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Chapter : 23 Even if It’s Just a Practice Run (2)
I had forgotten.
‘People connected to the Crown Prince and the Duke’s family… can’t possibly be ordinary…’
At the very least, they would be nobles—and among them, there was a very high chance they were royalty. Why hadn’t I thought of that? I was being held in my father’s arms, glaring sharply at the back of Raven’s head.
‘It’s all because he’s so good with words that he doesn’t even feel like a kid!’
At first, he clearly hadn’t intended to accept my request. But somehow, not only did he agree, I even ended up begging my parents that I absolutely wanted to do it.
On top of that, I had only said I wanted to try treating one of Raven’s acquaintances—but somehow, my parents were already discussing where to build my hospital.
It wasn’t like I had decided on my future career yet. It was just something I might want to do someday.
Childhood dreams and future aspirations change several times a day, don’t they? I simply thought it wasn’t a bad idea since I happened to have a talent for it. If I needed to support two children who wanted to get jobs in the future, I’d need to earn money.
Unlike how Raven had framed it, my intentions weren’t anything so noble. It was fine to rely on my parents, but I just wanted to earn enough not to feel like a lazy unemployed person.
Let’s live in a complicated world simply.
Even if I had the rare ability to heal beastfolk, I didn’t have some noble ideal of healing everyone in the world.
That was impossible anyway. I wasn’t some great god—I was just a human.
But as much as I could, as far as I could reach, I wanted to help those I could… that was all. It was only natural. And if I could make some money along the way, even better.
Raven said the same thing—he told me to treat it as practice, something casual.
But…
“Welcome, Duke Wentworth. I’ve heard the situation.”
“You don’t need to bow, Marquis Valter. I’m only here because I accepted my daughter’s request.”
“Please come this way.”
What is this atmosphere?
‘Why am I in the Imperial Palace?’
I know who I am… but where am I?
Raven and my parents were the type to act immediately once they made a decision. Raven had come to visit right after I finished lunch in the early afternoon—and now it was barely 4 PM, and I had somehow left home for the first time in my life and ended up in the Imperial Palace.
My parents and Raven… what kind of execution speed is this?
When I first rode a carriage, I was just happily thinking, “Wow, the ride is terrible!” because it was my first outing in life, even if it happened by accident.
I had no idea where we were going, but since my parents were coming too, it couldn’t be dangerous, right? I just thought it was somewhere outside the house…
But when I got off the carriage, I saw a mansion so luxurious it rivaled anything in textbooks. Everything was so dazzling that I couldn’t even look straight at it—and then my father told me this was the Imperial Palace.
Every hallway… the floor, walls, and ceiling—was it all gold? Seriously?
I couldn’t look closely because my father was carrying me quickly, but if the interior was meant to overwhelm people, then it had succeeded.
Noticing my stiff expression, my father looked me in the eyes.
“Are you nervous, Shana?”
“…a little.”
Raven didn’t miss the moment and pinched me.
“You’re just visiting my home. Why would you be scared of visiting a friend’s house?”
“It’s my first outing, Raven idiot.”
The Marquis Valter walking ahead twitched his shoulders. Raven, noticing that I had become self-conscious, said in an unsatisfied tone:
“Don’t worry about others. You’re my friend.”
“But…”
“Rather than worrying about irrelevant people, pay more attention to me.”
My father laughed softly at Raven’s words. My mother, walking beside us, said:
“It seems His Highness is craving your attention, Shana.”
“So our Shana’s favorite is Daddy, right?”
“Kyle, are you trying to start a fight here? Shana’s favorite is obviously Mom.”
You two are embarrassed, so stop it.
I sighed inwardly. I thought they wouldn’t act like this outside—but they were exactly the same.
Raven added:
“Both of you are out of luck. Unfortunately, Shana’s favorite is someone else.”
“What did you say?”
“Your Highness, I cannot let that statement slide.”
Marquis Valter’s back looked more and more pitiful. I pretended not to hear the conversation, feeling sorry for him.
Sorry that the Duke couple and the Crown Prince are like this…
“Too bad, but Shana’s favorite is the newly adopted puppy. Right, Shana?”
“Huh?”
Wait, why are you asking me now?
“Evelyn is your favorite, right?”
“No, huh?”
“Unless you lied to me, I must be correct.”
My mother and father asked gently, “Shana? Is that true?”
“Eve is nice…”
“More than Mom?”
“More than Dad?”
“How am I supposed to compare that?”
There’s no comparison to be made.
