Chapter 65: Incurable Disease

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Incurable Disease

Seeing Lucius suddenly freeze, his eyes devoid of life, without any intention of treating his own wounds, Jeremy began to suspect that this guy’s sensory nerves were constantly disconnecting and reconnecting. Otherwise, why would he act so fragile and on the verge of death when he was sick, yet tear his own flesh apart without blinking when clear-headed?

Just standing there watching him bleed wasn’t a good idea either. Jeremy decisively plopped down onto the chair beside Lucius. He couldn’t be bothered to care whether this neat freak rejected being touched by others; his left hand firmly grasped Lucius’s wrist, while his right hand smoothly condensed Water-element magic.

A cool, crystal-clear stream of water appeared, washing away the glaring bloodstains on the slender hands. After washing them clean, Jeremy took out a box of ointment from his spatial ring, scooped a little with his finger, and meticulously applied it to Lucius’s wounds.

The cooling sensation from the medicine blended with the warmth transmitting from the pad of Jeremy’s finger. Each light touch glided along the pale blue veins on the back of his hand, slid over the pronounced knuckles, and enveloped the trembling fingertips.

Lucius’s eyelashes fluttered incessantly. A bizarre, numbing jolt of electricity ran from his fingertips straight into his heart, causing his breathing to become erratic. It was clearly an unfamiliar touch, yet deep within his subconscious, he had no desire to struggle and break free. Out of a habit of resisting painful hallucinations, Lucius unconsciously bit his lower lip hard, wanting to use physical pain to force himself awake.

But the young man beside him seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, or perhaps the ability to see through someone’s heart. Without bothering to look up, Jeremy dropped a casual threat:

"If you don’t want me to crush your hand, you’d better release that lip."

That damn empathy magic...

Lucius froze. His teeth unconsciously loosened following the command. The space sank into silence for less than two seconds before he opened his mouth slightly, his voice hoarse:

"...Do you know, you are very strange."

Where would you find someone who, after being blatantly used, not only didn’t fly into a rage but also brazenly grabbed the other’s hand to apply medicine? If it were Lucius, if anyone dared to cling to him with such filthy intentions, he would have drawn his sword and cleaved them in half long ago.

Jeremy, who was smoothing out the last layer of ointment, looked up upon hearing this. His eyes curved like crescent moons, intentionally dragging out his tone in teasing: "Is that so? What’s so strange?"

Lucius intended to drop a sarcastic remark that every part of him was strange. But the words that had risen to his throat were forced back down. Because he suddenly realized that the strangest, most absurd person at this moment... was himself.

"There, you see. You open your mouth to criticize others, then clam up." Finishing applying the medicine, Jeremy decisively let go of Lucius’s hand, took a towel to wipe his own hands clean, his face full of incomprehension: "Your body is clearly as fragile as paper, liable to blow away in the wind, yet you love to create more wounds for yourself. Just what kind of unique masochistic hobby do you have?"

"...Let’s just say that."

Lucius lowered his eyes, staring fixedly at his hands that had just been treated. The warmth from Jeremy’s fingers seemed to still linger on his skin, causing his mood to fluctuate wildly. An uncontrollable thought turned into words, slipping out before reason could intervene:

"Besides me... if it were another guy who was injured, would you also personally hold his hand and apply medicine for him like this?"

"Besides you, there is currently no existence in this academy troublesome enough to force me to serve them." Jeremy waved his hand, using magic power to control the coffee cup to fly in front of him, took a small sip, and leisurely asked next: "Come to think of it, that bizarre illness of yours, even the royal elites are helpless against it?"

Hearing the previous answer, the nameless frustration in Lucius’s chest suddenly dissipated by half, and the corners of his lips curled into a subtle arc: "There is no way. Even the old Elf whom you Empire people revere as a Demigod is helpless."

Old Elf? Demigod?

Jeremy frowned slightly, unable to help but be surprised in his heart. Could he be implying the great Spirit Master who had reached the Demigod realm, the one renowned throughout the continent?

It seemed this guy Lucius D’Arsy’s background was absolutely no ordinary one. But if even an existence holding the world’s pinnacle medical skills could not cure it, then this was definitely an incurable, irremediable disease.

