episode_0074

At the edge of a dream, relentless green waves moved as swiftly as the fierce wind sounds brushing past one’s ears. Amidst that heavy atmosphere, Yulrian once again embraced Eleonore, whose posture had been disheveled by rough movements.

“Her body feels incredibly cold.”

Drenched in the drizzling spring rain, her gentle body, already cool, was gradually losing its warmth.

Already filled with shivers, her body was pristine white, with a red thread running across her unwrinkled neck.

Even for ordinary individuals, it would have been challenging; for nobility like Eleonore, it must have been exceptionally difficult.

Gazing at Eleonore’s face with long eyelashes meeting, Yulrian urged his horse forward beneath him, towards the townhouse of Beauregard.

Upon reaching Beauregard’s townhouse gates, the knights guarding the entrance were first surprised by the appearance of the silver-haired man and then astonished by the sight of the lady in his arms.

“I am Yulrian de la Vallatier. I have rescued Lady Eleonore, so open the gates quickly.”

“The lady seems unwell. Hurry, please.”

Bewildered by the presence of the unfamiliar man and the distressed lady, the knights, upon hearing the voice of their commander from behind, promptly opened the gate blocking the main entrance.

As they passed through the gates and reached the entrance of the grand townhouse mansion, they were greeted not by Albrice but by the steward Geoffrey and the maid artisan Manuela.

Yulrian’s white steed came to a halt as he dismounted.

From Christian’s brown horse following closely behind, Albrice leaped off and shouted loudly to the two figures emerging from the mansion entrance.

“Ele’s condition… The lady’s condition is critical. Quickly fetch Eilie!”

“Oh, yes! You there, hurry upstairs and bring Eilie down.”

“And warm up the lady’s room and bath. Prepare hot water.”

“Yes, understood, milady.”

Upon Albrice’s command, Geoffrey and Manuela began to move swiftly. While Christian, who had followed behind, looked at her with eyes widened by the changed atmosphere, Albrice’s gaze was fixed on Eleonore in Yulrian’s arms.

“She has been unconscious for some time now.”

Having carefully cradled Eleonore in his arms, Yulrian descended from his horse and nodded towards the approaching Albrice.

Albrice gently placed his hands on Eleonore’s cheeks and forehead. Beneath the damp platinum bangs, Eleonore’s body was indeed chilling, just as he had described.

“For now, let’s get inside. Manuela, prepare the sofa in the parlor. We need to lay her down until the room warms up.”

“Understood, milady. Right this way, sir.”

Nodding, Yulrian followed behind Manuela, while Albrice watched the precious scene of Eleonore being held dearly in his arms.

He was undoubtedly the man who had been his enemy in a past life, snatching Eleonore away from him and letting her go so easily into the afterlife.

And shortly after losing Eleonore, he had encountered a woman with black hair, known as a divine maiden, who had come from another world and, with her reputation, swallowed the empire whole.

Yet, seeing him so affectionately holding Eleonore, memories of Eli and that man’s wedding from a previous life surfaced. His beautiful smile as he tenderly embraced the happily laughing Eli.

“Pull yourself together, Albrice. This is not the time for such sentiments.”

Sensing Albrice lowering his hand suddenly, Christian cautiously interjected.

“Um… The lady also seems quite injured.”

“I am fine. Thank you for your concern in various ways.”

Bowing his head, Christian watched as Oejeni followed Yuriann into the mansion.

#.

A girl with orange hair, Eily, rushed down the stairs and entered the drawing-room, shouting loudly. She carried a large brown dragonhide trunk in her hands.

“Where are you, Miss?”

“Here! Eily!”

Oejeni waved her hand towards Eily. Seeing Eleanor neatly lying on the sofa, Eily quickly approached with the dragon bag in hand.

Eily, the granddaughter of Dorio, the village doctor who treated Eleanor when she was injured by Shilov’s men, stayed at a townhouse in Bearun at Dmitri’s request to repay him for the medical expenses.

It was regrettable to waste her granddaughter’s talent in a small rural village. Besides, there was no one to care for her once he passed away.

Dorio had asked Dmitri to take his granddaughter and Dmitri had agreed, as having a doctor in the North, especially one as skilled as Eily, was invaluable.

Moreover, she was needed for Hilda, Dmitri’s younger sister who suffered in the harsh northern winters, and for Eleanor.

