“You’re saying I’ll get the same illness again even if I recover this time?”
Iberis asked incredulously. He wanted to deny Regina’s words, but his lips felt frozen, unable to move. In fact, he had vaguely sensed what Regina was pointing out.
Although his body was improving day by day since meeting Lucas, alleviating symptoms and completely recovering were entirely different matters.
Thanks to the consistent guiding from Lucas, the frequency of chills and ability use after-effects that used to torment Iberis constantly had noticeably decreased, making him feel better than before. However, in terms of pain intensity, there wasn’t much difference.
Especially in areas like his hands and feet, where the after-effects were strongest, he still experienced severe chills and pain recently. These were probably the “already dead parts” Regina mentioned – too late to treat, beyond repair no matter what was done.
“Yes, well… You know how a tree will sprout new shoots if the roots remain even after it’s cut down? It’s the same with illness. If you don’t eliminate the root cause, it’s all for nothing. You might be fine when healthy, but as soon as your body weakens a bit, symptoms will appear right away.”
“Hmm.”
Iberis sighed heavily at Regina’s explanation. Having seen squad members with chronic conditions like rhinitis or dyshidrosis relapse when their immunity dropped, he easily understood what Regina meant.
This was probably why, despite other indicators improving noticeably, there had been no positive change in his physical damage index until recently.
Realizing this, he suddenly felt his whole body grow heavy. Just when he had regained his will to live after meeting and falling in love with Lucas, Regina’s words made everything seem futile.
Was he destined to never escape a life of not knowing when he might die?
A dark shadow fell over his gray eyes. He had hoped that things would change with Lucas’s help, that he would finally be allowed a happy future, but now it felt like a vain expectation. For the first time in a while, a sense of helplessness washed over him.
Even if he was lucky enough to recover this time, if his condition worsened to the point of receiving another terminal diagnosis in a few years…
Iberis’s eyes tensed at the terrifying hypothesis. The Lucas he knew would surely stay by his side, caring for him as he did now. And he would do his best to cure him again.
The thought that this might repeat for a lifetime made everything go dark before his eyes. Iberis didn’t want to burden Lucas. He didn’t want to make him constantly worry about when they might have to part.
He was already busy giving love every day, but Iberis wanted to gradually soothe the deep scars in Lucas’s heart. He had hoped to become someone who could fully restore Lucas’s lost happiness someday. Had that been too greedy a wish?
Iberis bit his lip, feeling gloomy at the fear that things might go opposite to what he wanted. He couldn’t let Lucas become unhappy or receive another wound because of him.
“Um, are you alright?”
Regina asked cautiously, noticing Iberis’s troubled expression. She squeezed his hand tightly.
“Don’t be depressed! I may not be able to cure you completely, but I can make you a little better!”
“Huh?”
“I just told you, didn’t I? That I’m a healing Esper. I’ll help you with that power. It’s my gift to my new brother.”
“You can’t mean…”
A sudden thought struck Iberis, and his mouth formed an ‘O’. Realizing what Regina was trying to do, he called out to her urgently. He hoped it was just needless worry, but if Regina was attempting the same method she used to heal Lucas 12 years ago, he had to stop her at all costs.
“Wait, Regina.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but you can’t.”
“Why not?”
Regina tilted her head at the firm rejection. She had expected him to be happy and grateful, but Iberis’s reaction was different from what she anticipated.
“I don’t want you to get hurt. So don’t push yourself unnecessarily.”
“Come on, why would I get hurt? What are you… Oh, did you hear from oppa? About why I’m in a wheelchair? Is that why you’re saying this?”
Regina looked as if she understood. After that incident years ago, the family members, including Lucas, hoped she would use her ability as little as possible. Of course, they couldn’t completely seal her power since, as an Esper, she needed to periodically release and circulate the mana in her body.
For this reason, once Regina was diagnosed as having somewhat recovered from the psychological trauma of the fire accident, she received training in mana control and ability use, with the difficulty adjusted to her physical condition.
Regina’s practice and healing subjects were mostly employees, security personnel, and classmates. Sometimes she even used her power on pets like dogs, cats, horses, and rabbits kept at the main house.
Occasionally, she would heal people brought by Winfried or Thomas. They all took secrecy oaths and received treatment from Regina with their eyes and ears covered. After 10 years of this, she could now use her ability freely without straining her body.
“Everyone worries too much… I’m fine.”
Regina grumbled, pouting her lower lip. She was always dissatisfied with people treating her like fragile porcelain.
“If you really want to help me, first talk to Lucas and…”
“Ah, we can’t do that!”
Regina hastily stopped Iberis from calling Lucas. To repair even a small part of his damaged body, she would need to use more power than she ever had before. Lucas, who was more sensitive than anyone when it came to her, would never allow it. He would absolutely refuse.
This was why she had come to the annex alone with Iberis, evading Lucas. She wanted to heal him without anyone interfering.
But she had hit an unexpected obstacle. Iberis was refusing her kindness.
“If Lucas doesn’t agree, I can’t receive treatment from you either.”
“Aw, come on! That’s not fair! Are you rejecting my gift right now?”
“I really appreciate the offer, but… I don’t want you to strain yourself because of me. How could I face Lucas if something happened to you?”
“Oh, for goodness sake, I’m telling you that won’t happen!”
Regina raised her voice unknowingly, feeling frustrated. She thought only Lucas was stubborn, but Iberis was no pushover either. Finally, she decided action spoke louder than words and began to draw up her mana.
“I’m happy you’re thinking of me, but I’ll just accept your feelings…”
Iberis, who had been arguing with Regina, widened his eyes as he felt mana flowing into his body. At that moment, a brilliant light burst from Regina’s body.
“Ugh.”
Iberis reflexively closed his eyes as the intense light engulfed him. Immediately after, an energy similar to Lucas’s poured out.
Startled by the familiar yet alien power enveloping his entire body, Iberis tried to push Regina away but hesitated. When a healing Esper begins treatment, it shouldn’t be forcibly interrupted until they stop themselves. If he forcibly separated here, the backlash could seriously hurt her. Unable to do anything, he had no choice but to accept Regina’s mana.
“Ngh.”
Regina furrowed her brow as the cold energy flowing from Iberis’s body rushed at her fiercely. Her skin stung as if she had dipped her hand in a freezing winter lake. Her legs trembled too.
But she couldn’t stop now. Gritting her teeth, she poured all her strength into injecting mana into Iberis. The light engulfing them grew larger, extending even outside the building.
“Stop, stop now. Regina.”
Iberis managed to speak, seeing Regina’s face turn pale. He worried about all sorts of things – what if she collapsed, what if something happened to her body? But he couldn’t forcibly push her away either.
“No, just a little more…”
Regina muttered in response, concentrating on spreading her mana throughout Iberis’s body. As she did so, the color drained from her face. With a crisp sound, the ends of her hair lost their vitality, instantly withering. Then they began to break off on their own, falling to the floor.
“Regina, please…”
Iberis paced anxiously, seeing Regina’s condition worsen. Both siblings were stubborn. As he was at a loss for what to do, an urgent cry was heard.
“Regina! Major!”
“…! Lucas! We’re here!”
Iberis’s face brightened at the arrival of reinforcements. Lucas should be able to stop Regina.
Rattle, Bang!
Lucas, who had rushed over as soon as he saw the annex engulfed in dazzling light, flung the door open as if to break it. Then he stopped abruptly at the scene before him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