Listening to his tone, it seemed he had been tormented by these maddening symptoms since birth. No wonder the subconscious world he saw was such a dilapidated, horrifying graveyard. The noisy sounds and painful hallucinations he mentioned, from a certain perspective, undoubtedly originated directly from a cursed soul.

But why was his body the antidote?

Since the conversation had reached this point anyway, Jeremy decisively leaned back in his chair and played along: "So you just need to get close to me and the symptoms will alleviate? Or do you have to smell that scent you mentioned for it to work?"

"...Just getting close is enough." Lucius lowered his voice. Rather than calling it an antidote, he felt it was more like a mind-bewitching poison, causing people to drown with no way out.

Jeremy rubbed his chin in deep thought for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter: "It seems we grabbed the wrong ’mortal enemies’ script."

Lucius frowned, speechless: "...What nonsense are you spouting again?"

"Nothing." Jeremy waved his hand, secretly finding it amusing. Perhaps reading too many trashy novels in his past life had skewed his thought process a bit: "Just find it quite miraculous. Don’t those best-selling novels usually write it like: You are sick, I am the medicine. This type of curse where one can’t live without the other, if it wasn’t intentionally created by someone, it must definitely be destined by heaven."

Lucius coldly retorted: "Then why did you say it was mortal enemies just now, and not destined by heaven?"

"Um... because logically speaking, that ridiculous romanticism has no chance of happening in reality." Jeremy smirked, his eyes full of cunning: "But looking at this reaction of yours... this is the answer you wanted to hear, right?"

Dejection quickly crept into the corners of Lucius’s eyes. He stayed silent for a long while, then mumbled in his throat: "...It’s still better than suddenly picking up an enemy that fell from the sky."

"Makes sense." Jeremy nodded. Actually, he was also dying of curiosity as to why he had become this guy’s air purifier. But with the current amount of information, absolutely no one could provide an answer. It might simply be a coincidence of fate.

He couldn’t be bothered to make things difficult for himself by ramming his head into unsolvable mysteries. Leaning back in his chair, he raised an eyebrow and teased: "Handing over your fatal weakness to someone else with your own hands, aren’t you afraid I’ll use this opportunity to threaten you, extort your assets, or make you work like a horse and an ox?"

Lucius calmly replied: "How does the Captain want to threaten me?"

"Tell me, perhaps I’ll cooperatively pretend to be terrified for you to see."

Jeremy chuckled, his demeanor extremely lazy: "Haven’t thought of it yet. In short, from now on, you’d better act a bit obedient, listen a bit for my sake. If your attitude is good, who knows, during these few years studying here, I might reluctantly consider continuing to play the role of this self-sacrificing antidote for you."

Lucius’s brow twitched slightly. He narrowed his eyes, emphasizing every word: "Where am I not obedient?"

The second half about being an "antidote" was completely tossed to the back of his mind; his focus right now was solely concentrated on the accusation in the first half.

Jeremy was dumbfounded. This guy...: "Then where are you obedient? Look in the mirror yourself and see if you have even half a word of ’obedient’ attached to you?" With an arrogant, twisted princess temper like a villain, you dare claim you’re obedient? If you want to act, you should at least commit to the role!

Lucius didn’t answer, only jutted his chin and gave a cold snort, expressing his extreme dissatisfaction with Jeremy’s judgment.

Jeremy found it both amusing and speechless. When they first met, at least this guy knew how to feign gentleness, feign submission. Now he had revealed his true colors as a bastard with erratic moods. He knew perfectly well that if he opened his mouth to complain another sentence right now, this brat would definitely throw a tantrum and argue to the bitter end.

To protect the peace of his ears, Jeremy chose silence. He pulled the salad plate towards himself, continuing to finish his midnight snack. What needed to be said had been said cleanly. As for Lucius’s bizarre illness, he had no ability to intervene, nor did he intend to ask for more trouble by investigating the root cause. As for being considered an air purifier or a pain-relief doll... he actually didn’t care either.

Regardless, they were on the same team, and for the next six years, they would have to face each other every day. Whether he hid it or blurted it out, he would still be used anyway. As for whether after graduation, this guy would continue to cling to him for this ridiculous reason...

If Lucius had the capability to cling to him then, he would consider himself too lenient. Thinking too much only adds to the headache; why bother worrying about the distant future and tiring oneself out.