“That uncle is here too… I’m embarrassed…”
“What’s embarrassing about wanting to hear your daughter say she loves you most?”
“We’re confident, Shana.”
“I’m the one who’s embarrassed…”
I held my forehead with my hand. This was all Raven’s fault. I glared at him, and he grinned.
“I told you there was no need to be nervous.”
I had been tense in this unfamiliar place, but seeing my parents and Raven made me feel like it didn’t matter where I was. My parents would always be the same, and as Raven said, this was just a friend’s house…
“……”
That thought scares me. Humans really are creatures of adaptation.
Soon we stopped in front of a huge door. I buried myself deeper into my father’s arms.
The door was so large I had to tilt my head all the way back to see it, and yet it felt dark and eerie. Even though it was decorated with gold, the atmosphere felt gloomy.
“Your Majesty, it’s Raven.”
What?
A moment later, the door opened. Raven entered first, and while I stood there shocked with my mouth open, my parents followed him inside.
Wait, hold on.
You said this was practice. You said to think lightly about it!
‘That’s your mother, Raven, you crazy bastard!’
Don’t say it so casually!
*****
“Ten days ago, she suddenly collapsed. We brought mages and high priests, but…”
Marquis Valter bit his lip.
“No matter whether it is a powerful curse or a deep illness, there has been no improvement at all.”
Raven stood alone beside the massive bed. It looked as if no one else was around him. Even I occasionally forgot because of his irritating face, but he was still just a child.
“I suspected as much.”
“We have kept it secret until His Highness is officially named Crown Prince, but…”
“There’s a limit to how long rumors can be suppressed.”
Raven, we can hear you, adults…
‘Is this some kind of fated destiny for the prince?’
High status brings problems, and low status brings problems.
In my previous life, I lived in a country without an official class system, but even Korea had invisible social hierarchies—people divided by smaller, more trivial standards.
‘Does Raven have a father?’
There was no emperor in sight. Feeling sorry for Raven standing alone, I wriggled out of my father’s arms and dropped to the floor.
Then I trotted over to Raven.
Good thing I wasn’t wearing squeaky shoes. If they had made noise in this quiet room, I would have died of embarrassment.
Raven stared at the pale hand sticking out from under the blanket. It was so pale it looked almost blue.
‘It looks like my mother’s hand.’
My mother, who had been bedridden in the hospital for a long time.
I hadn’t seen her very often. My father was always busy taking me to the hospital, and I often stayed at relatives’ or my father’s friends’ houses. It was hard to even say I missed her.
And even when I visited, she was rarely awake.
My father’s face as he looked at her lying there… and Raven’s face now… felt somewhat similar.
I couldn’t stand it and grabbed Raven’s hand.
Raven startled and looked at me, and I held his hand tightly as I declared firmly:
“Trust me!”
“……”
“I’ll definitely… save you!”
I was relieved my speech wasn’t too slurred this time. Raven, who had been expressionless, looked at me with widened eyes—and then smiled faintly.
“You’re going to save me? You?”
“Yeah! Me!”
……
Raven looked down at the hand I was holding. I didn’t know what he was thinking, but I was satisfied that he wasn’t laughing at me.
“I can do it!”
“You don’t have to. Just treat it like practice, remember?”
Despite his light tone, his grip on my hand did not loosen.
“Don’t you know the saying ‘if it doesn’t work, make it work somehow’?”
“What kind of saying is that?”
“There is one… if you see a person in trouble, you should do whatever it takes. My philosophy is never give up. ‘Giving up’ is something you only use when counting cabbages.”
“That’s getting more and more nonsensical.”
“It means don’t give up. Anyway, I’m here, so don’t worry.”
By the way… are you planning to keep holding my hand?
Raven still had that annoying expression, but I felt that the hand that refused to let go was his true sincerity.
The sight of a small child standing alone by the bed felt too pitiful, so I wanted to tell him he wasn’t alone. Still holding his hand, I reached for the hand on the bed…
“……”
Short.
Raven laughed and lifted me up. It was a child lifting another child, but he was strong enough to place me easily on the bed.
From behind, I heard Marquis Valter shout, “No, stop—!” before being muffled. Poor guy.
‘Such a beautiful person.’
A face pale and shadowed like ash, eyes tightly closed, and a thin, fragile body—but the features were still clear.
My left hand held Raven’s, and my right hand held Raven’s mother’s hand.
As I let healing clay flow through my hands, a soft light filled the room.
Raven continued holding my hand tightly until the light faded.
