“I’m sorry.”
Kasion, who had collapsed onto me, tried to push himself up by gripping the bed.
I reached out and touched his forehead. It was burning hot.
“What is this? You can’t suddenly get such a high fever just from getting caught in the rain.”
Honestly, even if this were really a novel, it doesn’t make sense for someone to develop a fever within a few hours of getting wet in the rain. This means he must have been sick, at least since yesterday.
Has Kasion ever been this sick in his life? As far as I know, he hasn’t. Even when he pushed his body to the limit while learning swordsmanship as a child, I never heard of him falling ill.
In the novel, Kasion is described as someone who can recover quickly, even after being hit by a poisoned arrow on the battlefield, making him a robust character who has never suffered. Honestly, it’s uncharacteristic for the male lead of an intense, rated-19 tragic novel to be lying in bed sick like this.
“It’s none of your concern.”
Perhaps aware of this, Kasion stifled a groan as he tried to get up again. Unlike earlier in the day, he couldn’t hide it completely. It must have worsened because he was walking around while soaking wet.
“You’re seriously ill, and yet you forced a tea time in this chilly weather and got caught in the rain? You should have changed your clothes before worrying about mine.”
“Do you always nag like this?”
“I learned it from you though.”
He let out a faint laugh, and his warm breath tickled my cheek. Is this really a situation to be laughing about?
“Anyway, we need to find a way out of here.”
“How?”
“Either break down the door with force or…”
As he lifted his upper body, he winced, clearly in pain from the fever. Since I had been sick recently, I knew how frustrating it was. It felt like your eyes were about to be pulled out, and your head was going to explode. It would be better to take medicine and rest as soon as possible.
“Serhen is here, so the door should open soon,” Kasion said, still breathing hotly against my forehead.
As expected of a cunning strategist, his judgment was accurate.
“Ariel!”
With a loud bang, the locked door swung open.
Did my nagging work on Serhen? He must have been working out, given how easily he broke the door down. Feeling both proud and relieved, I turned to face him. Having been in the dark for so long, my eyes took a moment to adjust to the bright light of the living room, causing me to squint.
The tiny, flickering gray spots that disrupted my focus disappeared, and the first thing I saw was Lireania with her hand over her mouth and her eyes wide open. Next to her, the kindly butler let out a sigh of “Good grief.” But where was Serhen?
“You b*stard! What have you done to my sister?!”
Ah, found him. With his fist raised charging at Kasion, there was my precious… blood relative?
“B-Brother!”
What are you doing, rushing in so recklessly?
After all the effort I put into preventing Kasion from killing him, now Serhen was provoking him again! They weren’t teenagers anymore; they were both 23-year-old men. If they started throwing punches now, it would undoubtedly turn into a duel. Given their current level of excitement, it would be a duel with real swords. The outcome of such a fight would be determined by their physical limits.
“Stop!”
Serhen, in his excitement, had already pushed Kasion far away from me. Fortunately, his fist stopped just short of hitting Kasion’s face. Kasion lay weakly on the bed, not even trying to fight back.
“Butler, fetch the doctor immediately. The duke’s body is burning up with a fever.”
“Ah, yes, understood.”
“And Brother, step away now.”
“Ariel! This guy locked you in here and was about to assault—”
I was conflicted about whether to take sides, as the situation was unclear.
“The door was locked because the latch was broken, and he didn’t try to assault me. He collapsed. Feel his forehead.”
Serhen still glared angrily at Kasion, his eyes blazing with fury. Wondering why, I turned my head too. Then, I immediately understood the reason. It was easy to misunderstand the situation.
“He was walking around in wet clothes, looking for something for me to wear, even though he had a fever. He probably took off the wet clothes because his body was overheating.”
I added a guess. But Serhen, still fuming, looked at Kasion, who lay motionless with his eyes closed.
Why wasn’t Kasion doing anything? The Kasion I knew would have calmly explained the situation to Serhen and cleared up this misunderstanding himself. Had he lost consciousness by now?
“I’ve brought the doctor!”
Just then, the butler returned, visibly worried about his usually healthy master now looking so ill.
“His Grace barely slept before the banquet because of the embezzlement issue within the family. And after the banquet, the crown prince frequently summoned him to the imperial palace, pushing him even further. I recommended he rest this morning, but…”
The butler looked at Kasion with pity. Serhen’s anger seemed to ease a little, though he still looked displeased.
“Um, first, please lay the duke down properly.”
The doctor requested what was needed despite the tense atmosphere. Serhen called in two knights from the marquisate to help lay Kasion straight on the bed. Even then, Kasion didn’t open his eyes. The doctor checked Kasion’s eyes, then hesitated. He cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem, it seems to be a cold and fatigue. He’s severely exhausted. I will prepare some medicine.” The doctor quickly left the room, almost as if he were fleeing.
