SSS SKILL: DUPLICATE

Chapter 43 Pascal, Layla

Inside the capital of Ru kingdom, within the castle of the Royal Family, a young man is checking his invention for one last time before testing it in a yard. After checking that everything was fine, he activated his invention. His invention floats for a while, then suddenly stops and crashes to the ground. Clang! Metal parts are scattered on the ground. The young man is sad. It failed again, and he even ran out of money. He needed to wait for his next allowance. He sighs. He is envious of the runesmiths in Baynard. Quirky inventions could receive funds and even earn money from patents if they are used by a company. Suddenly, loud laughter is heard by him.

"Hahaha Pascal, you useless waste! Why do you keep wasting your time and money on these useless things?!!" A man wearing a luxurious dress with a royal family crest approached Pascal and went near the scattered metals and other materials on the ground. He lifted his foot and stomped the materials on the ground.

"Waste! Waste! Waste! These are all just waste, just like you bastard!" said the man while stomping hard on the materials as if venting for something. Pascal bit his lips. His eyes turned watery, but he endured not to let it fall.

"Phew, now I feel better. That damn Carlos is really getting on my nerve. He thinks he won and will become the heir to the throne! Hmp, I'll rub that arrogant face of his to the ground later. Let's go!" The man ignored Pascal after venting his anger as if it were just normal routine. He left the place with his servants and guards. Pascal kneeled in front of his crushed invention and could no longer endure his tears. He is biting his lip to prevent himself from wailing.

Pascal is the youngest prince of the royal family of the Ru kingdom. His mother was a beautiful maid and became the concubine of the king. Both he and his mother are always bullied. His mother is being treated as a maid even after becoming a concubine. He is always injured when he is forced to spar. The prince will find ways to vent their anger at him. When he asked his mother why this was happening to them, she cried and hugged him. She said to him, "Pascal, I'm so sorry for letting you out into this world." Then his mother hugged him tightly and cried loudly.

Pascal did not understand what his mother meant, but he understood it later when he grew up. They must remain in the castle to stay alive. The succession to the throne is cruel in the Ru kingdom. Even if he is insignificant to the throne, he will still be eradicated. Living in the castle is hell, and leaving it is also hell. It got worse when his mother got old and the king no longer visited her chamber.

During a sparring session, he was severely injured. He had many burn marks on his body. His mother wailed loudly and apologized to him repeatedly while he lay on his bed. He could not talk at that time to comfort his mother because of his injuries. His tears can't stop falling. His tears flowed down his cheeks with burns, which was painful, but that can't be compared to the pain in his heart that he was feeling.

Pascal wiped his tears and gathered all the materials on the ground. He went out of the castle with a guard assigned by the king. If he and his mother were to leave the royal family, the guard would also leave, leaving them defenseless from harm, so they are forced to stay with the royal family. The guard will only accompany him if he goes out of the castle.

He went to a runesmith store and met his master. His master taught him runesmithing. Runesmith is his spiritual sustenance. He forgets all the pain whenever he works on his invention.

"Did they bully you again?" asked the master as he noticed Pascal's red yes. Pascal described what happened, which makes the master furious.

"Damn! How can there be a useless guard in the world?! How can that useless guard let it happen to you?!" The master is not referring to anyone, but everyone in the room knows who he is referring to. The master looked sideways and looked at the guard, then pulled his vision back to Pascal. The guard felt embarrassed. It always happens like this. He is helpless by what is happening to Pascal because those princes have powerful backgrounds. As long as Pascal is alive, it is fine. He sighs, and he goes out of the room. If he doesn't go out, the master will always send provocative words and gaze at him as if he is venting for his apprentice.

The master looks at the guard, who wants to go outside. When the guard went out, his eyes and expression suddenly changed. It is no longer anger, but calm. He looked at his other apprentice in the room. The apprentice understood and went out of the room. Pascal notices the changes in his master as if it were his first time meeting his true master.

SOUND BLOCKADE

A small white shield instantly expands, just enough to cover the two of them. The master smiles at the astonished Pascal.

In a particular city in the Fran kingdom, within a wooden house, a girl is crying in front of an emaciated woman lying on a bed. The woman is weakly talking to her daughter.

"Don't hate your father. He kicked us out of the castle because it is getting more dangerous inside. We might get implicated if we don't leave. The money he is sending regularly is being intercepted," said the woman with a soft tone.

"Why did he not visit us even once? We even sold our house to treat your illness. We did not receive any reply from the letters that we sent. M-mother, I don't know what to do if you're gone," said Layla while sniffling and crying. She is only 16 years old. She was raised in the castle. She was not taught how to survive outside the castle. Her mother's illness quickly deteriorated, and she did not have enough time to teach her. The woman on the bed cried. She doesn't know why the king did not respond to their written pleas. Her body is painful, but she is still holding on. She wants to see if the king will send someone to help before she can die.

Knock! Knock! The mother and daughter heard the knock on the door. Their eyes and expressions were filled with hope.

"Go and see cough cough." The woman had not finished her sentence and coughed out blood.

"Mother!" Layla is flustered. Her mother's illness flared up, but they no longer have money for treatment. Health potions can only cure traumatic injuries to tissues like wounds and ruptures. Healer, on the other hand, can treat both trauma and illness, but it depends on the microcontrol of light magic. Few healers in the world could penetrate deep into genes to cure cancer, but Baynard cultivated a healer like that.

Layla went out of the room and ran to the door. A man and woman are standing in front of their house.

"Princess Lay-" The man did not finish his sentence. Layla grabbed his hand tightly with her trembling hand.

"P-Please save my mother." Layla's eyes are pouring tears so much. She is desperate. Her mother is her only spiritual support in this world. The man looked at the woman as if asking her opinion. The woman nods. They immediately went inside. They saw the woman on the bed, and the man looked surprised.

"Princess, only Grand Healers can treat your mother's illness," said the man while looking at the woman in bed.

"What should I do? I don't know how to invite them," said Layla worriedly.

The man smiled at the worried Layla, then looked at the woman, who has a golden magic circle on her hand stretching toward the sick woman.

"There is one in front of you."

GRAND HEALING