The Legendary Healer

Chapter 8

Elias tried more tricks from the book, hoping that one of Kevin's magic might just work.

"What is happening!" he thundered, his voice shaking the entire hall. His eyes snapped to Elias, burning with rage. "What did you do to my daughter!"

Elias's body vibrated under its own weight and his hands shook uncontrollably. His face turned white and panic poured throughout his body.

This was not supposed to happen. According to Kevin's notes, the medicine should have worked perfectly.

"I... I don't understand," Elias stuttered, his voice cracking. He grabbed Kevin's book from where it had fallen and flipped through the pages frantically, his eyes scanning the handwriting desperately.

However, the more he searched, the more confused he became. The notes only showed the final steps, not the complex reactions between different herbs or what to do when something went wrong.

The Emperor could see clearly that Elias had no idea what to do. The man who had been praised as their god sent savior was flipping through a book like a lost student.

The Emperor's eyes flashed with murderous rage as he looked between Elias and the King.

"Did you want to kill my daughter?" he asked, his voice dropping to something cold and deadly. "Was that the plan? Did you and this fool come here to assassinate the Princess?"

Both men panicked instantly.

"No, Your Majesty!" the King shouted, dropping to his knees. "This was never our intention! Something must have gone wrong with the medicine!"

"I followed the instructions exactly!" Elias added desperately, his voice shaking. "Something must have interfered, someone must have tampered with the herbs, this wasn't supposed to happen!"

The Emperor stared at them for a moment, then dark memories rushed into his mind.

He remembered the young man who had walked into the hall earlier with prison dust on his clothes and rope burns on his wrists. He remembered the exact words that man had spoken before being dragged away.

"If the Princess takes that medicine, she will die."

The Emperor's eyes snapped to the guards standing by the doors.

"Bring that man back," he ordered, his voice urgent and frantic. "The one who was taken away earlier. The one who said he could help my daughter. Bring him here right now!"

Everyone in the hall stared at him with shock written all over their faces.

Elias's heart tightened and his chest squeezed with panic.

"Your Majesty, that man is a convicted traitor!" Elias blurted out quickly. "He has no knowledge or ability! He was just trying to cause trouble and embarrass me in front of everyone!"

"Everyone knows his background, he is from the slums," the King added, his voice thick with desperation. "He is nothing but gutter trash with no training! You cannot trust the Princess's life to someone like that!"

They both started talking at the same time, throwing insults at Kevin and calling him jealous, crazy, dangerous, and worthless.

However, before they could finish, the Emperor's hand cut through the air and landed on the King's cheek with a loud, sharp slap.

The sound echoed through the entire hall like thunder.

Everyone went dead silent, their mouths open with shock.

The King's head snapped to the side, his cheek burning red, his eyes wide with disbelief. Even Elias froze completely.

The Emperor turned his deadly gaze to the guards by the door.

"Do I need to replace every guard in this palace before my orders are followed?" he roared. "Move!"

The guards' hearts almost jumped out of their chests. They bowed quickly and rushed out of the hall without looking back.

A heavy silence filled the room. Only the Princess's coughing and the frantic whispers of physicians trying to help her could be heard.

A few moments later, the guards came rushing back, dragging Kevin between them.

His wrists were still marked from the handcuffs, and his clothes still dirty from being hauled around, but his back stayed straight and his eyes were cold as he was pulled into the center of the chaos.

The Emperor turned to him immediately, his eyes wild with fear and desperation.

"You said you could help my daughter," the Emperor said, his voice heavy and rushed. "You said if she took that medicine, she would die. You were right."

He stepped closer to Kevin.

"Can you save her?"

Before Kevin could answer, whispers started around the hall.

"Is he really going to trust a traitor?"

"A slum rat with no training?"

"This is disgusting!"

"He will only make things worse!"

"How can a criminal touch the Princess?"

Kevin ignored them completely and looked directly at the Emperor.

"I can help," Kevin said, his voice cold and steady. "However, before I do anything, I need you to promise me your protection. If I am going to stand against the people who want me dead, I cannot do it as someone they can kill whenever they want."

The Emperor's chest heaved as his daughter convulsed again.

"Fine," he snapped. "If you save her, anyone who touches you without my permission dies. You have my protection and you will get whatever you want.!"

Kevin nodded once and the guards quickly unlocked his handcuffs.

The moment his hands were free, Kevin rushed to the Princess's side and looked her over carefully.

"I need specific herbs," he called out. "Bring me nightshade root, black lotus extract, and dried serpent grass."

The silence that followed was complete.

Then shocked whispers exploded through the hall.

"Those are killing herbs!"

"Everyone knows those are poison!"

"He is going to finish her off!"

"Someone stop him!"

The royal physicians pushed forward, their faces pale with horror.

"Your Majesty, those herbs are deadly poison!" one of them shouted. "Combined together, they will kill anyone who takes them!"

The King stepped closer to the Emperor, his eyes burning with panic and rage.

"Your Majesty, are you really going to let a slum rat do experiments on the Princess just to stroke his ego?" he demanded. "This man has no idea what he is doing!"

A ripple of shock spread through the hall as everyone waited for the Emperor's answer.

However, the Emperor looked at his daughter one more time. He watched her body shake and the blood stain her lips, and his eyes hardened.

She looked like she was going to die anyways all thanks to Elias.

Rage rippled through his blood. The Emperor knew he would be on the safer side letting Kevin treat his daughter even if something goes wrong.

"It is better than leaving her to incompetent physicians," he replied, his voice sharp as a blade.

The words cut straight into the hearts of everyone present and another ripple of shock washed through the crowd.

The King tried to speak again, but the Emperor cut him off.

"Get him what he needs," the Emperor ordered the physicians. "Right now."