The drawing room was a chaotic mess of scattered documents and panicked breathing, and Fainyx sat perfectly still on the soft sofa with bright crimson blood staining his chin and his pale hands, while the rest of his family completely lost their minds around him.
The heavy oak doors slammed open so hard they bounced against the stone walls, and Michael the physician rushed inside with his medical bag swinging wildly at his side.
"Your Grace! I came as fast as I could!" Michael shouted, his eyes immediately widening in horror as he saw the stark red blood splattered across the pristine white wool blanket covering Fainyx's lap.
"Michael, do something!" the Duke demanded, his voice trembling in a way that completely shattered his usual imposing and cold demeanor. "He suddenly coughed up blood without any warning! Please, you must help him!"
"I will examine him at once," Michael said quickly, dropping his bag onto the carpet and dropping to his knees right in front of the sofa. "Please remain still, young master."
Fainyx didn't move an inch, his violet eyes blinking slowly and calmly as Michael's hands began to glow with a warm and cozy aura that immediately sank into Fainyx's chest. The physician closed his eyes and concentrated, sweat forming on his forehead as he carefully traced the flow of mana and the condition of the boy's internal organs.
Adam stood off to the side with his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white, while Liam continued to sob openly, hiding his face in his hands.
A few long, agonizing minutes passed, and then Michael slowly opened his eyes and pulled his glowing hands away. His expression was not one of horror, but rather of deep, absolute bewilderment.
"Well? Is the illness accelerating?" Adam asked, his voice tight with fear. "Is it spreading to his lungs?"
"No, Young Master Adam," Michael said slowly, a deep frown settling on his face as he looked from Fainyx to the Duke. "That is the strange part. His condition is not getting worse, but it is not getting better either. Internally, his body is exactly the same as it was during my last examination."
The Duke stepped forward, his massive shadow falling over the sofa. "Then why is there so much blood, Michael? A child does not simply cough up this much blood for no reason!"
"The Hollow Constitution Syndrome is a complete mystery to medical science, Your Grace," Michael explained, his voice careful and steady as he wiped the blood from Fainyx's chin with a clean cloth. "Because we do not fully understand how it affects each individual person, we cannot predict its course. This sudden bleeding... it must simply be one of the unpredictable and random effects of the illness."
Fainyx sat there and listened to the physician's completely logical but entirely incorrect medical diagnosis, and he let out a long, dry sigh inside his head.
'It is not an effect of the illness, it is the effect of the terrible, bitter medicine Ruth made me drink,' Fainyx thought as he looked at the worried faces surrounding him.
'I actually feel incredibly refreshed, like a heavy weight has been lifted off my lungs.'
Wanting to de-escalate the situation so he could go back to his lazy afternoon, Fainyx reached for his small notebook on the side table, his bloody fingers leaving faint red smudges on the cover. He picked up his charcoal pencil and wrote a single line with neat, deliberate strokes.
[ It doesn't hurt at all. Please do not worry. ]
He held the notebook up so they could all see it, expecting them to finally calm down and stop treating the drawing room like a funeral parlor.
Instead, the reaction was the exact opposite of what he intended.
Liam let out a loud, heartbroken wail and threw his arms around Fainyx's waist. "Fainyx! You don't have to pretend to be strong for us! It's okay to say it hurts!"
Adam looked away and bit his lower lip, his green eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "He's putting on a brave face so we won't worry," Adam whispered, his voice cracking with heavy guilt. "He is enduring the pain all by himself..."
The Duke looked at the notebook, and his face crumpled with a mixture of immense pride and devastating sorrow. "My brave son," the Duke murmured, gently resting his large hand on top of Fainyx's silver hair. "You will not suffer alone anymore."
Fainyx stared at them with his perfectly neutral mask, but his internal monologue was screaming.
'I am literally telling the truth! I feel completely fine! Why does every single thing I do become a massive tragedy in your eyes?!'
