Chapter 569: Proud belle
It was nearly two full days before Lucas finally woke up.
The healing chambers had remained busy throughout that time. Jennifer and the Empress took turns tending to his injuries while powerful restorative formations continuously circulated healing energy through his damaged body. The wounds from the torture had mostly healed, the internal injuries had stabilized, and the damage caused by the restraining ring had gradually been repaired.
Still, his recovery had been slow.
His body had endured far too much.
The girls had spent most of those two days in and out of the room, refusing to stray too far from him.
When Lucas finally stirred, it happened quietly.
A slight twitch of his fingers.
Then another.
His eyelids felt unusually heavy as consciousness slowly returned. His entire body ached, though nowhere near the agony he remembered before losing consciousness. The scent of medicinal herbs filled his senses while soft voices reached his ears from somewhere nearby.
Then he opened his eyes.
The ceiling above him came into focus first.
A moment later, several gasps sounded nearby.
“Xavier!”
Selene was the first to notice.
She nearly jumped from her chair before rushing to the bedside.
Lira followed immediately.
Nyx stood up so fast her chair nearly toppled over.
Even the usually posed Henrietta visibly relaxed.
Within seconds they had gathered around the bed.
Lucas blinked several times, trying to clear the lingering fog from his mind as he looked at their faces one after another.
Selene looked like she had barely slept.
Lira’s eyes were already watering.
Nyx’s expression remained controlled, but the relief in her eyes was obvious.
Henrietta simply folded her arms and released a breath she probably hadn’t realized she was holding.
“You took your time waking up,” Henrietta said.
Lucas managed a weak smile.
His throat felt dry.
“How long?”
“Almost two days,” Nyx answered immediately.
Lucas stared at the ceiling for a moment.
Two days.
Longer than he expected.
A servant had already been summoned by Henrietta.
“Go inform His Majesty and Her Majesty,” Henrietta instructed calmly. “Tell them Xavier has awakened.”
The servant bowed immediately before hurrying from the room.
Lucas slowly pushed himself up slightly against the pillows.
The movement caused several of the girls to immediately start fussing over him.
“Careful.”
“Don’t move too much.”
“You’ve barely recovered.”
Lucas couldn’t help but laugh weakly despite himself.
Then his gaze moved across the room again.
And suddenly paused.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
He looked at Nyx.
Then Henrietta.
Then back again.
The confusion on his face was immediate.
“Wait.”
The girls exchanged looks.
Lucas stared at Nyx.
Then at Henrietta.
Then frowned.
“What are you two doing here?”
For a moment neither woman answered.
Lucas looked genuinely surprised.
The last time he saw them, they had been far away pursuing their own mission.
For a few seconds he genuinely thought he was still delirious from whatever medicines Jennifer and the Empress had forced into him.
The last thing he remembered before leaving for Rus was The King sending them away on an entirely different mission.
Yet both women were standing right here beside his bed.
Lucas frowned.
“What are you two doing here?”
Nyx raised an eyebrow.
Henrietta folded her arms.
Neither looked particularly guilty.
“We pleted our assignment,” Henrietta said matter-of-factly.
Lucas continued staring at them.
Nyx stepped forward slightly.
“The information was delivered successfully. Every kingdom that needed to know now knows exactly what happened.”
Lucas felt some of the tension inside him immediately ease.
That alone was enormous.
The mission they had been sent on was just as important as the operation in Rus.
If the information reached the right people, it would change everything.
“And?” Lucas asked.
A faint smile appeared on Nyx’s face.
“And we didn’t stop there.”
Lucas waited.
Henrietta answered this time.
“We came back with two thousand soldiers.”
That got his full attention.
“What?”
“Two thousand,” Henrietta repeated. “Well-equipped and already moving to support us.”
Lucas stared at her.
Even Selene seemed pleased seeing his reaction.
Nyx continued.
“And more are still ing. The kingdoms and nobles who pledged support are still gathering forces. Troops are being rallied as we speak.”
Lucas sat there silently for a few moments.
The relief that washed through him was difficult to hide.
For days he had been operating under the assumption that everything depended on a handful of people making impossible missions succeed.
Now he was hearing that reinforcements were already arriving and even more were on the way.
The burden on Lechia’s shoulders had just bee much lighter.
A smile finally appeared on his face.
“That’s… actually incredible.”
Henrietta smirked.
“We know.”
Lucas shook his head slightly.
For the first time since waking up, genuine optimism began pushing aside the lingering memories of Rus.
