“I’m sorry…waah…”
When Ellie didn’t respond, the child, slow to apologize, began to cry. It had been quite some time since the fever had started, and now, with the child crying, the situation seemed even more dire.
Red blotches were already spreading across the child’s body, creeping up to his face.
-…Adi, first…
First, let’s talk more once your condition improves a bit.
Ellie, unsure of what to do, was about to speak to comfort the child when the attic door suddenly opened with urgent footsteps. Turning around, she saw the worried butler and Marie, who had a tearful expression, looking in his direction.
‘…When did they arrive?’
There was no time to question it. Seeing the child’s hair sticking out from the lump of blankets, Marie quickly hurried over.
“Young master!”
“Uwaaah…”
“Are you hurting so much that you’re crying? Your fever… your fever is too high…!”
Even as the child cried softly, turning towards Ellie, Marie seemed overwhelmed, speaking frantically.
She moved to lift the child, blankets and all, to lay them back on the bed. It was clear she was worried about how long the child had been lying on the cold floor.
At that moment, the butler, with a firm voice, took the child from Marie’s arms and shook his head.
“In this room, even a mild illness won’t get better.”
“But… but he’s crying like this. He usually doesn’t act up unless it’s really serious!”
Though Marie likely had no such intention, her words, almost screamed out, made Ellie feel somber.
After all, the child, over the past month, had mostly shown a clingy and spoiled side to her. Even though he had unknowingly been showing signs of being unwell, Ellie didn’t realize it at all.
“That’s why it’s even worse. Look at this room. The sun’s already up this high, and the temperature is this low in this season? Does that make any sense?”
“……”
“It’s a miracle he hasn’t been seriously ill before now.”
Turning his back to the room, the butler continued.
“I’ll move the young master to the room where he originally used to sleep. You go fetch the attending physician immediately.”
“…Yes.”
Marie, who had been arguing, bowed her head deeply and hurried down the stairs, nearly sliding down in her haste.
“M-Mommy…”
-……
Even then, the child’s gaze remained fixed on Ellie.
* * *
“It seems that his energy has suddenly decreased causing a decrease in immunity. While his fever is on the higher side, since he’s already taken the prescription for a simple cold, let’s wait and see for now.”
“Well, then… Is he okay now?”
“If the medicine works. Strangely, even though I prescribed the same medicine, it seems to have minimal effect on his grace… I’ll have to prescribe a slightly stronger medication, but since the dosage won’t be high, it may be difficult to see a significant effect.”
“Yes?”
“He’s still young, so we can’t be reckless with medication. If he takes too much, his body won’t be able to handle it and it could even become toxic, so I need to adjust the dosage carefully.”
The physician, fiddling with his glasses, seemed truly troubled. He even muttered under his breath, “I’ve never seen a case like this before…”
Marie, who had been listening quietly to the physician, chewed on her lips thoughtfully for a long time and then called softly for the butler.
It was a sign that she had something to say in private and wanted him to step with her outside.
‘I guess it must be something she can’t say in here that she has to talk about privately outside.’
Though curious, Ellie couldn’t bring herself to follow Mari and the butler.
And the reason,
“Mom…”
-Shh. There are people here, so we’ll talk later.
“……”
-Instead, I’ll stay here. Will that make Adi feel a little better?
After Marie and the butler left the room.
The child, who was left alone with the physician, moved his eyes slowly, seemingly checking her next move. His eyes, heavy with drowsiness, hinted that perhaps the medicine was starting to take effect.
If Ellie followed them, chaos would likely ensue again.
…And this time, there was a witness, so there was no guarantee that their conversation wouldn’t leak out.
Though they could feign ignorance that he was talking nonsense because he was sick, but that didn’t mean it was the best option either.
For that reason.
“……”
Ellie lay down on the large, fluffy bed and stared at the child who was lying there, his eyes closed.
It was only a few minutes later that the child, who had been twitching his lips constantly after hearing what she said, slowly closed his eyes.
It wasn’t that long, so she didn’t know the exact time.
The physician said that the medication didn’t work well, but it seemed to have some effect.
