Chapter 20: Ch 20. Healing Deer Clan
Stoner stared at Jhon with a look of surprise. He hadn’t expected those words to come from the lips of a cold and ruthless king like Jhon.
"Are you sure?"
Jhon looked at him and nodded firmly. His gaze made it clear he wouldn’t change his mind, which gave Stoner pause.
"Selena these days doesn’t seem easy to deal with; she’s not the same person she used to be. She doesn’t need our attention—just look at how she’s rejected all the gifts we’ve brought her. Before, even the smallest things we gave her would make her happy," Stoner said, slumping in his seat. "She won’t be easy to deal with..."
"That’s exactly what I realize, which is why I’m determined to make her forgive me." John sighed and stared at the necklace in his hand. "She hates us because of the mistakes we’ve made, but she’s still a caring person. She’s not a bad woman; her heart is kind and sincere. If she were mean and selfish, she wouldn’t have gone out of her way to come to my room in the middle of the night when I was suffering from that pain."
Stoner fell silent, letting out a heavy sigh of frustration. He didn’t know how to put it either—he realized that too. Selena might seem cold and harsh with her words, but she was still attentive and caring when they needed her help.
"Sovel," Jhon called out until the door opened and Sovel stepped forward to approach him. "Take all these gifts I’ve chosen to Selena’s room in our palace. They’re hers now; from now on, she can wear them whenever she wants."
Sovel smiled and nodded obediently. "Yes, Your Highness."
Stoner watched as Sovel and the Phoenix servants carried all of Jhon’s gifts away, then glanced at Jhon, whose face looked calm yet filled with a newfound determination.
That cold figure, who rarely showed any emotion, looked like someone who was finally finding happiness. Stoner was certain that right now, the man must be thinking of Selena in his heart.
"Aren’t you afraid Selena will throw those gifts away? She’s already rejected them," Stoner said softly.
"She can throw them away, and I’ll keep sending them over and over again in large quantities. Selena is free to do whatever she wants right now; I’ll go along with whatever she does." Jhon smiled as he looked at Stoner, sending a slight shiver down the man’s spine. "Hurry up and figure out a solution for yourself—as men, we should be the ones to make the first move to win a woman over. This is just advice from someone who also needs the Healer of Extinction—I’ll be going now..."
Jhon walked away calmly, his mind still racing with thoughts about what Selena might like and what he needed to do to move her to forgive him.
Stoner remained still where he was, watching Jhon leave, then closed his eyes and held his aching head.
The lingering, vague pain left him with no other choice; he had to find a way to make Selena willing to forgive him as soon as possible.
***
Selena was thoroughly enjoying her journey with Stevan, Dorven, and Vylen, who were showing her around the palace and then taking her on a tour of the world of Eldoria.
She saw several fascinating places—the territories ruled by each beastkin, as well as various other forms of life—which only deepened her awe at the way this world was organized.
"This is a medical center; we call it the Eldoria House of Healing," Stevan explained, pointing to a fairly large building.
"Wow, so there’s actually a place for sick people here?" Selena said, prompting Vylen, Stevan, and Dorven to nod in unison.
"Yes, it’s run and founded by the Rusa group, but their healing abilities aren’t as strong as they used to be. As their medical experts have grown older, their healing techniques have gradually been lost. This has led to an increase in diseases in Eldoria; they’re trying to curb the spread of disease and reduce mortality rates, but their knowledge of medicine feels very limited. They can do nothing but seek guidance from the Gods, but still, nothing has changed," Vylen explained.
Selena looked at him. "The Rusa clan?"
Vylen nodded. "In Eldoria, the Rusa clan controls matters of medicine. In the past, many of them could diagnose illnesses and process medicinal herbs into remedies. That’s still true today, actually, but their abilities aren’t as remarkable as they used to be," he added.
"Grandfather, or Lord Deer, Willco Dee—he was once the greatest healer of all. But he’s very old now and on his deathbed; he doesn’t have much time left to teach his children the same healing techniques. They’ve also been too careless all this time, so in the end, they haven’t been able to master even half of Lord Deer’s abilities," Stevan interjected.
