Chapter 5: I Only Need 72 Hours To Fall In Love With You (V)

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Chapter 5: I Only Need 72 Hours To Fall In Love With You (V)

Gabriel shook out his hand, looking down on Shang Ke with all the hauteur of a queen. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this day. Today, I’m paying you back for every bit of crap I had to put up with before.”

After delivering that slap, he looked completely refreshed, as though he had just accomplished some great undertaking.

Shang Ke merely stared at him coldly.

Gabriel leisurely adjusted his collar, discreetly switching off the jammer hidden beneath it. Then he bent down and tucked Shang Ke’s blanket around him, saying gently, “You look exhausted. Get some rest. I’ll come see you again next time. It’s just that… by the time we meet again, it may be at the cemetery.”

He lowered his voice for the final sentence, speaking almost directly into Shang Ke’s ear.

With that, he stepped back and, with his back to the surveillance camera, flashed a delighted smile before swaggering away.

That smug, petty-villain look of his really made Shang Ke want to kick him a couple of times.

The original Cage had admittedly been arrogant and willful, and he hadn’t treated Gabriel particularly well. But did Gabriel really need to come twist the knife when Cage was already on the verge of death? Just how deep could his grudge possibly run? Besides, Cage’s father had been both his benefactor and adoptive father. Gabriel certainly seemed remarkably comfortable repaying kindness with betrayal.

Shang Ke stared solemnly at the ceiling, contemplating how he could teach Gabriel a lesson when he couldn’t move his hands or speak. As he thought and thought, his eyes began to sting with fatigue.

Mm… so sleepy. I’ll take a nap first and figure it out later…

When Ravel entered the hospital room, the young man on the bed was still fast asleep. Soft hair lay across his forehead, its ends curling upward slightly and giving him a languid air. The evening sunlight outside the window brushed softly across his somewhat gaunt face, leaving a faint flush behind.

Ravel quietly walked to his bedside and reached out to brush several strands of hair away from his brow. Suddenly, his hand stopped.

His gaze had fallen on the corner of Cage’s eye, where there was a faint scratch. It was so shallow that anyone who wasn’t paying close attention could easily have overlooked it.

Ravel spent time with Cage every day and knew every injury on his body perfectly well. That scratch had not been there a few hours ago.

The doctors and nurses responsible for Cage had all been carefully selected. None of them would ever carry anything sharp, and they wore sterilized gloves while tending to him. They were extraordinarily careful. Forget scratching him—they wouldn’t even allow him to suffer the slightest bump or knock.

Ravel remained silent for a moment before leaving the room and asking the guard outside, “Did anyone visit Cage today?”

The guard replied, “Young Master Gabriel did. He left two hours ago.”

“General, what’s wrong?” Seeing the look on Ravel’s face, Kahn quickly walked over.

Ravel’s gaze darkened. “To the surveillance room.”

The two headed to the surveillance room, accompanied by several of the doctors responsible for Cage’s care.

The security officer in the surveillance room immediately rose and saluted when he saw them.

Ravel waved the formality aside and ordered, “Pull up the footage from two hours ago.”

The security officer immediately complied.

The footage rapidly rewound, stopping when Gabriel appeared on screen.

Ravel watched Gabriel enter the hospital room, stand beside Cage’s bed for a while, then bend down to adjust his blanket. After saying that he would “come see him again next time,” Gabriel left.

Nothing about the entire visit appeared unusual.

Ravel replayed it several more times before ordering, “Run a layered analysis on the footage from the moment Gabriel entered the room until he left.”

Kahn asked, “General, you suspect Gabriel was carrying a jammer?”

Ravel remained expressionless, his eyes icy.

He didn’t suspect it. He was certain.

Within a few minutes, the analysis was complete. What had truly happened after Gabriel entered the room was fully reconstructed on screen.

【How did the torture feel?】

Gabriel’s very first words made everyone present uncomfortable. Then they heard him continue:

【Look at you now, barely clinging to life. How pitiful.】

【Do you know you only have a few days left to live?】

Everyone in the surveillance room sucked in a sharp breath, unable to believe Gabriel would say something so vicious to Cage.

When they heard him say, “House Bick and all its honors will pass to me,” everyone frowned.

It was true. Once Cage died, Gabriel, as Utrecht’s adopted son, would become General Utrecht’s sole heir.

Were all the honors Utrecht and Cage had paid for with their lives really going to fall into the hands of someone like this?

Smack!

A sharp sound suddenly rang from the recording. Everyone stared at the screen in disbelief.

Gabriel had actually slapped Cage!

The surveillance room fell deathly silent. Everyone was furious beyond words.

On screen, Cage lay helplessly in the hospital bed, staring at Gabriel with anger in his eyes. It was as though he had a thousand things he wanted to say, yet he was powerless to express a single one of them.

Even while enduring horrific torture in the interrogation chamber, he had never shown such vulnerability or anger. To him, humiliation at the hands of family was probably even more heartbreaking than abuse from an enemy.

After Gabriel left, Cage silently stared at the ceiling. A layer of mist gradually clouded his emerald-green eyes. He looked as though he were about to cry, yet not a single tear ever fell.

If he had simply cried, perhaps it would have been easier to watch. Instead, the way he suppressed everything only made the sight more painful.

