To Replace a Dragon with a Phoenix [BBANGSAZ AU]

13.) They go low, I go lower

Third Person POV:

Minjae awoke again. This time he was being carried on a makeshift hammock of some kind.

"Y-your Majesty!" One of the soldiers sounded surprised. "You're awake!"

Minjae was too weak to have responded so he just nodded.

"Don't worry, we'll get you back to the camp safely," another soldier reassured him.

As he was being carried, Minjae noticed that many of the soldiers had been injured and were slowly making their way back to the palace. He couldn't help but feel responsible for their injuries and his heart ached knowing that many had lost their lives in battle.

"How- How many-"

"Died?" The soldier finished. "Luckily more Vietnamese died than our troops. But losses on both sides were great."

After acquiring that information Minjae was more motivated to push through. The world fading out again.

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Minjae's POV:

Everything came in blurry. I could hear the faint chatter of people. It was most likely the servants or officials checking on me. It was like I was in a hive of buzzing bees but worse the doctors were poking and prodding me. They were murmuring to each other about the natural medicinal salves that were placed on him.

"This could not have been done by you, right?"

"No sir it wasn't..."

"How are you so sure?"

"It's not common salve sir...it's very complex..."

"Who could have done it then?"

"Perhaps a Vietnamese?"

"And why would they heal him if he is the enemy?"

"I am unsure..."

The doctors were becoming increasingly suspicious about who tended to my wounds but I could barely process what they were saying. All I could do was lie there and listen to the sound of their voices as they discussed possible scenarios.

I stayed quiet as they continued discussing, I could not bring myself to share the fact that I was in fact healed by the enemy but not just the enemy but the enemy's daughter as well. How embarrassing I thought.

How would my men perceive me if they found out that I was patched up by the enemy's daughter? Would they consider me a traitor? Or would they be impressed by my ability to still remain loyal to the empire despite being in the hands of the enemy?

It didn't matter now though because the doctors were very suspicious of the salve but nonetheless, they continued to patch me up. That wasn't a great experience either. Royal doctors ripping open the wounds and restitching them caused immense pain. It was agonizing, and the only thing that kept me grounded was ... surprisingly the thought of Hanni, especially when she was patching up my wounds, the way she talked so softly, the way she touched me so gingerly, handling me with suc- Ugh what am I even saying?!? Remember when she ripped up your dapo? And then left you in a freezing cold cave with no food, no warmth, and most importantly no protection? Hahahahaha...