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Chapter 490.1: Nothing Compared To You (1)

The Rosaian military had been on close terms with the Ascart Fiefdom ever since the latter aided them in their fight against the Austine Empire. In fact, a key reason behind their support for Charlotte as the successor was her close relationship with Roel.

Unsurprisingly, the Rosaian military warmly welcomed Roel when he arrived at Rosa.

The welcome banquet they held for him had a relaxed and joyous atmosphere that didn’t leave him feeling restrained. He was also relieved to hear that Charlotte had remained in good condition after parting ways with him. He felt like he had finally accomplished his mission here.

Rosa was an unimaginably wealthy country. They had a top-tier medical team and countless talented individuals. As the successor of the Sorofya House, Charlotte would receive comprehensive treatment from state-of-the-art facilities. The doctors would also know how to treat her given their prior experience with Bruce’s curse.

For that reason, Roel wasn’t too worried that night.

After the banquet concluded, Roel returned to the highest-class hotel located in the heart of Rosa’s commercial district and soon fell asleep. He had to refrain from going into a deep sleep over the past half a month so as to ensure that he could respond right away if anything happened to Charlotte, so it was inevitable for him to have built up significant fatigue.

He was strong enough to be able to withstand physical fatigue without affecting his fighting prowess, but the same couldn’t be said about his mental fatigue. He needed to rest soon, and Rosa’s central district was a place he knew he could rest at ease.

Unexpectedly, his belated rest after the long journey wasn’t too peaceful. He was forcefully awoken in the midst of his sleep.

“Lord Roel! I am Grace! There are urgent matters I need to inform you of! Lord Roel!”

Before the sun could even rise, knocking sounds and the familiar voice of a maid echoed outside Roel’s room. Roel was surprised to learn that the person causing the ruckus was Grace, but more than that, it spurred a bad feeling in his heart.

His premonition was right.

Grace had come at this unholy hour to deliver a piece of shocking news: Charlotte was in a critical state. Roel could hardly believe it when he heard those words, but the maid’s anxious expression told him that it was no lie.

Roel immediately rushed toward Charlotte’s residence.

The sun was barely peeking from the eastern horizon when he arrived at the Hundred Birds Gallery. For some reason, he felt an inexplicable chill as he looked at the familiar building basked in the light of the nascent sun.

By then, he had already heard about the situation from Grace, who had accompanied him along the way. According to her, Charlotte was still in good condition when she parted ways with Roel to undergo a full-body checkup. After undergoing a series of tests, the Sorofyas’ medical team concluded that she was fine although her body was a little weak.

In view of the checkup results, Charlotte didn’t take a rest but instead attended two urgent meetings to resolve the problems concerning the funding to the frontlines.

After the International Crisis Management Symposium, Bruce Sorofya had headed to the frontlines and hadn’t returned yet. This meant that his successor, Charlotte, would be in charge of all internal affairs for the time being. Rest was a luxury for someone with that much responsibility on her shoulders.

After the meetings, she attended a welcome banquet as per their usual custom.

She hadn’t displayed any anomaly up to this point, but she still opted to leave the banquet early so that she could have a good rest. It was during her rest that her affliction suddenly relapsed, and the severity of which far surpassed the previous cases. Within moments, she was already suffering from a severe deterioration of her life force.

“It’s fortunate that our medical team here is well-equipped and prepared for any emergencies. If it had happened during the journey, our young miss might have already…”

“…”

Grace’s body was trembling as she spoke. The happenings last night had traumatized her.

Roel had a grim expression on his face as he pondered upon the situation. He didn’t utter a single word throughout the entire journey until the carriage arrived at the residence. He followed the maids into a familiar bedroom, where a sleeping beauty laid to the encirclement of a magician order.

“Charlotte…”

His quiet murmur was reminiscent of a prayer asking to be answered.

He could hardly recognize her at all because her complexion was completely different from how it was when they parted the previous day.

Her face was as pale as a sheet of paper, and an aura of death gloomed around her. Her life force was visibly waning. She was still like a ravishing flower blooming under the nourishment of love the day before, but in less than a day, she had become a withering cherry blossom that had run out of time.

Roel’s mind went completely blank.

Irrepressible pain and rage assaulted his heart. His hands tightened around the Nine-headed Serpent Staff. His body turned cold at the worry and fear that she might leave him.

“Lord Roel, our young miss is safe. You may come closer…” Grace told the black-haired man who was agitated beyond words.

Behind her, a group of maids silently wept.

It had been a long-awaited reunion, and the two of them had advanced their feelings over the long journey. All that was left for them was to fulfill their fairytale-like ending. Yet, it all came crashing when Charlotte’s affliction abruptly worsened.

This was an unbearable tragedy for the maids, lest to say, Roel.

Roel took a deep breath to calm his ragged breathing before he took heavy steps toward the bed.

Charlotte had always commanded a powerful presence. She was neither ostentatious nor outspoken, but she was always the center of attention. Yet, her presence felt thinner than ever as she lay debilitated on the bed. It felt as if she would suddenly vanish in a puff.

Roel felt as if countless knives were cutting up his heart.

Standing by the bed, he stared at her unmovingly for a long while. Perhaps sensing his familiar aura, Charlotte regained consciousness as well.

“… Roel?”

“Charlotte! How are you feeling?”

“What happened to me…”

“Young miss!”

Charlotte’s sudden awakening sent a commotion rippling across the room. The medical team and clergymen quickly verified her condition with their spells whereas the maids quickly rushed off to inform relevant personnel.

Charlotte looked at Roel’s worried face, and a gentle smile formed on her lips.

“Darling, I didn’t think that I would see you again so quickly… I’m sorry, I fell ill again.”

“Why are you apologizing? It’s not like you wanted this to happen.”

“You’re right, but my affliction keeps causing you more and more trouble… and I didn’t want you to make such an expression either,” Charlotte said with a bitter smile.

“…”

Worried sick but trying his darndest to remain composed—that was an expression that Charlotte had never seen from Roel before.

Even when he was faced with calamitous monsters or enemies far stronger than himself, he had never shown such panic or even terror on his face before. She never thought that she would be the one to leave him feeling so uneasy.