Chapter 57: Accompany Me As My Guide.
Zane immediately frowned at Ethan’s words, the playful amusement disappearing from his expression for a moment.
"And why would you have to do that?" he asked. "You don’t owe him anything, do you?"
"I know I don’t," Ethan replied, his brows knitting together as he struggled to explain what was bothering him. "But I might have caused this in the first place. If Drey really can’t be Guided by anyone else because of what happened when I Guided him, then maybe I’m partly responsible for what he’s going through now."
Zane stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. "Whether you are responsible or not, you shouldn’t be beating yourself up over it. For all you know, my cousin could be lying just to get closer to you."
Ethan let out a soft laugh at the absurdity of the suggestion. "That can be ruled out. We both dislike each other."
Something flashed through Zane’s eyes at Ethan’s response, something hot and strangely intense that Ethan couldn’t quite understand. It disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared, leaving Ethan wondering if he had imagined it.
"Well, it’ll be better that way then," Zane said with a faint smirk. "Less competition for me."
Ethan’s eyebrows shot upward.
"What do you mean by that?"
Zane merely shrugged, looking far too casual for someone who had just said something that strange.
"Take it any way you want, pretty boy."
Ethan’s eyebrows scrunched together as he stared at him suspiciously, but after a moment, he decided not to push the matter any further. There were already too many confusing things surrounding Zane, and Ethan wasn’t sure he wanted to add another one to the list. Instead, another question that had been bothering him since he first learned about their relationship came to mind.
"You and Drey are cousins, right?"
Zane glanced at him.
"Yeah."
"But you two don’t act like cousins at all." Ethan shook his head. "Honestly, I would’ve thought you were rivals with some long, deep-rooted family feud between you two."
Zane gave a small, knowing smile.
"Well, who knows? Maybe you’re right."
He paused before casually adding, "Besides, not all cousins get along, do they?"
Before Ethan could question him further, a knock sounded against the door.
The door opened almost immediately, revealing Riley. Unlike the cold, almost hostile looks she had given Ethan when they first met, her expression this time was mostly neutral as she stepped into the room, casually munching on an apple.
"The Empire and Military personnel you requested have arrived," she reported. "Military Head Sir Frank said you better have a good reason for deploying his people despite the ongoing attack he’s currently trying to handle."
"Hmm?" Zane hummed, looking completely unbothered. "He said that?"
Riley nodded.
Without a second thought, Zane reached over and took the apple directly from her hand, biting into the exact spot she had been eating from before casually handing it back.
Ethan stared.
Who casually shared fruit like that?
Well, he shouldn’t have been surprised anymore. Zane was apparently incapable of behaving normally.
For all he knew, the two of them could actually be dating.
It would certainly explain why Zane had been comfortable standing practically naked in front of Riley when Ethan first walked in on them, and it would also explain why Riley had seemed to dislike him from the very beginning.
Ethan quickly pushed the thought aside.
"Yeah he did," Riley continued, taking another bite from the apple as though nothing unusual had just happened. "He said you better make good use of them and return his people to him quickly, or else..."
She deliberately left the threat unfinished.
Zane chuckled, clearly understanding exactly what Sir Frank had meant.
"Alright, then. We shouldn’t keep the old man waiting."
With that, the three of them left the dormitory and made their way toward the infirmary.
By the time they arrived at Rin’s ward, the atmosphere was completely different from Ethan’s last visit.
Several Empire healers and military medical personnel were already gathered around the infirmary, their expressions grim as they reviewed reports and monitored the injured Sentinels. The tension in the air was almost suffocating, and even Ethan could sense how serious the situation had become.
Zane led Ethan toward the group of healers who had been summoned.
One of them, a middle-aged man called Dr. Marcus Vale standing with tired eyes and silver threaded through his dark hair, immediately stepped forward.
"Lord Valcrest."
"What’s Rin’s condition?"
Marcus expression became grim.
"Among the injured Sentinels brought back from the rift, he’s currently the most severely corrupted. His corruption has spread considerably deeper than the others, and his spiritual core is already showing signs of extreme instability."
Ethan’s heart immediately tightened.
"How bad is it?"
Marcus glanced briefly at him before looking back toward Zane. "He is in the worst possible state. If we don’t intervene soon, there’s a serious possibility that his body will begin rejecting his own spiritual energy completely. Once that happens, he may lose consciousness permanently."
Ethan’s heart skipped.
"Then do you have a way to handle it?"
Dr. Marcus, glanced toward Ethan but didn’t answer immediately, as though he wasn’t certain whether the question was directed at him or whether Ethan even had the authority to be involved in the discussion.
He eventually turned his attention to Zane and opened his mouth to respond, but before a single word could leave him, Zane’s voice cut through the room.
"He asked you a question, didn’t he?"
The temperature around them seemed to drop.
Dr. Vale immediately straightened.
"Yes. Yes, he did."
He quickly turned toward Ethan.
"In a case this severe, ordinary Guiding won’t be enough. The corruption has already spread too deeply, so we need to perform simultaneous Guiding. Multiple compatible Guides will have to enter his mental sea at the same time and suppress the corruption from different points while stabilizing his spiritual core."
Ethan listened carefully, his hands tightening at his sides.
"And that can save him?"
"It can stabilize him," the healer corrected. "If we act quickly enough, we may be able to prevent the corruption from progressing further and give his body enough time to recover."
Ethan listened carefully, his mind immediately returning to what Drey had told him earlier about all the Guides who had exhausted themselves trying to Guide him.
"And the Guides?" he asked.
"We’re already helping them recover their spiritual energy," Dr. Vale explained. "Once they’re stable enough, we’ll begin the simultaneous Guiding immediately. It is the best chance we have of preventing Rin’s condition from worsening."
Zane nodded immediately.
"Then start."
Marcus didn’t hesitate.
"Yes, Lord Zane."
He immediately turned toward the other healers and doctors and began issuing instructions, ordering them to prepare the Guides and begin the simultaneous Guiding as soon as possible.
Ethan watched them disappear deeper into the infirmary before finally releasing the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding.
At least Rin had a chance now, a real one.
For now, that was enough.
Zane placed a hand lightly against Ethan’s shoulder, drawing his attention away from the ward.
"Come on. Let’s go"
Ethan followed him out of the infirmary, and the two of them eventually reached the entrance where Adrien and Riley were already waiting.
Adrien stepped forward the moment he saw them.
"My lord, we’re ready to depart now."
Zane nodded before turning his attention toward Ethan.
His expression was calm, but his crimson eyes remained fixed on him.
"I’m planning to leave now, Ethan."
He paused, giving Ethan one final moment to think.
"Have you made your decision already? Do you plan to accompany me or not?"