Return of the General's Daughter-Chapter 223: The Journey: Bitten

Prince Alaric panicked and was about to lay Agilus on the ground, but Lara prevented him from doing so.

"The poisoned blood will travel to the heart faster if he is lying down," Lara said calmly.

"Do you think I need to cut some more to let out the poisoned blood?" Alaric sought her eyes and asked helplessly.

"He had already bled a lot. It might harm him." She wanted to say that what he did previously was more harmful, but looking at his forlorn look, she swallowed her words.

She moved to the other soldier who had also been bitten, washed the wound with soap and water, and placed the turmeric salve over it. She noticed that his wound was shallow. The thick materials of his trousers saved him. The snake’s fangs did not penetrate deeply, so only a small amount of venom was injected. He should be alright.

Then she returned to Agilus to apply a pressure immobilization bandage. She always kept two sets of that strip of cloth in her backpack for emergency use. She hoped that Agilus would get lucky and that the venom would bind to his tissues instead of the bloodstream, potentially inactivating it.

She knew of a captain who was bitten by a snake in the jungles of Zandaya. He was saved by applying the pressure immobilization bandage. The cobra’s venom was inactivated, and he did not need to take an IV for the antivenom.

"We should go back," Bener interjected, his voice firm as he stood alongside his brothers. The tension in his gaze flickered with concern, reflecting the danger that loomed around them. "This place is dangerous."

"Take the corpses of the two prisoners and throw the two bandits into the river." Alaric’s voice was grim as he carried Agilus and mounted his horse.

"I’m sorry, Alaric. There is not much I can do. Agilus needed antivenom, but I don’t have a way to get that into his bloodstream." Lara walked beside him while taking Agilus’s pulse.

"Don’t worry; he is much stronger than you thought," Alaric said, but his message was not really for Lara but for him. "This is not the first time he was bitten." His voice softened, a touch of nostalgia creeping in as he recalled the moment when Agilus had pushed him away. That day in the palace garden, a venomous snake—flicking its tongue and glinting ominously in the light—had been thrust at him by young Prince Reuben and Alderan, a cruel jest. The snake was poisonous, and the bite had been swift and fierce. But Agilus had good luck. He survived.

Lara hummed and mounted her horse.

The journey back to the inn unfolded leisurely, the rhythmic sound of hooves echoing softly against the dirt road. Lara rode beside Alaric, a silent companion. She could sense the weight of his thoughts, a heaviness that hung in the air, and she hoped that her presence was a small comfort amidst the enormity of his unspoken worries.

When they arrived at the inn, Alaric placed Agilus in his room. He added layers of pillows so he was in a half-sitting position. It was then that Lara realized that Alaric treated Agilus like his biological brother.

Lara could do nothing. After checking Agilus’s pulse, she wanted to return to her room to rest, but a hand shot out and held her wrist.

Lara was surprised as she looked down at Alaric’s clasped hand on hers. He was holding it like a lifeline, and it was trembling. Lara lifted her head and met the gaze of the tall man standing beside the bed.

Is that fear I saw in his eyes? Fear and helplessness?

Lara looked away and coughed awkwardly. "I’ll just get water, Your Highness."

"No Need." He opened the door and said a few words before coming back.

"You should rest, Your Highness," Lara said gently. She noticed the redness in his eyes and the dark circles underneath.

His room has a wooden couch long enough to accommodate two people. They sat on the couch, and an awkward silence enveloped the room.

"Hmm, Your Highness, isn’t it inappropriate for me to stay in your room?" Lara hesitated but asked anyway.

"What is inappropriate? You are a doctor, and there is a patient here."

Lara: "..."

Somehow, he was right. It was not that she minded. Her brothers might not take it well, and they would definitely learn about it. She could almost hear their incredulous voices, bubbling with disbelief and protective concern.

When Agilus developed a fever, Alaric started pacing around the room. Lara gave him a fever-reducing medicine.

"Your Highness, please rest. It would be more difficult if you get sick too."

Lara’s voice sounded soothing, and the room was filled with a relaxing scent. Alaric sat on the chair beside her.

Lara, too tired, eventually fell asleep. Her head tilted to the side and fell onto the prince’s right shoulder.

Alaric adjusted his position slightly, ensuring she had the most comfortable support. He draped his arm over her shoulders, his action tender. He allowed her head to rest against his chest.

The sweet, intoxicating scent of her hair enveloped him, a delicate blend of blossoms and warmth that lingered in the air. As he inhaled deeply, relaxation swept over him like a gentle wave, and before long, he too succumbed to the call of slumber.

When rosters crowed in the distance, Alaric stirred. Lara, whose head was on his chest, woke up to the drumming of a heartbeat. She blinked a few times, quite disoriented.

Suddenly, she jolted and straightened her body. "I’m sorry, Your Highness. I had fallen asleep."

Prince Alaric was displeased when a certain comforting warmth left him, but a second later, his face betrayed no emotion.

Lara approached the bed. She checked on Agilus and found that his fever was gone, and his complexion was better. She undid the bandage and was happy to see that the bruising around the puncture wound was light. Even the incision that Alaric made around the area did not show any sign of inflammation.

There was a knock on the door. It was Aramis. "Your Highness, what time are we leaving?"

"Have all the soldiers fully recovered?" he asked, his brow furrowing with concern.

"Yes, Your Highness, all the soldiers improved after drinking Kane...Miss Lara’s medicinal brew."

"And have you managed to uncover who was behind this poisoning incident?" His voice dropped to a chilling tone, slicing through the tension in the air.