Exiled Prince: I'm the Unexpected Extra in the Novel-Chapter 103: Evershade [5] The First Examination

After the long and tense dinner.

Cassian was fast asleep between silk sheets in the spacious, high ceilinged room reserved for him in the guest wing.

The bed was so soft and the pillows so full of goose down that Cassian did not even feel the weight of his body.

The last time he had such luxury was when he was a guest in the Inferna Duchy.

As the morning sun began to filter through the heavy velvet curtains, filling the room with a dim light, there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Mr. Cassian?" said a soft, respectful female voice. "Are you awake?"

Cassian struggled to free himself from the sweet arms of sleep. "Come in," he murmured, his voice still carrying the grogginess of sleep.

A young maid in a uniform bearing the Evershade crest entered.

"Good morning, sir. Lady Calyra asked me to inform you that breakfast will be served in the main hall in half an hour."

Cassian sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his eyes, and dangled his feet down. "Thank you," he said, yawning. The maid curtsied and quietly left the room.

Cassian sat on the edge of the bed for a while, staring into space, trying to gather his thoughts. Today was the big day. He would cure the Marquis’s son and get that army.

Just as he was about to stand up, the door to the room burst open noisily, this time without a knock.

The person entering was Cordelia in her loose nightgown. Her hair was messy from yesterday’s sleep, resembling a bird’s nest, but there was an inexplicable energy on her face.

"Good morning, Cassian!" she chirped and ran without hesitation, jumping onto the bed Cassian had just gotten out of. The bed springs creaked, and Cassian almost lost his balance and fell.

"Hey! Slow down," Cassian grumbled.

Cordelia hugged the pillow and looked at Cassian with her huge, innocent blue eyes. "The bed is so soft! Your bed smells nicer."

Cassian rolled his eyes. "Cordelia, come on, get up. We have to go down for breakfast soon. The Marquis and his wife are waiting for us. We need to get ready."

Cordelia shrugged as if she had not heard Cassian at all and buried herself deeper under the duvet. "I don’t want to. Five more minutes, or five hours."

Cassian sighed deeply. Dealing with this girl could sometimes be more tiring than fighting Nerath.

He got up from his bed, washed his face. Then he entered the bathroom and took a quick, hot shower.

When he came out of the water, his mind was clear. He put on a clean, stylish black shirt and trousers that would allow him to move comfortably, which he took out of his dimensional bag. He combed his hair back.

When he came out of the bathroom, he saw that Cordelia was still wrapped in the duvet like a cocoon, sound asleep in the bed.

Only the tips of her silvery purple hair were outside.

A devilish grin appeared on Cassian’s face. He raised his hand and formed an ice cold water ball the size of a palm in the air.

"I told you to get up, sleeping beauty."

And he mercilessly threw the water ball at the face area left exposed by the duvet.

SPLAT!

"KYAAAA!"

Cordelia kicked the duvet and flew up from the bed with the shock of the cold water. Her wet hair was plastered to her face, and she looked at Cassian like a surprised and angry cat.

"You! What did you do?! It was cold!"

"Good morning," said Cassian calmly while buttoning his cuffs. "It’s your turn for the shower. Hurry up, I’m hungry."

Cordelia looked as if she wanted to attack him, but gave up in the face of Cassian’s indifferent attitude. Sulking, she stomped her feet and entered the bathroom.

10 minutes later, Cordelia came out of the bathroom wearing a clean, white dress. Her wet hair cascaded down her shoulders.

There was no trace of her anger from a moment ago; that cheerful and expectant expression had reappeared on her face. She extended the ivory comb in her hand towards Cassian.

"Comb my hair!" she said, as if giving an order, but there was a plea in her eyes.

Cassian sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror one last time. "You have your own hands, Cordelia. You can do this yourself."

"But it looks better when you do it," said Cordelia stubbornly. She sat on the chair in front of Cassian and turned her back to him.

Cassian took the comb and stood behind Cordelia. Her hair was truly unique.

It started with the brightest shade of silver and turned into a deep, mystical purple towards the ends.

Its texture was soft as silk but seemed to carry the weight of thousands of years.

He began to pass the comb through her hair with slow, gentle movements. He detangled each knot carefully, trying not to hurt her.

"You know you need to comb your own hair once in a while, right?" said Cassian, his voice soft. "I might not always be with you."

"Then I won’t leave your side either," said Cordelia with simple logic.

Cassian did not answer. He just continued combing.

Sunlight streamed through the window, making the silver and purple strands in Cordelia’s hair shine.

This moment was a strange, peaceful ritual before the approaching storm.

After carefully combing her hair, he gathered it at the back with a simple but elegant braid. "Done," said Cassian, leaving the comb on the table. "Now you look like a princess."

Cordelia looked in the mirror, smiled, and suddenly turned and hugged Cassian. "Thanks!"

The breakfast hall looked brighter and more spacious compared to yesterday’s tense dinner.

The windows were opened, and the smell of clean earth after the rain filled the room.

The table was laden with fresh breads, varieties of cheese, fruits, and steaming teas.

Marquis Aldren and Marchioness Calyra were sitting at the head of the table. There were traces of a sleepless night on their faces; evidently, they had not been able to sleep from excitement and worry.

