The Empress began to laugh hysterically, and evil features appeared on her face. However, Hyacinth paid no attention to those laughs and continued her words, "You're crazy, you've become more like a devil."
Since she became Empress, she had seen herself as a woman envied by everyone, and that her brother was jealous of her because she was beautiful and had a strong personality. For her, everything she did was right and logical, and no one ever objected to her. Moreover, her father was a main supporter, never opposing her requests and decisions, despite her mother's attempts to deter her and change her. Until that day, when she decided to kill the former Emperor, he risked everything to fulfill her wish for her to kill the Emperor and become the Empress, in exchange for a price for everything he had done.
After all that hysterical laughter that filled the corners of the palace, the Empress decided to get rid of Hyacinth and frame her with accusations. Hyacinth had become an obstacle in her way and would gradually begin to change her son and distance him from her....
At Adonis's house…
The air in the room was charged, heavy with unspoken words. The rain outside hadn't stopped, and the sound of drops falling on the windows seemed to try to drown out the harsh truth that hung over the place.
Helibor stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, eyes fixed on the closed room door. He felt suffocated, but tried to hide his tension behind a mask of apparent coolness.
On the other side, Daphne stood, hands clenched at her sides, nails digging into her palms until they almost hurt her, but the pain meant nothing to her compared to the fear and anxiety she felt.
Yarrow and Marshmallow sat in front of the room door, anxiously awaiting the doctor's exit. Yarrow's ears were perked up and his sharp eyes never left the door, while Marshmallow clung to his fur as if trying to calm himself.
When the door finally opened, the doctor appeared, his face tired and his gaze reserved, as if every word he would say could change someone's fate.
Daphne took a step forward, almost gasping, while Helibor asked in a strained voice:
"How is he?"
The doctor sighed, then wiped his forehead with his hand, and said in a low but cautious voice:
"His condition is not stable."
Daphne's eyelid trembled, as if her heart clenched tightly, while Helibor stared at the doctor, his features rigid as he asked in a pressing tone:
"What do you mean by that?!"
The doctor took a deep breath before answering:
"There are traces of a strange poison in his body... unlike anything I've seen before. If you hadn't brought him in time, he wouldn't even have been able to reach here alive."
Silence reigned for a moment, then Daphne's breath suddenly escaped, as if she had been holding it all along. She stared at the doctor, unable to fully comprehend his words.
Then she wrote, "What... what do you mean?!"
The doctor looked at her with tired eyes, then said slowly, as if fearing the impact of his words:
"If we don't find the right treatment soon... he might not survive."
That moment was enough to make Daphne feel as if the ground had collapsed beneath her feet.
She advanced with hesitant steps toward the doctor, her eyes wide with shock, her fists clenched to the point of pain, and she wrote:
"No... no, you're wrong! Adonis is stronger than that! He won't give up!"
But the doctor didn't respond, he just turned his gaze away from her, as if he didn't want to confirm her fears.
Helibor felt fire ignite in his chest, his fist clenched tightly until his knuckles almost turned white, but he forced himself to speak in a steady voice:
"Tell me... what should we do? There must be a way!"
The doctor raised his eyebrows slightly, then said:
"I need time to analyze this poison. It's not natural..."
At that sentence, the atmosphere in the room grew colder, as if the doctor's words carried a frightening curse.
Daphne felt a shiver run through her body, as if an invisible hand had wrapped around her neck, slowly strangling her. Adonis... was targeted?
She couldn't hear any more.
She suddenly turned, then hurried towards the room door, pushing it with trembling hands, as if she feared delaying another second.
And when she entered...
She saw him.
Adonis, lying on the bed, his pale body drenched in cold sweat. His breathing was unstable, his eyebrows furrowed, as if he was suffering from an endless nightmare.
Daphne approached slowly, as if she feared he would disappear before her eyes if she moved quickly. She sat beside him, her hands trembling as she extended her fingers to touch his cold hand.
He was weak... very weak.
Her lips trembled as she moved them soundlessly, unable to speak:
"Adonis... wake up. You can't leave me."
But he didn't move.
She pressed his hand harder, as if trying to pull his soul from his coma by force.
"You promised me... you said you wouldn't leave me alone in this place."
Her breaths were ragged, and her tears began to fall without permission, trickling onto his cold hand.
"Don't leave me."
It was both a plea and a threat... but she received no answer.
Yarrow slowly approached the bed, his nose gently touching his friend's hand, while Marshmallow remained clinging to his blanket, as if trying to wake him with his small touches. But Adonis did not respond.
The atmosphere in the room was suffocating, laden with the smell of medicine, rain, and unbearable anxiety.
With every moment that passed, Daphne wished she could speak. Every part of her heart cried out, wanting to scream, but the words couldn't find their way to her lips.
Adonis was the world to her; in his presence, there was meaning. But now, as he lay on the bed, unconscious, everything around her crumbled. It was as if without Adonis, she had no existence here. She felt like a mere shadow, like a mere reflection of someone else's image.
She sat beside Adonis, her hands trembling as she wrote on the paper with difficulty, as if every letter she spoke in her heart formed a part of her life:
"Please, wake up, Adonis... Please, you are everything to me. Don't leave me."
While Daphne was immersed in those sad moments, Helibor stood in the corner of the room, his eyes lost in space, as if the world around him had stopped. The door knocked, but no one moved. It was as if they were in another world, unrelated to this noisy one. They felt as if time had stopped, and they were together in this moment of isolation.
Then, with a soft sound, the room door opened and Hyacinth entered. Her features were calm, but they didn't hide the anxiety that gripped her heart. She closed the door gently and walked towards Helibor, who remained silent, his eyes drowned in sorrow.
"How is he? What did the doctor say?"
But Helibor did not answer her. His eyes were unfocused, as if they were searching an endless void. He felt something inside him collapsing, but he couldn't express it. He felt the weight of words, as if simply speaking would increase the pain he was experiencing.
Hyacinth approached him, gently placed her hand on his arm, as if trying to touch that broken part of his soul.
"Helibor, are you okay?"
At that moment, Helibor was unable to respond. His sad gaze was enough to tear anyone's heart. His honey eyes were filled with deep sorrow, as if they were drowning in a sea of endless worries.
Hyacinth couldn't hold back; she approached him and embraced his body. She knew that words couldn't reach his heart now, so she gave herself to him and held him tightly. In that moment, Helibor returned her embrace, but he cried bitterly, as if years of pain and injustice had shattered at that moment.
While each of them shared this sad moment, Daphne was in her own world, next to Adonis, but she felt something bigger, as if this narrow world had become shared only between her and Adonis.
As she gazed at his pale face, her tears fell onto his cold hand. She felt as if she was sitting on the edge of a cliff, as if every moment might be his last.
While Yarrow and Marshmallow sat silently beside the bed, the air in the room was suffocating. Everyone seemed to be screaming internally, but they were silent, each resisting the pain in their own way.
Then, when Helibor pulled away from Hyacinth, he looked at her with eyes full of sadness and said in a low voice:
"I'm sorry."