Chapter 106

Kinaine tried to tiptoe out of the room without waking the sleeping Asad. But before he could take three steps, his body floated up.

"There's a threshold right in front."

His floating body landed on firm thighs. At the same time, his shoulder felt slightly heavier. Asad seemed to have rested his chin there.

"Where are you going alone when you can't see?"

"...You seemed to be sleeping well."

"I've been awake since you got up."

"Ah."

Kinaine smiled awkwardly. Being unable to see, he couldn't even tell if the person lying right beside him was asleep or not. Well, at least he wouldn't feel this discomfort for long, so should that be considered fortunate?

As he swallowed the bitter joke inwardly, he felt something near his buttocks. It wasn't difficult to identify what it was. He already knew that dragons experienced morning physiological reactions like others.

Come to think of it, Asad's breathing seemed to have grown slightly rough.

'Will he do it?'

If it was rut aftereffects, his body would still be craving an omega.

But contrary to Kinaine's expectations, Asad didn't push him down onto the bed. Instead, he simply lifted him up.

"...Let's go bathe."

Asad spoke in a strained voice. His patience was clearly felt.

Before the dragon could use magic, Kinaine grabbed his collar.

"Lord Asad, you don't need to do this."

There was only one reason the dragon was taking care of him like a servant - guilt.

But Asad didn't need to feel such emotions. It had been Kinaine's choice. Moreover, his body was continuously breaking down anyway, so something like this would have happened eventually even without the demonized dragon.

"What will people think? The selection isn't even over yet, this could cause unnecessary misunderstandings."

"What would they think? That the dragon must be mad to personally bathe a mere human."

Asad chuckled as if finding his own words amusing. Usually, just imagining someone pointing fingers at him would have made him angry, but strangely now he didn't mind. Was it because he had slept properly? The waves that had endlessly surged in his heart seemed to have finally calmed.

"Everyone already knows I'm mad anyway, so it doesn't matter."

Who could stop a dragon when he was being stubborn? Finally, Kinaine was thoroughly bathed in the medicinal bath while held in his arms.

Knowing it was useless no matter how much care was taken, Kinaine felt sorry for Asad's efforts. Though this medicinal bath had excellent healing properties for wounds and illnesses, it couldn't solve Kinaine's fundamental problem.

His senses were disappearing and he had gone blind - what would be next?

Would he lose the use of his legs? Would his tongue become paralyzed?

Then Asad would think that was his fault too. He needed to leave before that happened...

"Lord Asad, are you here?"

Just then, a booming call was heard from far away. It was Jet's voice.

"The leaders have come!"

"What, this early in the morning."

Though Asad grumbled as if displeased, he couldn't ignore the leaders' visit and got up.

Soon Kinaine was changed into clean clothes and moved to his quarters.

"Stay put. Don't go out and fall."

Before leaving, Asad cautioned him several times. His attitude was like dealing with an accident-prone child.

Since he had no intention of going out, at least not for four days, Kinaine readily nodded.

"Yes, I understand."

However, at that time he didn't know. That a situation would arise where he had no choice but to break Asad's warning.

How long had it been since Asad left? The quiet palace suddenly became noisy. On the second floor, Kinaine listened downstairs wondering what was happening. Hearing several voices, it seemed someone had come.

Soon Ramu came up the stairs with news.

"Lord Nine, the bride candidates have come to visit."

It seemed the bride candidates had returned to the dragon palace too. Coming here specifically... must be because they knew about his condition. Since Asad had called doctors from everywhere, rumors had likely spread already.

"Ramu, come here and help me?"

"Yes, Lord Nine."

The careful footsteps soon stopped in front of Kinaine.

"..."

The winged tribe girl, afraid of the dragon, couldn't even raise her head properly when he was nearby. Because Asad had stayed all day yesterday, this was her first time clearly seeing Kinaine's condition today.

Though she had heard he couldn't see, actually seeing the unfocused black eyes made tears suddenly pour down.

"Don't cry, Ramu. I'm fine."

Though he couldn't see, somehow knowing, his closed lips opened and a calm voice flowed out. Having been caught crying, there was no need to hold back anymore. Ramu asked between sniffles.

"Can you really not see?"

"That's right."

"But how did you know I was crying? You can see a little bit, right?"

"I can't see anything. I just had a feeling you were crying."

Though blind, he could still sense others' negative emotions. Reaching toward where sadness flowed abundantly, he felt the girl's soft hair.

"If the guests see, they'll think I scolded you."

"Hic, how can you be so calm right now?"

He heard the rustling of cloth, perhaps wiping tears. Fortunately, the girl didn't cry long. Seeing the person himself remain composed seemed to help her calm down too.

Kinaine waited until Ramu settled before speaking.

"What if we put something over my eyes? Since my gaze doesn't focus, it might make others uncomfortable."

He had made a similar request to Asad as soon as he realized he was blind, but it had been dismissed with "why bother covering them?"

But with guests coming, he felt he needed to cover his eyes. Though it didn't matter to him since he couldn't see, it wasn't the same for others.

Moreover, among the visiting guests was someone who would be pained seeing his condition.

Soon after, Ramu wrapped soft cloth around Kinaine's eyes.

"Is it uncomfortable?"

"No, it's fine. Thank you."

"Hold my hand. I'll guide you. ...You'll need a cane to walk around from now on."

The last words were close to a whimper and took some time to understand. A cane would certainly make things easier.

'A cane, huh.'

He was destined to be buried before his hair turned white. So he had thought he would never have any connection to canes, but life really was unpredictable.

Kinaine followed Ramu's guidance down the stairs. The murmuring voices grew increasingly clear.

"My goodness, even the beasts I raise wouldn't sleep in a place like this."

"Ugh, it's so cramped here I can hardly breathe. I need to get out right now."

Familiar voices - Biche and Prim. Kinaine felt Ramu's hand tighten. Though she didn't particularly like this place either, it seemed she was upset hearing others criticize it.

"Is this the time to say such things? Nine really..."

Following was Ilya's voice.

Kinaine deliberately made footsteps to let them notice him. Since he couldn't see, it was better for the others to spot him first.

His intention seemed to work as the endless voices suddenly cut off like a thread.

Soon he heard running footsteps. Though he hadn't been blind long, Kinaine had realized everyone's footsteps were different. Perhaps with a little more time, he would be able to distinguish people just by their footsteps.

The sound now was light and quick, like a small animal running. The owner of these footsteps must be...

"Nine!"

Because he called out to him, Kinaine knew his guess had been correct.

Ilya, who stopped in front of Kinaine, made no sound. Like Ramu just before.

Though he had worn the blindfold thinking they would be sad, it had little effect. In the end, Kinaine had to work up quite a sweat consoling Ilya.

After Ilya stopped crying, Prim and Biche also offered words of comfort. They seemed to genuinely regret what had happened to Kinaine. No deception could be felt in their words about sending him good medicine or introducing skilled doctors.

But soon as the conversation turned to resuming the selection, the atmosphere changed.

"...Nine, I feel sorry about what happened to you. But I won't go easy on you for that reason."

Prim's voice was heavy, as if showing his resolve.

"Our tribe absolutely needs the power of the 'first wish.'"