I Became the Cure for the Cursed Prince - Chapter 9

09

Unfortunately, there was no one within the outer walls of Fortress Pretus capable of treating a tiger. Although there was a commercial district for soldiers a short distance away, it was impossible to transport an injured tiger there in the middle of a blizzard.

Even while busily issuing orders to the knights, Lucas held the cub preciously in his arms. Observing this, Sion suggested that Lucas try treating it himself; ultimately, Lucas returned to his room with the tiger.

“It must have hurt so much.”

Lucas placed a hand near the tiger’s nose. Perhaps because he had carried it tucked inside his robes to prevent its body temperature from dropping, it was still breathing, albeit faintly.

With careful movements, he lifted the tiger’s small hind paw and examined the wound. He wiped away the flowing blood with a clean cloth, applied herbs known for their disinfecting and soothing effects, and wrapped it in a bandage.

Perhaps stirred by the sensation of the touch, its tiny ears twitched as it drifted back toward consciousness.

“Oh, dear.”

Lucas moistened a clean cloth with warm water and pressed it to the tiger’s mouth. The cub, still unable to open its eyes, began to lap at the cloth with its tongue.

The sight was as endearing as it was pitiful, leaving Lucas with a strange sensation.

Even though his mind was cluttered with the day’s events, holding the small, warm tiger caused everything to settle into a calm stillness.

‘How long has it been since I felt like this?’

He had Lulu, but even Lulu avoided him occasionally, as if sensing not a curse, but the gloomy, dark atmosphere he exuded.

In truth, all animals were like that. Lucas did not blame them; even he did not think he was the type of person anyone would want to be near. Clad entirely in black with a sharp demeanor and surrounded by ominous rumors, his reputation preceded him.

That was why this encounter with the cub felt so special and precious. He would have to let it go once its wounds healed, of course, but until then, he intended to care for it with all his heart.

Lucas whispered softly to the cub, “The North is a cold and terrifying place. You must be careful.”

A moment later, the sound of the cub’s breathing grew slightly louder.

“Ha, you survived.”

He placed a hand on its chest and felt its heart beating—strong and steady. Only then did Lucas relax. Laying his tired body down beside the tiger, he closed his eyes and mentally listed his tasks for the next day.

Send a messenger to the Imperial Palace as soon as it is light, take the tiger to a doctor, visit the defense unit.

Enveloped in a warm heat, Lucas fell into a deep sleep, not his usual insomnia, for the first time in a very long while.

The next day, Lucas woke up feeling a tightening sensation around his neck. When he opened his eyes, he found a young boy, still covered in soft baby fuzz, clutching his neck tightly.

“?”

Startled, Lucas hurriedly pulled away. Practically flying out of bed and pressing himself against the wall, Lucas stared at the child with a pale face.

The child had been right next to his cursed energy; he should have been standing at death’s door. As Lucas scanned the boy from head to toe, the child’s body began to wiggle.

Then, something shocking happened.

Far from collapsing, the child looked at Lucas, grinned broadly, and let out an exclamation of awe!

“Whoa!”

Lucas stared at the child, his mouth hanging open. A person who did not die despite touching him? Such a thing was impossible.

“Fairy? It’s the fairy! It was not a dream!”

The child sat up and began hopping up and down on the bed in joy, eventually throwing his arms up in a “hooray.”

No, seriously, what is going on?

Speechless from the shock, Lucas finally regained his senses and asked, “Who are you? How did you get in here?”

The child only tilted his head as if he did not understand the question. While locking eyes with the boy’s golden gaze, Lucas suddenly remembered something.

He quickly scanned the room. The tiger that had been sleeping beside him was nowhere to be found.

“The tiger? Have you seen a tiger?”

“Tiger?”

“Yes, a tiger!”

The child raised his index finger, pointed at his own face, and said, “The tiger is right here. Last night, the fairy held me to his chest and brought me here! Why don’t you recognize me? I’m hurt.”

The child, who had been smiling brightly just a moment ago, now pulled a face. His bright red lips trembled as if he were holding back tears.

This child is the tiger? That is nonsense.

Lucas could not believe the boy’s words, but seeing the child on the verge of tears made him feel guilty. What fault did the child have? It was only natural for children to have wild dreams.

