“At first, I truly thought a disaster had struck…….”
Come to think of it, Billy’s complexion looked paler than usual, and the area under his eyes had darkened considerably.
Even when he came here and took on the heavy position of Head Steward, even when he ran around here and there insisting on handling my errands, he never looked this exhausted.
“Do you know how much blood you lost? Of course you don’t. You were unconscious the whole time. Your body temperature kept dropping to dangerous levels, but no matter how much we called you, you wouldn’t wake up, and the little Your Highness kept insisting on nursing you personally.”
“…….”
“And that’s not all. There were clearly no signs of poisoning, yet the toxins staining your skin wouldn’t disappear, and you seemed to be in pain as if you had internal injuries, but no medicine worked at all. Every time you coughed up blood, we all felt like we aged ten years together.”
Billy said, slumping his shoulders.
“Those were the longest three days of my life. If you had woken up just a little later, I might have died of old age by tomorrow…….”
“That’s… Ahem. Kuhum. I didn’t do it on purpose. My regrets.”
I glanced at him and asked.
“It’s a rather cold place, but I’ll at least bury you somewhere relatively warm.”
“Is that Your Highness’s mercy bestowed upon a Head Steward who endured such regrettable circumstances well…….”
Was it just my imagination? After hearing I’d starved for three days, I felt even hungrier.
‘I can’t shamefully steal a child’s snacks.’
Since this wasn’t an environment where one could enjoy luxuries, there weren’t many pâtissiers in the castle.
Seeing the little one wolfing down cookies, there seemed to be at least one skilled person, but given that more people would start starving as winter deepened, there would be limits to freely providing such luxury items.
So let the ten-year-old have the precious cookies.
“Have something simple prepared to fill my stomach.”
Billy brightened and bowed at the waist.
“I’ve already prepared something. Something that won’t burden your stomach.”
I reached out and brushed off the cookie crumbs from Lenox’s mouth as I answered.
“Bring two bowls.”
Since I’ve decided to raise this kid anyway, even if I can’t love him enough to make the world collapse, I shouldn’t let him go hungry.
“……So, no more threatening situations have been discovered beyond that. The reconnaissance team that confirmed it had started moving early tried to subdue it, but it flew away and escaped as soon as it was wounded.”
“Has the reconnaissance team returned?”
“This morning, all members returned without casualties. I’ll compile and submit the report by tomorrow.”
“By the way, only that one went crazy and flew up when it wasn’t even its active period.”
The hunger I’d barely acknowledged quickly faded away. I examined the documents with a serious expression.
“It’s too early to be relieved just because there are no ongoing problems. We need to find the cause of the issue. Set aside the report on the wyvern nest reconnaissance separately. Make sure to prepare it carefully.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“And…… as you know, Lenox will be staying in this castle for the time being. Give him the best available room and treat him with proper courtesy.”
“I shall follow your command.”
“……And hire one more cook.”
“A cook, Your Highness?”
I glanced at Lenox sitting across the table.
He was staring down at his soup bowl with a serious expression, spoon in hand. His expression was so grave that his eyebrows looked like they might touch the plate any moment.
“He’ll be hitting his growth spurt soon. And, well…… he seems to have a taste for sweet things.”
Albert smiled faintly.
“I’ll contact my younger sibling to hire one more skilled pâtissier. I’ll also arrange with our contracted merchant group to procure plenty of dessert ingredients.”
Right. After all, one must eat well to grow properly.
“So now, please stop looking at documents and eat first.”
“Mm.”
I stared gloomily at the pale green pea cream soup.
Perhaps out of consideration for someone who had just risen from their sickbed, they seemed to have tried to make it smooth and savory, but the characteristic earthy smell of peas lingered annoyingly.
Should I just leave some and ask for a proper meal once I felt better?
While I was mulling this over, I felt a gaze flying in from across the table. Lenox was staring intently at me with his spoon in his mouth.
“Hyungnim, do you dislike peas too?”
