Chapter 274: Late to the News

No matter how he looked at it, Talitha and Abigail were roped up into this mess because of him.

Neither has any problem with Chester, Barbara, or even the academy.

Abigail was forced into a hard situation because she has a connection to him—becoming bait to be used and discarded. She believed she was setting up the trap for Kai, which was the sole reason why she decided to tell him that she was forced.

But as it turns out, she was the trap itself, not only the bait.

Chester already planned to use her to accuse Kai of a crime, or perhaps he changed his initial plan of ambushing Kai when he somehow learned that Abigail snitched. Either way, Abigail was a victim of the situation.

As for Talitha, she had it even worse.

She must’ve searched for Abigail, too, when she learned that she went missing.

And through bad luck, she stumbled across Abigail before Kai.

Of course—it wasn’t that Kai was in the wrong, as the situation was simply bad luck. He was going to clash with Chester either way. Just that he wasn’t expecting Chester to go with dirty tricks to get to him.

Either way, there was still guilt in Kai’s heart, and he hoped that the two were fine.

Before long, Kai found himself standing in front of the infirmary.

A grey-masked Angel had told him where to go, and now the door loomed before him, silent and white. He took a deep breath to brace himself, the air cold in his lungs—and then pushed it open.

As he pushed, the hinges groaned softly, and the scent of herbs and old blood blew into his nose.

Kai stepped inside, his heart heavy in his chest, and then closed the door behind him.

He scanned the room and saw a few beds, two of them covered by a cubical curtain, and there was a shadow inside each. Then, he shifted his gaze and saw the healer in charge of this particular infirmary.

It was the healer he first saw after returning from almost being assassinated.

Right now, she was sitting on her desk, facing against the wall.

Even though Kai was already standing right by the door, her attention never left the chocolate bar. She slouched against the desk, cheek propped lazily on her left hand—and snapped off a piece before flicking it into her mouth.

"Can you come back tomorrow? It’s already late."

She waved her hand lazily, telling whoever it was behind her to go away for tonight.

Instead of engaging with her shenanigans, Kai went straight to the nearest cubicle curtain.

His hands trembled as he gripped the edge of the curtain.

Slowly, he took another deep breath to steady himself, and then pulled it open.

And the sight that greeted him beyond the door broke something in his chest.

Talitha lay on the bed, pale as a ghost—so pale she almost matched the white sheets beneath her. Her long blue hair fanned out around her head, but even that seemed dimmer now. Like she was a blue cornflower once and now she was withering.

Her eyes were closed.

Her chest rose and fell with breaths so shallow, so weak, that Kai couldn’t hear it.

The bed was far too large for her small frame, swallowing her up like a coffin lined with silk. But she was alive. Barely. Kai had thought of the worst while he was being tortured, thought that he had lost her.

Fortunately, she survived.

Kai approached slowly, making sure his steps were light so as not to disturb her.

He had seen Talitha so many times before, always tense and always nervous. Her face twisted with that constant worry that she might displease him somehow, as if he would ever be angry at her, given how kind and understanding she was.

Of course, he knew why she looked at him like that.

It was because she was technically his servant, and losing that title would doom her.

Regardless, now, her face was peaceful. Relaxed.

And somehow, that was worse.

Just the absence of her nervous but kind energy made her look smaller. More fragile.

He dropped to his knees beside the bed and took her hand in both of his.

It disappeared completely—swallowed by her larger palms. She was not petite in the magical way of some supernatural beauty of female characters in a love story. In fact, Talitha was quite tall for the average woman.

She was small because she was simply a normal human.

Small and breakable.

And the reminder of that fragility cut him deeper than any blade.

"Talitha," Kai whispered, his voice barely audible. "I’m here."

For a long moment, nothing happened.

Then, faintly, her fingers twitched inside his grip. A tiny, almost imperceptible movement.

But it was answer enough for him.

A smile broke across Kai’s face, and he held her hand a little tighter, as if he could anchor her to the world of the living—anchor her so that she did not fall to the underworld through sheer willpower.

Just then, a shadow shifted on the curtain across from him.

The fabric rustled, and then the curtain opened.

Abigail stood there.

Her body was wrapped in bandages, layer upon layer, covering almost every inch of her bare skin. Some were tinged deep pink where the wounds still seeped. But she was standing. Her eyes, though shadowed with exhaustion, were open and aware.

As a Supernal, her vitality was immense.

Even though her wounds were worse than Talitha’s, she was strong enough to survive them.

Seeing her upright, breathing, and alive was proof of that.