The emperor had been rescued.
Patrick had escaped with Patricia.
Lechia had been reclaimed.
Reinforcements were arriving.
For once things were actually moving in the right direction.
He opened his mouth to continue the conversation.
Then the chamber doors suddenly burst open.
BANG!
Everyone turned instinctively.
A cold gust swept into the room.
And the Ice Belle strode inside.
The moment the Ice Belle entered the room, the atmosphere changed pletely.
She didn’t walk calmly toward Lucas.
She practically marched straight to his bedside.
The others barely had time to react before she had already positioned herself beside him, looking him up and down as if confirming for the hundredth time that he was actually awake.
“You finally woke up.”
Lucas opened his mouth to answer.
He never got the chance.
“I saved you.”
The declaration came so quickly and confidently that everyone in the room paused.
The Ice Belle folded her arms proudly.
“You should know that.”
Lucas blinked.
Selene sighed immediately.
Nyx pinched the bridge of her nose.
Henrietta already looked tired.
The Ice Belle ignored them all.
“I went all the way to Rus, found where they were keeping you, broke through several floors of the castle, froze everyone in the room, picked you up, escaped the palace, fought Ken and several celestials, and then Henrietta brought you back.”
She delivered the entire thing in one breath.
Lucas stared at her.
“…Several floors?”
The Ice Belle nodded proudly.
“Several.”
Henrietta snorted.
The Ice Belle pointed at her.
“And then she took you while I fought.”
Lucas looked between the two women.
“You fought Ken?”
The room immediately became interested.
The Ice Belle’s expression brightened.
This was clearly the part she had been waiting to tell.
“Oh, not just Ken.”
She sat down beside the bed and immediately launched into the story.
She described the battle from the moment she found him in the castle. She spoke about fighting multiple celestials in the sky above Rus, about forcing them back, about how Ken had eventually joined the battle himself.
Even the girls who had already heard parts of it listened attentively.
The Ice Belle clearly enjoyed every second of the storytelling.
Then she reached her favorite part.
“And then…”
A grin appeared on her face.
“I became a tornado.”
The room went silent.
Lucas blinked.
“What?”
“I became a tornado.”
“You became a what?”
“A tornado.”
The Ice Belle nodded confidently.
“A very large one.”
Lucas looked toward Henrietta.
Henrietta nodded.
“Unfortunately, that’s true.”
Now everyone was paying attention.
The Ice Belle practically glowed with pride.
“I wanted to wait until you woke up before telling everyone properly.”
She pointed toward herself.
“The tornado was enormous.”
“How enormous?” Lucas asked.
The Ice Belle stretched both arms wide.
“As enormous as a tornado.”
Nyx laughed.
Selene laughed.
Even Lira couldn’t help herself.
The Ice Belle looked offended by their lack of appreciation.
“It almost killed Ken.”
That immediately got Lucas’s attention again.
The room quieted slightly.
The Ice Belle leaned forward.
“He and two other celestials got trapped inside it. They were getting torn apart.”
Lucas could tell she wasn’t exaggerating.
Not entirely.
The lingering exhaustion in her aura alone proved that whatever she had done had been something monstrous.
The Ice Belle leaned back proudly.
“I would’ve finished him too if more cultivators hadn’t started arriving.”
Henrietta nodded.
“That part is also true.”
The Ice Belle immediately looked smug.
“See?”
Then she crossed her arms.
A victorious smile spread across her face.
“Therefore.”
The room collectively braced itself.
“I am clearly the strongest among all of us.”
Silence.
Then laughter erupted around the room.
Selene laughed first.
Lira followed immediately.
Nyx shook her head while smiling.
Henrietta looked genuinely amused.
The Ice Belle pointed accusingly at them.
“It’s true.”
“It isn’t,” Nyx replied.
“It absolutely is.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Henrietta folded her arms.
“You nearly collapsed after that attack.”
“I still won.”
“You nearly passed out.”
“I still won.”
Selene laughed.
“You’ve been bragging about this for two days.”
“Because it was impressive.”
“It was.”
The Ice Belle immediately brightened.
“See?”
“That doesn’t make you the strongest.”
“It does.”
“It doesn’t.”
“It absolutely does.”
The argument continued for several minutes while everyone laughed.
For the first time since returning from Rus, the room felt light.
Normal.
Lucas sat there watching them bicker and joke among themselves.
For a brief moment, it was easy to forget the torture chamber.
The chains.
The pain.
The battle.
Everything.
They had survived.
And for now, that was enough.
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