The Abandoned Duchess Seems to Want a Peaceful Life - Chapter 93

Chapter 93: Serleine’s Illness

That day, something unusual happened from the morning.

“Serleine is not feeling well, so he has declined to join us for breakfast.”

It seems that Serleine, who had been showing signs of good health for a while, had fallen ill again after a long time. Simon’s expression had become as stern and tense as when he first visited the lord’s residence.

“Could I visit him? Even if he doesn’t have much of an appetite, I think he should eat a little. Do you think he might agree if it’s just the two of us?”

At those words, Simon nodded and then said that it would be alright if it were in his room. Ed had prepared a sweetened bread porridge, so I took it and went to visit his room.

Upon entering the room, Serleine sat up from his bed, looking dejected.

“Sorry for looking like this, sister.”

“Don’t worry about it. Your face is red. Are you feeling alright?”

“It’s just a slight fever. I’ve been feeling well for a while, so I let my guard down.”

His eyes were watery and his expression somewhat dazed, likely due to the fever.

“Do you think we should request a recovery from the church?”

“Serleine probably has a cold. The church can’t treat the flu.”

“Is that so?”

I was a bit surprised by Simon’s words.

The church is an institution that uses recovery magic to treat the sick. A cold… what we commonly call the flu, is one of the most common illnesses people catch at any time.

Melfina had never received treatment from the church. I wondered what kind of illnesses the church actually deals with, but for now, Serleine was my main concern.

Although Ed had made the bread porridge quite mild, Serleine seemed to lack an appetite. After eating about half of it, he put down his spoon with an apologetic expression.

“Just try to eat what you can. In exchange, make sure to drink plenty of fluids.”

“Yes, I’m sorry, sister.”

“A cold is something anyone can catch.”

When I placed my hand on Serleine’s forehead, it was alarmingly hot. Although there are no thermometers in this world, the high fever was evident from the heat alone.

“Let’s bring in another hibachi and try to increase the humidity as much as possible. Also, cool her forehead with a wet, cold towel.”

As I removed my hand from Serleine’s forehead, he looked at me with an unusually forlorn expression, which pained my heart.

“It’s not proper to stay in the bedroom all day, but if you don’t mind, could I do some knitting here today? I won’t disturb you while you’re sleeping.”

“Yes, um, sister.”

“What is it, Serleine?”

“…I’d be happy if you could tell me a story again. You’ve been so busy lately.”

“Of course. It’s been a while since I’ve had time to relax, so I’ll tell you something.”

When I gently stroked his soft white hair, Serleine looked relieved.

Even adults become anxious when they have a high fever. For someone like Serleine, who has a generally weak constitution, it’s even more so.

“I’ll clear the tray and prepare a few things. In the meantime, lie down and try to sleep if you can.”

“I feel too guilty to sleep.”

“Whether you sleep or not, I’ll stay with you.”

When I conveyed that firmly, Serleine settled down on the bed, and then, with a small, happy smile, he looked a bit more at ease.

“Um, may I ask why?”

“You have caught a cold. It wouldn’t be good if it spreads to everyone. So, it’s just a precaution.”

“But won’t it spread to you as well?”

“In a close-knit household, some spread of illness is unavoidable. What’s most troublesome is if everyone in the lord’s residence gets sick at the same time and everything comes to a halt. A cold usually clears up in a few days, but if I were to catch it, I would need someone to take care of me. Especially you, Anna, since you’re a valuable female servant in the lord’s residence. It would be most problematic if everyone were to get infected at once.”

It is possible to request help from women in Enkar Village if needed, but that could risk spreading the illness to their families or other villagers. If Anna ends up caring for me, we might need to switch from a daily visit to a live-in arrangement for a while.

“So, what you’re saying is that I might be able to help take care of you if you get sick, Lady Melfina?”

“I’ll be careful not to catch it myself, but if it comes to that, I think I’ll have to rely on you, Anna.”

“Leave it to me!”

“Ed, while you’re here, I can handle preparing meals. But if I fall ill, I’ll need you to take over meal preparations. The same goes for everyone else. So, for a while, the lord’s residence will be managed by me, Marie, and Cedric.”

After the explanation, both of them nodded vigorously and quickly shared the information with the other servants. It’s easier to manage quickly with fewer servants in situations like this.

“Both of you, please keep it a secret that we’re reducing the number of people coming and going around Serleine. He tends to feel guilty about her condition.”

“Understood, Lady Melfina.”

“I’ll also tell Julius not to get too close or say unnecessary things. Although, he’s been asleep most of the time lately.”

After the distillation work was completed, Julius’s time spent asleep in his room visibly increased. He claimed it was because he was in a constant state of excitement while awake, but that’s a concern in itself.

“Lady Melfina, when he was a child, he used to be awake for much shorter periods each day, and he knows his body well, so there’s no need to worry. Before long, he’ll wake up and casually mention how ridiculous it is that we’re concerned about him wanting to lick some sugar.”

Cedric, clearly familiar with Julius from their long acquaintance, spoke with ease.

“Shall we prepare some stick sugar for when he wakes up?”

“I’ll take care of it later. If we let Julius do it himself, he’ll end up licking it all endlessly.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that, but seeing that Cedric wasn’t joking, I gave a wry smile.

“Since too much sugar isn’t good for you, I’ll leave it to you, Cedric.”