I Became a Sick Nobleman

***

“Ruel-nim.”

At Cassion’s voice, Ruel opened his heavy eyelids. 

It was still dark outside the tent, suggesting the sun hadn’t risen yet.

“There’s an urgent message.”

Ruel stared at Cassion with half-closed eyes.

“Treitol Kran is currently heading towards the delegation’s procession.”

“What?”

It felt like a thunderbolt waking him from sleep; he couldn’t comprehend the words. 

He placed his palm on his forehead and felt heat radiating from it.

“Treitol Kran… you say?”

His mind was still sluggish from sleep, making it difficult to think.

“Treitol Kran is approaching the procession of the delegation.”

“Right now?”

“Yes. We’ve been monitoring Treitol’s movements. He’s taking a different route than usual, which confirmed our predictions that he’s heading toward the delegation.”

Ruel quickly sat up, urgency washing over him. 

Leo, who had been sleeping beside him, rolled over with a groggy sound.

“When?”

“The message just came in.”

“Contact Aris.”

“Understood.”

‘Why now, of all times?’

The timing felt all too perfect.

-Cassi… Ruel-nim!

Aris stopped mid-sentence, startled by Ruel’s pale complexion. 

He could sense something was wrong. 

What else has happened?

Aris couldn’t hide his anxious expression.

-Go, good morning! I hope you’ve been well…

“Aris.”

It wasn’t the time to exchange pleasantries.

-Yes.

“Treitol Kran is heading toward the delegation. The shadows will provide the location, so buy as much time as you can.”

-Understood.

“I’ll be there soon.”

Ruel maintained a firm smile at Aris before confirming the communication had ended. 

He then looked around and realized Ganien and Hikars were missing.

“What about Ganien?”

“Ganien went for his morning training, and Hikars went out to deal with the lingering dead.”

Cassion paused before calling out to Ruel.

“Ruel-nim.”

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“Speak.”

“Don’t we need to hurry? Will we meet within an hour, even if we rush?”

“There’s a way.” When Ruel smiled, Cassion didn’t ask any more questions. 

“What’s the situation right now?”

Ruel asked, placing Leo, who had rolled off, back on his lap. 

“The remaining soldiers are searching for Glen Setiria. They’ll probably never find him, though.” 

“And?”

“We’ve spread the rumor that Glen Syria is dead, so the adventurers will soon leave this place in a hurry. Some adventurers who have already noticed the situation are already leaving.” 

It was a good decision.

Rumors have a tendency to spread uncontrollably, and it was only a matter of time before news of Glen’s death became public.

What mattered here wasn’t just the spreading rumor but the fact that Glen was a noble.

The disappearance of Glen in the midst of the assembled adventurers meant that everyone would soon find themselves as suspects.

Since Glen was a lower-ranking noble, the investigation would likely fizzle out with time, but it was wiser to escape before getting entangled in troublesome matters.

“Have you erased any record of our presence?”

“Of course.”

Ruel inhaled Breath as he listened to Cassion’s answer.

It was crucial that no record remained of their presence here. 

Ruel didn’t want to end up indebted to Banios over such a trivial matter.

“We need to leave this place as well.”

“Yes. I’ll go get the two of them right now.”

Before exiting, Cassion took something from a corner and handed it to Ruel.

When Cassion opened the closed lid, a steaming soup and a plate of succulent meat greeted Ruel.

“It’s still warm. Please have some, even if it’s just a little.”

“Alright.”

Ruel smiled at the food, as he had just realized how hungry he was.

“And this…”

—…Huh!

As soon as Cassion pulled something else out, Leo’s eyes shot wide open.

“Ha.”

Ruel laughed in disbelief.

—It’s cocoa! This body knows that smell perfectly!

Attracted by the aroma, Leo walked over to Cassion, his tail wagging enthusiastically.

“It’s cocoa made by Astell. Just in case, I prepared some.”

“Perfect. I just wanted a drink.”

Ruel smiled and accepted the cup that Cassion offered.

—This body too… .

Just as Leo was about to cling to Cassion, he noticed there was only one cup and hesitated. 

He soon glanced at Ruel with his eyes full of anticipation.

The sadness that had been evident since yesterday had not faded. 

In fact, it may have diminished only as much as his front paw.

Leo looked back at the cocoa, licking his lips.

—Ruel will drink it. This… this body doesn’t need it.

Feeling a bit saddened, Leo thought he could willingly give up the sweet cocoa as long as it made Ruel happy. 

Ruel looked at Leo admirably and spoke up, “Is there another cup?”

“Of course.”