Serhen stared at the now limp Kasion on the bed for a moment, then let out a deep sigh and called for the butler. “Let’s go to Kasion’s study. I’ll take care of the embezzlement issue.”
“Thank you, Marquis.”
“Lire, I’ll leave the duke’s servants to you. After instructing them on how to care for Kasion, bring Ariel back home.”
Brother, are you crazy? I almost shouted. In my previous life, we had a saying for this: throw a wrench into the works. How hard did I work to separate Lireania and Kasion! And now he’s putting Lireania in charge of the servants? What if she did well and Kasion was touched by efforts?
If Kasion realized his feelings for her again, it would be disastrous. With Lireania about to marry, if Kasion starts to become obsessed with her again, who knows what horrors might follow? But Serhen’s stern expression made it hard to argue.
“Lady Ariel, would you like to help?” Just then, Lireania smiled at me and spoke.
“Lire.”
“They say there are no maids in the duchy. We can’t leave everything to the inexperienced servants, especially when the duke is such an important person.” Seeing my confused expression, Lireania winked at me secretly. “Besides, I don’t know anything about the duchy.”
Serhen was at a loss for words.
I decided to side with Lireania. “Yes, Brother. That’s not right. If you don’t like it, you can send the butler back quickly.”
In the end, Serhen lost to the combined efforts of the two women he loved. Reluctantly, he had to leave us both behind and go out.
* * *
But why was I left alone?
It was already late at night. The embezzlement issue at the duchy must be serious, as neither the butler nor Serhen showed any sign of returning. Lireania had gone out to change the water cloth and had not returned either. Where did she go?
“What’s going on with everyone?”
I glanced at Kasion, who was lying on the bed. He still hadn’t managed to lift his large body, leaving his upper half exposed. At least his broad shoulders and trapezius muscles were covered by the blanket.
I gently wiped the sweat from Kasion’s forehead with the remaining wet cloth. His forehead twitched slightly, but he didn’t open his eyes.
“When is the doctor going to bring the medicine?”
Bored, I got up from my seat. The door that had trapped me was securely blocked with a chair, so there was no danger of it closing. The fireplace in the bedroom was also burning warmly.
“Hmm. But here…”
Wasn’t this the place where I stayed when I was almost kidnapped by a group targeting the marquisate and the trade guild? I think I was 14 years old then. Kasion had me sleep here after hearing about it from Serhen. It was right after my parents had passed away, and I was so anxious that I couldn’t sleep. Kasion had given me a stuffed rabbit to comfort me.
“Hold and sleep with it.”
At that time, he still treated me like a 7-year-old. And he was such a nagging king too. But thanks to him, I slept well that night without a single nightmare. I had hugged the stuffed animal tightly and even held Kasion’s hand while I slept. Well, it was because I was really going through a tough time, not because I was a child.
I looked at the portrait next to the stuffed animal. It was a portrait of me, Kasion, and Serhen from our teenage years. Seeing the image of us supporting each other during those difficult times made me feel a lump in my throat. I even felt a bit resentful of myself for knowing both the fragments of my past life and the future laid out in the novel.
“No, that’s why I protected them.”
Both Serhen and Lireania. I should protect myself from tragedy too.
I turned my head toward the familiar parchment. The parchment inside the frame had a hole through its center. Not torn, but burnt, as if pierced by a flaming arrow. It had become tattered, but I could still recognize who wrote it.
“What is this? Isn’t this the letter I wrote to cheer him up?”
Why was this here? The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like his obsession had shifted from Lireania to me, so he put it here.
“Hmm…”
I’ve already changed the future with my own hands, so could I change Kasion too? It would be nice if he could go back to being the cherished brother-like figure he used to be rather than this terrifyingly obsessive man.
“Cough, cough!”
Kasion suddenly started coughing. At the same time, the doctor entered the bedroom.
“Milady, I’ve brought the duke’s medicine.”
“You’re late. Quickly give him his medicine.”
“We need to lift the duke’s body.”
“I’ll call the knights back in.”
It would take at least two knights to handle his large body. Neither I nor the doctor could manage it.
“Ariel…”
Then I heard Kasion’s voice from the bed. He struggled to sit up, causing the blanket covering him to slip off. It seemed that a fever wasn’t enough to melt those muscles. And his intense eyes were as sharp as ever, though his eyes were still a bit red from the fever.
“That, Milady, please give the duke his medicine! I just remembered I forgot to set the medicine for tomorrow morning on the fire.”
“Wait a moment!”
The doctor quickly placed the tray with the medicine into my hands and hurried out. If it wasn’t just my imagination, Kasion’s yellow eyes were fixed on the doctor.
“Since the doctor’s gone, there’s no choice. You have to feed me the medicine.” He asked me with a pitiful voice, full of exhaustion.
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