Luhan let another heavy sigh escape his lips. He had a mix of emotions seeing how pale his sister looked on her bed. True, the pain throughout the years she’s had this sickness must’ve taken a burdensome toll on Krystal. But it didn’t give her the right to constantly blame Shixun for what has befallen onto her. Luhan’s pretty much aware of what Krystal feels towards the brunette and he has tried his best to make sure the two doesn’t meet eye to eye. He’d thoroughly scruntinise Shixun’s training hours while he and Kai took turns training her, leaving no room for Krystal to jump in. He thought her feeling of detest would’ve subsided by the days, but it seemed as if it has sustained if not increased. After listening to what Wendy has said, Luhan still couldn’t accept the fact that his own sister would bring herself to treat another like how she has. It wasn’t ethical, nor was it acceptable. The support or reasonings she had for herself wasn’t adequate.

The Crown Prince groaned and plopped his head onto the bed, his hand still beneath Krystal’s palm even as he loosened his grip. He knew he didn’t have to take sides, his sister was wrong. Despite the illness, she shouldn’t have resorted to treating the girl in such a manner. Albeit all that, Krystal was still his sister; and Luhan felt a surge of guilt seeping into his heart knowing that Krystal has kept such a grave secret from her family. He reckoned it was mainly because of him. He looked up and rested bought his elbows on the comforter, propping them up as he brought his sister’s hand to his lips. Fluttering his eyes shut, he thought of how he should react once she wakes up. Naturally, he should feel a mix of worry and relief because of what Krystal has gone through. But on the other hand, he couldn’t wash away the memory of how his sister hand her fingers curled around the brunette’s collar when she was lying defenceless on the ground. Or how her eyes were filled with pure malice when she swung her knuckles across the other’s cheeks.

The Prince frowned again, he didn’t even manage to see how Shixun was doing.

“Mmm…”

His eyes flew open when he heard soft groans coming from his sister.  “Krystal?”

The blonde’s hand slipped away from her brother’s palms as she wiped at her face and eyes. She massaged the bridge of her nose and scrunched her eyes tightly. She turned to her brother and wore a questioning look, wondering why her knuckles seemed to hurt.

“What happened?”

Luhan’s brows furrowed. “You fainted,” he started as he shifted from the chair to the drawer beside his sister’s bed. He pulled it out to find a few painkillers and heavily pigmented foundation before placing them onto her covers. He watched as her expression changed and as she turned her face away.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

Krystal kept mum. Luhan pretty much knew the reason why already, and the princess didn’t think she would need to explain. Her brother understood her silence enough. Krystal probably didn’t want to talk about it, and there was no point in pursuing the matter any longer.

“What’s with you and Shixun.”

The princess groaned and shot her brother a glare, “Really? You’re more worried about her than you’re worried about me? I’m your sister!”

Krystal didn’t understand why everyone around her seemed to be more concerned about the brunette, whose father was the ultimate cause of what’s happening to the imperial siblings. Not to mention the rest of the world.

“I didn’t say that, I simply asked what’s going on between the two of you.” Luhan emphasised. He wasn’t a biased man despite his emotions pressing him to be. And as his sister, Krystal should well be aware of her brother’s intentions. “She’s gone through enough for more than half her lifetime already; but I’m giving you a chance to explain—”

“And what exactly has she gone through? Why do Kai and you keep saying that?” Krystal exasperatedly shot up from the bed, shaking away the short but sharp pain in her head due to the sudden movement. “We’re the ones suffering, not her.”

Her brother gritted his teeth. Of course, it wasn’t easy to squeeze out a direct and complete answer from his sister anyway; what else did he expect. Despite his boiling urge to tell her of Shixun’s history, he didn’t think his sister would give an ounce of care. She has always been the opposite of him; even guilt wouldn’t be able to bring her to the right senses,

“Forget it.” He sighed, hoping that he would instead get the answer from Shixun instead. “I’ll go get you some tea.”

The princess sunk back into the bed and pulled the covers over her head. Because of the sickness she has to depend almost entirely on the tea. It made her dislike the brunette more and more knowing that she didn’t have to go through half as much pain as they were. And with Kai and her brother being on her side, it made her question just how much exactly has the brunette gone through that seemed so incomparable to what they were experiencing.

Luhan gave one last look to his sister before letting the door slide shut. As he walked down the turns and aisles of the ship, he wondered if he should’ve told his sister about Shixun. He did promise the brunette that he wouldn’t tell anyone about her possession of the antidote in her system— and he hasn’t. But he never promised to keep her history of being chased by familiar researchers a secret though. Maybe once Krystal’s in better condition, he should disclose the situation.

Speaking of her condition, in spite of her being in more pain than he was; the prince pretty much knew she would be able to hold out. He couldn’t deny thinking that maybe Shixun would be able to help by giving a part of her blood to his sister. But he couldn’t bring himself to inflict more pain on the girl. She’s gone through enough, and it wouldn’t be fair to see Shixun’s life being portrayed as any less meaningful than Krystal’s.

Nobody should be more important than another despite their statuses or the pain they’re going through.

“Well, pain is relative.” He whispered to himself, shuddering at the thought of being in Shixun’s position. He turned around the next bend and jumped slightly to see Kai with a vacant expression washed over his face, leaning against the wall. “Kai?”

The man looked to his eyes, making the prince frown at his abnormal behaviour. His eyes didn’t seem to contain any life in them as they stared back lazily into Luhan’s emerald ones.

“You okay?”

Kai merely gave a weak nod and proceeded to walk pass Luhan. “Krystal’s awake, it’ll be great if you can… drop by…” the Crown Prince trailed when Kai didn’t respond as if he didn’t hear what the other just said. But seeing that he walked back in the direction Luhan came from, he reckoned that maybe Kai was just— guilty. He wasn’t sure why but that look was familiar, and Luhan could only assume that he felt bad for not knowing what Krystal’s been going through either.

He was about to run down the stairs when he saw both Baekhyun and Chanyeol rushing up the steps, with the former dashing past as if he didn’t see the prince. But of course, his friend stopped to give a deep bow; apologising for the other’s actions. Before he could ask what was going on, Chanyeol had already run after Baekhyun, who started to call out Shixun’s name.

Leaving behind his previous agenda, Luhan moved away from the steps and followed in the duo’s— who disappeared behind the fifth door. What were they doing in the infirmary?  The prince didn’t wish to wait to find out, especially since it could’ve potentially involved the brunette seeing how frantically Baekhyun was calling out for her name. Hastening his steps, Luhan strode nearer to the entrance. His eyes instantly doubled their sizes at what he came across.

“It’s okay, Shixun I’m here.” Baekhyun pulled a traumat