It seemed that the summit meeting was to be held with the Desert Kingdom.

Likely, the order was to infiltrate and investigate the situation of the Nix Empire.

Perhaps it was his brother who gave that order?

A sibling with such exceptional talent as to contract with a Spirit King would have been a threat.

‘It looks like they hoped I’d be caught infiltrating and die here, but what can I do? I suppose I’ll have to save this fellow.’

Blood had pooled in the water bowl. Since I couldn’t use something so unsanitary, I immediately discarded it and wiggled my finger.

“Fresh water.”

At that, clean water rippled and filled the bowl. It was the spirit’s help.

I dipped a handkerchief in it, wrung it out, and started by wiping away the dried blood.

I hadn’t expected to be in this situation, but I was glad I had accepted the handkerchief Derek handed me earlier.

After cleaning around the wounds, a breeze blew in from somewhere. Seeing the herbs the wind brought, I quickly sorted out the usable ones from the rest.

“Hey. This is poisonous, isn’t it? Are you trying to kill this child?”

The boy, who had been on high alert, had already lost consciousness.

‘That’s fortunate.’

I hurried to move my hands before this child woke up and caused another commotion.

I set splints where bones were cracked and wrapped bandages where blood still seeped through. In doing so, I unintentionally discovered that the boy’s body was covered in countless scars.

I frowned at the sight of the skin around his shoulder blades and spine, which should have been smooth like desert sand dunes, being in such a mess.

‘At this rate, he’s no different from a battle slave.’

No, even battle slaves aren’t treated like this at this age.

It was common sense that fully grown adult slaves were more expensive than young ones. So slave traders didn’t bother sending those who weren’t fully grown to the battlefield.

But this boy must have been forced to fight from a very young age, solely because he was born with threatening abilities.

Yet it seemed he hadn’t even received proper treatment.

“Hey, water. Aren’t the descendants of the Sun God supposed to rarely get injured? I heard that even if they do, they heal quickly with proper treatment.”

Seemingly reluctant to answer my call, the water droplets moved about erratically. At that, I raised an eyebrow and pointed at the boy.

“You’re not going to treat this?”

The threat worked easily.

The now compliant water droplets formed letters in the air.

Although it wasn’t a difficult sentence to understand, I had to read it several times because I couldn’t comprehend it.

How could this precious bloodline be treated in a way that he couldn’t even receive treatment?

I glumly applied medicine to the scars as well. Even though I knew it was useless for such old scars, I did it out of pity for this boy who had been driven to death over and over until he finally ended up here.

“If it were me, I wouldn’t treat you like this. I take very good care of what’s mine.”

Muttering softly, I crushed herbs with anesthetic effects to extract the juice and applied it to the areas with serious injuries. It’s rather fortunate that he’s unconscious, as I need to stitch up the large wounds.

After taking a short deep breath, I skillfully moved my hands.

Being naturally combative and fond of fighting, I had stitched my own wounds countless times. It might be awkward at first, but after doing this sort of thing for about 200 years, you can suture without even thinking about it.

‘But that’s only when it’s my original body…’

Now it requires quite a bit of concentration.

Finally, after finishing treating the last wound, I stretched, rolling my stiffened shoulders.

I’m not sure how much time has passed outside. Everyone must be very worried.

“…Ah, but what should I do about the coat?”

It was already soaked in blood, so I couldn’t wear it out again.

Moreover, the bigger problem was my dress.

I looked around at my disheveled state and made a troubled expression.

Derek and Mrs. Berthold will probably faint, and I have no excuse to give.

‘What should I do?’

As I sat down roughly, feeling exhausted, water droplets bubbled up and swirled around me.

“Ah, are you trying to help? Thank you.”

The spirit’s skill was indeed remarkable. From the sleeves to the fluffy fur trim at the hem of the skirt, everything became clean in an instant.

Relieved, I flopped down on my back.

It’s not exactly befitting behavior for an empress, but this is how I used to live.

There’s nothing wrong with behaving as I used to when there are no eyes watching, right?

I’m incredibly tired after saving one dying human.

“Wake me up after I sleep for a bit. Let me sleep for just an hour…”

Spirits are quite convenient.

If only it were possible, I’d like to contract with a Spirit King too, but there’s no way a demon could do that.

As I was pondering such pointless thoughts, I curled up and patted the boy’s shoulder.

Perhaps because too many things had happened, sleep was creeping up on me.

* * *

‘My body feels lighter.’

How much time had passed? The boy who opened his eyes abruptly first checked the condition of his body.

His fingers moved normally, and his thighs felt strong.

Judging that he could stand up at this rate, he slowly raised his upper body.

As expected, there was pain, but it was minimal.

It was an injury that would have required others to recuperate for a full month, but the boy’s recovery ability was extraordinary. Moreover, his pain threshold was lower than others, so there was no reason he couldn’t move.

Water droplets hastily gathered around such a boy. They were sent by the Spirit King who had contracted with him.

“I’m fine.”

The boy, Mereum, did not smile. He simply didn’t know how to smile.

