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Chapter 58
Hider returned home early in the evening. Fortunately, by the time he arrived with the physician, Rani’s fever had subsided.
The doctor Hider brought was a former assistant who had trained under the attending physician of the Aros Viscounty.
Luckily, she had agreed to work at Cartieron, and that’s how she ended up here.
After examining Rani and stepping out of the bedroom, the doctor calmly gave her diagnosis.
“It’s a cold brought on by overexertion. With some medicine and rest, she’ll recover. I’ll prepare the medicine right away, Young Master.”
Hider nodded.
“Thank you for coming. I’m the head maid of this estate, Ruella.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Madam Ruella. Please call me Meril.”
“Yes, Miss Meril. I look forward to working with you. Let me show you to your room.”
Ruella led Meril away. Hider watched them go, then turned back into Rani’s room.
It seemed people had come and gone to care for her—warm water and towels were set out by the bedside.
On her desk were several books she’d been reading. Hider picked one up and took a seat. He planned to stay until she woke up.
He opened the book.
“Ugh.”
A groan escaped my lips. My whole body felt like it had been boiled soft, like fish cake left to soak and then pulled out again.
I sighed and turned my body.
“…Young Master?”
“You’re awake?”
Hider was by my side. Judging by the lit lamp in the room, it was late at night.
Why was he still awake? Oh, right!
I shot up in bed, the aches momentarily forgotten.
“Congratulations, Young Master! I saw you achieve your breakthrough! It was so amazing! You’ve really become a full-fledged Sword Master now! And the youngest one ever, too!”
I shouted in a hoarse voice, still raspy from the cold.
“I wanted to be the first to congratulate you, but I’m late.”
I really regretted that.
“I had so many things prepared for this day too. Gloves, a charm to hang from your sword, cufflinks, and… um…”
Hider smiled and pulled a chair closer to sit beside me. He reached out and placed his hand on my forehead.
His cool touch felt refreshing, as if it chased away the fever clouding my mind.
Hider’s sudden closeness startled me. Seeing him this close made me realize again how much he had grown.
His features were becoming more and more masculine, and the hand on my forehead was solid and strong.
Realizing that, I instinctively pulled back.
“Eek!”
“…Rani? What’s wrong? Are you really feeling that unwell?”
I shook my head vigorously.
He’s just my favorite character. My greatest masterpiece. The male lead I raised to perfection. Get a grip.
I knew better than anyone what happened to side characters who got caught between the heroine and the male lead—they met tragic ends.
Besides, I had no intention of clinging to an impossible one-sided love.
With the promised fortune, I could build a harem if I wanted. It was just that I had spent all my time holed up in the mansion and never even dated.
“Rani?”
“Mm!”
I clapped a hand over my mouth. Somehow, being this close to Hider made me overly conscious of everything.
He leaned in with a worried expression. Stop coming closer!
“I’m fine. So please, just…”
“Hm?”
“Please step back!”
Hider blinked wide-eyed. I’d pushed him away without realizing it.
“…Did I do something wrong?”
He looked so hurt. I took a deep breath and shook my head.
“No, Young Master! It’s just, um… you smelled.”
Hider looked shocked and sniffed himself.
“…I smell?”
“No, no! You smell good!”
I had no idea what I was saying anymore. Words just kept spilling out.
“My nose was ticklish. Maybe I have an allergy or something. Maybe you changed your cologne?”
Hider frowned in concern.
“That can’t be. I only use what you bought for me.”
“It’s probably just because I’m not feeling well. Ah, it’s hot.”
I fanned my face and glanced at him. Thankfully, he didn’t seem hurt anymore. If anything, he seemed to be keeping a bit more distance after the allergy excuse.
Such a sweet boy.
I smiled softly at him.
“Ahem, I’ll get better soon and return to your side.”
That was a close call. I’ll have to be more careful going forward.
“And I’ll give you the gift I promised, too.”
“…Just focus on getting better first, Rani. And don’t overwork yourself anymore. Now I can go out on errands too.”
“You’re right! I don’t have to scheme to sneak out without you now!”
“…Did you really have to say it like that?”
“Well, you already knew, didn’t you?”
Hider burst into laughter, and seeing his crimson eyes crinkle with joy made me feel better. He looked so beautiful when he smiled.
Just like I had protected that smile until now, I would protect it in the future too. No matter what.
“I brought a doctor back with me today. She’ll stay here until Grandfather returns. Hiring her was expensive.”
“I’d been thinking we needed someone like that. Perfect timing! I’ll ask her to prepare your vitamins too!”
“…I think I don’t need them anymore. I’m healthy enough.”
“No way, Young Master. You’re still growing. You need to eat well and grow big and strong.”
“You’re still growing too. Why don’t you take them?”
“Me…?”
Because they taste disgusting.
“We’ll take them together. Then I’ll take mine.”
“Ugh.”
“If you don’t, I won’t either.”
“Ugh…”
“I’m taking that as a yes, Rani.”
I let out a deep sigh.
Hider chuckled and began to tell me about his day.
“Today, I received congratulations from Viscount Aros, Count Jeck, and Viscount Nathan. They all recognized I became a Sword Master.”
“Of course! You’ve been working with Sir Tibern for so long. Is everything calm outside these days?”
“Except for the annoying Duchess of Kiera, things are fine. And as we talked about, they bought the diamond mine and are seeing profits. They appointed a proxy to manage it. They asked if that was okay, and I said yes.”
“Exactly. It’s fine as long as they don’t get caught!”
Hider and I shared a mischievous smile. Though my body still ached, I felt much better.
I thought I’d recover quickly, but the fatigue must’ve hit harder than expected. I wasn’t getting better as fast as I thought.
While I was bedridden, everyone else handled my duties.
“Miss Meril, do you think I could get up now?”
“If you want your fever to come back, sure.”
Meril cheerfully shrugged, clearly unbothered.
“…I’ll lie down again.”
I swallowed the medicine Meril offered and lay back.
“Hm. This is lasting longer than expected. Strange.”
She muttered under her breath.
“It doesn’t seem like a typical flu. The symptoms are the same, but it’s not responding to any of the medicine…”
Her expression grew serious as she looked at me.
“Are there any other symptoms bothering you?”
“My body aches, my throat feels tight… Hmm, it’s getting more uncomfortable little by little.”
Wait.
As I said that, I remembered something. Didn’t something like this happen around this time in the original story?
In the novel, it was only briefly mentioned. So I didn’t know the exact timing.
It was just brought up a few times because it affected Hider.
I swallowed hard.
“…Miss Meril, has anyone else recently shown symptoms like mine?”
Meril turned to look at me. As she stood there thinking, I clenched my fists.
This could be it. This could be my big chance.
A chance to make a fortune!
