Chapter 396 Luke Can't Swallow… So Emberlyn Considers Another Method?!

"Hahhh..."

Emberlyn finally released a deep breath after traveling a considerable distance from the devastated battlefield.

She glanced around the dense forest, making sure that no Orcs had followed her, before noticing a small cave hidden among the rocks at the base of a nearby mountain.

'This should be safe enough.'

With Luke's unconscious body still resting in her arms, she hurried toward the entrance and stepped inside, where the faint light entering from outside revealed a relatively dry chamber.

"Just hold on a little longer, Luke."

Using her power, Emberlyn gathered some of the surrounding stone and shaped it into a flat slab, creating a temporary bed upon which she carefully placed his body.

Unfortunately, the moment she examined his condition, her expression became increasingly worried.

Although the wounds Kiki had previously sealed were no longer bleeding as severely, Luke had still lost all four limbs, while several injuries across his chest and abdomen continued releasing golden-red blood.

His breathing was weak, and his normally fair complexion had turned unusually pale.

'I have to heal him before his condition gets any worse.'

Emberlyn immediately retrieved an advanced healing potion from her belongings, carefully selecting one whose medicinal energy Luke's current body could withstand without being overwhelmed.

After all, although she possessed much stronger healing resources, giving him something too powerful in his current condition could cause more harm than good.

POP!

She uncorked the vial and gently supported the back of Luke's head with one hand, bringing the potion toward his lips.

"Come on, Luke. You just need to drink a little."

Carefully parting his mouth, she tilted the vial and allowed a small quantity of the liquid to enter.

However, instead of swallowing, Luke remained completely unresponsive, and the potion began gathering inside his mouth.

"...Huh?"

Emberlyn immediately stopped pouring.

"Why aren't you swallowing it?"

She waited for a moment, hoping his body would respond naturally, but nothing happened.

The realization made her increasingly anxious, since she couldn't simply continue pouring the potion into his mouth while he remained unconscious and unable to swallow.

"Think, Emberlyn, think. There has to be another way."

She looked toward Luke's pale face, trying to recall everything she knew about treating an unconscious person.

Then a particular memory suddenly surfaced.

'Wait...'

Some time ago, while observing the customs of the local inhabitants, she had witnessed a woman demonstrating how to administer medicine to someone who couldn't drink normally.

The woman had been helping her husband, and instead of pouring the medicine directly into his mouth, she had transferred it using her own mouth while carefully helping him swallow.

'That's right!'

Emberlyn's eyes brightened upon remembering the method, but her excitement lasted only a moment before she realized what she would have to do.

"..."

Her gaze slowly moved toward Luke's lips.

'Wait a minute...'

The woman in that demonstration had been treating her husband, whereas Luke wasn't Emberlyn's husband.

Moreover, the method required their lips to touch.

A faint blush immediately appeared across her cheeks.

'W-What am I thinking?!'

Emberlyn shook her head, attempting to dismiss the strange thoughts that had suddenly entered her mind.

'I'm only doing this to save his life. Why should I be embarrassed about something like that?'

She glanced toward the potion before looking at Luke again.

His weak breathing reminded her that this wasn't the time to hesitate over such matters.

"All right, Luke. I'm going to help you drink this, so you'd better recover afterward."

Having made her decision, Emberlyn brought the vial toward her own lips, taking the remaining potion into her mouth.

A faint sweetness spread across her tongue, and for some reason, she became unusually conscious of the fact that the vial had touched Luke's lips only moments earlier.

'It's just the potion...'

Trying to ignore the thought, she carefully placed the empty vial aside before turning toward him.

Several loose strands of her white hair had fallen across her face, so she gently tucked them behind her ear, revealing the faint blush that had yet to disappear.

Then she leaned forward.

Her icy-blue eyes settled upon Luke's unconscious face, and as the distance between them gradually shortened, she could feel her heartbeat growing faster.

'Why am I getting so nervous?'

Although she had never done anything like this before, Emberlyn knew the procedure was meant to save his life, which made her reaction all the more embarrassing.

She lowered herself a little further, until Luke's faint, warm breathing brushed against her face.

'Just do it, Emberlyn.'

Her gaze briefly shifted toward his lips.

For a moment, she even forgot that Luke was already married, becoming entirely occupied with the unfamiliar sensation of being so close to him.

Then, just as their lips were about to touch—

BAAAAAAM!

A thunderous impact suddenly erupted outside the cave.

KRRRRRUMBLE!

The surrounding ground shook violently, sending broken stones tumbling down the mountainside as the force of the landing spread through the nearby forest.

