The Villainess’ Kindergarten

Late at night, I woke up to a loud noise. When I went out of the room, I saw that the employees were busy moving about. Everyone was even wearing gloves on both hands and masks on their faces. They seemed so busy that they didn’t even notice that I was there.

 

What was this?

 

“What’s going on?”

 

A maid came up to me and opened her mouth in tears.

 

“Second young master is suffering from a high fever!”

 

My heart dropped at those words, it felt like something inside my chest had cracked. I had never read anything about children getting sick. My legs started shaking.

 

“I’ll go too.”

 

Then the maid held out her gloves and mask to me and I took them from her. When we entered Thomas’ room, we found him lying in the room, suffering. He was asleep, breathing heavily, and red spots were all over his body.

 

This… It’s measles.

 

I let out a sigh. It is a disease that has almost disappeared in modern society with advanced medicine, but in the Middle Ages it was a terrible infectious disease that took the lives of many people. When I placed my hand on Thomas’ forehead, I felt heat. His whole body felt like a ball of fire. The problem with measles was that it was an infectious disease. Fortunately, people seemed to know that this disease was contagious. So, you should wear a mask and gloves. I thought of the children who ate with Thomas until yesterday. I was worried that the youngest, Jasmine, might be infected.

 

“Are the other kids okay?”

 

“Yes, everyone looks fine so far.”

 

“But just in case, quarantine everyone in their own rooms and don’t let them come out. Assign one of the maids and servants who suffered from measles when they were young to each child and ask them to stay by their side.”

 

The good news was that Thomas rarely hung out with the kids these days, except during meal times, because he was practicing swordsmanship. Now that Baridas was away, I was the highest ranking person in the duchy and I had to take responsibility for the children. I closed my eyes tightly. I had to protect my children.

 

“How many days is the incubation period for measles?”

 

“Between two and three weeks.”

 

Was it that long? I sighed, saying that quarantine period must have been difficult.

 

“If you call a priest and purify it, you will know right away whether it is infected or not.”

 

It was good news to hear.

 

“Then please do so.”

 

I looked at the clock and it was now a little past 5 o’clock. There was still plenty of time until Crimson’s rush hour. I held Thomas’ hand while he was sick in bed. There was nothing else that could be done. He seemed angry at his own helplessness. All I could do was be by his side. When I approached Thomas and measured his temperature, it was over 40 degrees. As I wiped his sweaty face, Thomas called to me softly.

 

“Brother… Su…”

 

Thomas cried and held my hand. The heat I felt from his joined hands was so hot. Tears began to flow from his eyes.

 

“Sick… ”

 

It felt like my heart was hurting from his wet voice. I stroked his head to soothe him.

 

“It’s okay, you can get better.”

 

Thomas mumbled something in response to my words, but his voice was so low that I couldn’t hear him. He grabbed my hand.

 

“Yes, I’m with you… Thanks for giving…”

 

After saying those words, Thomas’ hand holding me lost strength. He had lost his mind. All I could do was stay by his side. But even for that, I wanted to protect you and tell me that you were grateful. I wanted to get better as quickly as possible. At that time, a maid came running and said that the priest had arrived. After she nodded and I went out of the room, a priest wearing white and blue clothes was standing there. When he saw me, he bowed respectfully.

 

“Greeting the princess.”

 

But I didn’t have time to leisurely say hello to him. Rather than that, examining the children was a priority.

 

“Okay, let’s go.”

 

After roughly accepting his greeting, I headed to Greenly’s room with the priest. When I knocked and entered the room, I saw Greenly reading a book.

 

“Is brother okay?”

 

As if Greenly had heard what was going on, he ran to me and asked how Thomas was doing. His eyes were also shaking more than usual. I raised my hand and stroked his head.

 

“He will get better soon, let’s support him together.”

 

At my words, Greenly pursed his lips and then nodded his head. At that time, a priest approached Greenly and held his hand.

 

“Excuse me.”

 

Then light began to flash from his body. Is this the kind of divine power that appears in the novel? My eyes widened at the amazing sight I was seeing for the first time.

 

“There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong. You are healthy.”

 

Thank god. I breathed a sigh of relief. It certainly seemed that the divine power of this world was as superior as modern medicine.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“I just did what I had to do.”

 

Just before I left the room with the priest, Greenly caught me.

 

“Sister-in-law, please be careful too.”

 

I nodded at his words. I also knew how scary measles was. Please, I hope there are no problems with the children. The next thing I went for was Lima. She looked sulky, as if she didn’t like being quarantined, and then she ran towards me.