"The young master needs immediate rest," Michael instructed as he packed up his medical supplies. "He should not be allowed to exert himself in any way until we are sure these bleeding episodes have stabilized."
"Agreed," the Duke said with absolute finality. He looked down at Fainyx with a strict but gentle gaze. "You will be placed on strict bed rest. You are not to leave your room, and you will be watched at all times."
And just like that, Fainyx was carefully carried back to his bedroom by the Duke himself, tucked under a mountain of heavy blankets, and placed under the suffocating, watchful eyes of his two brothers.
For the next few hours, Adam and Liam refused to leave the room. Adam sat in the corner reading a book but glancing up every ten seconds, while Liam sat right next to the bed, offering Fainyx water and snacks every time Fainyx so much as blinked.
It was exhausting, and Fainyx just wanted to close his eyes, but then his gaze drifted past Liam's head toward the window, and his heart gave a sudden, sharp jump.
The ceramic pot where he had planted the large seed from the Aetherium apple was sitting in the sunlight, and because it had been exposed to his dense and incredibly rich mana over the past few days, it was sprouting at an alarming and completely unnatural speed. He had hidden it with his magic, and it seems that it's still hidden well.
"Are you looking at the window?" Liam asked, leaning over and following Fainyx's gaze. "Do you want me to close the curtains? Is the sun hurting your eyes?"
'Hm... Deja Vu...'
Fainyx quickly shook his head and wrote on his pad.
[ The sun is nice. ]
"Okay," Liam smiled, gently patting the blanket. "If you need anything at all, just tap my arm."
Later that afternoon, the heavy oak door of the bedroom slowly swung open, and Master Yong strolled into the room with his usual unhurried, casual grace. His black hair was slightly messy, and his dark eyes swept over the overprotective brothers before landing on Fainyx.
"I heard my favorite student had a rather difficult afternoon," Yong said loudly, his voice echoing in the quiet room with a tone of perfect, practiced concern. "I came to check on his condition."
Adam stood up and gave a polite but stiff bow. "Sir Yong. Fainyx needs to rest, so please keep your visit brief."
"Of course, Young Master Adam," Yong said pleasantly, offering a charming smile. "I only wish to offer him some words of encouragement."
Yong walked over to the bed and leaned down closely, pretending to inspect Fainyx's pale face. Adam and Liam gave them a tiny bit of space, stepping back toward the door to give the teacher and student a moment of privacy.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Yong's concerned expression vanished, replaced instantly by a wicked, amused smirk.
"I heard you put on quite the dramatic show," Yong whispered, his voice so low only Fainyx could hear it. "Coughing up blood in the middle of the drawing room? You really know how to terrify your family, don't you?"
Fainyx looked at him with flat, unimpressed violet eyes and reached for his notebook, writing a quick, sharp line.
[ It was an accident. And it is the medicines fault for making me vomit blood. ]
Yong let out a quiet, muffled snort of laughter, clearly finding the entire situation hilarious. "Ruth warned you it would happen. But look on the bright side,"
Yong whispered, gesturing to the luxurious pillows and the hovering brothers. "You finally got that lazy, pampered life you always wanted. You literally don't have to lift a finger."
Fainyx glared at him internally.
[ I am suffocating. Please make them leave. ]
"No can do, kiddo." Yong smirked, tapping the edge of the bed.
"This is your mess. But I'll teach you a quick, cleaning spell later tonight so you can clean up the blood before they see it next time."
Yong stood back up and cleared his throat, his face instantly shifting back to a mask of deep, respectful concern. "Rest well, Fainyx. We will resume our history lessons when you are fully recovered."
"Thank you, Sir Yong," Liam said gratefully as Yong walked toward the door.
As the door clicked shut behind his terribly unhelpful master, Fainyx sank deeper into his pillows, staring at the ceiling as his brothers resumed their suffocating guard duty, and he realized with a heavy, internal sigh that his peaceful life was still very, very far away.