I smiled and shook my head. "It won''t be over that quickly. Even if Lily dies, this country will fall into chaos. Someone will need to step up and lead. Max, I don''t want to hide behind you forever."


    Under the moonlight, Max''s eyes were filled with hesitation and reluctance to leave.


    "It''s alright. This is my responsibility anyway. My parents sent me away from this country to keep me out of the conflict, but look how it turned out. I don''t think this is the ending they wanted to see."


    After talking it through, Max finally agreed to let me take charge and make real changes here.


    After we parted ways, I sat alone on the mud wall again, watching as Helen and the others secretly delivered rice and vegetable seeds to every household.


    Overwhelmed with gratitude, the vigers turned in my direction and bowed deeply.


    The people here had been conditioned to be incredibly subservient.


    "Tell them not to bow to me next time. I''m not used to it," I told Helen when she came overte that night to drape a jacket over my shoulders.


    "They''re used to doing it," Helen replied. "When we went door-to-door today, I noticed that most of them have severe skin conditions. It''s likely from long-term malnutritionbined with high sugar intake and terrible living conditions. Some of them even have terrible infections on their feet..."


    "Their blood sugar levels must be incredibly high. Skin infections caused by high blood sugar won''t heal properly—they just ulcerate and get worse. If they aren''t treated soon, many of them might need amputations."


    Everything was scarce here. Lily''s method of controlling these people was literally holding their lives hostage.


    "That is downright vicious!" Helen said, gritting her teeth in anger.


    "We don''t have antibiotics or diabetes medication. If we need to buy some in the city, I''ll go with you over the next two days since Max said he and Lily will be out of town."


    Helen suddenly reached out and gave me a hug. "ire, I''ve noticed you''re bing much more certain about what you want."


    I leaned wearily into her embrace. "When you don''t have the power to fly, you have


    to fight for every inch with your own two hands. Once you''re strong enough, you can finally soar."


    ***


    Early the next morning, Helen


    organized some people to register the severity of everyone''s


    conditions. Then, we set out toward the prosperous side of the Saftmere River to buy medicine.


    Before leaving, Helen dressed me in an elegant yet simple outfit and pinned a yeil and headpiece into my hair. "The people across the Saltmere River care about social status more than anything. You look gorgeous, boss. Let''s go."


    I often couldn''t win an argument against her, so I just let her do her thing.


    However, every pharmacy we visited told us that antibiotics and diabetes medications were strictly controlled substances. Purchasing them required Queen Lily''s personal signature.


    As Helen tried to drag me to the next pharmacy, I stopped her. "Let''s not. We''ve already asked at so many ces. If Lily''s people are paying attention, they''ll notice something is up."


    "What do we do then?" Helen asked.


    "Is Allen Ramsey still in the country?"


    Since we couldn''t buy the drugs in Bravend, maybe Allen Ramsey could bring them over?


    That was my first thought. Helen pped her thigh in agreement. "That could work! But if Allen brings them, airport security will g them. We need a way to bypass customs."


    "I''ll call Allen. He should be able to figure something out."


    When Allen answered my call, he remained silent for a long moment before saying, "ire, whatever you need, I''ll do it for you."


    "Don''t make it sound so dramatic,


    alright? You''reing here for a


    medical conference as a doctor


    from Crestview Metroging m won''t be a big


    medicine in won''t be


    a big deal


    don''t want you risking your life, so don''t try to be a hero for me."


    My heart trembled. Allen''s words actually scared me. Richard was still stuck in a hospital bed because of me, and Max had suffered severe injuries multiple times for my sake.