7.

Rune smiled, "you are wrong if you think that I am here for you." he said and pushed the sword further, against Yug's sword, the two swords were very close to Yug's face as Rune leaned in.

"Then why are you here, General," Yug asked, and Rune's eyes twitched when Yug called him that.

"I am on a vacation...I can go anywhere I want," he said.

Yug sighed and rolled his eyes, "Alright then move." he wanted to move but Rune took the advantage of Yug's guard down and grabbed his hand and twisted it, making him let go of his sword and put his sword against Yug's throat.

Yug could feel the coldness of the sword against his skin as Rune looked at him with a smirk, "You shouldn't let your guard down duke, the enemies are everywhere. No one can be trusted."

Yug glared at him, and Rune smirked, "If I kill you right here, then I wonder how will the dukedom go down, sure your sick son will become the duke and it will be very easy to control him."

Yug spoke, "General, I hope you know very well that this" he looked down at Rune's sword against his neck, and then back at Rune, "This will have consequences, I can give you death for this."

Rune laughed, "Yeah right, sure, go ahead and give me a death sentence...but then duke I hope you know that I know secrets about you and if I leaked them, then the temple and royals will have you executed.

After all, they won't really like the fact that you want to... overthrow both of them."

Yug smirked, "I wonder, why would they trust a low-ranking official over a duke?"

"Well, because this low-ranking official is more trusted than this arrogant duke who everyone wants to get rid of."

"What the hell do you want?" Yug said with gritted teeth, "If you want to talk nonsense, then go away, I have more important business to attend."

Rune's eyes became cold, and he spoke with a cold voice, "Is this business about your sick son? Do you really care about him? If you do, then why don't you take him to a place where he can be treated?"

Yug glared at him and suddenly moved forward, getting slightly injured in the process from Rune's sword, Rune quickly removed his sword and looked at the blood on his neck.

"He is my son and I will do whatever I want, he will get treated wherever I want, and whenever I want, you to get that?"

Rune clenched his sword tighter and was about to say something, but before that, he heard a voice, "Father?"

Both Rune and Yug looked in the other direction and saw Simon in Damian's arms.

Damian slowly put him down when Simon asked him to but didn't let him run, Simon went to his father and hugged his thighs, "Father, where were you and why did you leave me alone?"

Yug sighed and picked up his son, "Why are you not sleeping?"

"I had a bad dream." Yug then looked at Damian, but before he could say anything Simon said, "I asked him to bring me here. Father, I couldn't sleep."

He then hugged his father, "Father, please don't leave like this."

Yug broke the hug and saw his son was crying so he gently wiped his tears, "I am sorry, I will not leave like that again okay? now don't cry, was the dream so bad?"

Simon nodded and then he looked at Rune who was looking at him, Simon suddenly smiled, "Mister you came... are you coming to the temple of nirvana with us?"

Rune clenched his fist when he saw Simon's smile and his hopeful eyes, he gulped and looked away, he wanted to say 'no' so badly, Yug also said this time, "my son is really requesting you genuinely, don't say no to him."

Rune sighed and looked at Simon, "Fine." and as soon as he had said that Simon smiled brightly, Rune sighed, in the end, he had to give in.

"Hurray!... ow." Simon suddenly held his head and rested it against Yug's shoulder.

"Simon?" Yug asked, "Are you okay?" Rune and Damian also looked at him worriedly.

"My head hurts," he said and Yug quickly took him to the room and gently laid him down. This time Rune was there as well.

He saw how Simon was writhing in pain and trying to suppress his cries, and even smiling to reassure his father.

When Rune saw this, he was quite shocked, he had always thought that this child was a spoiled brat... with no regard for others, but guessed he judged him wrong.

While Yug just didn't know why Simon changed so suddenly? When did he grow up so much? Is it because of this illness? Is it because Simon thinks that he will die?

When Yug thought like that, his heart clenched and he wanted to reach the temple as fast as he can.

Rune slowly sat down on the other side of the bed and took out a medicine, "I had received this medicine from the temple... it is quite effective for pain..."

Rune gave the medicine to Yug to check and Yug checked it, before giving it back to Rune, who slowly made Simon drink it.

After that Simon slowly closed his eyes but he wasn't asleep, while Yug was watching him, Simon had a death grip on his hand.

"How long has he been like this?" Rune asked slowly

Yug who didn't take his eyes off his son, spoke, "It has been four days, he was perfectly fine in the morning but then he vomited blood and fainted and since then he has been like this."

"What did the doctors say?"

"He has no disease, no injury, he is not poisoned either."

Rune clenched his fists, "Then why..."

"I am not taking him to the temple, you really think those people who want me dead wouldn't use him as a means to control me? Even if he has no disease, they might make up something just to keep me in check.

And then the royals will also bother me once my son is trapped between the temple and royalty there is no exit... his life would be worse than death."

Rune sighed, whatever Yug said was true. He rubbed his forehead, "I thought you knew how dangerous it was to have a child.... when... you are stuck in a situation like this."

Yug said nothing, "Simon might be a mistake...but he is the most beautiful mistake of my life...and even if I have to go through hell, I will make the same mistake again."

Rune smiled slightly.

Meanwhile, Simon who heard all this, Yug's words stabbed his heart millions of times, he couldn't help but feel his eyes sting with warm tears although his eyes were closed his tears still slipped.

Yug slowly wiped the lone tear, "Looks like he is having a nightmare!"

Rune leaned forwards and gently whispered, "It's okay Simon, you are safe."

He whispered some words in Simon's ears before sitting back down, "My sister used to do this when I had bad dreams."

"You just came back after the war." Yug said, "Are you injured anywhere?"

"Why? are you going to tend to my wounds?"

"If you let me."