"I am sorry, Miss Kana. But I don't think you should come inside. Having too many visitors can stress the patient out. Here, hand over the blankets to me."
The healer quickly took the offered blankets and mattress from Kana before he closed the door. The last thing he saw was her glare before he forced her out.
'I-I am safe now, right? What a hassle. I will need to keep people away until the patient is safely out of danger.'
The healer let out a sigh before he turned to look at Shuu. The person in question was quietly sleeping, not having a care in the world. Seeing that only made the healer envious.
"Ah, I envy you so much. Here you are, sleeping all innocently while some of us have to work hard just to live…"
The healer complained as he watched the still-asleep body, now shivering with the cold. It made him sigh and reconsider his thoughts.
"On second thought, maybe you have it as tough as I do. You have to actually deal with all the mess."
Shuu tried to open his eyes and reply to the healer, but his throat felt numb and dry. It hurt to try to speak at all.
The healer immediately noticed and brought a glass of water to his lips. After that, his mattress was quickly replaced by a more comfortable one, and he could finally rest.
"Rest well for a while. You should start to feel better once you wake up again."
The healer assured him, and Shuu nodded before sleep claimed him.
The next time he opened his eyes, he felt like he could finally breathe. The fever had finally gone down, and his body was sweating. His bed was soaked with sweat, and he felt uncomfortable.
He quickly pushed the covers down to get some air, and his breathing felt better.
'Am I… alone now?'
It seemed that way. The room was too quiet, and Shuu could not hear much of a sound. He felt loneliness creeping up inside his mind, but he quickly shook his head to push it away.
"So what if I am all alone? I am used to being alone. And once this journey ends, I will be alone once more. I should get used to it…"
Shuu reminded himself. But it was a little hard for him to accept this fate now that he knew how it felt to have company that accepted him.
That, and the pain in his body, made him angry and annoyed. So, despite his body's warnings, he decided to walk around a little to clear his head.
The sky was dark outside, and no one was around. That helped Shuu calm down, and he sat down on a bench, letting his eyes rest for a second.
When he opened them again, he immediately saw a pair of bright eyes looking back at him.
"Woah-"
Shuu almost leaned back too much and fell off the bench he was sitting on. His whole body protested, but he was not able to control himself.
'Shit-! I might collide with the ground. I need to protect my head-'
Shuu immediately covered his head to protect it and waited for the collision to occur. But it never did.
Instead, a hand gripped his arm hard and pulled him back up.
"Are you alright? Hey… you did not get hurt, right?"
Prince Kaiden asked as Shuu suddenly lost his balance. Luckily, he was caught at the last second by the crown prince.
"I am fine… I think? I am not sure what happened…"
Shuu told him as he tried to pull away subtly. But his actions were lost on the crown prince, who just kept tightening his hold. He also looked a little flushed, so he was likely drunk.
"What are you doing out here, Prince Kaiden?"
Shuu asked as he looked at the older male standing behind him.
Prince Kaiden flushed at his question and quickly looked aside. He contemplated for a whole minute what to think and how to answer Shuu before he turned the question around.
"I should be the one asking you this. What are you doing here? Are you not sick right now? So why are you out here?"
Shuu looked around and slowly realized where he was.
"What am I doing out here…? I wanted to take a small walk… Huh-? When did I reach here?"
Shuu questioned as he looked around. His head was clearly not in the right place, and it was working slower than intended. Prince Kaiden shook his head as he noticed this before he helped Shuu back to his feet.
"You are still sick, and I don't think you realize what you are doing. Let's get you back inside and into your bed…"
Prince Kaiden tugged Shuu inside, but Shuu had a sudden urge not to go in. Especially with the crown prince.
So he stomped his feet and stood still. He tried his best to resist, and even the prince noticed.
"What's wrong-?"
"I don't want to go inside. I want to stay out here. It's cool, and it feels nice…"
Shuu told the crown prince, and he could tell that Prince Kaiden felt a little irritated.
"I see. So you don't want to go back inside?"
Prince Kaiden asked with a smile on his face.
"Hmm, I don't want to go back. Can you stay with me a little longer?"
Shuu asked. He did not expect much, so he braced himself to be dragged back inside.
"I see. In that case, I guess I have no choice. I will join you out here and keep an eye on you for now. Just tell me when you want to head back."
Prince Kaiden's smile was relaxed, but for some reason, it made Shuu want to head inside immediately. He could not handle that smile aimed his way.
"You know, on second thought, I do want to head back inside. I don't want to stay out here any longer."
Shuu confessed before he stood up and started walking back inside.
"Shuu, wait-! I am coming too."
Prince Kaiden called as he followed after him as well.