Kai spared Abigail a glance, and then focused on Talitha again. "You survived. That’s good."

"W-What...?" Abigail’s eyes snapped wide. Her gaze fixed on the blood-red dragon mask, shifted to the insignia on his uniform, and then to the crimson mantle that draped over Kai’s shoulders. The pieces clicked together all at once, and the truth crashed into her. "Kai... You-You won the tournament?"

"Are you doubting that I’d win?"

"N-No. Not at all. Just that... it’s still surprising that you did."

"Yes, I won. Barbara is dead. Chester is dead. And Ragnar is about to be dead."

Abigail sucked in a cold breath.

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Just winning the tournament was already enough of a shock. But the sheer fact that nearly all of Kai’s enemies were dead? That was something else entirely. She wanted to really believe he was lying, as killing students was forbidden, especially now—but the crimson mantle he wore left no room for doubt.

Moreover, he had no reason to lie.

Instead of dealing with her shock, Kai lifted the blanket over Talitha’s body.

And then he saw that the stab wound on her stomach was still open.

Bandaged, but it was still really wet.

Kai’s face turned grim as he realized Talitha and even Abigail weren’t properly treated.

Before Abigail could get a word out, the healer swept the curtain aside and planted both hands on her hips, glaring at the group with open annoyance. "Didn’t I tell you to leave and come back tomorrow?!"

She ignored the atmosphere that lingered in the air and decided to glare at Kai and Abigail.

Ignored the fact that Kai was not in a good mood after seeing Talitha’s condition.

Slowly, Kai rose from his knees.

He turned to face the healer—and his cold eyes bore deep into hers.

"Hm?" The healer frowned when she saw the clothes Kai was wearing, but she also recognized Kai even through the mask. "Lesser Angel—is that you? I have a great sense of smell, so don’t even bother acting like you aren’t the Lesser Angel."

Brazenly, she approached Kai and then leaned forward at him, eyes squinting sharply.

She looked him up and down.

"Where did you get all of these fancy things? Don’t tell me... Did you steal them?" The healer stabbed her index finger hard into Kai’s chest. "You do know that stealing and impersonating a Red Prince carries a severe punishment, don’t you? And for a Lesser Angel, the lowest of the low, that punishment doubles. "You’d suffer a fate far worse than de—?!"

Swoosh—!

Suddenly, the crimson mantle on his shoulders flickered with fire.

The healer never saw it coming. A wall of fire and force erupted between them and slammed into her like a physical blow, hurling her backward before she could even scream. She hit the ground hard, a choked cry tearing from her lips as pain lanced up her spine.

Her head snapped up, eyes blazing with fury.

Anger rose from her core, but it died in her throat the moment she saw what was happening.

In an instant, the entire walls of the infirmary were engulfed in flame.

Heat rolled through the room in suffocating waves, and yet it didn’t spread randomly. It was focused, and it was aimed directly at her. Sweat beaded on her skin, and her breath quickened as the temperature climbed.

She looked toward Talitha’s bed and saw the barrier shimmering around it.

An insignia was protecting her from the fire.

Kai placed the insignia in her palm when he realized the healer was about to make trouble.

And now, he stood motionless—his cold eyes fixed on the healer with an expression that was neither rage nor cruelty. The mana radiating from him was so faint it was almost non-existent, and yet the fire obeyed him completely.

Flames licked along the walls, crawled across the ceiling, and danced in the spaces between.

An ember drifted down and landed on the healer’s shoulder.

It seared through her white coat, and she yelped, swatting at it as the fabric smouldered.

Only then did she finally see Kai for who he was. The crimson mantle he was wearing—it was the original Eventide Mantle of Lifeblood. This was not a trick or theft. Kai was actually using the original one.

Nobody could steal the original one, as it was secured through layers of tight security.

And there are also defensive mechanisms that would hurt anyone who tried.

Simply put, stealing the original Eventide Mantle of Lifeblood is impossible.

Naturally, for Kai to wear it, that can only mean he was a Red Prince.

He became the Red Prince and was bestowed the title by being draped in the original over him.

For some impossible reason, the Lesser Angel was crowned as this year’s Red Prince.

Her blood ran cold.

She remembered now—the distant roar of the students, the rumours spinning around, as well as the announcement she hadn’t bothered to listen to. Too lazy to care. Too transfixed by her phone while the world shifted on its axis.

She hadn’t believed it.

She hadn’t thought it was possible.

Now, the impossible was standing over her—and she had picked a fight with it.