Chapter 49: healing Suzy

Suzy kept her head resting directly against my suit chest, her breathing slow. Her fingers were still tightly hooked into the my shirt, as if she was terrified that letting go would make her fall right back into the darkness.

Victor stood a few paces behind us, his short blade back in his belt, his face full of serious concern as he looked down at the new Queen. "Sir, her core energy is completely weak. Forcing a tier breakthrough like that can permanently tear a person’s inner pathways apart. We need to move her inside right now."

"I know," I said, my voice sounding much lower and more direct than usual.

I looked down at her face. The small line of dark blood at the corner of her lips was dry now, and her eyes were completely closed. I didn’t want to waste time carrying her across the open castle grounds while her internal system was burning up from the forced magic.

I kept my left arm firmly around her waist, keeping her body balanced against mine, while I used my right hand to pull up my status screen panel in the empty air.

’System,’ I called out mentally, my thoughts moving fast. ’Access the premium item store immediately. I need a high-tier royal recovery medicine that can patch up an Ascendant core line right now. Check my current gold balance.’

[System: Accessing the restricted royal vault ledger, Barry. High-Tier Lineage Restoration Fluid is available for purchase. Cost: 50,000 Gold Coins from your local inventory. Warning: This is an unrefined concentrate. It will stop the core from cracking, but her pathways will still need absolute rest and care.]

’Buy it and put it in my palm right now,’ I snapped back.

[Transaction Finalized: 50,000 Gold Coins deducted from local inventory.]

[Item Received: 1x Royal Core Restoration Fluid (Tier 4 Premium).]

A smalll glass bottle filled with a glowing gold liquid appeared directly inside my right hand. I popped the seal off the top with my teeth and leaned closer to Suzy’s, my black hair brushing against her cheek as I held her chin up gently.

"Suzy, drink this," I murmured. "It’s a premium health potion. Don’t fight it, just swallow."

I placed the edge of the glass right against her lips, slowly pouring the thick gold liquid into her mouth. She coughed slightly, her body flinching from the sudden warmth of the medicine, but she managed to swallow the whole bottle. Within a few seconds, the violent shaking in her shoulders began to slow down, and the purple energy sparks that were leaking from her fingertips finally went quiet, disappearing back under her skin.

"The core is stable," I said, letting out a long breath I didn’t know I was holding. I slid my arms completely under her knees and her back, lifting her up into a solid hold against my chest. "Victor, open the rear tower doors. We are taking her to the main palace bedroom."

"Right away, sir," Victor said, running ahead to clear the path. I carried her downof the tower, my steps making a regular sound against the stone as we entered the inner palace corridors. The remaining two thousand wall guards stood in straight lines along the walls, dropping their heads in total submission as they saw me carrying their new Queen through the halls. They looked completely awed by the raw mid-stage Ascendant pressure coming off my muscles, mixed with the total quietness of how I handled her.

We reached the doors of the Prince’s former private room. Victor threw them open, revealing a massive luxury room with tall windows, white marble floor, and a huge bed covered in soft velvet blankets.

Sitting in the corner of the room, tied tightly to a chair with ropes, was an old man with long white hair and gold spectacles. It was the old King’s head royal doctor, who had been captured by our guards when the council hall was taken over yesterday. He was trembling in pure fear, his eyes wide as he looked at me.

I walked straight past him and laid Suzy down gently onto the soft pillows of the large bed. I pulled the blankets up to her chest, making sure she was completely covered and warm, before I turned around and looked at the old doctor.

"Untie him," I ordered Victor . Victor cut the ropes with a quick swipe of his short sword. The old doctor collapsed onto his knees, bowing his head against the floor. "Please... please spare my life, great expert! I am just a simple clerk of medicine! I have no loyalty to the old Prince!"

"Get up and do your job," I said, my voice cold as I pointed toward the bed. "The new Queen just forced a mid-stage breakthrough to save this city. Her core is stable because I just gave her a royal restoration fluid, but I want you to check her physical pathways right now. If she suffers even a single percentage of permanent damage, your entire medical shop gets liquidated today. Do you understand my terms?"

"Yes! Yes, sir!" the doctor shrieked, getting up to his feet. He grabbed a small bag of blue herbs and ran straight to the side of the bed, his hands shaking as he touched Suzy’s wrist to check her pulse lines.

I walked over to the tall windows, looking out at the capital city down below. The streets were quiet now, the news of the Prince’s death and the retreat of the three border kings spreading fast through every trade lane. The corporate takeover was complete, but my chest still felt incredibly tight as I looked back at the bed.

After ten minutes of checking her chest breathing and her pulse, the old doctor turned around, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "She... she is completely out of danger, sir. The gold potion you gave her was incredibly powerful. It repaired the main vein walls instantly. She just needs forty-eight hours of absolute quietness to let her magic settle down."

"Good. Get out now ," I said. The doctor and Victor bowed quickly and left the room, closing the doors softly behind them, leaving the grand chamber completely quiet.

I walked back over to the large bed and sat down on the mattress, my black trousers creasing as I looked down at her face. Now that the red stains were wiped away, she looked completely peaceful sleeping on the pillows. The tough, untouchable guild director mask was completely gone, leaving just the girl who had spent ten years running through the mud to avenge her brother Alan.

Suddenly, Suzy’s eyelids fluttered, and she slowly opened her black eyes. Her vision was a bit blurry at first, but she focused straight onto my face, her fingers reaching out under the blanket until she found the edge of my suit jacket, gripping it weakly.

"Barry..." she whispered, her voice incredibly soft and full of an actual, gentle emotion. "You’re still sitting here."

"A good partner never leaves the main asset unattended during a recovery cycle, Suzy," I said, a small smile finally showing on my lips as I leaned a little closer. "How does you feel now?"