Ch.90Chapter 90: The Fading Night, a Heart Burning Away, and a Heart Finding Relief

#

Well, Shizu’s cute(?) resistance didn’t need to be observed for long.

She couldn’t maintain the dynamic movements she was displaying while simultaneously protesting that she hadn’t caught a cold.

“Ah…”

She staggered as if all her previous vigor had vanished.

Needless to say, I approached and supported her just as her body began to sway.

As I caught Shizu before she fell, her body leaned into mine, inadvertently creating the appearance that I was embracing her.

But right now, I had no time to savor the heart-fluttering sensation one should feel when holding someone precious.

“A fever…”

These words escaped my lips involuntarily the moment she entered my arms.

The heat I felt from Shizu in my arms had risen considerably compared to when I first touched her forehead to check her temperature.

Though it had increased, it wasn’t at a dangerous level like someone with a severe fever.

The problem was that the time between when I touched her forehead and now when she was in my arms wasn’t even that long.

I was anxious.

If I left her like this without knowing better, I couldn’t even guarantee how much worse her condition might get.

“Shizu, let’s go back to your room.”

I carefully suggested returning to her, now that she was in my arms.

“…Okay.”

With no more excuses to refuse my words, Shizu agreed to follow my suggestion.

I briefly separated her body from my embrace, took her hand, and then…

“Let’s go.”

I spoke softly as I began walking.

Following my steps, Shizu’s footsteps moved along with mine.

And so, our second day at the fortress, which had been filled with only good things, came to an end with this unexpected situation.

#

The journey to the official residence, which served as both her quarters and my sister’s, was smooth with careful steps.

The path from the dining hall to the residence was short, and despite her fever making her movements sluggish, she didn’t fall behind my pace.

But it was too early to feel relieved just because she was keeping up with my steps.

“Shizu, are you okay?”

“Y…yes.”

“I can feel quite a bit of heat from your hand. It might be a little difficult, but I’ll move quickly.”

“Okay…”

Now I could clearly feel Shizu’s fever rising over time through our connected hands, and if that wasn’t enough…

“Ugh…”

I could sense that her body was losing strength as she let out small groans.

This doesn’t seem right.

What if something happens to her?

During our morning training session…

And even during our light snowball fight outside…

She had been fine except for shivering slightly from the cold, but now her condition was suddenly deteriorating, and I was terrified.

All sorts of thoughts raced through my mind.

Should we have avoided things like snowball fights and just found a quiet place to watch the falling snow?

When I noticed she was feeling the cold more severely, should I have moved her to a warmer place instead of just giving her an outer coat?

All kinds of hypothetical scenarios crossed my mind.

Every thought and assumption stemmed from self-blame—thinking that if I had done this or that differently, she wouldn’t be suffering from a fever while holding my hand now.

My chest tightened.

The precious person right beside me was forcing herself to maintain her balance due to the fever, trying to match my pace.

And the reality that I, her fiancé, couldn’t do anything for her…

It constricted my heart so heavily.

It was truly regrettable that I was just an ordinary inspector.

If I were a priest who could heal people with a single touch, I could alleviate her pain.

But right now, all I could do was pray for her not to be sick.

With each step, my regret grew and my heart became heavier.

That’s why all I could do was hope.

Hope that nothing serious would happen to her who was suffering like this now.

And hope that when morning came, she would face me with an unbothered expression and smile.

As I continued walking, carrying these feelings of guilt, regret, and modest wishes in my mind…

“Ah…”

An incident occurred.

A brief cry escaped from Shizu’s lips as she had been keeping pace with my steps, though with difficulty.

*Wobble*

Despite me holding her hand, she lost her balance and was about to fall.

“Shizu!”

Because I was holding her hand, I was able to quickly pull her back into my arms before she fell.

Her heat, even hotter than when I held her earlier, swept over my body, and then…

“Thank… you.”

Her voice, so thin and fragile, reached my ears.