"Yes, it’s quite unfortunate. That’s why, ever since he fell ill and can no longer get out of bed due to his advancing age, the Eldoria World Council has been busy searching for the destined Healer of Extinction after receiving a clue from the Ancient Gods. Healing abilities within the world of Eldoria have also been in decline ever since," Dorven added.
Selena swallowed hard, realizing they were quite familiar with the situation—a sign that her three husbands had lived during the same era as the fall of the Deer clan.
How old are they, roughly? Are they over 300 years old?
Goodness, Selena herself was only 25; she hadn’t even stopped to think about her husbands’ ages before. She hadn’t had a chance to find out yet either, since she’d only taken over this body last night. But one thing was certain: there’s no way they could be immortal, right?
No, they aren’t immortal. They’re just afraid of dying, which is why they’re now on their knees, begging for forgiveness for the wrongs they’ve committed against her.
That shows they’re afraid of dying because of the curse and the illness they suffer from.
"Selena, why are you so quiet?" Stevan asked cautiously, looking at Selena, who was already smiling slightly.
"It’s nothing—I’d like to go inside. Is that okay?" she asked, making Stevan smile.
"Of course. We’ll show you around the Eldoria House of Health." Stevan immediately instructed the coachman to enter the building’s gate area. "You’re sure to like this place—after all, you have abilities similar to theirs."
"Yes, maybe I can ask a few questions about medicinal herbs. I need them to start making herbal remedies for you all," Selena said, then leaned back comfortably.
Dorven, standing in front of her, watched Selena as she sat calmly, gazing at the building.
"Are you going to use herbal remedies to treat us, too?" he asked. Selena nodded.
"Yes, some of you need them—including the Dragon King, the Fox King, and the Phoenix King," Selena explained, causing Dorven to press his lips together for a moment.
"Then what about me?" he asked cautiously.
"You need energy therapy, but we’ll deal with that later. The important thing is that you don’t use the Dragon Core more than seven times—that will still spare your emotions."
Dorven nodded slowly. "But, no matter what, I can’t keep holding it back," he said hesitantly.
"I know; I’ve already figured out a way. I’ll tell you later," Selena replied, and Dorven nodded with relief.
"I know Lord Rusa’s grandson; his name is Xoruc Dee. If there’s anything you want to ask, talking to him might be more interesting. Although he doesn’t understand medicine as well as his grandfather does, he’s in charge of this place now," said Vylen, causing Selena to look at him in turn.
"Xoruc Dee?" Selena murmured, finding the man’s name quite unique. "Have you ever consulted him about your poison?"
Vylen nodded slowly. "He couldn’t help much—the poison in my body is too strong. Meanwhile, his grandfather can’t do anything either because he’s too weak," he replied, causing Selena to sigh.
"Doesn’t he know the name of the poison in your body either?"
"No, he just said this poison is too potent and he can’t treat me."
They finally got off the horse-drawn carriage; Selena reached for Stevan’s outstretched hand first to help her down the carriage steps. Meanwhile, Dorven and Vylen could only watch enviously, having been too late to do the same.
"This building is huge," Selena muttered, then closed her eyes as she caught the scent of medicinal herbs. "There might be some ingredients here that I need to make medicine. My extinct healing ability is showing me in my mind several types of herbal ingredients. I just hope I don’t look foolish here."
Walking ahead, her actions prompted her three husbands to immediately follow her. They looked like chicks that didn’t want to stray far from their mother—it was true that they felt safer near Selena and could help her.
"Welcome," greeted a man who had bowed in respect to them. "What brings His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen to our place?"
Selena saw that he appeared calm, but was also secretly hiding his nervousness by clasping his hands together.
The Deer Clan was just a small group; there were only a few dozen of them here. As a result, they didn’t have a king, since their lineage had begun to die out several centuries ago.
"I might need one or a few herbal remedies—do you have everything I need here?"
"Maybe I can help you. What kind of herbs do you need?"
Following her instincts, Selena said, "Something that can fight the heat of the fire."