 

“Thomas is in a lot of pain right now.”

 

Lima’s eyes widened when she heard that Thomas was sick.

 

“My brother is sick…?”

 

Tears formed in her eyes and soon began to drip. I patted her on the back and whispered softly.

 

“It will get better soon, you can get better. So, don’t cry.”

 

Lima rubbed her face in my hand as I wiped away her tears with my other hand. After a while, after she calmed down a little, I opened her mouth.

 

“It will be hard to see both me and Thomas for a while. Once we finish disinfecting the mansion, we can go outside then. So please be patient and wait for a few days.”

 

I took Lima out of my arms and kissed him on the forehead. Then Lima cried again and nodded his head. Her hands tightened as she held on to the dress.

 

“You have to come quickly.”

 

“Okay. I’ll promise.”

 

At my words, Lima stuck out her little finger to me. I found that cute sight and smiled and put my hand on her finger.

 

“Put your finger on it and make a promise.”

 

The priest approached Lima’s side. He likewise confirmed through his divine power that there was nothing wrong with Lima. Next was Ren. She went to her room and explained her situation, and Ren nodded her head without saying anything. Soon the priest confirmed that there was nothing wrong with Ren. Ren said as he watched me sigh in relief.

 

“I will pray that my brother gets better quickly, so my sister-in-law, please be careful and don’t get sick.”

 

It felt like my heart was pounding as I heard her say that she was truly worried about me.

 

“Thank you, Ren.”

 

I left Ren’s room to check on Jasmine one last time. At that moment, a maid came running in front of me.

 

“Princess!”

 

“What’s going on?”

 

“Lady Jasmine… She collapsed!”

 

It felt like the sky was falling at her words.  My legs started shaking. As I was about to fall, her maid caught me and supported me. Please, it’s not measles. Praying was all I could do now. I walked quickly to Jasmine’s room. But as soon as I entered the room, I fell into despair. Jasmine’s face, lying on the bed, was feverish, and her entire body was covered in red spots. I collapsed in her seat, looking down at her, who looked like she was in more pain than anyone else. Jasmine was now three years old. She was too young to have endured measles.

 

While I was in shock, a thought passed through my mind. According to the original, Jasmine did not die. As soon as that thought disappeared, I felt extreme self-loathing. I can’t believe I’m just playing the original while Jasmine is in such pain. There is no guarantee that everything will be as it was in the original.

 

I gritted my teeth. I didn’t want to worry about it being an original anymore. This world was not a book that could be just covered up. People who were characters in novels are now living, breathing, talking, moving, and living their lives in front of me. But why did I exclude all of those things just because it would be as original as the original? In the original work, there is no mention of Jasmine and Thomas being sick.

 

I reached out and stroked her hair. 

 

‘I hope you don’t get sick. I want you to be happier than anyone else. So get well soon and smile again.’

 

I placed Jasmine and Thomas’ rooms closest to each other. It was so I could quickly move around their rooms. I selected some of the employees who had suffered from measles to help me take care of Jasmine and Thomas, and the remaining employees were not allowed to come anywhere near me. Several workers also complained of suffering from measles, and they were all quarantined. Thanks to this, the family doctors became very busy. I sighed as I looked at the ten or so patients who had completed quarantine. Should I say this is too little? Measles was a very contagious disease. It’s a miracle that only two of the children got sick. At that time, Crimson, who was at work, ran into the room. He sighed as he looked at patients with spots growing all over their bodies.

 

“It’s a big deal.”

 

* * *

 

I prayed that it wasn’t the case as I rushed here after hearing the news, but in the end, it was measles. Crimson shivered as he recalled the plague that swept across the empire a few years ago. It felt like hell. People died every day. It was a scene more horrendous than war. The good news was that most of those who survived were immune to measles. But that only applies to adults, not children.

 

The place where the epidemic spread was Delart, a fiefdom ruled by the Childe family. Judging by the fact that there was not much news from the region, it was said that measles could spread throughout the empire, starting with Delart.

 

Crimson sighed at the terrifying fact even to imagine.

 

Crimson was resentful of Baridas for being away when the hour was urgent. Now that Baridas was gone, it was difficult for him to handle it alone. However, that did not mean that the epidemic could not be left unattended until a call came from Baridas. Just as he was struggling, Fiora opened her mouth.

 

“Do I have authority over this situation?”

 

There was no way Crimson could not understand the meaning of those words. Although she was still her fiancé, Fiora was in charge of the duchy now that Baridas was away. However, it was not a task he could take on carelessly. Crimson hesitated before opening his mouth.

 

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