Normally, her bright and energetic voice would have been loud enough to penetrate through my chest and be heard outside.

But now, her voice in my arms was so small and thin that even I, standing right in front of her, had to concentrate to barely hear it.

This won’t do. This definitely won’t do.

I shouldn’t let her strain herself by walking, even if the distance isn’t far.

Even if she says she’s fine, I can’t bear it anymore.

Once that thought crossed my mind…

My body quickly moved to carry her on my back.

I removed my arms from her, guided her arms over my shoulders, and carefully lifted her thighs with both hands.

“Ah…!”

A dazed exclamation escaped from Shizu’s lips in surprise, but she didn’t resist my touch.

Perhaps thanks to her cooperation, all these actions I took to carry her on my back were much easier than when I carried her last night when she was too drunk to control her body.

When carrying someone on your back, the person’s level of consciousness determines the difficulty.

If they have even a little consciousness, they can adjust to the carrier’s movements and make it easier for them to be carried.

But carrying someone who has lost consciousness and is completely limp is no easy task.

In that sense, carrying Shizu now was much easier than yesterday.

Unlike last night when she was almost unconscious from alcohol and completely limp, now she had faint consciousness and moved in accordance with my actions to carry her.

Although it might be embarrassing to carry someone on my back down a main road, the fact that I had already experienced this once yesterday eased the psychological pressure, and…

The thought that I couldn’t delay my steps due to such embarrassment when her condition was worsening made each step I took remarkably light.

Anyway, after getting Shizu onto my back and just as I was about to take steps toward the residence…

“K…Karl.”

Though she didn’t resist being carried on my back, Shizu’s thin voice, filled with embarrassment, tickled my ear again.

Though the volume was small, I could easily tell that the emotion in her voice was embarrassment…

“Y-you don’t… have to… do this…”

Shizu’s voice as she spoke to me was trembling considerably right now.

Whether this was purely from embarrassment,

Or if it was because the heat afflicting her body made it difficult for her to even speak,

I couldn’t know the exact reason, but…

“Isn’t… it hard?”

Hearing your voice worrying about me even while you’re struggling with your condition…

“It’s not hard. And you’re light. If I had known you were this light, I should have carried you earlier when you were struggling. I hesitated and now look what happened. I’m sorry.”

All that came from my mouth was an apology.

It was a natural response born from the frustration that I could do so little for you, who fills my heart with such warmth just by being near me.

“Thank… you…”

After hearing my words of apology, words of gratitude came from her lips again.

Though her voice was even smaller than before,

The warmth I felt in that voice was giving me an inexplicable strength.

“Hang in there a little longer. You’ll feel better once you lie down in bed and rest.”

It was as if it ignited my determination to get her to lie down comfortably and rest as quickly as possible.

With my arms firmly securing her body, my steps moved forward vigorously.

The journey that had felt heavy with worry just moments ago now didn’t feel heavy at all, even though we were only a few steps away.

#

After continuing my steps for a while, I arrived at my sister’s quarters.

As I approached the quarters, I worried about what to do if my sister wasn’t inside, but…

Fortunately, very fortunately,

Just as I reached the quarters, I encountered my sister who was about to enter and rest.

When she first saw me, just like yesterday, seeing me carrying Shizu on my back…

“Did she drink again?”

She sent me a look and words filled with a peculiar sentiment, but…

“…Hmm?”

As her gaze shifted from me to Shizu on my back…

“Why is Shizu suddenly… why is she like this?”

The moment she saw Shizu’s face flushed red from the high fever, my sister’s expression turned pale, which was quite a sight to see.

[“That lady also has quite an expression when she frowns. Is this what they mean by blood that can’t be deceived even after a thousand years…”]

…Even Fafnir, who had previously told me not to frown, made such a comment.

Anyway, after entering the residence and laying her down on the well-made bed…

*Huff- Huff- Huff-*

With her consciousness hazy from the high fever, she fell asleep with deep, rough breaths.

