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“The reason you think it is delusional disorder?”
“There are two main reasons. First of all, Sir Louis who is His Imperial Highness’ current chief attendant, Dame Luna the guard knight, as well as His Imperial Highness the 2nd Prince are all alive. But earlier, His Imperial Highness

 He didn’t clearly say it, but he expressed it as if all the three of them had passed away.”
“There was indeed that kind of nuance, but it wasn’t certain. All we heard were vague sentences and words. It wasn’t a proper story.”
Hearing Souad’s opinion, Khalid immediately refuted it. Renato stammered his story a bit in the early stage of the hypnosis treatment, but from midway on, he hardly spoke anything. All Khalid and Souad could hear were a few sentences and words that were difficult to understand.
“It’s just the result of me organizing the words that came out during the treatment. Just like what you said, we didn’t hear the proper story, so I can’t conclude that it’s delusional disorder, your highness. However, I’m saying this because I think it’d be better to proceed with the treatment with that part in mind.”
“Okay, and what’s the second reason?”
“The second reason is that he constantly mentioned you in the story, your highness. His Imperial Highness showed an unusual kind of closeness whenever he spoke about you. As if you two had known each other for a very long time. But it hasn’t been long since you two met.”
“That

”
Khalid was momentarily speechless and closed his mouth with a confused look. In truth, that was what bothered him the most as well.
‘You didn’t keep, our promise, hic, you said you would come back, before it was too late

’
‘I kept waiting, n, no, Louis was, because of me, huff, hic.’
‘Maximo interrupted, all the letters, ugh, uh, no, let me go, agh!’
Khalid frowned, recalling every word Renato had blurted out in pain. The story occasionally flowing out was like a piece of a puzzle.
What could be inferred from the story told in bizarre, crushed words was that Renato had been imprisoned by Maximo, that he was stabbed by a sword after being subjected to constant violence, and in a situation so desperate that he dreamed of dying, he held onto a promise he made with someone as his only hope.
The problem was that the person who made the promise mentioned in Renato’s words seemed to be Khalid himself.
Khalid looked down at Renato with an anxious face. He could swear he hadn’t met Renato until he came to the Empire. However, he found it difficult to agree with Souad’s statement that Renato seemed to suffer from delusional disorder.
Suddenly, he remembered the bizarre dream he had before leaving the kingdom and the dĂ©jĂ  vu he felt when he first met Renato. Even Renato’s attitude that was strangely kind to him, and the strange sense of dĂ©jĂ  vu that visited whenever Khalid was with him.
“

This is hard.”
Letting out a deep sigh, Khalid muttered in a low voice. The more he got to know about Renato, the more he felt like his mind was caught in a maze rather than getting a clue.
Just what is the secret you are having?
Gently sweeping Renato’s eye corner where the tears had yet to dry with his index finger, Khalid agonized. When he recalled Renato’s pitiful gesture of holding onto him, asking if Khalid was really back, and the improvised words he said to calm Renato down, he instantly became anxious.
“

What if it isn’t delusional disorder, but a prophetic dream?”
Having been lost in thought for a while, Khalid came up with his guess. Hearing what he said, Souad looked a bit surprised.
“Prophetic dream?”
“Yes, it is said that the imperial family is born with special abilities because of their fairy blood. In history, there were occasionally people who had superpowers as well

 And about 100 years ago, there was also an anecdote related to our kingdom.”
“Uhm, I think I know who you are talking about. 120 years ago, the Empire’s 1st Princess prophesied several natural disasters that would occur on the continent. Thanks to her prediction of an avalanche in our kingdom, we were able to prepare in advance and overcome it without much damage.”
“That’s right, what if His Imperial Highness has the same ability as that Princess? Would it make sense if he saw the future through dreams or hallucinations and fell into fear?”
Khalid looked at Souad to ask for an agreement. The only possibility he could think of right now was that Renato, who had fairy blood, could see the future.
The future he and Renato made ‘a certain promise’, but it couldn’t be kept because of Maximo’s interference.
Thinking about it like that, the sense of incongruity he had felt so far, the attitude that Renato had shown toward him, and his meaningful words could somewhat be explained.
“Uhm, according to the records, it’s not impossible, but

