Her Graceful War Song

Once inside the inner chamber, the curtain fell, and Sebastian immediately grew more serious. "No intimacy," he said firmly. "No indulgence. Do you understand?"

Rafael's ears turned a deep red. "It's... not that serious."

Sebastian's expression remained stern, his tone unwavering. "It is necessary."

Carissa's heart sank as she realized the situation might be even more dire than she had suspected. Sebastian continued, "There are many people outside, and not all can be trusted. That's why I didn't say much earlier. Your wounds haven't healed yet, and it seems you've been through an illness as well. The cold has seeped into your body, deeply damaging your internal organs. If not for your inner force, you might not have survived that fever.

"However, using that inner force to push through has cost you dearly. You're severely weakened now, and your energy is nearly depleted. If you don't take proper care, you might lose your abilities altogether, and your life expectancy will be shortened. I'm speaking gently, but it's worse than I've said." Carissa's eyes filled with tears as she looked at Sebastian. "Is it that bad? Will rest really help him?" "Only time and rest," Sebastian replied. "I'll come to check on him every few days. And don't let too many people know about this. Right now, he can't really tap into his inner force, and there are those who might take advantage of this weakness."

Rafael was already aware of his condition, and he had hoped to hide it. Now that Sebastian had laid everything out, there was no point in pretending.

He tried to reassure Carissa, "It's nothing. I'll listen to Sebastian. I'll be fine soon."

Carissa, unable to hold back her sorrow, struggled to find words. After a long silence, she finally managed to ask, "Where is he injured?"

"In the lower abdomen, near his core," Sebastian answered. "A blow to the core means he couldn't use

his inner force. However, he had no choice in that situation. He had to push through."

He sighed.

"At that time, the medicine was scarce, wasn't it?"

Rafael took Carissa's hand in his and replied, "When we were on Mount Whitemist, many fell ill. After several battles, there were even more injuries. Medicine was in short supply, so when I was hurt, we could only scrounge up a couple of doses."

Carissa's mind began to fill with images of the suffering Rafael had endured.noveldrama

She insisted on having Sebastian examine the injury, her hands trembling as she began to unfasten Rafael's clothes. There, just below his abdomen, was a wound.

It wasn't large, but it was deep, right in a critical area, and the surrounding tissue had been affected. The wound had scabbed over, but the skin around it was red and swollen, with a ring of yellow pus forming around it.

Sebastian had anticipated that the wound hadnthealed yet, but seeing the redness, and pus surrounding it, he furrowed his brow. "This needs to be drained, or the infection will spread. I'll have to make an incision to let the blood and pus out"

Wanting to put Carissa at ease, Rafael agreed to whatever Sebastian suggested. "Please, do what you must, Sebastian."

Not wanting Carissa to witness the procedure, Rafael subtly signaled to Sebastian.

Understanding the unspoken request, Sebastian turned to Carissa. "Why don't you go prepare the medicine? We wouldn't want anyone to mix up the prescriptions. You'd be best at it. Start with the one for his external injuries first."

Carissa replied, "I'll get someone to handle it. I'll stay..."

Sebastian cut her off. "Are you not

going to listen to me? If you're not going to listen, then I won't treat him. I'll need to drain the infection, and it will hurt. With you here, he'll be too sensitive about it. How am I supposed to work like that?

She looked at Rafael, worry in her eyes, and her steps faltered.

Sebastian's voice sharpened. "Go, now. Have Rowan bring the medicine. He's holding the medicine chest.'

With a reluctant nod, Carissa turned. "Fine, I'll prepare the medicine."

Before leaving, she ignored Sebastian's presence and crossed the room to embrace Rafael. "Endure it, I'll be back quickly."

Rafael gently brushed a strand of hair from her face, his voice soft. "It's alright. Go on. I'll be fine."

She stepped outside to call for Rowan, who had just gathered all the herbs. The medicine chest on his back was large and packed with a variety of ingredients, so there was no need to make another trip to Arcane Sanctum.

When Violet heard Carissa planned to prepare the medicine herself, she decided to accompany her. Lulu and the others followed as well-there was no way they would let Carissa do it herself.

While Violet and the others helped brew the medicine, they gently pulled Carissa aside to ask about Rafael's condition. When Carissa mentioned the possibility of him losing his martial abilities, Violet gasped.

"It's that serious? If a martial artist loses their skills, how are they supposed to live?"

How many early mornings and late nights of hard training had it taken Rafael to reach this level of skill? If he lost it all, not only would it be

en

unbearable for him, but the fear that Sandoria's people had for him would

diminish considerably.

"I just hope all their sacrifices were worth it, and that it will bring us a century of peace," Carissa said

quietly.