Once, he had even sought out a healing mage to learn from. But after watching him closely, the healer had simply shaken his head.
"There are things that suit some people and not others. You're not suited to healing. Your magic rejects other people. That kind of power can't heal. You were born to fight, not to heal."
Those words had struck him hard. They felt like a comment not just on his magic, but on his entire personality.
He didn't open his heart to anyone. He didn't let people in. Not even his parents or his younger siblings felt truly close to him.
He kept everything at a distance. Nothing stirred his emotions. Maybe, at his core, he lacked something essential to being human.
People called him the Iron Knight.
But even so, as a knight, he had never been troubled by that. Fighting was what he was good at.
And yet—at that moment—his hand remained where it was, transferring warmth and energy into a dying boy he had never met.
Dominic's second-in-command, Louis, was the exact opposite of him. He was cheerful, friendly, and naturally good at keeping the team together.
His easygoing nature made it possible for him to work well even under someone like Dominic. Maybe a little too easygoing at times, but it worked.
And now, Dominic—who could never manage healing magic—was somehow healing this child.
It would be impossible not to be shocked.
Even more surprising was how fast the boy was recovering. Dominic could actually see the boy's body shifting and realigning inside. The heat flowed from Dominic's hand into the child, and it felt as though that same heat was surging through his entire body, burning warmly from within.
At the same time, something else began to rise from the boy—something Dominic couldn't name. It was strong and hot, and it felt like it was melting something hard inside him.
The boy's face had been covered in scratches, but they were gone now. He had never seen healing this powerful before.
The dried blood around the boy's mouth and jaw was thick, so Dominic used a simple purification spell to clean it all away.
Once clean, the boy looked strangely beautiful. He was still unconscious, and his face was tense from pain, but his features had a softness that caught Dominic off guard.
Dominic picked him up gently and traced the shape of the boy's lips with his finger, quietly studying his expression.
He brought the child back to the fortress, but the medical wing was overflowing with the injured. Every bed was taken. So he brought the boy to an unused room nearby and laid him down. Then he called for Sayu, the team's healer.
Sayu was a skilled healer, both powerful in magic and precise with his work. He had dull silver hair that was cut evenly around his shoulders, and a slim build. He had been working with Dominic since the day he was assigned to the Knight Order Second Division.