 Wouldn’t that make the future too bleak? If everything His Imperial Highness said is true.”
“That is not something to worry about now. The future can be changed if we try.”
Khalid, as a knight who carved his destiny with his sword and who paved his own path with his power, did not believe that the future or fate was already decided.
Perhaps Renato proposed to him because he saw a future where everyone would be unhappy. The red eyes staring at Renato, who was deeply asleep, darkened.
“Well, that’s true. I will ponder this part a bit as well. I will look for books that describe the imperial family’s superpowers.”
“Do so. For now, I don’t think you should tell His Imperial Highness that he might be suffering from delusional disorder.”
“Of course. After all, concluding a disease without solid evidence is a shortcut to misdiagnosis.”
“Only you and I should know about what happened today until everything is clear. Don’t say anything to His Imperial Highness’ people, and be careful with your mouth.”
“Haha, you don’t have to make such a dreadful request. It is a basic principle that doctors must not disclose their patients’ information. I will never break that.”
“Good. Then you should go out now. Both His Imperial Highness and I need some rest.”
“Yes, you have gone through a lot today.”
In response to Khalid’s command, Souad packed up his tools and left the barracks.
“Huu.”
Left alone with Renato, Khalid let out a weary sigh. He looked at Renato who was softly and evenly breathing with complicated eyes, then laid him down on the bed so that he could rest comfortably. And he lay down next to Renato. He was tired both physically and mentally as if a storm had just passed by.
* * *
It was late at night when Renato opened his eyes again in the darkness. He looked up at the unfamiliar ceiling in confusion, then realized he was in the barracks. Renato moved his head and slowly looked around. Then, he found a person sitting in front of the wood heater and raised his heavy body.
“Are you awake?”
Khalid, who was putting new firewood into the heater, felt Renato’s gaze and turned his head. Seeing Renato awake, he took one step closer to the bed.
“How are you feeling?”
“How long did I

 Cough.”
Renato was about to ask how long he slept, then let out a dry cough. Maybe because he cried so much that he was exhausted before falling asleep, his throat was cracked and his mouth was dry.
“Please drink it.”
“Thank you.”
Renato took the water glass from Khalid and carefully took it to his mouth. The moderately lukewarm water wetted his dry mouth, making him feel a bit more alive.
“Did you just ask how long you slept? You slept for about 5 hours. It should be around 11 o’clock now.”
“I slept that much?”
Renato looked surprised when finding out that he had been asleep longer than he had thought.
“You must be tired because of the continuous schedule and even receiving difficult treatment during an exhausted condition.”
Khalid sat on the edge of the bed, reached out and fixed his disheveled hair. He then briefly recounted what had happened while Renato was asleep.
“Right now, everyone is resting after eating. His Imperial Highness the 2nd Prince also came here before leaving a while ago.”
“Trudy did?”
“Yes, about an hour ago, he came here to see you sleeping soundly, then quietly went back saying that he shouldn’t wake his hyung-nim up.”
“I see.”
“By the way, are you not hungry? You must have a stomachache because you slept without eating.”
“No, not really

”
“Hmm, please eat a bit even if you are not hungry. There is a soup with corn and potatoes boiled because I thought you were going to wake up soon.”
Khalid rose from his seat, acting as if he would be in trouble if he starved. Then, he spooned the soup from the pot on the wood heater and brought it over.
“Please take a few spoons even if you don’t want to eat. You will need to replenish your energy because you were exhausted from the treatment.”
Renato awkwardly accepted Khalid’s soup bowl. He thought he wasn’t hungry, but when the fragrant smell tickled the tip of his nose, his hunger came up.
“Should I feed you if you are too tired to eat?”
“No, it’s not like that

”
Feeling that the man would really spoonfeed him if he stayed still, Renato quickly took a mouthful of the soup into his mouth. Then, he opened his eyes wide. The soup made with mashed corn and potatoes was savory and sweet.
“How is it?”
“It’s delicious

”
Renato replied with genuine admiration. It was truly delicious without the need to use empty words. Hearing his answer, Khalid slightly smiled with a relieved expression.
“I’m glad, I was worried that it wouldn’t suit your taste

 I was worried because it had been a while since I made it as well.”
“Did you make it yourself, your highness?”
“There were some leftover ingredients after dinner, so I used my skill a bit. Soup is the best thing to fill an empty stomach.”
“You don’t have to take care of me like this

 Thank you.”
Renato ate another mouthful of the soup and expressed his gratitude in a small voice. When he heard that Khalid made it for him, the soup seemed to be more delicious than before.
“It is hot, so please be careful while eating. I will be going out for a while.”
Khalid was away for a bit while Renato ate the soup. After coming back right away and seeing the bowl cleanly emptied, he had a proud face.