Chapter 205: 205: Magical Intervention
"Go and get the physician now!" Adrian demanded without even stopping. He walked past them and made his way toward a chamber, his stride sharp with urgency.
While the maids rushed to fetch the physician, Adrian carried Eden carefully in his arms and brought him into a quiet room.
He placed him on the bed gently, as though he were a fragile piece of treasure. After settling the bleeding young man, Adrian found himself placing a hand on Eden’s forehead to check how he was doing.
He checked how his body temperature was doing since Eden was looking pale and sick at the moment.
Adrian couldn’t explain why he felt so worried. He told himself he was probably just paying him back for taking the stab meant for him—probably acting out of guilt.
While he checked Eden’s forehead and adjusted his bedding, the physician finally entered the room.
"How may I help you, Grand Marquis Adrian?" the man asked.
"Not me. Take care of him," Adrian said, pointing to Eden on the bed. "Make sure you save him."
The physician stared at Eden. For a moment he wondered why this young man looked so familiar, and then realization struck.
He blinked in shock. "Isn’t this the wizard of El? Why..." He hesitated. "Shouldn’t you be working toward killing him, Grand Marquis? Why are we saving him? You could end him and take the glory."
Even the physician was shocked to see The Grand Marquis bring home an enemy for treatment.
Adrian could indeed do that. He knew it even before bringing Eden home. He knew how advantageous capturing or killing Eden would be, even before deciding to summon the physician. Yet he still made the call.
"I’m not so foolish as to not know who this is. And that isn’t my instruction. My only instruction is to save him. That’s the only thing you’re going to do. Understood?" Adrian said with firm authority.
"Yes, that’s what I’ll do," the physician replied as he instantly opened his box to begin treating Eden.
Adrian stood there watching as the physician began his work.
"Make sure you save him," Adrian added. "He mustn’t die at all. If he dies, you’ll be in serious trouble."
"Yes," the physician nodded quickly.
Adrian stayed for a while, looking worried as he stared at the pale Eden lying there under treatment. Soon, he turned and quietly left the room.
---
Adrian headed to his own chamber, which wasn’t far off. As he entered, he ordered the guard stationed there to fetch another physician.
"Yes, my lord," the guard replied and hurried off.
Adrian sat down on his bed, frowning. He found himself wondering why he was so involved in Eden’s case.
"It’s not like we’re even that close," he muttered. "I’m probably just being grateful for what he did... paying him back. Nothing more."
Soon another physician arrived.
"Run a check-up on me—on my illness," Adrian instructed. "I want you to examine how badly I’ve been damaged."
He suspected that Mr. Hugo had probably poisoned him. He was certain his body was already harmed. He needed to know how many days he had left, to plan what to do with the time remaining.
He braced himself for bad news as the physician began his tests.
It took a while. The physician had to run the tests again and again. As he double- and triple-checked, Adrian noticed the man’s expression growing more and more shocked.
"What’s wrong?" Adrian finally asked after the fifth round of tests. He had a grim feeling his condition was so terrible the physician could hardly believe it. "How bad is it?"
He anticipated the worst. But suddenly the physician paused.
"It’s not bad at all," he said quietly.
Adrian stared, startled. "What do you mean by that?"
The physician hesitated, thinking for a moment. He checked once more and said, "The last time I examined you, your condition was only getting worse. I told you then you might have less than a year to live because of how it kept progressing. But now..."
Adrian tensed. "But now what? What happened?"
"But now," the physician said, eyes fixed on Adrian, "your condition has improved exceptionally well. It has improved so massively in less than a month that one could almost believe there is hope of curing this terminal illness."
The words shocked Adrian to the core. He sat there blankly for over a minute, just staring without a word, utterly speechless.
"What do you mean? What nonsense are you talking about? How is that even possible?"
He had been terminally ill since childhood and had lived with the disease all his life. He had hidden it since he was young, and his condition had only worsened over the years.
About a month ago, this same physician had visited and run tests. With a heavy heart, the man had told him the illness was advancing and he might have less than a year to live.
So hearing these new words left Adrian stunned. It felt like a cruel joke. How could his illness suddenly improve—improve so much it might even heal?
"I dare not deceive you," the physician said earnestly. "That is why I ran the tests multiple times to be certain. The results remain the same. Your condition has improved so much, so miraculously, that one would wonder if there was magic involved. Instead of less than a year, it now appears as though three more years—or even more—have been added to your life."
Adrian kept staring, still processing this impossible revelation.
And then, as the physician had suggested, the words echoed in his mind: "...if there was magic involved..."
The thought struck him suddenly and hard. The wizard of El had been with him through the night. Eden had saved him.
Adrian felt a strange, almost wild idea forming.
"The wizard of El is the only magical being known," he thought, his eyes narrowing. "Could it really make sense that this miracle is his doing?"