When Cassian and his team sat at the table, the Marquis spoke immediately.

"Good morning," he said, his voice in its usual authoritative tone but trembling with impatience. "I hope you slept comfortably."

"It was quite comfortable, thanks," said Cassian, taking some cheese onto his plate.

Breakfast passed in a quiet but hopeful atmosphere. Cordelia ate with appetite again, occasionally trying to steal things from Cassian’s plate.

Rose, on the other hand, was carrying on a forced conversation with the Marchioness about noble fashion.

In the time until noon, Marchioness Calyra invited her guests to the large, orderly garden in the inner courtyard of the castle. The roses and rare plants washed by the rain shone under the sun.

Teas were drunk, small talk was made, but everyone’s mind was in the room in that dark tower of the castle.

Cassian watched the garden silently, constructing possible scenarios and treatment methods for Caius’s illness in his mind.

Nivelle was flying around, examining the energy of the plants in the garden.

And finally, the time came.

When the sun reached its peak, Marquis Aldren came to the garden in his official clothes. His face bore the seriousness of a commander going to war.

"The time has come, Cassian," he said. "Follow me."

Cassian stood up. He signaled the others to wait there.

He and the Marquis climbed the stone stairs of the castle to the top floor, towards Caius’s room.

When they arrived at the door of the room, the Marquis stopped. He put his hand on the door handle but did not open it. He spoke with his back turned to Cassian.

"I must warn you," said the Marquis, his voice hoarse. "What you will see inside... He is my son. But the illness has changed him a lot. His appearance might scare or disgust you. But I ask you not to look at him like a monster."

Cassian put his hand on the Marquis’s shoulder. "Marquis Aldren... I am not afraid of monsters. And rest assured, I am the last person to judge someone as a monster."

The Marquis took a deep breath and opened the door.

Inside was dim. The windows were covered with thick curtains because the light bothered the boy’s sensitive eyes. The air in the room was filled with a heavy, metallic smell and corrupted mana.

Lying on the bed, leaning against the pillows, was a boy Cassian’s age.

Caius Stormvale.

His appearance justified the Marquis’s warning. The boy’s skin was pale, almost transparent, and the veins under his skin wrapped around his entire body like pitch black, poisonous vines.

The parts of his eyes that should have been white were pitch black; his pupils were a sickly, bright purple.

Two sharp obsidian horns, one shorter than the other, rose from his forehead through his black hair.

This was not a human, but a semi demonized being.

Caius slowly put the thick, leather bound book he was holding aside and looked at his father at the door.

There was neither hope nor joy in his gaze; only a deep, accepted weariness.

"Father," he said, his voice raspy.

The Marquis approached the bed. "Caius... The person I told you about has arrived. This is Cassian. The person who can cure you."

Caius’s purple eyes shifted from his father to Cassian. He looked him up and down. A gleam of suspicion appeared in his eyes.

"Another one?" said Caius with a bitter smile. "Hundreds have come, father. Priests, mages, healers... They all said the same thing. ’I will save you.’ But in the end, they all fled or failed. Why should it be different this time?"

At some point, he had completely lost hope. He was waiting for death. But still, not to see that desperate expression on his father’s face, he had agreed to meet this "new healer". After all, he had nothing to lose. Except his time.

Cassian approached the bed, ignoring the boy’s resigned words. He examined him more closely. His eyes scanned the dense, chaotic mana on the boy.

Uncomfortable under Cassian’s intense gaze, sharp almost like a surgeon’s scalpel, Caius pulled back in the bed but said nothing.

Cassian called out to Nivelle in his mind. "Nivelle... Do you see any damage to his soul? Has this demonic energy taken over his soul?"

Nivelle’s voice echoed in Cassian’s mind. "No, brother. His soul is surprisingly clean."

Cassian took a breath of relief. The problem was only physical. This would make his job even easier. If his soul had been polluted, things would have been much more complicated.

He slowly reached his hand towards the boy’s forehead. Caius flinched with instinctive fear and pulled his head back.

"Relax," said Cassian, his voice authoritative but reassuring. "I’m just checking you. I won’t hurt you."

Seeing the determination in Cassian’s eyes, Caius paused. Reluctantly, he put his head back on the pillow and allowed Cassian to touch him.

Cassian’s fingers touched the boy’s cold and damp forehead. He sent his own mana into the boy’s body like a thin thread and began to scan.

The result was as he thought. Even worse.

Caius’s mana core was literally a battlefield. The core was full of deep cracks and on the verge of shattering.

The boy’s own natural mana and that invasive, aggressive demonic mana coming from outside were consuming each other for dominance.

The demonic mana had penetrated his cells like a virus, mutating his body.

If it continued like this, the boy would die within a few years at most, crushed under the weight of his own power and suffering terrible pain.

Cassian withdrew his hand and straightened up. He had a serious expression on his face.

"The situation is critical," said Cassian honestly.

The Marquis’s shoulders slumped. Caius laughed mockingly. "I know. Was that what you were going to say? Are you going to say ’Sorry, there is nothing I can do’ now?"

Cassian looked at Caius and smiled.

"No," he said. "On the contrary. The situation is critical but not as difficult as I thought. I can cure you, Caius. And completely." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

________________________________________

You can join our Discord server for character illustrations.