I thought I should remove her outer clothes to make her more comfortable, but…

“No matter how much she’s your fiancée, it’s a bit much for your hands to touch her bare skin, right? Leave it to me.”

“…Sister, please.”

After making this polite request to my sister, who had gestured for me to leave with these words, I left the bedroom where she was sleeping.

*Click*

After closing the bedroom door and stepping outside…

“Haah…”

I sat down with a deep sigh of relief.

It was a reaction to the sudden release of tension that had built up while bringing her here, as her condition had been visibly deteriorating in real-time since we left the dining hall.

[“You look more exhausted than when we were sparring earlier. Are you alright?”]

As soon as I sat down and sighed, Fafnir’s voice reached me.

‘I’m not alright at all.’

After giving this brief, honest response…

[“From what I can see, the Proxian lady should be fine, so take a rest now.”]

He was trying to reassure my troubled mind.

Although he had a mischievous side that often put me in difficult situations…

The sincerity I felt in Fafnir’s voice right now was clear, so…

‘Thank you for your words, at least.’

I expressed genuine gratitude for his comfort.

Though I was a bit embarrassed to be immediately pleased by his voice…

[“She’ll wake up fine in the morning and thank you, so don’t worry.”]

Words I couldn’t easily understand came from Fafnir’s mouth.

…It made me wonder if he had really seen Shizu’s condition properly, how her body had suddenly developed a fever in the dining hall to the point where she couldn’t control herself.

[“Well, I suppose it’s hard for you to understand just by words right now.”]

Fafnir’s voice, now devoid of mischief and filled with solemnity, echoed in my head in response to my confusion.

Though I hadn’t been conversing with this dragon in my head for very long…

When Fafnir spoke with a serious voice, he seemed like such a warm being that I doubted whether he was really the evil dragon described in legends passed down for a thousand years.

*Click*

The sound of the bedroom door opening reached my ears.

Naturally, there was only one person who could appear from that door.

“Karl, could you come in for a moment?”

A voice matching my expectation was heard as its owner peeked out from the door crack with just her head showing.

There was no reason to refuse.

“Yes, I’ll come right away.”

I responded to her call, got up from where I was sitting, and immediately headed to the bedroom.

Judging by the lack of tension in my sister’s expression as I approached, it seemed that Shizu’s condition hadn’t worsened.

*Creak*

As soon as I received my sister’s gesture, what entered my vision was Shizu sleeping peacefully on the bed in comfortable attire.

Compared to when we left the dining hall, when the heat in her body had excessively reddened her face…

The redness in her face, now covered by a blanket on the bed, seemed to have subsided significantly.

For some reason, her fever had gone down, which explained her expression.

Shizu’s expression had regained much of its comfort, with much of the pain alleviated…

*Breathe- Breathe- Sigh-*

This was easily noticeable from the comfortable breathing sounds she made in her sleep.

“Phew…”

Confirming that her condition had improved, a sigh of relief naturally escaped my lips.

I had greatly reduced my worry that something might suddenly happen to her.

My sister seemed to feel the same relief seeing Shizu’s much more comfortable expression, which had looked like it might worsen at any moment.

“I don’t know what happened either, but after laying her on the bed and changing her clothes, I was about to put a wet towel on her forehead when her expression quickly became peaceful.”

My sister’s expression, as she spoke slowly while scratching the back of her head, also showed clear relief.

[“See? I told you there was nothing to worry about.”]

As soon as relief settled on both my and my sister’s faces, Fafnir’s voice echoed in my head with a playful tone again.

But knowing that Shizu had escaped a dangerous situation, even this frivolous voice of Fafnir was welcome.

Although there was something a bit awkward about being immediately pleased by this voice…

It was proof that the situation wasn’t serious enough to warrant his serious tone.

The second day at the fortress, which had been thrown into chaos by this sudden incident, was slowly coming to an end.