Deltan couldn't deny that he was getting worried about Nine. It even seemed more like he was the one taking it easy even though he was about to fall into eternal sleep soon. Three months had already passed, and it felt like with each passing day, his younger brother would seemingly spend more and more hours in the library.

He didn't know why either. From what he had observed, his younger brother already knew every book like the back of his own hand, so if nothing had popped up by now, surely, he should move onto another source?

It wasn't like his brother was ignoring every other part of his life either. He was going to classes, teaching fantastically, sparring with him enthusiastically and still somehow managing to take care of his daily necessities.

But there was a strange feeling inside Deltan that told him Nine was under a lot of stress. There wasn't really a basis for such a feeling. He couldn't tell from the actions the other was taking, nor could he tell from the state of his face. It was just that something inside him was screaming.

As he looked in the mirror, it felt like he was looking at someone else, and that scared him. The him from three months ago and the face that appeared in the mirror now was still the same, but it felt like someone had taken a brush and wiped out all his characteristics that had been there for years and years and it just –

Shuddering, Deltan put away all extraneous thoughts. Sometimes, a very real fear crept up on him when he was trying to sleep. It felt like he would go to sleep one day and never wake up again, and he wouldn't even know beforehand.

By now, he should have been suffering from the sleepless nights, but his face still looked at stunning as ever. It never changed no matter what happened, and that scared him more than anything else.

A sudden surge of anger welled up within him at the thought that he was living life like a plaything to someone else. In the midst of his anger, he smashed the mirror within him, shattering the cold reflection before him.

Deltan withdrew his fist, and the shards that should have stabbed him and made him bleed fell to the ground, piercing the skin shallowly before all traces were wiped away.

He looked at his flawless hands with hollow eyes. He was slowly becoming more and more like a Vampire with each passing day. Was it strange that the one thing he looked forward to everyday was the sparring he had with his younger brother? The pain made him feel like he was still alive. The pain was still the same from before.

It was laughable. He was terrified of his unchanging yet changing appearance, but he also depended on the pain Nine inflicted on him.

Taking a deep breath, Deltan looked at the fallen shards with blank eyes before leaving to find Nine. Even if he couldn't find a solution, he could still accompany his brother who was working so hard for himself.

The eldest prince sat down across his brother, who was lost deep in thought. He could almost see the gears in the other's mind frantically spinning and working. Nine had tried some things on him already, but it didn't seem to be having much effect.

Somehow, he could still feel that the time limit was ticking closer. When he fell into eternal sleep, the Vampire who had placed the Red Spider Lily on him would come knocking on their doors, and that wasn't something that Deltan was willing to see.

This was still his city, and the city had his people. As a prince, he had been raised with these values, and he still held true to those views up to today.

"Fourth Brother, let's go for our spar?"

Nine finally looked up from the book she had been staring blankly at. She hadn't been looking at the book for the information, but processing and making theories within her mind as she stared at the book.

A small smile graced her lips. "You used to run away from every mention of a spar, but now you're actually initiating it?"

Deltan flushed, who knows with anger or embarrassment. He scoffed. "If it wasn't because you were holing up here, would I have to come and get you out of the room?" he said, crossing his arms and glaring at his younger brother with a mock angry look.

Nine didn't continue pressing the matter. She could see that he was worried and anxious. That was actually pretty good. It was better that he was worried about the future rather than having given up completely and losing his will to live. The runes painted on the back of his neck surrounding the Red Spider Lily was somewhat dependant on his willpower to keep the transformation back, so if he gave in, then the time left would rapidly dwindle.

What Deltan didn't know was that the entire class of twenty minus himself was frantically working on a solution that might help him. Her silly brother hadn't even bothered to hide the mark and was constantly flaunting it. It was no wonder that everyone had gotten a good look at it.

Many of them had even come up with a couple of plausible solutions while working together. She was looking through them and testing the theories, so her workload had increased, but she was rather happy with the way things were going.

With more brains and more pairs of hands, it was easier for them to work on a solution. She could feel that they were on the verge of a breakthrough, but they were still missing a couple of vital components. They just hadn't found it yet. They were close. So close.

But this couldn't go on for long. She would have to do a couple of experiments on someone who had already fallen into eternal sleep. Even though they could theoretically come up with the solution, they still had to find a test subject before she used it on Deltan. Who knew if it would have adverse side effects?

Call her cruel, but she was more than willing to use it on people she didn't know for the people that belonged to her. She would do anything it took for the people who belonged to her. It didn't matter if they hated her, as long as they were healthy.

With ease, she distracted Deltan's restless mind by dragging him to spar with her other nineteen students. She couldn't let them be idle while they were searching for a solution after all, and they could use a break. Don't think she didn't know they were losing sleep over this.

If she whacked them hard enough, they would collapse and get some sleep.