~CHAPTER 47~
Since the first night, Aizen never left his office.
No matter how much I begged, he said sharing a room was uncomfortable and kept his distance again.
Still, until it was time to sleep, he stayed with me outside the office.
Good things about being together all day.
I can notice even the slightest change in Aizen right away.
Bad things about being together all day.
I can notice even the slightest change in Aizen right away.
“Honey, can you pass me that pen?”
I held out my hand toward Aizen because the pen I was using ran out of ink.
Clatter.
Aizen suddenly stood up and hurriedly stepped back to widen the distance.
Then he stretched out his arm and tossed the pen onto my desk.
“…”
I silently picked up the pen and glared at him.
He blatantly avoided my eyes and pretended to focus on something else.
Seriously, that man.
Ever since the day we woke up in the same bed by accident, Aizen was clearly avoiding me.
It had been several days already.
He acted like touching me would kill him.
Even sitting for meals, he stayed at least three seats away.
Yesterday, I slipped on a sheet of paper on the floor, and just when I thought he was trying to catch me, he grabbed my belt instead and I nearly suffocated.
Why is he suddenly like this?
Thinking alone was frustrating.
As Aizen slowly returned to his seat, I walked toward him with firm steps.
I had tolerated enough.
I didn’t want to think about it alone anymore.
“M, my lady, why are you coming over here…”
“We need to talk.”
“I’m a bit busy right now…”
Thud.
I slammed my hand against the wall, blocking his attempt to slip away.
Aizen flinched and looked startled as I stared up at him.
“Why are you avoiding me?”
“…I’m not.”
“You are. You won’t come near me, barely talk to me, and you’re not even looking at me right now!”
“…That’s not what it is.”
Aizen looked away toward empty space.
He really was a terrible liar.
I stepped back three or four steps on purpose and he visibly relaxed.
How can he be relieved already?
“You really aren’t avoiding me then?”
“Yes.”
“Then hug me.”
He stared blankly as I opened my arms wide.
“You said you’re not avoiding me. Hurry and hug me.”
As I pressed him again, he stepped back until his back hit the wall.
“T, that’s difficult.”
“Why? If you’re not avoiding me, there’s no reason it should be difficult.”
“…There’s a contagious disease spreading. If we have unnecessary physical contact and one of us becomes infected, it’d be serious.”
Now?
He really used disease as an excuse.
I grumbled, then suddenly sat down, covering my face with both hands and shaking my shoulders like I was crying.
“My lady? Are you crying?”
“…”
“Hold on, don’t cry. It really is because of the disease.”
“…”
“My lady…”
His hesitant footsteps drew closer.
I waited without moving until he was within three steps.
A shadow fell over my head.
Now!
I sprang up and jumped into his arms, hugging his waist tightly.
“If you push me away, I’ll really sulk and cry.”
“…”
“Are you going to make me cry, honey?”
Aizen stayed silent for a moment, then slowly placed his hand on my head.
“Why would I make you cry?”
“You hurt my feelings.”
“That… I’m sorry.”
His apology came without excuses.
My heart softened immediately.
And no, it was not because his face looked unfairly handsome from up close.
“Aizen, I have something I want to talk about.”
His eyes trembled faintly.
He still couldn’t look directly into my eyes but supported my back gently.
“I thought about the Black Breath disease. I think someone intentionally spread it, and the main route of infection might not be humans.”
I remembered how he said they couldn’t identify the cause and wanted to help somehow by considering possibilities.
Aizen looked disappointed at first, but after a moment he asked:
“Why do you think that?”
“Because the infection spread way too fast like you said, and it feels artificial. Even with strict isolation, it never slowed down.”
It was as if someone visited each household and sprinkled the disease.
Not that it would realistically happen.
“If it really was artificially created, they may have used a common medium. Like animals or plants.”
“…That makes sense.”
Aizen nodded with a serious expression.
He didn’t mock me even though it was only speculation.
He looked at me and said:
“I also have something in mind. I wondered if we survived not because of luck but another reason.”
“Oh, tell me.”
“Almost everyone around us, especially in the mansion, was infected except the two of us. Isn’t that strange? What if we developed immunity for a specific reason? That clue might help create a cure.”
“Yes, that makes sense!”
