Chapter 26 – A Misunderstanding of Agony
A few days had passed since the relic was retrieved.
Lucien walked through the academy halls, his thoughts still caught on the conversation he had just left.
The investigation into the relic—as they were now calling it—had yielded frustratingly little.
The problem wasn't just that it had been found in an unexpected location. The problem was that it didn't match anything.
The design, the rune structure, the materials—it wasn't like any relic currently used in modern enchantment or warfare.
And if something couldn't be dated properly, that meant it came from a time period that had been deliberately erased or lost.
That was a problem.
Lucien exhaled sharply.
He wasn't sure why he thought of Jessica at that moment—maybe it was the fact that she had been the first person to suggest something was there in the first place.
She didn't even know there was an investigation happening.
Maybe she should.
It wasn't like she had anything better to do right now.
Lucien changed direction, heading toward Jessica's dorm.
He figured she would be recovering in her room by now. If the healers had finished their work, then she should have been back to normal.
They had told him she was fine.
The door was locked.
Lucien frowned.
Knocking once, he waited. No answer.
Strange.
Jessica wasn't the type to sit around doing nothing. Maybe she was already back at training?
He turned and walked down the corridor, still rolling the thought around in his mind—until he ran into Tobias.
Lucien immediately registered something was off.
Tobias looked pale.
Not shaken, not like he had seen a ghost—but like he had just walked away from something that left a bad taste in his mouth.
Lucien raised a brow. "Have you seen Jessica? She's not in her room."
Tobias exhaled slowly, pressing a hand against the side of his face. His expression was unreadable, but the stiffness in his posture said everything.
Then, after a long pause, he spoke softly.
"...The infirmary."
Lucien's brow furrowed. "The infirmary?"
That didn't make sense.
She should have been fine.
The healers had said so.
His feet were already moving before he could think too much about it.
Lucien wasn't sure why this was bothering him.
Jessica wasn't weak. She had walked out of the forest covered in blood and wounds and still stood tall.
So why the hell was she still in the infirmary?
Something wasn't adding up.
Maybe the healers had miscalculated her injuries. Maybe she was just being stubborn and refusing to rest properly.
She should have been fine by now.
That thought settled uncomfortably in his chest.
Then, as he approached the infirmary doors—he heard it.
A scream.
Not just a cry of pain. Not just a wince.
Agony.
Lucien's steps halted.
Another sound followed—a muffled, raw choked-out noise, as if someone was biting down on something just to stop from screaming.
And then the smell hit him.
The sharp, scalding scent of burning flesh.
His stomach twisted.
His feet were already moving before he could process the action.
Lucien shoved open the infirmary doors, expecting—he didn't know what.
What he saw made his breath catch.
Jessica was restrained, tied down against the infirmary bed with thick reinforced bindings, arms and legs secured. A biting gag was strapped into place, likely to keep her from thrashing or biting down on her tongue.
Her body was covered in blisters, red and raw, steam rising from the exposed areas of her arms, shoulders, and collarbone.
The smell of boiling flesh hung thick in the air.
The healers were gathered around her, hands glowing with water-imbued magic, their expressions grim. Senior students—some of the most advanced healers in the academy—stood at attention, monitoring the process like assistants in an operating theater.
Jessica wasn't screaming anymore.
She was panting, shallow, ragged breaths escaping past the gag, her face slick with sweat and—
Tears.
Lucien's chest tightened.
His voice came before he could stop himself.
"How is this even necessary?" He exhaled sharply, forcing himself to process what he was seeing. "She was walking. I saw her. She should have been fine."
The healers explained everything—how healing magic didn't work, how they were forcing it into her body like a surgical tool. How without precise healing, her reflexes and movement would never fully recover.
Then came the final remark—the one that made his stomach tighten.
"Not like any nobleman would want a magic cripple, anyway."
Lucien's jaw clenched.
"You better treat those blisters with the utmost care," he said coldly, "with or without magic power."
A scoff broke the silence.
"It'll be expensive without magic, even for a backwater noble."
Lucien didn't hesitate. "I'll cover it."
This is stupid.
Why am I even getting this involved?
But the irritation in his chest didn't fade.
And that bothered him more than anything else.
Lucien lingered for a moment longer, staring at Jessica's unconscious form.
Even after the healers finished, even after the worst of the treatment ended, something felt off.
She shouldn't have needed this level of intervention.
She shouldn't have survived the forest battle in the first place.
And yet, here she was.
The bite gag had been removed now, and her expression was—blank.
Not peaceful. Not unconscious.
Just blank.
Lucien exhaled, turning sharply on his heel.
He didn't want to be here anymore.