in sickness and in death (totcf)

questions after questions

The next people Cale met had terrified him just as much as their counterparts in his world did.

He was still in his bed, making sure the children knew his intentions well with "No, I will not leave you the second you look away"s and "I'll make sure this won't happen"s.

And another question:

"No, I don't remember how I died. Do you know?"

When the children had gone quiet after that question, Cale had decided not to broach the topic further. Maybe they really hadn't known how he died. While that meant more work for him, he preferred it this way. Children shouldn't concern themselves with matters of death, and he didn't want to burden them with such heavy knowledge.

And if they did, well, Cale wouldn't make them tell him.

They also didn't let him out of the bed. Which Cale had gotten used to over the last couple of weeks. He abided by their wills. Being tired with life does that to you.

'Some things just don't change no matter which world you are in, do they?' Cale thought as the children fluffed his pillows for the third time that hour.

After the incident, they were being cautious. Cale would've sympathized with that if it weren't for the fact that he literally hasn't really walked in weeks. He was floating about mindlessly for the first few hours in this world, then Choi Han carried him to the villa, after which Alberu teleported him around the place because he was acting like Cale would die if he took a single step.

It's frustrating as fuck and makes his hands itch to burn something. Stealing something would also work. Maybe he should rob the royal treasury during his stay here. An empire is bound to have enough money to spare for him, shouldn't it?
But... he liked this.

It's a strange mix of annoyance and comfort to have people fuss over him like this. Cale couldn't deny that it felt good to be taken care of, if not a bit excessive.

E̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶d̶e̶s̶e̶r̶v̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶i̶t̶.̶

He almost fell asleep again after that adrenaline rush he just experienced. He doesn't do well with emotions, and the day had been full of emotions. But of course, fate had other plans as the mana in the room warped.

Cale and the children turned their eyes to the new figures in the room. Raon was the first one to jump out of the bed and greet them with a strong hug.

"Smart Rosalyn and Good Mary! Have you come to see Papi too?"

Rosalyn and Mary, who were staring at the redhead, snapped their heads back to Raon. The mage's smile was strained as she answered the little dragon. Mary's expression was covered by her cloak hood.

"Yes, we have. Have you been watching over him?" Rosalyn gently patted Raon on the back as she answered him, but the veins in her hands were popping.

"Yes! And my hyung and noona, we made sure human didn't take even a step out of the bed!"

Rosalyn's eyes flickered towards Mary, who nodded in agreement. "Can we have a moment alone with him, Raon?" Rosalyn reassured the little dragon before glancing back at the redhead with vigor.

Raon looked a little hesitant. "Yes, of course. But Rosalyn, nothing will hurt him, right? He will not get hurt the moment I look away?"

Mary nodded in confirmation, her eyes softening behind the cloak hood. "We won't let anything happen to him," she added, her voice as steady and monochrome as ever.

Looking at them, Cale had a thought. Did Raon really have to worry so much about him getting hurt? In other words, even though Cale admitted that he got hurt a couple of times during the war with White Star, he still possessed Vitality of the Heart. Everything seemed more dramatic because of the blood that the healing power caused him to cough out than his injuries ever were.