“How could Gabriel…” Kahn hadn’t even finished speaking when he felt a chill emanating from beside him.

Ravel’s expression had turned glacial, his gaze sharp enough to pierce through a person. A fierce, murderous aura radiated from his entire body.

Kahn could imagine exactly how Ravel felt. He was an austere, monotonous man whose entire existence consisted of work and more work. His life had always been dull and colorless.

But Cage’s appearance had been like a streak of brilliant color illuminating that gray-white world, softening Ravel along with it.

Perhaps even Ravel himself had not realized that his concern for Cage had long since gone far beyond ordinary bounds. He cared for him meticulously every day and couldn’t bear to see him suffer even the slightest injury.

And now, the young man he had been protecting like a treasure had been humiliated right under his nose. How could he possibly not be furious?

Cage could neither move nor speak. If Ravel hadn’t been so attentive, the humiliation he suffered today might never have been discovered.

At that thought, Kahn’s opinion of Gabriel plummeted to rock bottom.

Allowing a man like that to inherit House Bick would be nothing less than an insult to General Utrecht and Cage.

“Kahn,” Ravel suddenly said. “Keep an eye on Gabriel. Wait until I get back.”

With that, he turned and strode out of the surveillance room toward Cage’s hospital room.

Shang Ke was already awake, happily enjoying the nurse’s gentle care.

Just then, a large hand reached over and took the towel from the nurse, gently wiping Shang Ke’s face.

Catching a familiar scent, Shang Ke opened his eyes. The moment he saw Ravel, he smiled.

After being cared for by the man all this time, it was impossible not to have at least some fondness for him.

Ravel’s eyes darkened slightly. He continued staring at Shang Ke, showing absolutely no intention of looking away.

Shang Ke was already used to it. This man sometimes liked staring at things for an absurdly long time: his eyes, his hands, his food, his clothes, his cup, his bed…

In short, Ravel had scrutinized practically everything in the hospital room down to the smallest detail.

If any of those objects had been sentient, they probably would have been paralyzed with fear beneath that piercing gaze.

Today, however, the man’s gaze seemed a little different from usual. Beneath the coldness was a hint of tenderness; within that tenderness was anger; and mixed into the anger was a touch of melancholy…

Don’t ask Shang Ke how he had managed to decipher so much from a single pair of eyes. He was just really, really bored!

“Want to go outside for a while?” Ravel asked.

Oh! You finally remembered to take me out for some fresh air?

Shang Ke’s eyes immediately lit up, sparkling like two dancing stars.

Ravel’s gaze softened. He pulled back the blanket, lifted Shang Ke into his arms, and gently settled him into a wheelchair before pushing him toward the garden downstairs.

The wheelchair came equipped with every imaginable function and could even hover and fly. If Shang Ke’s limbs hadn’t been paralyzed, he could have operated it himself and zipped around wherever he pleased.

The hospital was directly administered by the imperial household and only admitted royalty, nobles, and military officers who had rendered exceptional service. Its surroundings were comfortable and the scenery pleasant.

Feeling the warm breeze and breathing in the fragrance of flowers, Shang Ke looked blissfully comfortable.

Seriously, if he hadn’t been paralyzed, surviving three death missions and remaining in this world to enjoy the rest of his life might not have been such a bad choice.

He had status, position, and a powerful backer. He would never have to worry about food or clothing, and he could spend his youth tagging along with the protagonist. Life could hardly get any better.

“General Ravel.”

Just then, a handsome man in military uniform approached carrying an enormous bouquet. He first saluted Ravel, then turned toward Shang Ke with a smile.

“Young Master Cage, hello.”

Shang Ke looked toward Ravel, who introduced him. “This is Colonel Roy, the son of an old friend of your father.”

Shang Ke nodded in greeting.

“Cage, these are for you.” Roy gently placed the bouquet in Shang Ke’s arms and gave him a playful wink. “I picked them out myself. I hope you like them.”

The bouquet was so large that it nearly buried half of Shang Ke’s face. Only his two emerald-green eyes peeked out from among the flowers, making him look like a little kitten hiding in a flowerbed—awkwardly, ridiculously adorable.

Roy immediately clutched his chest.

During the interrogation, Cage had been like a ferocious leopard. Even after losing his claws, none of his fierceness had diminished.

Yet now he was gentle and docile, harmless as a small animal. Who could have imagined that such a slender, fragile body concealed such a resilient and unyielding heart?

The striking contrast made it impossible not to be moved.

“I’ve wanted to visit you for a long time, but I was worried I might disturb your recovery. Now that I’ve seen you looking so lively, I can finally stop worrying.” Genuine happiness shone in Roy’s eyes. “Once you recover, you absolutely have to let me show you around the Royal Capital.”

Although he said that, they all knew there would probably never be such an opportunity.

“Roy, you’ve seen him now. You can leave,” Ravel suddenly said, cutting short Roy’s enthusiastic attention toward Shang Ke.

Roy could only shrug regretfully. After giving another salute, he turned and left.

Ravel crouched beside Shang Ke and asked, “What do you think of Roy?”

What do I think? He seems pretty good.

Shang Ke looked at Ravel in confusion.

“Then,” Ravel continued, “if Roy were to replace Gabriel and inherit your father’s legacy, would you agree?”

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