Instead, he reached out towards the water droplets. It was to pat them.

“Mmm…”

But at that moment, another voice that shouldn’t be heard in this space rang in his ears.

If the water droplets hadn’t blocked his view at that moment, he would have mistaken her for an intruder and killed her.

“…You say she treated me?”

Thanks to the spirit’s explanation, he withdrew his killing intent, but he didn’t lower his suspicion and vigilance.

After all, there’s no way an ordinary person could enter the Spirit King’s subspace.

“……”

But how should I put it? As he glared at the peacefully sleeping face for a long time, Mereum felt like a fool.

The woman was fragile.

He could feel the carotid artery pulsing. The flow of blood was slow, and the sound of her heartbeat was barely audible. As if it could stop at any moment.

Skin as white as snow that would melt instantly in the slightest sunlight, slender wrists. Even her small build.

She seemed like a woman who couldn’t even take care of herself, let alone harm him.

Feeling dazzled by her deep golden hair, Mereum frowned for no reason.

‘Strange woman.’

Come to think of it, this fur coat wasn’t his.

She must have laid him down here and treated his wounds. Then fell asleep from exhaustion.

Having made a slow but clear judgment, Mereum stood up from the fur coat. As the water droplets cleaned the coat thoroughly according to his will, Mereum carefully lifted the woman.

She was so light that it felt like she might fly away at any moment, and Mereum had to unnecessarily put strength into his arms.

“Did this woman kiss my forehead?”

After laying the woman down on the now blood-free coat, Mereum suddenly asked that question. She had said something strange about a goodnight kiss being the price for treatment.

However, the water droplets dispersed. It meant ‘no’.

‘She said she would treat me first, but that wasn’t a lie?’

It’s unexpected.

Mereum had never met anyone who didn’t lie.

He didn’t have to look far; even this mission was like that.

Plopping down next to the woman, he stroked his chest, which now had only faint red lines as traces of wounds that had almost healed, and gritted his teeth.

He ended up like this all because of his half-brother.

His mission was to infiltrate the imperial palace of the Nix Empire before the summit meeting and obtain top-secret information about the empress.

In the Desert Kingdom, the emperor’s orders are absolute, and disobedience is unthinkable. To prove one’s loyalty, one must take on and complete five missions given by the emperor.

The children of noble houses are usually given safer missions, but Mereum, who had no backing due to the absence of his mother, was always given dangerous tasks.

Still, Mereum didn’t complain.

He knew well how much his half-brother, the emperor, was wary of him.

He was a double-edged sword.

Too valuable an asset to kill because of the Spirit King, yet too dangerous to keep close, so he was sent far away in hopes that he would die on his own.

Mereum had desperately survived even when sent across borders to volcanic regions or when he had to visit snow fields.

There was no one to welcome him when he returned, but still, Mereum had to go back to the Desert Kingdom.

Because he had nowhere else to call home.

Of course, even that was about to disappear due to a sudden …

Mereum tried to erase unnecessary sentiments from his mind as he rubbed his face dry.

If he keeps killing and killing and killing his emotions, surely one day he’ll become unable to feel anything. That day will definitely come.

As if making a vow to himself, he soon recalled the one who had left these wounds on him.

‘That guy was a monster.’

All the preliminary information given to Mereum about Nix was bogus. The internal map of the imperial palace was also completely fake.

He never believed it in the first place, but because of that, he ran into the emperor while wandering around the palace. Despite being as careful as possible to erase his presence, somehow the guy knew and swung his sword at him without hesitation.

After blocking the first strike, the emperor looked surprised but soon unleashed an incredible amount of divine power and launched a flurry of attacks.

He managed to save his life thanks to his excellent physical abilities and reflexes, but he was injured so severely that he couldn’t possibly return to the desert, so the Spirit King created a barrier to protect him.

‘That was already three days ago.’

The guy was ruthless in his actions and didn’t hesitate to take lives. There wasn’t a trace of vitality in those pitch-black eyes.

‘If we had fought in the desert, it would have been an even match.’

Indeed, one’s power weakens significantly when leaving their home country.

Mereum, who had been clenching and unclenching his fist repeatedly, gazed down at the soundly sleeping woman.

Her peaceful face strangely gave him a sense of calm as well.

Even though he knew that hell awaited just one step outside this space, was it because for the first time in his life, he was with someone who didn’t wish for his death?

For Mereum, who had never once heard that it was ‘okay for him to live’, the fact that someone had treated and saved him was a kind of great shock.

“This goodnight kiss, is it just pressing lips to the forehead?”

When he asked in a low voice, worried she might wake up, the water droplets all burst into clear laughter at once. Mereum growled fiercely, pretending to be angry at the laughter that seemed quite teasing.

“Don’t laugh. I’ve never done it or received it.”

Just imagining it made his whole body itch. The nape of his neck felt hot, and he wanted to run away somewhere immediately.

He couldn’t understand at all why people put their lips on others, but a deal is a deal.

He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his lips to the woman’s smooth forehead.

He couldn’t breathe.