I scooped up a large spoonful of pea soup as if I’d never hesitated.
“……No picky eating in my territory.”
I couldn’t set a bad example. In the end, I cleaned out the bowl completely.
Lenox, who had followed my lead and scraped his pea soup clean, smiled brightly. It seemed like there had been a few crises when swallowing the peas, but now that he’d finished, he looked happier than someone who’d gained the whole world.
In this cold place, living with such a blunt half-brother—what about that was so wonderful to make him smile like that? His reddened cheeks seemed to openly reveal his excitement.
“You should lie down, Hyungnim! You haven’t fully recovered yet!”
I was almost there. Though my hands and arms were wrapped thoroughly in bandages because the poison had seeped in too deeply, all the lethal toxins had been detoxified, so it didn’t hurt.
‘Though my head does hurt a bit…….’
I checked and saw that the current ‘Chaos Meter’ was about 85 percent. It had dropped considerably despite my efforts to fill it. It was probably because people around me perceived my existence as quite different from the original Achille’s actions.
I’d been told to use it sparingly since I wouldn’t be able to refill it for a while, but this was unavoidable. I desperately wanted to do that too.
While I was briefly contemplating, Lenox jumped up and approached me. Unable to contain his urgency, the kid wobbled over, grabbed my hand tightly, and pulled.
“You need to lie down on the bed, Hyungnim. When you’re sick, you should lie down and rest well…… Huh?”
Sensing something was off, I grabbed the kid’s hand. The little one looked up at me with wide eyes.
“Hyungnim?”
“You’re hot.”
He was hot. Flustered, I touched his forehead, then realized I couldn’t properly gauge his temperature because of the bandages, so I bent down and pressed my forehead directly against his.
Not just his hands but even his forehead was hot. His entire body was burning like a fireball.
“Billy!”
As I shouted while hastily picking up Lenox, Billy rushed in.
“Call a doctor…… No, wait.”
This wasn’t simply being sick. I had that intuition.
“Bring a mage! Right now!”
“It’s manifestation side effects.”
Sure enough, the mage’s expression immediately turned serious after checking Lenox’s condition.
The mage placed his hand on the groaning Lenox’s forehead, recited a few spells, then quickly scribbled something and handed it to Billy.
“These are things that will help the little Your Highness. Please bring them as quickly as possible.”
“Is his condition very bad?”
“I’m sorry to say this, but it’s quite bad. Not only is his fever high, but his stomach must be quite upset as well.”
“But he ate cookies and soup quite heartily.”
“……It’s truly fortunate that he’s at a growing age.”
The mage sighed and withdrew his hand. His gaze briefly touched Lenox’s tiny hand. As if I might leave at any moment, those little hands stubbornly gripped my clothes.
“The circuits of mages who have just manifested are extremely delicate and fragile. It’s the most precarious period in a mage’s life. Since the vessel hasn’t settled yet, it’s easily damaged.”
“So in that situation, he even overexerted himself, meaning he couldn’t possibly be fine.”
“Exactly. Fortunately, the circuits don’t appear to be damaged. He seems to have been born with tremendous talent.”
The elderly man smiled gently and bowed to Lenox.
“The little Your Highness may become an exceptional mage in the future. Should I say it’s an honor to meet such a remarkable person in advance like this?”
This man I’d hurriedly summoned was said to be the most outstanding mage in the North. In his younger days, he traveled throughout the Empire earning fame, but now he’d settled somewhere suitable, taking on small jobs while raising disciples.
“Once the kid gets better, I’d like you to help him learn to handle magic.”
Since I knew how to do a triple kick but not how to use magic, I had no choice but to ask someone else for this sort of thing.
Fortunately, the mage answered that he would, with a very pleased expression. At any rate, it was a relief that it wasn’t a major problem. In that case.
“Everyone out now.”
I said with determination, picking up the towel by the bedside.
“I’ll be the one nursing this kid.”