It was an angle I hadn’t considered and it felt like a light switched on in my mind.
“Then we should study based on that.”
“I’ll change the direction of my investigation too.”
We gained hints from each other and acted right away.
* * *
I began to deduce the reason for our immunity.
Diet, habits, daily life.
It wasn’t easy for immunity to increase naturally.
So what was the one shared factor that strengthened both Aizen and me?
After a brief moment, I realized.
The medicines I created for Aizen.
To check for side effects, I had taken them too.
Aizen took them for clinical testing.
And after dismantling and analyzing the last four medicines, I found the answer.
It was that medicine…
The third medicine I made for Aizen.
The one that caused side effects and made him collapse.
It was made from Blauw Ginger and Mutant Anemone.
Blauw Ginger purified contaminated lungs with anti inflammatory effects.
Mutant Anemone strengthened the immune system.
It was ironic.
Mutant Anemone protected us from the epidemic.
Perfect. Then I can make a cure with Blauw Ginger and a vaccine with Mutant Anemone.
I contacted the apothecary and used what I had to begin creating a medicine.
Sleep could wait.
After staying awake for 40 hours, not eating or sleeping, I saw results faster than expected.
“It’s… done…”
Exhausted past the point of consciousness, I packaged the medicine tightly and sent it to the ducal estate.
The recipient was Greta.
Testing it required an infected person, and among all candidates, she was young and healthy enough to endure possible side effects.
Please let it work…
Once infected, people died within ten to fifteen days.
Matthias had already passed that window.
Mother and Father were nearing the tenth day.
My anxiety worsened.
I waited sleeplessly for Greta’s reply.
The next day, I received a letter from her.
* * *
During that time, Aizen investigated Lindeman Territory, the place where the first case reportedly emerged.
But after hearing Jenna’s words, he thought the real first outbreak site might have been elsewhere.
If it wasn’t Lindeman merchants who spread it, the most likely medium was…
Water.
People picked food carefully, but not water.
Everyone drank and used the same water regardless of status.
If the water carried the disease, nothing could have stopped it.
Especially in the Kalrad Duchy, most water came from the Labeu River that ran through the center.
And the family managing the Labeu River is Hoffmann.
Once the pieces connected, Aizen began digging into the Hoffmann Marquisate and their lands.
He learned that the residents there had significantly fewer infections and that the marquis couple had not stepped outside since the outbreak.
He also confirmed testimonies that several house servants had dumped something into the middle of the river every dawn.
Aizen immediately led the remaining White Wolf Knight Order and stormed the marquis residence.
The marquis couple, who had been living comfortably indoors, were stunned at the sudden visit and came downstairs.
“D, Duke, what brings you here…”
“The North is destroyed by the Black Breath disease, yet you look shiny and unbothered. Seems you’re doing well.”
Aizen smirked bitterly.
The Marquis waved desperately and denied it.
“W, what nonsense. We were simply too frightened to leave the house…”
“I’ll speak plainly. Marquis Hoffmann, I know you spread the Black Breath disease in the duchy.”
“…!”
The marquis paled instantly.
The marchioness behind him trembled.
Aizen looked down at them without emotion.
“For releasing a plague, all members of the Hoffmann family and accomplices will be arrested.”
“T, that’s impossible. I did nothing wrong. There is no proof—!”
“You think there’s no proof?”
Aizen stepped closer, hands behind his back.
His tall frame pressured the marquis, who stumbled backward.
“Why did your family suddenly start purchasing drinking water after the outbreak when you manage the waterways?”
“…!”
“And don’t assume I don’t know what that black liquid dumped into the river was.”
The marquis’ mustache trembled.
Aizen glanced at the marchioness with cold eyes and gestured.
“Prepare your excuses while you walk. If not, you may not avoid execution.”
“I… I…”
Aizen turned away without listening further.
The marquis dropped his head in despair.
He once dreamed of overthrowing the Kalrad household and ruling the North, but everything crumbled.
He had felt confident while planning with Silvia, but now he feared the future.
As he trembled, a servant approached quietly.
“My lord.”
“…?”
Stab.
Before anyone could react, the servant plunged a knife into his chest.
“Ugh—”
The marquis fell and died instantly.
