The tip of Sir Kaelen's silver sword was now only an inch from Alistair's throat. The ring of steel filling the royal chamber created a tension that felt ready to explode. The King's personal guards surrounded the bed, their eyes flashing with warning.
"One more inch toward the Princess's garments, and your head will roll on this floor, Julian," Kaelen growled. His voice was low, yet thick with genuine threat.
Alistair did not blink. His hand remained still atop the buttons of Princess Elara's silk gown, moving neither forward nor back. He turned his head slowly toward King Theodoric, who stood frozen at the foot of the bed.
"Your Majesty," Alistair said, his voice as steady as if he weren't standing at the brink of death. "The Princess's honor is your priority. But to me, as a doctor, her life is the supreme law. This clothing obstructs my view of the 'vein's' movement. I must see the epicenter of the spread."
"Fraud! Pervert!" Valerius shrieked from behind the line of guards. His wrinkled face trembled violently. "He only wishes to defile the royal dignity before he dies! Your Majesty, do not listen to him! The Obsidian Veins are a holy curse; touching them with the filthy hands of a convict is a grave sin!"
Alistair let out a short laugh—a cold sound that made Valerius choke on his own words.
"A holy curse? You call a parasite that is devouring the Princess's bone marrow 'holy', Maester?" Alistair shot Valerius a look of utter disdain. "Listen to me carefully, you stubborn old man. This is not magic. This is Thermovorus Obsidianus, an ancient parasite extinct in most parts of the world, yet apparently lingering in the dark corners of this kingdom."
King Theodoric stepped forward, signaling the guards to lower their swords slightly, though they did not sheathe them. "A parasite? You are saying something is alive inside my daughter's body?"
"Correct, Your Majesty," Alistair replied. "It resembles a vine, but it is a living organism. It feeds on human body heat. That is why the Princess's skin feels cold—not because she is freezing, but because her heat is being entirely absorbed by this parasite to harden its black shell. The more you give her warming elixirs or burning incense, the faster the parasite grows. You are serving it a banquet, while the Princess is starving to death from within."
Valerius spat on the floor. "Nonsense! If it were a parasite, why has no physician in the last hundred years discovered it?"
"Because they are all just like you, Maester," Alistair countered sharply. "Too busy praying and reading horoscopes to bother studying actual anatomy. You want proof? Look at her wrist."
Alistair pointed toward Elara's hand, which he had touched earlier. "The black vein is pulsing. Ice does not pulse, Maester. Stone does not have a heartbeat. Only something living can move to the rhythm of its host's pulse."
King Theodoric drew closer, his eyes narrowing as he stared at his daughter's arm. Sure enough, beneath the pale skin, the black line seemed to vibrate very faintly, as if a worm were squirming slowly.
The King's face changed drastically, caught between horror and a flicker of hope. "If you are right... what can you do? You said you need to undress her?"
"I must find the 'Mother Heart' of this parasite. It usually attaches near the solar plexus because that is where the body temperature is most stable," Alistair explained clinically. "I must cut off its access to heat before it reaches the heart valves. If it locks onto the heart, the Princess will be permanently petrified within seconds."
"Do not let him, Your Majesty!" Valerius screamed hysterically. "This is a trick! He will kill her!"
Alistair stood tall, challenging Valerius's gaze in front of everyone.
"Let us make a wager, Maester Valerius," Alistair said, his voice echoing with undeniable authority. "If I fail to save the Princess tonight, you may take my head yourself in the palace square. I will not resist."
The entire room fell silent.
"But," Alistair continued, his eyes narrowing cruelly. "If I succeed in curing her, you must strip off your Grand Maester robes, surrender all your titles, and leave this palace forever. You have killed many with your ignorance, and today is the last day you practice."
Valerius recoiled a step, his face ashen. "You... you dare challenge me?"
"Why? Are you afraid?" Alistair gave a lopsided smile. "A Grand Maester so certain of his 'curse' diagnosis shouldn't fear the bluff of a convict, right?"
King Theodoric looked at them both. The pressure in the room was so heavy that the sound of the rain outside felt like hammer blows. The King looked at his daughter's face, which was turning increasingly blue, then back to Alistair.
"Do it," the King ordered in a hoarse voice.
"Your Majesty!" Valerius tried to protest.
"Silence, Valerius!" the King snapped. "You have had three months and her condition has only worsened. Let this man work. Kaelen, put away your sword, but stay by his side. If he intentionally harms Elara... you know what must be done."
Kaelen sheathed his sword reluctantly, but his eyes remained fixed on every inch of Alistair's movements.
Alistair nodded. He sat back down at the bedside. His face transformed into one of absolute gravity, the mask of a surgeon entering the operating theater. There was no lust, no hesitation—only precision.
He reached out, his fingers grasping the first button of the silk gown covering Princess Elara's chest.
"Princess," Alistair whispered very softly, almost inaudible to the others. "Forgive me for this intrusion. But in my world, a doctor must look into the darkness to find the light."
With steady and calm movements, Alistair undid the buttons one by one. As the silk fabric parted, exposing the Princess's upper chest, the sound of held breaths came from the guards.
There, right over the sternum, was a dense black knot, protruding like the roots of an ancient tree strangling a trunk. The black veins radiated from there like a spiderweb, pulsing with a terrifying dark purple hue.
"What kind of demon is that..." Kaelen whispered, his face filled with sheer horror.
Alistair did not answer. He reached out his hand, touching the center of the black knot. Instantly, Elara's body convulsed violently. The black veins suddenly glowed dimly, as if angered by the touch.
"Her body temperature is plummeting! She's going into thermal shock!" Alistair exclaimed. "Quickly! Fetch me that physician's toolkit! I need silver needles! Now!"
The guards moved in a panic, while Alistair pressed a point near Elara's heart with two fingers, trying to stabilize the blood flow that was beginning to be obstructed by the raging parasite.
Alistair roughly pulled the Princess's gown further open to expose the solar plexus area, which was already covered by hardened black tissue. The guards unsheathed their swords once more, deeming Alistair's actions to have crossed the line of decency. "Your hands! Get your hands off her, you bastard!" one guard shouted as Alistair prepared to plunge the first silver needle into a vital point on the Princess's chest.