Ch.7Fairy Disease (1)

“You want to take the day off today?”

“Yes…”

Chloe lowered her head slightly and looked at me carefully as she said she wanted to take the day off today.

It’s understandable, considering she saw a corpse this morning.

“That’s fine, you could even take tomorrow off too, you know.”

“Thank you… young master. But I’ll definitely work tomorrow.”

“Sure, sure.”

Chloe bowed deeply to me and then opened the door and left.

Usually when Chloe greets me, she shows her face, but just now she bowed so deeply that I couldn’t even see her face.

It felt a bit off, but I let it slide.

“Hmm…”

Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve been alone during this time of day.

Until now, Chloe has always been by my side unless it was her break time.

Today is a day without classes, so I’ve been cooped up in my room since morning, and without Chloe around, it’s quite boring.

“I wonder what happened…”

Honestly, I’d like to go see the Duke and find out what’s going on… but that wouldn’t be appropriate.

The Duke is directly involved in this incident, and approaching a parent who has lost a child could provoke great anger if done incorrectly.

Well, he probably died while trying to take a piss.

“…I’ll go for a walk.”

Until this morning, I was reluctant to go out to the garden because my third brother’s body was there, but they should have cleaned everything up by now.

I might as well take a walk to change my mood.

“Ahhh…”

The weather is wonderful.

Until dawn today, there were quite a few clouds, but now the sky is clear without a single cloud.

The atmosphere inside the castle is literally like a house of mourning, creating a stark contrast between the sky and the ground.

“Hey, did you hear about that?”

“Really? In Nevers?”

“…?”

And so, during my walk, I happened to overhear the maids gossiping.

Nevers… that’s a place about 6 hours away by carriage to the west.

“The fairy disease is spreading in Nevers?”

Fairy disease… it’s been a while since I’ve heard that term.

The fairy disease has a low mortality rate for children, but for adults, it shows no mercy, like the Grim Reaper swinging his scythe. It’s highly contagious, spreading through coughs.

It got its name “fairy disease” because it spares children while killing adults, as if fairies were saving children like themselves.

Those who dislike the name containing “fairy” sometimes call it the “orphan disease” because it creates countless orphans.

“Chloe and I caught it when we were young.”

Once you recover from the fairy disease, you never catch it again.

When I was young, my mother carefully nursed Chloe and me when we caught the fairy disease. I remember my mother telling me, “I had the fairy disease when I was young, so I’ll be fine,” when I was worried about her getting infected.

The books I read after coming to the castle said exactly the same thing my mother told me, so the fairy disease seems to be like smallpox from Earth—once you’ve had it, you develop immunity and never catch it again.

That’s why some people deliberately expose their children to the fairy disease when they’re young. But since an outbreak causes chaos, and even children have some mortality risk, it remains a fringe practice.

Above all, while symptoms appear quickly after infection, recovery or death happens within a day or two, making it rather difficult to obtain the pathogen.

“Hmm… well, it doesn’t concern us.”

It’s not in the capital Dijon, but in another region far away.

Besides, Chloe and I already have immunity.

Moreover, if the maids are talking about it openly, the higher-ups must already know. They’ll handle the quarantine or inspection as needed.

“Hmm… maybe I’ll bring some grape juice.”

So during my walk, feeling Chloe’s absence, I decided to bring some grape juice to her as she rested in her room.

Chloe really loves grape juice because it’s sweet and tangy. There should be some left in the kitchen.

“Chef, do you have any grape juice left?”

“Ah, yes. Here it is. Take it.”

The chef is a servant who treats me politely despite my illegitimate status.

The servants generally don’t show disrespect to me even though I’m illegitimate, as I’m still basically a commoner. But many of the attendants, who often hold minor noble titles, tend to subtly look down on me. This chef, however, treats me with genuine warmth.

Hmm, I should repay him well if I ever rise in status.

“Thank you.”

“Is it for Chloe?”

“Ah… yes, she’s taking the day off today.”

Perhaps because we chat often, the chef knows our sibling preferences very well.

Just by seeing me order grape juice, the chef immediately realizes I’m taking it to Chloe.

“It’s understandable. Such a delicate child saw the corpse of someone who was alive just yesterday—how upset she must be.”

