Her Graceful War Song novel Chapter 1465

Once inside the inner chamber, the curtain fell, and Sebastian immediately grew more serious.

"No intimacy," he said firmly. "No indulgence. Do you understand?"

Rafael's ears turned a deep red. "It's… not that serious."

Sebastian's expression remained stern, his tone unwavering. "It is necessary."

Carissa's heart sank as she realized the situation might be even more dire than she had suspected.

Sebastian continued, "There are many people outside, and not all can be trusted. That's why I didn't say much earlier. Your wounds haven't healed yet, and it seems you've been through an illness as well. The cold has seeped into your body, deeply damaging your internal organs. If not for your inner force, you might not have survived that fever.

"However, using that inner force to push through has cost you dearly. You're severely weakened now, and your energy is nearly depleted. If you don't take proper care, you might lose your abilities altogether, and your life expectancy will be shortened. I'm speaking gently, but it's worse than I've said."

Carissa's eyes filled with tears as she looked at Sebastian. "Is it that bad? Will rest really help him?"

"Only time and rest," Sebastian replied. "I'll come to check on him every few days. And don't let too many people know about this. Right now, he can't really tap into his inner force, and there are those who might take advantage of this weakness."

Rafael was already aware of his condition, and he had hoped to hide it. Now that Sebastian had laid everything out, there was no point in pretending.

He tried to reassure Carissa, "It's nothing. I'll listen to Sebastian. I'll be fine soon."

Carissa, unable to hold back her sorrow, struggled to find words. After a long silence, she finally managed to ask, "Where is he injured?"

"In the lower abdomen, near his core," Sebastian answered. "A blow to the core means he couldn't use his inner force. However, he had no choice in that situation. He had to push through."

He sighed.

"At that time, the medicine was scarce, wasn't it?"

Rafael took Carissa's hand in his and replied, "When we were on Mount Whitemist, many fell ill. After several battles, there were even more injuries. Medicine was in short supply, so when I was hurt, we could only scrounge up a couple of doses."

Carissa's mind began to fill with images of the suffering Rafael had endured.

She insisted on having Sebastian examine the injury, her hands trembling as she began to unfasten Rafael's clothes. There, just below his abdomen, was a wound.