-……Sleep well.
With a slightly more comfortable look than before, Ellie opened her mouth, her heart feeling a little heavy.
Her head was so full of thoughts that she couldn’t say anything more.
She was staring blankly at the sleeping child when she heard a voice.
“We’ll take care of the prince, so you go in and rest.”
“Yes? But…”
“It’s already dawn. I saw you working late last night, so just let us know of any important points and go take a nap.”
If you make a mistake because you’re dozing off, we’ll all be beheaded together. The butler said jokingly as he naturally opened the door and walked in.
Though the content didn’t seem like a joke, the butler’s demeanor was stern, and there seemed to be little effect.
The physician, with a grim expression and a pale face, nodded quickly.
Hurriedly gathering his belongings and getting up from his seat, the doctor spoke up.
“I’ll leave emergency medication on the table, just in case.”
“Okay.”
“The blue elixir here is for when your fever is severe, the yellow pill on the other side is for when the skin rash doesn’t disappear after an hour, and the red powder after that is for when he has difficulty breathing… ”
“Got it, thanks.”
“Oh, and the dosage is the same for both the blue elixir and the powder, one spoonful each. For the pill, just break it in half only one half taken, But if he needs to take more than that, he’ll need to consult an expert, so be sure to call me―”
“Yeah, yeah. Be careful on your way back.”
Seemingly burdened with worries, the physician couldn’t stop even as he was being pushed out.
Ellie tried to gauge whether he was worried about the child’s health, or perhaps his neck.
…It seemed like the latter was more likely.
“Ah! And one more thing I forgot to mention. If the fever doesn’t subside by evening, it could strain the brain, so I think it would be best to call a priest to treat it then–”
“……”
-……
“Eung…” (Adi sleeping noises)
As the physician, who had been talking nonstop until the very end, left the room, the child’s room was plunged into a sudden silence.
It seemed as if the conversation they had just had had made them both feel awkward.
‘Well, I wouldn’t say they fought, but their faces look like they had a rather unpleasant conversation.’
Ellie, who had known Marie for a long time and could read her expressions to a certain extent, tilted her head in confusion.
“So, it seems like we need an explanation for why the prince was staying in the attic. What do you think?”
The butler, who had been looking at the sleeping child with a complicated expression, asked Marie in a small voice.
Marie hesitated and replied.
“He said he wanted to stay there after his birthday last year.”
“And you didn’t try to stop him?”
“I did, but he was so determined…”
As Marie trailed off, the butler sighed.
“While the Madam is absent and the Duke is not staying at the mansion, there was no one else to serve in this ducal family except the young master. And for quite some time too. You know that better than anyone, don’t you?”
“……Yes,”
“No matter how much we are employed by the ducal family, we cannot be sure that there will never be a moment when we become lax in such a situation, as long as we are human.”
“…….”
“You should have corrected it right away. At the very least, you should have taken the minimum steps to ensure that they do not forget the position of the person they are serving.”
For the prince, that was his home.
Marie retorted tearfully to the butler, who rubbed his temples as if he had a headache.
“But the prince is still the young master even without such things!”
“That’s right.”
“Everyone knows that the young master is the child of the Duke and Duchess, and that everything in this mansion is practically his, so why should he have to prove that to the servants?”
“That’s all the more reason why it should have been done.”
“……What?”
Marie opened her eyes wide in confusion and asked back.
As the butler’s words continued, her head, which had been raised, gradually lowered.
“The attic room is useless even to the servants.”
“…….”
“I understand that you wanted to let him do whatever he wanted since he is the son of the Madam you served for so long.”
Sometimes, the difference in living standards can remind people of their position even more than bloodlines, the butler said.
He was a child who could not control the discipline of the servants himself.
Position makes the person. Judging from the state of the child’s clothes and his overall living conditions, it seemed that the timing was right after all, so the butler’s opinion was right.
Ellie just closed her eyes as she listened to all of this. Marie also did not react at all.
The butler opened his mouth in a low voice.
“There are quite a few things I need to report to the Duke.”
It was no different from a warning that a storm was about to blow.
* * * *
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