Before taking her up north, Dmitri entrusted Eily to the Bearun mansion to assist Eleanor with her health, especially since dealing with Lady Hilda required some etiquette training.

Approaching the sofa, Eily, called by Oejeni, was startled and exclaimed, “Miss Oejeni! You’re injured!”

“For now, Eily, could you first check on Miss Eleanor?”

“Eek! Oh, Miss!”

Seeing the dirty white blouse and red scratches on Eleanor’s neck, Eily gasped and inspected the wound closely.

“How long has it been since this wound on your neck?”

Oejeni promptly replied to Eily’s question, “Hmm… I think it’s been a little over an hour.”

“Then we should apply the ointment and dress it first. The attending physician will be here soon.”

Eily took out ointment and linen bandages from the leather trunk and placed them on the table next to the sofa.

“Miss Oejeni, could you hold Miss’s hair? Sir Silverlocks, please lift her head a bit!”

Unlike her earlier shock at the neck wound, Eily calmly gave instructions to Yulian, whom she didn’t recognize. In fact, it was Yulian who seemed more bewildered.

“Lady-in-waiting, please prepare warm towels and a change of clothes in Miss’s room.”

“Eily, anything else?”

While wrapping linen around the slender neck, Eily listed the tasks one by one.

“Her body is too cold. We need to raise her temperature first, so please stoke the fireplace vigorously. Before the physician arrives, we must clean her thoroughly with warm towels. Oh, Sir! You’re pressing too hard. A gentle lift will do!”

After carefully finishing dressing the long wound on the neck, Eily wiped the sweat off her forehead and sighed softly.

“Phew… Thank you all for your help. I’ll continue the rest in Miss’s room.”

Approaching Eily, Oejeni spoke to her as she tidied up the remaining ointments and bandages in the trunk.

“Hey, Eily. Is Eli… Is Miss okay?”

“First of all, there doesn’t seem to be any major external injuries. You’ve lost a lot of body heat, so you might wake up and suffer for a few days… We’ll need the chief physician to use their mana to find out more.”

Closing the lid of the ointment jar emitting a spicy scent, Eilie gazed at Oejeni with concern.

“And Oejeni! You’re not in a position to worry about anyone right now. Look at all these wounds… What on earth happened to you?”

“Sigh. I’m just relieved, really,” Oejeni repeated only the word ‘relieved,’ bowing her head in response to Eilie’s words.

Eilie had once seen Oejeni, the foolish Eleanor, in a similar state. Her current appearance resembled when she was poisoned by Shilov and returned belatedly.

Shaking her head at Oejeni’s state, Eilie finished organizing the trunk.

“You should wash up with warm water first and wait in the room. I’ll go see Eleanor immediately after looking at her.”

“Oh, no. Eilie, I’m fine, it’s Eli. Let her go first-.”

Oejeni’s voice halted as Eilie’s hand pressed firmly on her wrist.

“Like this?”

“Ah…”

Despite clenching her teeth, she couldn’t help but let out a groan.

“Sigh. Oejeni, you might not feel the pain right now due to being disoriented, but delaying treatment could make things worse.”

Nodding deeply, Oejeni let out a small sound of acknowledgment.

“I’ll check on Eleanor first and come back right away. Go upstairs, relax, and warm up. I told them to prepare warm water.”

Under Eilie’s supportive touch, Oejeni finally made her way to her room.

As Eilie turned with the royal leather trunk in hand, she accidentally collided with a man, Christian, who seemed like a mere housekeeper to her.

To Christian, it was a minor collision, but to Eilie, it was a jolt strong enough to almost drop the precious trunk from her hands.

“Oops! I’m sorry!”

“Gotta be careful, little doctor.”

Seeing the young girl, or rather doctor, flustered, Christian handed her the fallen royal bag.

“Oh, thank you!”

Eilie bowed slightly in gratitude, and Christian smiled, following his friend towards the study under the guidance of the butler.

Watching Christian move away, Eilie absentmindedly stared at his retreating figure, feeling oddly familiar with his back.

‘Surely I’ve seen that somewhere before…’

Unaware, Eilie failed to recognize that the man in front of her was the one who had handed the antidote to Shilov to her grandfather, Dorio.

However, the memory was vague as it was a dim afternoon back then, and Christian was covered in robes, concealing his face and body.

More importantly, what mattered now was the lady’s condition.

Shaking her head, Eilie carried the leather trunk and left the reception room, heading towards Eleanor’s room.