So, Lucas began to soothe the child from a distance with a gentle voice.

“Don’t cry. There was an injured tiger in this room, and I was simply worried because a young, vulnerable animal disappeared.”

“Sniff, hic, Waaaaah! The fairy doesn’t recognize me! Waaaaah!”

“No. Wait, little one?”

How could I recognize you when I’ve never seen you before? And what’s this about a fairy?

The words almost escaped him, but Lucas bit them back. He could not make the crying child feel any more dejected, so he decided to play along for now.

“Fine. Now that I look closely, you do resemble the tiger I saw yesterday.”

Only then did the child stop crying and wipe his eyes with his sleeve. He then reached his arms out, asking to be held.

Lucas stared at him, mesmerized.

The eyes moist from crying, the plump cheeks that looked like they would dimple if poked, the peach-like flush, the wiggling fingers. If it were not for the cursed energy emanating from his own body, the child was so cute Lucas would have run over to hug him.

“Yeah! I am the tiger. So hug me like you did yesterday.”

“You are the tiger, but”

As Lucas trailed off with a troubled expression, the child’s cheeks began to twitch again as if he were about to burst into tears once more.

Lucas’s mind was a tangled mess.

There was not just one or two things that were strange. No matter how far apart they were, there was no way a young child would not feel the toxic energy coming from his body.

In fact, if a child that age had stayed in the same room as him for this long, it would be normal for them to have collapsed or suffered a seizure. Yet, this child had slept in the same bed and was even hugging him this morning.

Furthermore, Lucas was currently barehanded.

“Ha, I’m going crazy.”

As Lucas ruffled his hair in frustration, the child, tired of waiting, hopped off the bed. He began to walk toward Lucas on his own two feet.

“Wait a second.”

“Whyyy?”

Lucas backed up until his spine hit the wall. “Does your head hurt? Do you feel like you can’t breathe? Does it feel like your skin is burning where we touched? If so, you must leave this room immediately.”

The child stopped in his tracks at Lucas’s words, appearing to think it over. He put a finger to his lips, pondered for a moment, and then took a deep sniff.

“It smells like vanilla ice cream, so I’m hungry. And”

He placed a hand over his heart.

“My chest doesn’t hurt; it’s going pit-a-pat! And”

This time, he placed a palm against his forehead.

“My head doesn’t hurt either? I feel good. Haaah.”

The child kept sniffing the air, trying to get closer. Though confused, Lucas confirmed the child’s condition was stable. He calmly found his gloves, put them on, and sat down with his back against the corner.

“Little Tiger. I haven’t washed since yesterday, so how about you sit right there instead of coming too close?”

The child stopped immediately and sat down on the rug. Lucas noted that he was remarkably well-behaved for a child and continued.

“Now, let’s go through this step-by-step. Explain how you got here.”

Lucas watched the child anxiously, worried he might cry or throw a tantrum again, when a sudden sense of déjà vu hit him. He felt like he had seen a child who looked like this somewhere before.

Golden hair, eyes of the same color, and a physical development that looked to be about ten years old.

[The First Prince and only legitimate heir, Leon Theian, possessed golden hair that looked exactly like the Emperor’s and golden eyes that resembled his mother’s.]

No way.

It could not be. It should not be. The world was vast; surely there were other children who looked like that? However, even to a stranger, the air of nobility radiating from the boy’s entire body and the thick scent of dark chocolate reaching Lucas, a recessive Omega, left no room for doubt.

This was…

Lucas stood up and hurriedly offered a formal greeting.

“Are you perhaps His Highness, Leon Theian?”

The child beamed and nodded his head.

“I knew it! I knew the fairy would know my name!”

He placed a hand on his chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

“Phew, I was so sad because I thought I was the only one who met you in my dream.”

Well, it was not exactly a dream, but that was not the point right now.

Lucas’s hope that the boy was not the First Prince of the Theian Empire was utterly shattered. The child, unable to take his eyes off Lucas’s face, asked:

“Now that you know who I am, are you going to hug me?”

“Pardon?”

“Hug me like you did yesterday. I’m the tiger with the hurt leg, remember?”

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