Howarth looked at Josselyn, lying with her eyes closed on the bed. Her breathing was steady now. Too steady for someone who had just lost control.
"She fell asleep?" he muttered, then scoffed. "How selfish."
He pulled the blanket up and covered her body.
"After all that chaos, she looks more like she passed out."
A knock sounded at the door again.
Howarth grabbed a white satin shirt from the floor and put it on in a hurry.
"Oh, hey, Kael. What is it?" Howarth asked casually as he opened the door.
"You're here? Where's Josselyn?" Kael asked.
His gaze moved from head to toe, stopping at the open part of Howarth's shirt. Then he tilted his head slightly, glancing past Howarth's shoulder.
Howarth chuckled. He raised his hand and leaned against the doorframe, blocking Kael's view.
"She's exhausted from the journey. Let her rest first," he said lightly.
Kael did not respond immediately. His eyes stayed fixed on Howarth.
"I came to bring news. Sebastian is awake," Kael said. "The village healer has treated him. His condition is stable."
Howarth let out a breath of relief. "That's good."
Kael shifted slightly, trying to find a better angle to see inside the room. "She's not coming?"
Howarth patted Kael on the shoulder. "Don't push her. She needs to save her energy for tomorrow."
Kael nodded without arguing. "When I left her earlier, she didn't look well."
Howarth stepped out of the room, closing the door very quietly behind him.
Before moving away, he paused for a moment in front of it.
"Kael," he called. "Make sure no one disturbs Josselyn's rest."
Kael frowned. "Are you ordering me?"
"No," Howarth replied lightly. "Just suggesting."
Kael exhaled. "I'll have a few strong men stand guard in front of the house."
"Thank you," Howarth said with a bright smile.
They began walking. The corridor was quiet, nothing out of the ordinary. Still, Howarth glanced at Kael from time to time. It was clear from his expression that something lingered on his mind.
"You're making me uncomfortable," Kael said, noticing the look.
Howarth chuckled. "Sorry, I'm just curious about that 'energy transfer' you mentioned earlier."
"What do you want to know?"
Howarth shrugged.
"Anything." He leaned slightly closer, hands clasped behind his back. "Especially how it affects the one acting as the medium."
Kael turned his head quickly. "Did something happen?"
The silver-haired man with the low ponytail shook his head at once.
"Nothing. She…" The memory of Josselyn's soft moans echoed in his ears. "She's in a very… interesting condition."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Interesting?"
"Yes. A girl should be weak after a long journey, yet she still managed to fight off bandits…" Howarth forced a smile. "Isn't that interesting?"
~
Sebastian's room was not far from the main house. Howarth entered without knocking.
"Come in," a weak voice called from inside.
Sebastian sat on the bed, his chest wrapped in bandages. His face was pale.
"After Josselyn touched you, you slept like a baby," Howarth said.
"Yeah, and that was enough to restore some of my energy," Sebastian replied.
Howarth pulled up a chair. "How do you feel?"
"Weak," Sebastian answered. "But much better than before."
"Pain?"
"Less now."
"Good. So that 'energy transfer' had quite an effect," Howarth said.
"Energy transfer… I didn't expect that ability to still exist," Sebastian murmured.
"It's not rare. It's just that here, in the Kingdom of Valenroth, they choose to hide it," Howarth explained at length.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow.
"Very different from Edevane." He turned his face away, his expression shifting. "Not having power in Edevane is a disgrace."
"Don't bring that up again," Howarth said quickly.
Moonlight fell across part of his brother's face, revealing the sadness in his eyes.
Howarth drew a long breath. He had not expected Sebastian to still be sensitive about that topic. All this time, Sebastian had worked to prove his worth without any supernatural ability, and he had succeeded. That was why they were now in the Kingdom of Valenroth.
"Josselyn…" Howarth tried to change the subject. "Something seems off about her after acting as the medium for that energy transfer."
Sebastian turned to him. "Off?"
Howarth shrugged.
"I don't know. I'm not sure if I should look into it or not." He stood up and walked toward the drink cabinet in the corner. "You know, we'll only be here briefly, in Valenroth. Just until we manage to sell more spinning tools. That's the only reason we came to this remote village."
Howarth ran his fingers over the tall bottles, each labeled differently. "They prepared this in every guest room? I didn't see anything like it in Josselyn's room."
Sebastian watched him. "You went to Josselyn's room?"
"No," Howarth replied quickly. He said nothing more, but his thoughts remained behind that closed door.
Sebastian's gaze sharpened. "You're lying."
Howarth picked up a dark glass bottle. "I only met her at her door and… took a quick glance inside from the doorway."
He lied. He had no choice. He still did not understand the consequences of what had happened earlier in Josselyn's room.
For now, we just need to focus on securing an agreement with the villagers, he told himself. This village is more fragile than it looks. And its people are easily provoked.
He grabbed a bottle opener from the corner of the shelf and uncorked it.
'And make sure you recover, Sebastian,' he added silently, pouring the wine into an empty glass.
"Howarth, you need to attend the village meeting tomorrow," Sebastian warned.
"Kael told you?"
Howarth seemed unconcerned as he drank.
It had been a long day. The bandits, the journey from the palace, and several unexpected things. Josselyn's sudden aggression had been unlike anything he had seen from her before.
And what unsettled him most was that it had left him hanging in unfinished desire.
"Yes. He said we need to understand the situation. It will make our goal easier," Sebastian replied.
Howarth drained his second glass. The bitter, tingling taste of alcohol made him frown.
"Why is he helping us? He's one of the villagers too," Howarth asked.
He recalled his conversation with Kael in the corridor. A man in his early forties, if his guess was right, explaining the villagers' divided opinions about the palace.
'Too bad I can't hear his thoughts. But his expression makes it clear he doesn't fully welcome us,' Howarth thought.
He poured another glass.
"Howarth, that's your third," Sebastian said, displeased.
Howarth raised his glass instead. "Want to try it? This village has excellent wine."
Sebastian sighed softly. "The healer said there's still poison in my body."
Howarth fell silent.
"He said it's inactive for now. But it could react if triggered."
"What kind of trigger?"
"Not clear yet. He said it could be something like emotion, stress, or… something that introduces foreign energy."
Howarth frowned slightly. "Wine isn't foreign to you."
"Howarth." Sebastian looked at him sharply.
"Alright, alright, Mr. Rule Follower," Howarth replied with a crooked smile.
Suddenly, a loud knock echoed at the door.
The two brothers exchanged glances.
"Why do people in this village love knocking on doors so much?" Howarth muttered.
Sebastian ignored him and simply shook his head.
"Come in," he said.
A soldier opened the door and rushed in, breathing heavily.
"My lord… there's trouble."
Sebastian straightened slightly. "What is it?"
"A group of villagers… outside the house. They seem angry."
Howarth set his half-full glass down hard on the table, almost slamming it. The red liquid splashed onto his slender fingers.
"Ah, so it's begun."