Chapter 204: Awakening

The scene shifted.

A faint shaft of morning light slipped through the heavy curtains, falling diagonally onto the cold tiles of the infirmary floor.

The air was thick with the scent of antiseptic and a subtle trace of iron, heavy and still.

Inside the ward, two beds stood side by side. Livia lay on the left; Marcellus lay quietly on the right.

His face was pale, a sheen of cold sweat gathering on his brow. The bandages on his chest had been freshly changed, but a faint trace of red still seeped through. The doctors had said his old wounds had only just begun to heal—yet now, due to overexertion and repeated use of painkillers, the injury had torn open again.

Elias sat by Livia’s bedside. He hadn’t slept the entire night, exhaustion etched into his face—but there was also a quiet composure, tightly held in place. He watched her intently, holding a still-warm cup of water in one hand, as if afraid she might vanish the moment he blinked.

Suddenly, the person in the bed stirred and slowly