Before Cassion could finish his sentence, Leo clung to him.

—Hurry up and give it to this body!

Even without understanding Leo’s words, Cassion could guess from his sparkling eyes what he wanted. 

He lightly tapped Leo on the head.

It was a bit annoying when Leo only clung to him during these moments, but seeing those bright eyes made Cassion reluctantly pull out a special bowl and pour cocoa into it.

“Well then, I’ll be off.”

Cassion took two steps back, bowed, and disappeared into the shadows.

Inside the tent, the only sounds were the soft licking noises and the clinking of forks, knives, and spoons against bowls.

—Ruel.

Leo lifted his face from his bowl and looked at Ruel.

“What is it?”

—This body wishes you wouldn’t hold back so much. Both you and this body are too sad.

Contrary to his words, Leo’s tongue was darting out to lick the cocoa off the corners of his mouth. 

Ruel chuckled at the sight.

‘Of course, I can’t hide anything from Leo.’

Since Leo was aware of his own feelings, no matter how hard he tried to conceal them, he couldn’t truly hide them.

“Leo.”

Ruel set down the fork he’d been holding.

It was definitely delicious, made by Cassion, but he couldn’t fully taste it. 

He was deeply shocked by what the Great Man had done to take over his body and how he had played along.

—Speak.

“Only you know how I feel.” 

Leo’s eyes widened.

—Is it alright if this body asks why only this body should know?

“…Um.”

Ruel struggled to respond.

—Is it hard to say?

“Yeah. I think so.”

Slowly, Leo approached and rubbed his head against Ruel.

—This body can listen to anything. So say whatever you want when you’re ready.

“Okay.”

Ruel smiled as he stroked Leo’s soft fur.

He almost blurted out the scary truth, forgetting that Leo’s mouth was so loose, but it was okay to hold off for now.

“Later. When I really can’t take it anymore, I’ll definitely tell you.” 

Ruel spoke again as if making a promise.

Leo smiled.

—Alright. This body can wait anytime!

Seeing Leo head back to his food bowl, Ruel also took a sip of his cocoa. 

“…Ha.”

It was sweet.

Thank goodness.

It seemed his sense of taste had returned.

Ruel closed his eyes for a moment to savor the sweetness filling his mouth before swallowing.

Treitol Kran was heading towards the delegation.

According to previous investigations, he was a kind prince who didn’t crave power and cared about his brother. 

But unlike when the delegation was sent from Kran, this time he was coming under the pretext of a farewell.

‘There are two possibilities.’

Either Treitol Kran was the Great Man or he was not. 

If he was not the Great Man, it meant he had something urgent to convey.

‘Conversely, if he is the Great Man… then it’s to verify whether or not I’ve been involved in this matter.’

A smile crept onto Ruel’s lips.

The current position of the delegation and his own location had more than a day’s difference.

Since they probably already knew that there was no wizard in the delegation who was good enough to use teleportation magic, they probably decided that they couldn’t travel long distances.

That left one clear fact:

Ruel Setiria wasn’t in the carriage!

‘What should I do?’

Ruel happily took a bite of the meat stew, the juices bursting in his mouth, finally making him feel alive.

‘They likely don’t know that one can move without a mage.’

The existence of a door that could open anywhere was probably unknown to them.

Ruel synchronized his mana flow and opened his mouth.

“Jan.”

***

‘I hear a sound.’

Aris fidgeted with his hands at the sound of horse hooves.

Had Treitol arrived sooner than expected?

The carriage was still empty inside.

Torto, who had escorted Ruel on the way to Cyronian, was again in charge of this journey.

Knowing that Ruel wasn’t inside the carriage, he cast a glance at Aris.

‘He hasn’t arrived yet.’

Aris shook his head, growing anxious as he repeatedly peeked into the carriage.

As the dust kicked up by the horses drew closer, the knights unsheathed their swords and formed a protective stance around the carriage.

Torto stepped forward and called out to those dismounting from their horses.

“Please identify yourselves first.”

“I apologize for coming without prior notice.”

As a man dismounted, those who had accompanied him followed suit.

The knights scrutinized them sharply.

One of the men who dismounted approached Torto and presented a token.

“This is His Highness Treitol Kran, the second prince of the Kran Kingdom.”

Torto carefully examined the token before bowing deeply, “My apologies for not recognizing you, Your Highness.”

The other knights followed suit and bowed their heads to Treitol.

“No need to apologize. I did not give any prior notice,” Treitol Kran replied, turning his gaze towards the carriage, “Please convey my apologies to Lord Setiria.” 

“As you wish.”