Villiem sat on his bed with beads of sweat running all over his exposed skin. It hurt. Everything hurt.
Blood seeped into the sheets of his bed. His hands were fastened on either side, the grip strong enough to keep him grounded.
It hurt…
Suddenly, the door to Villiem's room was opened and Felix rushed inside with a small wooden box in hand.
"Your Highness!" Felix stopped moving when he saw the blood.
He looked down on the floor and saw a trail of blood going from the bed to the door, and probably all over the halls. He must not have noticed because he was in a hurry to get here.
Still too late.
"Ah… Thank goodness you're here. Help me with a pot. My stomach is acting up…"
There was a faint smile on Villiem's lips as he spoke with a strained voice. The pain on his bleeding back versus the discomfort in his stomach, Villiem wasn't sure of the one most unbearable.
"Your Highness, you truly allowed yourself to get whipped?" The expression on Felix's face showed that he was really shocked, despite coming here prepared for such a scene.
A while ago, after being commanded to eat all the food served on the breakfast table, Villiem didn't protest. He obeyed silently. Time passed and Felix didn't know what to do.
He wanted to help his master, but he knew that would only worsen things. Noticing Felix's plight, Villiem suggested that he leave to take care of other important things.
Being busy would keep him distracted from watching Villiem suffer. Though Felix was against doing this, he couldn't disobey Villiem.
That was how Villiem was left alone to his devices. He finished all the food and was immediately led to a place known as the Punishment Courtyard.
There, he was flogged by the same type of whip that had hunted him from his childhood. But could he even complain? He couldn't!
He swallowed the pain without a word. After the punishment, he was informed that no one was allowed to help him. Villiem had to walk all the way from the Dark Palace back to the Stone Palace and into his own room.
His back, which had been designed by a poisonous and spiky whip, bled all the way.
It hurt.
But this wasn't the first time he'd experienced this type of pain. And he was sure that it wouldn't be the last time either.
"You expect me to disobey the Emperor?" Villiem countered Felix's words after some time.
A bead of sweat rolled down from the side of his forehead to the surface of his chin, then landed on his lap.
Felix looked at Villiem without saying anything. But it was obvious he had one word to say: YES.
Villiem was known for being confident in standing for justice. Even if it was against the highest person. How could he allow himself to be… disgraced in this way by the filthy Emperor?
Felix had a lot of thoughts and a lot of triggering things to say, but he kept them to himself because he knew that it was not the right time to say them.
He placed the wooden box which contained medicine by Villiem's side, then marched to a corner of the room and picked up a pot. He brought it to Villiem and planted it between his legs.
Villiem didn't even need to stick his finger down his throat before all that he ate poured out of his mouth. Villiem threw up every single thing he ate a while ago.
But even at that, he still didn't feel relieved. His stomach hurt. His throat hurt. Everything hurt.
But he did his best not to show the pain.
Felix helped Villiem to wipe his mouth, then he began to take off his upper clothes. The clothes that were bloody and sticking to the open wounds in his back.
After battling with the front buttons, Felix grew frustrated by the almost silent moans of pain that escaped from Villiem's mouth at every action.
He changed moves, drawing out his sword and slicing the clothes off his master's body. To reveal a bleeding back filled with scars.
Old and new ones mixed.
Every other part of Villiem's body might be fair and clean. But his back was a mess.
If it were to be someone other than Felix, who was used to seeing the scars on his master's back—even him couldn't help but flinch and suck in a deep breath after the gory sight—they would have thrown up in disgust immediately.
Jagged wounds, old and new, bleeding and festering was what covered Villiem Reinhardt's back.
"You…" Villiem closed his eyes as he tried to speak. "Be gentle."
Felix didn't say anything in response. He opened the wooden box and brought out a bottle of spirit. He was not at all gentle in the way he poured the content down Villiem's back.
"Yeeeeeshhhhh…" Villiem made a pained sound with his teeth, his grip on the sheets tightening.
It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.
Like it wasn't enough, after emptying the spirit bottle on Villiem's back, Felix brought out another bottle. One that was refined from their own intelligence.
He sprayed it all over Villiem's back. Villiem held back with more effort this time, silently screaming behind his clenched teeth.
It stung. It burned. It hurt.
But Villiem didn't move, refusing the strong urge to twist and turn, stand and run, or do anything to lessen the pain. He had to convince himself that it would pass.
Just like every other pain he had experienced, it would pass.
And it did.
After a series of slapping anguish as Felix administered treatment onto his back, Villiem could finally breathe without straining himself at the last stage.
A thin material, soft and wet with unique fluid, was plastered all over his back. The sheets were changed and Villiem was made to lie down on his stomach.
This was a series of events that he should have been more than familiar with at this time. But he was still never able to turn his sensors off so that he wouldn't feel pain.
Felix dismissed himself from the room after he finished. He knew very well that Villiem disliked having others witness him in a helpless state.
For Villiem, it was better to look foolish and be humiliated in front of his subordinates than show weakness to them. Than present oneself in a useless state.
Anything was better than displaying that he was nothing but a pile of flesh at the end of the day.