Chapter 104
The medical centre at Emberforge Manor had become a world of its own.
Every room was occupied.
Beds lined the corridors.
Blankets had been spread across the floors.
Doctors hurried from patient to patient while nurses mixed medicines almost without pause.
Outside, another convoy of injured miners had just arrived from the mountain.
Aurora barely looked up.
"Carefully! Bring him this way...No, not that bed. He's struggling to breathe. Put him near the window."
Emily hurried beside her, carrying fresh bandages.
"My Lady, we're almost out of clean linens."
"I know."
"I've already asked the servants to boil more."
Anne approached moments later.
"The herbal tea is ready."
"Good. Give it to anyone waiting outside. Most of them haven't eaten since yesterday."
Anne nodded and hurried away.
Aurora rubbed her tired eyes.
She hadn't slept.
Not really.
Every time she closed her eyes...
She saw Turner falling.
She forced the memory away.
Not now.
There were still too many people depending on her.
Outside...Another carriage entered the manor.
No royal banners.
No fanfare.
Just several supply wagons.
A young servant frowned.
"Who ordered more grain?"
"I don't know."
The carriage door opened.
Several soldiers climbed down first.
Then...
A tall figure wearing a simple white shirt with rolled sleeves stepped onto the ground.
His boots were already covered in mud.
His dark cloak had been removed.
For a moment...
No one recognized him.
Then someone gasped.
"Your Majesty?"
Lucian smiled politely.
"Good morning."
The servants immediately bowed.
"What are you doing here?"
Lucian looked toward the overflowing medical centre.
"Working."
The servants exchanged confused looks.
A palace knight stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, shall we unload the wagons?"
Lucian shook his head.
"We all unload them."
Without another word...
He walked to the nearest wagon, lifted a heavy sack of flour onto his shoulder, and carried it toward the kitchens.
The servants stared.
One maid whispered, "...The King is carrying supplies."
Another blinked several times.
"Is... is that allowed?"
An elderly cook chuckled, "Apparently it is."
Inside the kitchens, Lucian set the sack down before reaching for another.
Philip entered just in time to witness it.
He looked genuinely surprised, "Your Majesty."
Lucian smiled, "Good morning, Philip."
Philip bowed, "I thought you were returning to the mountain."
Lucian wiped the sweat from his brow, "So did I."
He lifted another sack, "But before I left...My father stopped me."
Philip looked curious, "The former king?"
Lucian nodded.
"He reminded me that Duke Owen, Brian, Charles, Isaac, Anton, and hundreds of soldiers are already on the mountain."
He paused, "He told me my place was wherever my people needed me most."
Lucian looked toward the crowded medical centre.
"Right now......they need hands."
Not another speech.
Philip smiled, "I believe His former Majesty would be very proud."
Lucian's expression softened, "I hope so."
Without another word...He picked up another sack.
Word spread through the manor astonishingly quickly.
"The King is unloading wagons."
"No..."
"He's helping in the kitchens."
"I heard he's carrying stretchers."
"I saw him chopping firewood."
One old miner shook his head in disbelief.
"I always thought kings only gave orders."
His wife smiled through tired eyes, "Perhaps we judged him too quickly."
Another miner quietly added, "He hasn't rested all morning."
Inside the medical centre...
Aurora was helping reset a broken arm when another stretcher arrived.
"We need two more people!"
Before anyone else could respond...
Lucian stepped forward, "I'll take this side."
The doctor hesitated, "Your Majesty..."
Lucian looked at him calmly, "Today......I'm simply another pair of hands."
The doctor nodded.
Together they carefully lifted the injured miner onto a clean bed.
The man's wife burst into tears, "Thank you..."
Lucian simply smiled, "Take care of him."
He turned and immediately helped carry another patient.
Then another.
Then another.
Hours passed.
He never complained.
Never asked for recognition.
His white shirt became stained with blood, dust, and sweat.
His hands blistered from lifting stretchers.
His shoulders ached from carrying supplies.
Yet he continued working beside everyone else.
Aurora couldn't help watching him.
Every time she looked up...He was helping someone.
Comforting an elderly miner.
Fetching water.
Holding a lantern while a physician stitched a wound.
Carrying children so exhausted mothers could finally rest.
At one point she noticed him kneeling beside a frightened little girl.
The child couldn't have been older than six.
"My daddy is still on the mountain."
Lucian sat beside her, "I know."
She wiped her eyes, "Will he come home?"
Lucian didn't lie.
He couldn't.
Instead, he gently took her small hand, "I promise you this...We won't stop looking."
The little girl nodded before quietly leaning against his shoulder.
Aurora watched the exchange from across the room.
Something inside her shifted.
Very slightly.
Not love.
Not even affection.
Respect.
Because for the first time...
She wasn't looking at the Crown Prince who had once ignored her.
She wasn't looking at the King who wore a crown.
She was looking at a man who had willingly stepped into the suffering of his people.
Not because anyone expected him to.
Because he believed it was his duty.
Emily quietly appeared beside her.
"You've been watching him."
Aurora looked away, "I've been observing."
Emily smiled knowingly, "And?"
Aurora was silent for a long moment.
Finally she answered softly, "I think..."
She watched Lucian help an elderly miner to his feet, "...I misjudged him too."
At that exact moment, Lucian glanced across the room.
Their eyes met for only a heartbeat.
Neither smiled.
Neither spoke.
Yet for the first time...
Aurora no longer saw the distance created by a throne.
She saw a man carrying the burdens of others...
One patient at a time.
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