that was the price of the power he carried.
"I'm sorry... and thank you. Truly."
Bayul stepped close and cradled Quinn's hand in his.
"It must have hurt so much... you didn't have to do that for me... I don't even know how I could ever repay this."
"I thought we were friends."
"...Huh?"
"So, are we lovers, then?"
Quinn's joke landed out of nowhere, and Bayul could only sputter, words failing him entirely.
"You matter to me, Bayul. I know my temperament isn't the best. I can't exactly be warm and fuzzy on demand — but from now on, you're one of my people too. And you do at least this much for your people. Obviously."
He'd said that if a person suddenly turned different, it meant they were about to die. Since when could Quinn wear an expression like this, speak in a voice like this?
Bayul — and Aidan and Eli right along with him — stood gaping, screaming silently. What on earth had they just heard? It was as if they'd stumbled into another world altogether.
"Anytime — even if it's the last thing I'm able to do — if it's for you, I'll do it. Bayul, you're worth that much."
"...Is it just me, or is this kid still out of it? Maybe the pain scrambled his brain for a minute there?"
"Think so? He doesn't feel feverish."
Eli pressed a hand to Quinn's forehead, but the skin beneath his palm was cold as ice.
"I've heard of people dying of shock while perfectly lucid. We should keep a close eye on him."
"Even a self-healer could drop dead in an instant, right? Something like cardiac arrest."
"A heartless brute like him dying of a heart problem — somehow that doesn't fit."
"Why exactly would I die? Would you two get out of my face?"
A warm moment, shattered to splinters in a heartbeat. Quinn peeled the two culprits off him with an air of tedium — they'd been groping at his body and babbling the whole time.
"To what extent does your healing power work?"
Then, without warning, Logan asked the question. By nature he kept things to himself, but Quinn's hidden ability had genuinely stunned him too.
And at the same time, he was curious. How far could the healing reach? Could it cure any illness at all? He wanted to know.
"Why should I have to tell you?"
At Quinn's frosty reply, Logan's eyebrows twitched.
"Phew. Now he sounds like Quinn."
"Yeah, that's the Quinn we know and love."
Aidan and Eli, by contrast, sighed in relief that Quinn had finally come back to his senses. Honestly, what Quinn had shown them moments ago was the kind of thing they'd have found terrifying even in their dreams.
"Do the professors know, by any chance?"
"Am I obligated to tell them?"
"...Fair point."
Logan let out a short laugh. It had been a pointless question. A prince of the Mermaid Kingdom who mended wounds with an ability no one had ever seen or heard of — if his power ever came to light, life here would become unbearable for him. Greedy humans would never leave him in peace.
Perhaps Quinn's display today had been a gamble all along — choosing to heal Bayul even at the risk of his secret being exposed.
Which meant that the heart he held for Bayul was anything but small. It also meant he trusted the friends gathered around them. All that talk a moment ago about precious friends — that hadn't been talk at all. It had been the truth.
Bayul, you've found yourself a good friend.
For just a moment, Logan found himself a little envious of the man.