Becoming the Terminally-Ill Villain Who Torments His Disciples - Chapter 36.1
But Oscar’s declaration didn’t go as he intended.
Barely moments after he said Cielo should step back from the frontlines, an imperial decree arrived.
“…Deploying healers? They want to send royal healers—who currently have no combat capability—to that warfront?”
Ryan ran a hand through his hair in visible anger as he read the document. Cielo, who had never seen Ryan this furious before, simply rolled his eyes and quietly sipped his tea.
“Just refuse. Say you can’t go.”
“…It’s an imperial command, isn’t it? They’re not exactly asking for my opinion.”
“Then refuse anyway. One wrong move, and you’ll die. They’re basically telling you and Oscar to walk straight into a death trap!”
Frustration was written all over Ryan’s face. Unable to contain himself any longer, he muttered, “I need to have a word with the Emperor,” before storming out of the infirmary.
“…Someone’s going to hear him at this rate.”
Cielo rested his chin on the table, silently watching him leave.
The day things fell apart with Oscar, Ryan had been standing helplessly outside the door when he found Cielo collapsed on the floor. Without a word, he entered, scrubbed away the traces of Oscar’s pheromones clinging to Cielo’s body, and pressed a small pill into his hand.
“Contraceptive. If you wanted a child, don’t take it. If not… swallow it.”
Ryan asked no questions. He simply studied Cielo’s expression for a long moment before murmuring, “You did the right thing,” as if he’d overheard every word exchanged between Cielo and Oscar.
“Haah…”
Cielo sighed deeply, splashing cold water on his face only after Ryan was out of sight. He should talk to him properly, but one crisis after another had left him no room to breathe.
“Patient incoming!”
The infirmary was packed, as it had been for days. Cielo set down his tea and stood.
“Must’ve seen nearly three hundred today…”
Thankfully, no one was in critical condition like during the first demon beast attack. If there had been, Cielo wouldn’t have been able to avoid using his abilities.
“…What’s going to happen now?”
The original story had already veered wildly off course.
Sure, it had derailed the moment Cielo chose not to abuse Oscar—but the real divergence was that someone who was supposed to die at the start of the plot was still alive.
“If you mean Brandon, the palace gatekeeper, he resigned last year and returned to the countryside.”
The novel’s events had begun shifting in ways Cielo couldn’t predict. The changes were unsettling, creeping into places he hadn’t expected.
‘How the hell did he even present as an Alpha…?’
The day Cielo learned about his own heart condition, Oscar had thrown out every suppressant in the room—including the secondary-gender converters he’d been taking. Cielo hadn’t realized it then, but now he could only groan in frustration.
“No point agonizing over what’s already done.”
Oscar’s secondary gender had changed. His personality was nothing like the original. There was no telling how their relationship would unfold now, or what would happen next.
Lost in thought, Cielo pressed a hand to his throbbing temple. Between the sleepless nights and constant stress, his head felt unnaturally heavy.
“You don’t look well… You should rest.”
A maid assisting him spoke up as he finished with a patient.
“…Maybe you’re right. Things seem stable here. I’ll take a short break—call me if you need help.”
“Understood, Lord Esteban.”
Just as Cielo staggered toward the door, his gaze met Oscar’s across the room. Oscar, who had been treating patients, opened his mouth to speak—
“Pascius!”
The infirmary door slammed open.
Startled by the noise, Cielo clutched his chest—and Oscar shot to his feet.
“They said you’d be free around now. Finished?”
The intruder was none other than Noah. His golden hair swept back, he strode straight to Oscar and thrust a rose into his hands.
“Spare me some time, Pascius.”
Cielo’s eyes narrowed. The audacity of barging in and handing Oscar a rose—unbelievable.
‘Come to think of it…’
Noah Anderson was quite a self-centered character in the original novel, too.
At the time, Oscar, who had very low self-esteem, had been somewhat drawn to that side of Noah during the early parts of the story.
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