Emberlyn immediately released her energy, reinforcing the cave before the shockwave could damage its structure.

OHHMMMM!

The trembling rocks gradually stabilized, although several loose fragments still fell near the entrance.

"...!"

Emberlyn froze in her position, her lips only a short distance from Luke's.

'That aura...'

She recognized the newcomer immediately.

Unfortunately, before she could decide how to explain the situation, an angry voice echoed from the cave entrance.

"Ember, don't tell me you've fallen for him."

Emberlyn slowly turned her head.

There, standing near the entrance, was Rhaenyra, whose crimson eyes were fixed directly upon her younger sister.

"And have you already forgotten that he's a married man?"

The mocking question carried obvious irritation, especially after Rhaenyra had arrived only to discover Emberlyn leaning over Luke with their lips almost touching.

"..."

Emberlyn immediately lowered her gaze, feeling even more embarrassed now that her elder sister had witnessed what she was preparing to do.

However, she didn't regret attempting to feed Luke the potion.

After all, saving his life was far more important than worrying about how the situation might appear.

As for Rhaenyra's accusation that she had fallen for him, Emberlyn chose not to answer.

She wasn't entirely certain how she should respond to that question herself.

THUD.

Rhaenyra stepped inside the cave, ignoring her younger sister as her attention shifted toward Luke's unconscious body.

The moment she saw his condition, her expression changed.

Both of his arms and legs were missing, while numerous wounds covered his body, with golden-red blood staining the stone slab beneath him.

His face was pale, and his breathing was so weak that she could barely hear it.

"..."

For an instant, something flickered within Rhaenyra's crimson eyes.

Her heart felt strangely heavy as she looked at the injuries covering Luke's body, although she immediately suppressed the unfamiliar emotion.

THUD.

She approached the stone slab and lowered herself beside him.

Then, without speaking, Rhaenyra raised one hand and gently touched his cheek, brushing aside the black strands of hair that had fallen across his closed eyes.

Her fingers paused briefly against his face.

'You really are troublesome...'

She had allowed Luke to travel with Emberlyn because she believed he would remain relatively safe while she was occupied hunting those beings.

Yet now, the human she had left behind was lying before her with nearly his entire body destroyed.

"Sister, I was just about to heal—"

"SHUT UP!"

Rhaenyra's furious shout immediately interrupted Emberlyn, causing the younger Dragon Princess to stare at her in surprise.

Emberlyn had expected anger after being discovered in such an embarrassing position, but she hadn't anticipated this level of fury.

"I thought leaving him with you would keep him safe," Rhaenyra continued, her gaze returning to Luke. "I was busy hunting those beings, so I believed you could at least prevent something like this from happening."

She glanced toward Emberlyn.

"But it seems I was wrong."

"..."

Emberlyn lowered her head, unable to immediately find an answer.

Until now, she had believed that Luke and Rhaenyra simply didn't want to remain together.

After all, Rhaenyra had never openly accepted him as her husband, while Luke had spent the past month traveling with her rather than staying beside his supposed wife.

Because of that, Emberlyn had assumed her elder sister didn't particularly care what happened to him.

Yet the expression Rhaenyra had shown upon seeing Luke's injuries suggested otherwise.

Unfortunately, Emberlyn still didn't understand how complicated the relationship between those two had become, especially when her elder sister had always been terrible at expressing her actual feelings.

Meanwhile, Rhaenyra had already turned her attention back toward Luke.

She gently pressed her lips together before concentrating upon the blood essence within her body.

OHHMMMM!

A faint crimson radiance gathered near her mouth as she carefully extracted a single drop of her own blood essence, controlling the amount so that Luke's severely weakened body wouldn't be overwhelmed by its power.

As an A-Rank dragon, her blood essence contained extraordinary vitality, and even such a small quantity would be sufficient to accelerate his recovery.

However, she still needed to administer it properly.

Rhaenyra leaned toward Luke, preparing to transfer the blood essence directly into his mouth with her lips.

Unfortunately, Emberlyn had been watching her movements the entire time.

And the moment she realized what her elder sister intended to do, an uncomfortable feeling suddenly emerged within her chest.

'Wait...'

Her gaze moved toward Rhaenyra's lips, which were gradually approaching Luke's.

For some reason, she found herself becoming increasingly unwilling to let her sister continue.

Before she could properly consider why, the words escaped her mouth.

"Sister, you should step back, because Luke was my responsibility, and I should be the one to heal him."

"..."

The cave immediately became silent.