Chapter 54: The Seer
Lucas paused. He couldn’t exactly tell her the truth, that he had lived another life, in a future where poisons like this had been studied and catalogued. Where elite cultivators had used methods yet to be found in this era. So instead, he offered a believable answer.
"I read a lot," he said simply. "I study old medical scrolls... manuals... I research things others overlook. I don’t like to be caught unprepared."
The Queen observed him closely. Whether she believed there was more to the story or not, she didn’t press. Instead, she nodded. "Good. Then never stop reading. It may be the reason my son wakes up in the next few days."
Lucas bowed his head slightly. "I won’t."
Behind them, Lira quietly adjusted a blanket over Darius’s legs, her movements gentle. She knew better than to speak now, but her pride for Lucas shone in the way she smiled softly at his back.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the castle, the atmosphere had changed.
The King had summoned his personal Pulse Seer, a rare cultivator who could sense emotional residue and spiritual intention from recent events. Using their heightened Qi sensitivity, Pulse Seers could sometimes sense guilt... or lies.
With the entire palace sealed tight, interrogations had already begun.
Everyone, from the highest-ranking nobles to the lowliest kitchen boys was being questioned.
Lucas could feel the pressure mounting from outside the prince’s chamber. And deep down, he knew, saving Darius might only be the beginning. The palace was wounded now. And a wounded palace was dangerous.
Lucas stood beside Darius’s bedside a moment longer, watching the prince’s chest rise and fall steadily beneath the embroidered silk blankets. The pale hue had returned to something resembling color, and the trembling that had plagued his limbs earlier had settled into a deep, forced sleep.