Chapter 39: The Wise, Sage Real (2)
A wise man calls himself a fool.
Well, he's not entirely wrong.
I suddenly remembered the first time I met Sage.
“Pardon me, murderer... if you really value saving lives more than taking them.”
Poisoned eyes, a tightly closed mouth, and a body trembling slightly from head to foot.
His resentment at his inability to share his achievements with the world was greater than his fear of impending death.
He feared being forgotten more than he feared death.
However, he chose to be temporarily forgotten rather than die;
Waiting for the day when “his time will come”—the day when his works will finally be presented to the world.
“Perhaps this is why I, out of nowhere, leaned on that damned girl. She was the only stranger who still remembered me.”
But “that time” never came, and even I—the one who hid it—had long since died.
If I hadn't been reborn into Rachel's body, he might have been buried here in oblivion forever.
“You are not alone anymore. I know, and so does His Highness the Prince.”
At my half-hearted consolation, Sag huffed indignantly: "Huh! And you call that consolation?"
“And when you return to the capital, many will remember you, too.”
"Take it easy. Don't think you'll pass it on with sweet talk. My going to the capital is another matter."
He waved his finger as if to say: I will not be easily fooled.
“If the little prince fails the test, I will not move. Clear?”
“...You mean the test?”
“Exactly. I told you before: He might be my last student. And I can’t take ‘anyone’.”
The sage smiled, showing his teeth.
“You are there.”
Leo, the guide on the way, said suddenly.
“You're not really a priest, are you?”
Edwin was surprised by the direct question.
“How did you know?”
“Sheikh Saj hates priests. If you were real, he would never admit you. Then this fake surgery.”
Leo pointed to the hand covered in plaster.
“It looks convincing from a distance, but up close it is clearly fake.”
“Right… right?”
"Yes. So who are you? And why did you come? Do you think the precious silk you are wearing is...noble or something?"
In front of his sharp remarks, Edwin was speechless.
He cannot reveal that he is from the royal family, and he has no trick ready in mind.
When he stuttered, he feared that Leo would narrow his silence.
"…decent."
Leo saw his confusion and averted his gaze.
"Anyway, wipe away these cheap disguises. They'll disrupt us at work."
“Ah, h… present.”
“And if you don’t want to say why you came, don’t. I’m not curious.”
He showed him the ax hanging on his back.
“Let's get this over with quickly. I have wood to chop.”
Then he went away without waiting for an answer—as if to dismiss him.
Edwin, however, felt strangely comforted by his manner.
They had only known each other for a few hours, and yet Leo seemed closer to him than anyone in the palace.
After standing still for a moment, Edwin quickly followed him.
They said it was hell...
Edwin followed Leo along the stone path that cut through the epidemic village, and then he realized something important:
Not every infected person just waits for death.
"Are you Leo? No work today. Just say hello to Sheikh Saj!"
"Oh, Leo! Is the old man all right? Take this bread I baked this morning—give it to him."
"It's Leo! Brother! Let's duel with our sticks! Duel!"
Despite illness, the people of Luxen lived each day with unparalleled vitality.
Men wrapped in bandages plowing the land, women circling the river washing clothes, and children playing soldiers with sticks.
Ironically, they seemed happier than Edwin himself, son of the Great Palace.
He looked up at the sky; The village sky was a high, clear blue—not unlike the sky of the capital.
His little eyes sank into deep tranquility.
“Ugh…”
Edwin choked on the unbearable stench.
I take back my words—it's completely different.
He blocked his nose and mouth with one hand, and looked at Leo on the other end.
Unlike him - who was disgusted by the smell of waste - Leo calmly wiped the festering pus from the bodies of critically ill patients.
“Our work today: hygiene care for severe cases.”
They cleaned the houses, bathed those who could not move, and changed clothes.
For a prince who had known only those who served him all his life, this was extremely difficult.
The bodies of those suffering from scab disease, which oozed blood and pus at the slightest touch, were beyond the strength of a young prince.
Leo would sigh every time Edwin was about to vomit at the sight of the blisters and pus.
“Just stick to cleaning. You seem to have a knack for it.”
In the end, Edwin was left alone with the cleaning.
He was rubbing the floor in confusion, but his imitation of palace maids seemed somewhat believable.
As he fought nausea as he rubbed, he glanced at Leo who was silently tending to the patients.
Isn't he afraid?
Isn't he afraid of infection? Isn't he disgusted by blood and impurity?
How is he able to care for patients so smoothly?
Leo suddenly looked startled in his eyes.
Unlike him, Leo seemed to be someone everyone around them desired.
Pathetic... I'm not even good at this.
The little one sighed and went back to rubbing.
Why am I not good at something? All I learned is reading and writing—and here it is of no use.
At the same moment, a strange question popped into his head:
What makes me different from those here?
His eyes widened at this sudden thought—without realizing what these questions really meant.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Mmm...”
Leo turned to the boy following him.
Edwin was in a miserable state compared to the beginning of the day;
The hair powder melted with sweat and streaked his face, and his silk was dirty with mud and dirt.
But his expression seemed more determined than it had been at the beginning of the meeting.
Leo gave him a quick look and walked away in silence.
Wow... for a spoiled nobleman, a tough boy.
Cleaning the pus and excreta of patients with scabies is a task that even some visiting priests hesitate to do.
However, the little boy completed everything assigned to him without complaining.
His stomach is weak, and his hand does not obey him... and yet—
Leo had initially frowned at the silk boy, but now he found him unexpectedly bearable.
At this point, his curiosity began to grow about the truth about this little boy.
“Heh.”
"or."
They spoke at the same moment, then looked away in embarrassment.
“You go first.”
Leo scratched his head to make room.
Edwin lowered his head: “Um… sorry.”
"For what?"
Leo was surprised by the sudden apology.
“I…”
He hesitated, then said in a low voice: "I feel that I was of no use today. I did not improve anything, but rather caused trouble."
“Trouble?”
Big word for a kid.
Leo laughed briefly: “Yes, almost. You seem to have had an easy life... not even doing better at what those younger than you do.”
Edwin was not actually living in the luxury of a prince, but he had nothing to say.
“You almost fell into the well while fetching water, you cut your hand cutting the grass, and you tore the laundry instead of hanging it up.”
"…Sorry."
Edwin hung his head dejectedly.
Leo stared at him for a moment, then looked away:
“But you were kind of useful.”
“Huh?”
“You're fine with cleaning. If you get good at one thing, that's enough.”
Leo gave him a light pat on the head.
“There is no need to apologise. You have done enough.”
Edwin's eyes widened: "Really?"
“Yes. When I go around with Sheikh Saj, I find myself cleaning everything...and he gets praise.”
“Ah…”
“Come on, we have to be back before sunset. Move.”
"present!"
Leo smiled for the first time, then turned and walked away immediately.
As Edwin hurried to catch up with him, he muttered:
“Heh... um...”
“What?”
“What were you going to say a moment ago?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Leo tried to ignore the question, but Edwin's urgent look forced him to answer:
“I was just wondering what your true identity was... though it doesn't matter much.”