My Unrestrained Lives-Chapter 62: Waking Up

Caelen finally went away with his entourage, and now, alone in the palace with Silas, Ellis looked at her with sharp eyes and said, "Go and get some sleep. That’s an order!"

Silas didn’t say anything back, and finally turned away... to get some much-needed rest.

Ellis returned to his seat and began thinking deeply about the situation.

The backlash from his actions in the Nore palace had turned out to be far smaller than he had expected. That was the only thing occupying his mind.

Caelen, while he did question Silas, only made a few passing remarks. He didn’t seem to suspect that either Ellis or Silas had any connection to what happened... at least, that was the impression Ellis got from him.

Even so, he knew better than to let his guard down. Because, despite how no one seemed to think much of him or Silas, there were still spies sent to investigate the matter, after all.

Well, no matter how many they sent, Ellis had already decided... he would kill anyone who dared to sneak around in the dark.

He continued to dwell on his current situation for some time before finally standing up and heading back to his room, the place where his mother lay.

She was still in deep sleep, unmoving despite all the chaos that had happened around her since yesterday. And Ellis, after staring at her silently for a while, gently held her hand and began circulating his mana inside her body.

Time passed like that, slowly and quietly. And more than an hour later, he finally stopped.

Would she not wake up before I treat her?

He wondered quietly, before finally shaking his head and rising to his feet.

He planned to go and make a simple meal for himself before starting his training again. But just as he arrived at the door, a rustling sound behind him made him pause.

Turning his head to look back, Ellis saw his mother, her eyes now open, trying to push herself up from her resting position.

He froze in surprise for a moment before quickly snapping out of it. Rushing to her side, he called out, "Mother!"

Thalia’s body flinched at the sound of that word. Then she stopped trying to lift herself and instead remained in her lying position, slowly turning her blurry gaze toward the child who had come to her side.

"Mother, can you hear me?"

"How do you feel?"

"Do you need anything?"

Ellis’s questions came all at once, layered with concern and relief.

But Thalia, still emerging from her groggy state, didn’t answer immediately. She simply continued staring at him in silence, as if trying to remember where she was or whether the person in front of her was real.

That’s why, in the end, he didn’t say anything more, and just silently held her hand, while staring back at her.

And like that, a few moments passed in stillness. Only the faint sound of their breaths could be heard in the quiet room, before Thalia finally parted her dry lips and said, "W-where is... Tilda?"

Her words came out slowly and with difficulty, as though each syllable required effort. But even so, she strained herself and spoke... to ask about the only loyal person who had remained by her side, and who, by all reason, should be here right now.

But... how could Ellis know who this "Tilda" was?

He still didn’t know the name of the maid he had seen take her last breath in front of him, after all. And in this sudden moment, when everything was happening so fast, it didn’t occur to him that she might be referring to that middle-aged maid.

"Who is this... Tilda?" Ellis asked carefully.

He was trying to be considerate, but to Thalia? She immediately understood the implication behind his question.

That’s why she didn’t reply. She just closed her eyes.

A single tear began sliding down her cheek, and she tried to clench the hand she was holding... but she couldn’t with her feeble body. And so, after staying silent like that for a while, in the end, she simply drifted back to sleep.

Ellis, still standing by her side, let out a heavy sigh. He lowered his gaze and quietly checked her condition once more, making sure everything was stable, before finally turning and walking out of the room with slow, reluctant steps.

Should you have not asked about me first?

That bitter thought echoed in his mind, and for a moment, he actually paused in his steps, tempted to turn around, to shake her awake and demand an answer.

He had thought that he didn’t hold any emotions or expectations toward his mother.

But now, standing there with his fists quietly clenched by his sides, Ellis knew... that wasn’t true.

...

With a tray holding two plates balanced carefully in his hands, Ellis returned to the room.

His thoughts... complicated, tangled thoughts about his mother, lingered in his mind, refusing to settle.

But in the end? He at least knew one thing for certain: he didn’t want her to die.

And even if they would never have the kind of relationship ordinary mothers and sons might share, he still planned to help her recover.

Ellis placed the tray down on the table beside the bed.

Then, taking his own plate, he sat down a little distance away from her, eating quietly by himself.

He had made something light and easy to digest, something he believed would be good for her if she regained consciousness.

But even after he finished eating, began his usual training, and the time passed.

Still... she didn’t wake up again.

...

When the sun was already high in the sky, Ellis, who was still in his room with his mother, suddenly opened his closed eyes and looked toward the door.

And coming out from there was Silas, who clearly seemed to be in a better state.

She came before him and greeted him like usual, but after taking a look around, she suddenly asked, "Did something happen?"

With the tray of food left at the side of the bed, and Ellis’s not-so-good mood, she immediately realized that something must have happened.

Ellis didn’t hide anything from her and naturally told her what had taken place.

When she heard it, Silas gave the now-sleeping Thalia a complicated look, keenly understanding the problem with her master. Then she moved her gaze back to Ellis and softly said, "Master, Tilda is the only maid that came with Lady Thalia to the Royal Grounds from the Soulvaire family."

"It’s just... with Nore Palace already ruined, I don’t know what happened to her."

Despite her words, Silas actually already had an idea. If even Lady Thalia ended up in such a miserable state, then what about a maid?

Would she still be in this world?

She doubted it.

On the other side, when Ellis heard the word "maid," his mind immediately went back to the one he saw, detained like a prisoner. And in that moment, his mood became even more complicated.

In the end, he didn’t say anything more on the topic of the maid, and simply looked at Silas and said, "Clean and prepare the next room. From now on, we’ll be sleeping there."

The abandoned palace, while it had many rooms, wasn’t one he planned to fully use. Since it was only the two of them here, and he had already instructed Silas to clean only the places they frequently used, the rest had been left untouched.

Before she started sleeping with him, Silas used to stay in the servant’s side of the palace. That’s why the rooms nearby still needed some care before they could be used again.

Either way, he needed another room to stay in now, with his mother occupying this one.

Silas nodded and was about to take her leave to begin cleaning immediately. But just as she turned, Ellis suddenly added, "And also prepare something light. Something a patient can eat."

He believed she would be able to make something better than what he had prepared earlier.

Silas nodded once more, accepting the new instruction, before taking her leave for real this time.

After she left, Ellis returned to his training. But he didn’t spend much time at it. Before long, he suddenly opened his eyes again, stood up, and walked out of the room.

Ellis was unable to concentrate like usual, and that’s why he decided to go out and check on the knights again.

To see when they would finally bring him the ingredients... or the said priest.

With Doran and his colleague having already gone away with Maelis, supposedly to be punished, the knight Ellis spoke to this time was a different one.

He was that older knight who had been with Doran the previous night, and Ellis immediately recognized him.

"I have already been briefed about your needs, Your Highness, by Doran," the middle-aged knight said with a calm, neutral tone. "And I will try to secure what you want as soon as possible."

But Ellis didn’t like that ambiguous tone. His expression darkened, and in a threatening voice, he said, "Then, I hope you don’t take too long."

"Accidents seem to occur rather easily in my palace, after all."

The middle-aged knight frowned slightly, but Ellis, uncaring about his reaction, simply turned around and left after delivering his message.

It seemed to him that his earlier move... killing the spies, still hadn’t had the intended effect.

So, there was a need to pressure them further, to make sure they brought him what he wanted.