Wrong Genre! - Chapter 14.1
“Uu, uuuugh…”
A groan escaped Rueg’s lips as his eyes remained closed.
Rueg could hardly tell if he was even breathing, or if his heart was about to leap out of his throat.
His throat was so swollen that even swallowing was difficult, and even while asleep, his mind was only half-conscious, making it hard to tell whether he was dreaming or awake.
“Ugh…”
It hurts.
It hurts so much.
He was burning up, in so much pain that it was impossible to point out exactly what part of him hurt.
Soft, warm things were wrapped around his whole body, but even that felt irritating. His skin prickled so much.
“It’s alright, Rueg. You’ll feel better soon. It’ll be okay…”
As he twisted his body in pain, a large hand grasped Rueg’s own.
Unlike his own body, which felt like it was on fire, the hand felt cool, as if it carried a refreshing chill, and Rueg instinctively pressed his face against it.
Then the large hand stroked Rueg’s cheek, as if trying to draw out the fever.
“…Rueg.”
He heard his name being called.
With great effort, he managed to open his eyes and look toward the voice. A large man, body curled up, was sitting beside Rueg.
“Rueg…”
Felix, who kept calling his name, let out a suppressed breath, as if he were guilty of something.
At that moment, a scene flashed before Rueg’s eyes.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Rueg… I should have been the one who got hurt instead…”
“Your Highness… Are you alright? As long as you’re okay… I’m fine with anything…”
The voice sounded young but was unmistakably his own. Yet, as far as he remembered, he’d never said such things to Felix.
He was tightly gripping Felix’s hand and smiling, even speaking informally to the Crown Prince, repeatedly saying he was fine.
That wasn’t the only odd thing.
The hand holding Felix’s was very small, and Felix, too, looked like a child.
‘Is this Rueg’s memory…?’
He’d been sick many times, but he’d never seen a memory like this before.
As Rueg quietly watched the vision flicker before his eyes, a completely different, large hand kept stroking his burning cheek.
“I shouldn’t have made you clean the fountain…”
Felix’s voice was heavy with regret.
“Your Highness…?”
At Rueg’s faint whisper, Felix’s lofty red eyes seemed to tremble.
He wanted to say he was okay. He wanted to say he went through this every year, that after he suffered once, he’d be fine right away.
But his body hurt so much that he couldn’t even speak properly.
“Water…”
He mumbled, thinking that if he could just drink some water, he’d feel better, and Felix carefully helped him sit up.
“Here, water. Can you drink by yourself?”
Felix asked as he handed Rueg a cup. But Rueg just held the cup, staring blankly as he breathed out hot air.
Realizing Rueg didn’t even have the strength to lift it to his lips, Felix carefully brought the cup to Rueg’s mouth.
But even then, Rueg couldn’t swallow properly, and Felix moved his lips.
“Rueg.”
“……”
“Excuse me, just for a moment.”
Looking apologetic, Felix took some water in his own mouth, then held Rueg’s chin, parted his lips, and poured the water into him.
“Mm, mm…”
There was nothing sensual about the action. Yet the moment Felix pressed his lips to Rueg’s, he couldn’t help but clench his fist.
‘…Damn it.’
He wanted to mess him up.
He felt an urge to cover Rueg’s feverish, red cheeks with yet another kind of heat.
But if he gave in and lost control, if he let loose even a bit, all those suppressed feelings would surely burst forth.
And if that happened, Rueg might end up afraid of him.
‘Get a grip.’
Grinding his teeth, Felix took a deep breath, drawing strength into himself.
At that moment, pale white motes of light began to flicker in the air, sticking one by one to Rueg’s body.
“This is…”
Rueg, who had taken in the water Felix had passed to him, blinked in confusion.
These pale motes of light… He felt like he’d seen them somewhere before.
Yes, in that memory that had just flashed before his eyes, in ‘Rueg Verdic’s’ memory, there had been those brilliant motes of light drifting about just like this.
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