Episode 55 - Tears of healing ‘The Deep Night’

Deep in the night in the quiet Imperial ward, only sounds of multiple breaths could be heard. Night lights sourced from candles were softly illuminating the silent room along with the assistance of the moon. Aernest and Aeselak remained in a deep slumber, while Ron, Louis, Aedelak were completely wide awake, unable to rest.

It was awkwardly silent, the three knowing that no one was asleep aside from Aernest and Aeselak. Normally it would be Ron Graeme who breaks tense situations, however because of the surgery, his whole upper body was aching in pain even when he was taking the most progressive painkillers available in Xenperia concocted by the Imperial physicians. The 2nd reason why he was unable to break the tense situation was that he was conscious of two girls. Never in his whole life had he stayed this long with the opposite gender before not to mention sleeping in the same room. This made him frozen rigid, unable to do anything but stare at the ceiling.

His mind wanted to stay silent, however, his body didn’t want to cooperate with him. Disturbing the quietness, a weird sounding cough followed by a choke was heard.

“Kuk--”

Ron’s two hands automatically raised up to cover his mouth, wanting to slap himself for breaking the peaceful silence. He closed his eyes in embarrassment, wanting to pretend that it was someone else and that he never choked on his saliva...

After two seconds of awkward silence that followed, a sudden shift was heard. Followed by a sound of a person sitting up; silk sheets slipping and falling onto the floor. The squeak of the bed suggested that it was no longer holding anyone, followed by the person putting on their footwear and then carefully slipping through the dark.

Who else could it be but Aedelak who slightly jolted from the sudden cough that woke her up from her deep thoughts! Afraid that it might be young master Aernest or Aeselak being uncomfortable, she got up a little too quickly, forgetting about her hand and collarbone that were just sutured. Only when she took 2 steps towards the two did she feel a sharp pain, stopping for a moment to recover from the slight ache.

The ward was in a simple set up, having minimal furniture to keep the ward sanitary for those who had their body cut up. Aernest was placed in a transparent crib that blocks sounds from entering. Having to completely isolate himself from sounds, this transparent box was the only thing that could keep his ears safe until they could find a more suitable method. The two deep slumbers were placed at one end of the room while the other three were placed at the other end, being separated by two thin dividers. Louis’s bed being in the middle followed by Aedelak’s and Ron’s on both sides; 1.5 meters from one bed to the other.

Aedelak slowly walked to the cribs of Aernest, afraid that he was the one who coughed from pain. She was older so she could withstand through pain, however, it was different for Aernest who wasn’t even a year old yet. In her head, all she could remember was Aernest being covered in blood screaming in pain and that’s why it scares her. However, when she saw that Aernest was sleeping peacefully without a care for the world, she exhaled in deep relief. Opening the small door to the transparent case, she poked the small hands of Aernest lightly to see if he would respond. Without any signs of being responsive, she only re-tucked him again under his blanket and dejectedly closed the door to the transparent case watching his small body rising and falling under the blankets from the sidelines.

‘It has been 3 days since that day, and he is still not awake…’

Aedelak sadly watched the little baby she had played with since he was born. Remembering Lady Moniqua and Sir Levis' worried faces from early on today; they also being unable to do anything but watch Aernest from outside.

Deeply sighing, she then walked over to her little sister who also hadn't woken up since that day. Sitting beside her bed, she stared at Aeselak’s face full of cuts, slowly shifting her gaze to Aeselak's completely bandaged body before returning her attention back to her face once again. --This one also won’t wake up anytime soon… She had heard it would take half a year to a full year before Aeselak could regain her consciousness.

‘You’re an idiot’

Aedelak poked the cut-free spot on Aeselak’s face, leaving a red fingerprint on her face, followed by flicking her finger on Aeselak’s already injured forehead. The soft sound of thud resonating in the open ward, as she stared at her sister who has grown up before she realized it herself.

‘It’s all my fault…’

If there were any thoughts that popped into her mind frequently, it would be this thought of her having to sacrifice Aeselak for everyone’s safety. She reckoned this would be something that would forever heavily weigh in her mind. Clenching her fists tight, she pondered upon her 2nd most frequent thought...

‘What will I do if something like this happens again….’

Her back displayed an incredibly lonesome atmosphere, the two widely awake boys could only stare at her in silence, unable to see her facial expression in front...

“Kukhh--”

But, of course, the critical patient could not breathe at the moment, choking on his dry throat again as his cough echoed in the silent room. Jolting Aedelak to look behind her.

“.....”

“... Ku…-kh….” 0.0

Ron used both his hands and all his will power to silence his cough, staring with his wide eyes at Aedelak who was blinking at him and Louis, surprised that they were watching her…

“.....” (Louis -.-)

Another awkward silence followed with Aedelak constantly shifting her eyes between Louis and Ron, not knowing what to do, embarrassed to know that they have seen everything she did…

‘... They saw me….....’