Chapter 36 – One Unspoken Truth

Pel sent Reign up to his room, along with Levisia, and soon left. Soon, she was left alone with Reign. A moment later, she was surprised to find Sheila in their company.

“Sheila, what is it?” asked Levisia.

“For some reason, Pel told me to stay by your side?”

“What?”

‘Why did he say such a thing before he went off…?’

Levisia turned around to look at the bed, burying the question at the back of her mind, and saw Reign, who was huffing in Pel’s bed, looking directly at her.

“What is it?”

“Do you know why? I am like this…”

“No, I don’t know.”

Sometime before, she had heard that the second prince had a unique physical condition. Reign was never discussed in detail in the book, so she too did not know much about him.

His eyes swept the room and soon fell on Sheila.

“Will you excuse us?”

It was a question directed at her.

‘Does this mean that he wants to discuss something others shouldn’t know about?’

Levisia’s widened eyes came to face Sheila’s. Then, she mouthed ‘should I leave?’ which left her in thought. Did she need to hear what he needed to say? She wasn’t particularly curious about somebody else’s medical condition, and it seemed to be confidential information, which was all the more reason not to know.

Reign added on in a convincing tone. Her hesitation must have been obvious.

“…It might be related to you.”

“Oh, is that so.”

His words indeed brought a change.

“Sheila, could you excuse us for a moment?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

As Sheila left the room, Levisia turned to look at Reign, who stared at her with a blank expression.

“You can speak freely now.”

“Alright…”

Perhaps it was just an illusion, but his voice sounded shaky.

***

The story Reign told brought surprise to Levisia.

“What do you mean the Fairy Tree is dying?”

“It means exactly what I said. Don’t you think it’s strange that there used to be only one person born with powers per bloodline, but all of a sudden a whole bunch of us are born with it?” Reign paused and took a deep breath. “This weird phenomenon happened ever since the Fairy Tree started to wither.”

“Is it because of the increase in the number of people with powers, that the tree is losing its power?”

“I don’t know about that. It might be the opposite.”

“By opposite, you mean?”

“As it started to wither, it might have felt the danger and started pouring out all its powers.”

Levisia now understood why Reign had requested privacy. To think that he would discuss a matter that could shake the entire stability of the empire.

“Then, Your Highness, what does this have to do with me?” Levisia asked.

Hadn’t the initiator of this conversation been the reason for Reign’s condition? Levisia presumed it would be the focus of their conversation. On the other hand, Reign must have expected a similar reaction as he nodded his head.

“I am not born with any particular skill, but I was born very sensitive.

“Sensitive?”

“Yes, I have weaker survival powers as compared to others so I rely more heavily on the Fairy Tree’s power.”

‘I see. No wonder they say a unique physical condition…’

But as Levisia digested his words, she froze.

“Wait. Then that means…”

“Yes, that’s right. As the Fairy Tree withers, I too will be affected.”

Her eyes widened.

“I wasn’t always this bad.”

Reign seemed to be out of breath from merely talking alone. Levisia presumed that the changes in his health must have been recent.

“It must be hard for you.”

“I’m getting used to it.”

“…..”

‘Getting used to it doesn’t sound like a good thing.’

Reign curled his mouth into a smile, noticing the discomfort which could not be hidden in her face. With the unusually pale face of his, even his smile looked like it would fade away soon.

“Elizabeth is the one having a harder time than me.”

“The Second Princess?”

“Even though she acts like she doesn’t, she cares for me deeply.”

“Ah.”

Levisia was convinced, too. Elizabeth put on a facade of indifference, acting as if she couldn’t care less. It must be why she had run off then.

“She was always like that since we were young. Acting like she dislikes me, but actually looking out for me.”

Elizabeth disliked Reign? Such was a discovery to Levisia. Immediately, like an open book, Reign read her expression and asked, “There were a lot of rumours. Didn’t you know?”

Levisia muttered, “Well I’m always here… and I don’t meet anyone in particular.”

“You’re worse than me.”

‘I really don’t think that should be something to be said by someone who was fascinated by a mere squirrel.’

Reign continued, “I was born with no special power but with a sensitive body. So from Elizabeth’s point of view, who is talented in many fields, she must have thought of me as a hopeless loser.”

Even though Levisia was born with no power, which she was utterly convinced of, she found herself speechless.

“This is when Elizabeth used to consider me to be as worthless as a stone on the side of the road. Then, I was just an embarrassing brother. One she didn’t want to admit being related to.” Reign’s breath faltered as he spoke too much.

“If it’s difficult for you, you can stop talking―”

“No. If I end off like this then I make Elizabeth sound like a bad person.”

From those words, Levisia could glimpse Reign’s intention, as well as his feelings for Elizabeth.

“Then what made Elizabeth change was when the previous empress passed away.”

“Ah.” Levisia was already aware of what kind of figure the previous empress had meant for Elizabeth and Reign. As their eyes met, she noticed a look of deep longing in his tired eyes.

“Yes, she is our mother who gave birth to us. To the public, it was announced to be due to an illness but it is only half correct.”

His remark sent questions to Elizabeth’s mind.

“Mother, no, Her Highness had become weak after using too much of her energy to revive the Fairy Tree.”