“Hmm… I suppose so.”

Chloe is one of the few witnesses who saw my third brother last night.

Besides Chloe, who was cleaning the corridor, two other servants testified to seeing my third brother staggering drunkenly through the corridor in the middle of the night.

Among them, only Chloe testified to having spoken with him.

She said, ‘He seemed to be looking for the bathroom, so I tried to guide him, but he ignored me and went upstairs.’

“Chloe…”

Someone she was talking to just last night was found dead in a horrible state the next morning. How traumatic that must have been for her.

My third brother would always look at Chloe with lecherous eyes, so neither of us had good feelings toward him, but death is still death.

I had hoped to see fewer deaths in this life… sigh.

I sighed, took the grape juice, and headed to Chloe’s room.

Knock knock—

“Chloe, are you there?”

But there was no answer to my knock.

“…I guess she’s sleeping.”

Chloe seems quite exhausted mentally and physically. It’s not surprising if she’s sleeping.

Hmm… I’ll have to drink this grape juice myself.

I could carefully open the door and leave the grape juice on the table, but entering my sister’s room without a response would be impolite.

I spent the rest of the day passing time by reading books I hadn’t read before, practicing swordsmanship, or taking walks.

The next day, the fairy disease had spread throughout the castle.

……….

“What is going on here?!”

The Duke’s roar pierces through the office.

“Fairy disease? Why is the fairy disease here?! Didn’t I order Nevers to be quarantined and all carriages entering Dijon to be inspected?!”

“Yes, we immediately relayed Your Grace’s orders to the lords and soldiers of Nevers… but it seems they couldn’t completely contain it.”

“…Damn it.”

Yesterday, my son died.

And now with the fairy disease spreading, we can’t even hold a funeral.

If we did, it would literally create a string of funerals…!

“But… there’s something strange about this.”

“Huh?”

“The fairy disease hasn’t spread in the city, only inside the castle…”

“…What did you say?”

Dijon consists of three structures: the outer wall, the inner wall, and the castle.

Outside the outer wall and between the outer and inner walls, buildings form the city. Between the inner wall and our castle are gardens, barracks, and such.

Given this structure, it’s possible for a plague from the city to transfer into the castle, but it’s structurally unlikely for a plague to appear only inside the castle while the city remains unaffected.

“Ugh… we’ll look into that later. Start isolating people first! Begin evacuating them gradually outside the castle!”

Such matters can be investigated after the crisis ends. The fairy disease is highly contagious and becomes extremely potent in a confined space like this castle.

I have immunity because I caught the fairy disease when I was young, accompanying my father outside, but my children have never caught it because I raised them with such care.

If my children without immunity catch the fairy disease—

“Your Grace!! Louis and Anne have contracted the fairy disease—”

…Bad premonitions never seem to be wrong.

Fairy disease? I don’t know who came up with such a name… but it should rightfully be called the orphan disease.

……….

“Young master, it’s quite chaotic outside.”

“Hmm… understandably so.”

Chloe, with faint dark circles under her eyes, glances out the window before saying this.

It’s natural for there to be such chaos, given the notorious fairy disease.

Even though we have immunity, we could still be carriers, so everyone with immunity, including Chloe and myself, has been ordered to stay in our rooms and not come out except for meals or bathroom breaks.

“It’s… fortunate, young master.”

“Hmm? Fortunate?”

“That we won’t catch the fairy disease.”

“Ah… that’s what you mean.”

Hmm… it can be seen as fortunate, I suppose.

We’re just inconvenienced by not being able to go outside, but those without immunity are literally exposed to the threat of death.

Of course, openly saying it’s fortunate could earn dirty looks from those without immunity, so we should be careful.

“Chloe, you shouldn’t go around telling others it’s fortunate, okay?”

“Yes, of course.”

With those words, Chloe smiled sweetly and sat down next to me, leaning her body against my shoulder.

She didn’t used to do this, but now that she’s grown, I can definitely feel some weight.

“Huff… huff…”

“Oh my…”

Chloe quickly falls asleep using my shoulder as a pillow while sitting on the sofa. Soft breathing sounds escape through her slender nose.

I couldn’t possibly stay still for 8 hours so as not to wake my sister, and eventually I too fell asleep.