Chapter 26
26 – My Slight Fever
It may have been because I was busy preparing for my birthday tea party after the engagement ceremony about a month ago.
After Sophia left, I fell ill and developed a slight fever.
When I woke up in the morning, I felt sluggish and had no appetite, so I told my maid to inform His Majesty Aleksanteri that I would not be joining him for breakfast. To my surprise, His Majesty himself came to my room with breakfast.
The maid was pushing the wagon, but it was His Majesty who lifted the tray and set the meal out on the sofa table in my room.
While I was eating the special breakfast—rice porridge, soup, yogurt, and fruit—His Majesty watched me restlessly and ordered the maid to call for a doctor.
Although I could barely eat, I made sure to drink fluids. Soon, a female doctor was called, and I was examined in His Majesty’s presence.
“Your Highness, forgive the impertinence, but… your monthly cycle…?”
“It has come properly. I am not pregnant.”
Since I was the Crown Princess candidate, it wasn’t unreasonable to assume that I might already be in such a relationship with His Majesty. Embarrassing as it was, I answered honestly because it was a medical matter.
My temperature was taken—it wasn’t very high, but I was definitely feverish. The doctor prescribed some medicine and reported to His Majesty:
“I believe this is due to overexertion. It has been three months since Her Highness came to the palace, and she must have been under stress. With rest, she will recover.”
“It isn’t serious?”
“No. Nutrition and rest are important.”
“I understand. Call me immediately if anything changes.”
“Of course, Your Majesty. Please summon me anytime.”
The doctor bowed deeply and left.
As I prepared to take the medicine and rest, His Majesty said to me with a pained expression:
“I want to stay with you, but I have duties. I’ll come check on you later. If anything happens, tell the maids at once.”
“It’s only a slight fever. I’m fine, Your Majesty.”
“If you were to die, Lacey, I truly wouldn’t survive this time. Please, rest.”
“It’s just a mild fever. You’re exaggerating, Your Majesty. I’ll behave, so please go attend to your work.”
When I smiled and told him, “Take care,” His Majesty reluctantly replied, “I’ll be back,” before leaving the room.
I returned to bed and closed my eyes. Soon, I began to dream.
In my dream, I was Cecil.
The one lying in bed with a fever was young Garnet.
It was soon after we had taken him in. His small body was covered in wounds, with a deep cut on his right shoulder, and he had collapsed with fever.
I laid him on my own bed, wiped away his sweat with a damp cloth, and dressed his wound with clean gauze.
We lived in a remote village, with no doctor nearby. Whenever someone fell ill or was injured, we had to travel to the nearest town. My family couldn’t afford to summon a doctor, so the best I could do was wash Garnet’s wounds and press clean gauze against them.
“Garnet, does it hurt?”
“Big sis… water…”
“Can you drink some?”
I supported his back and helped him sit up, bringing a cup to his lips. He gulped down the water eagerly. At least he could hydrate.
“Do you think you can eat something?”
“I’m… a little hungry.”
Since he still had an appetite, I went downstairs to the inn my parents ran and fetched some soup. I cooled it with my breath and spoon-fed him slowly.
It took time, but he finished the whole bowl, and I felt relieved.
“You’re strong, Garnet. You’ll get better soon.”
“Big sis… hug me.”
“Of course. I’ll hold you.”
The boy must have been lonely and scared.
When I lay beside him and embraced his small body, he clung tightly to me.
“My father… might be dead.”
“What?”
“And my mother too…”
“Garnet?”
Tears streamed from Garnet’s pomegranate-colored eyes as he murmured deliriously.
“Big sis, don’t leave me.”
“I won’t go anywhere.”
“Stay with me forever…”
As I wiped his tears, I realized that perhaps his parents had been killed, that he had fled from some terrible circumstance.
When I opened my eyes, I was drenched in sweat and felt uncomfortable. I called for the maid, who brought a basin and towels. After wiping myself down and changing clothes, I felt refreshed.
I thought my fever had gone down.
Just then, the maid announced His Majesty’s arrival.
Though he never entered my chambers, let alone my bedroom, this time His Majesty stepped inside.
I was sitting on the bed, but he instructed me to lie down.
“Please, rest.”
“I believe the fever has subsided. I’m fine.”
“I’m worried. Lie down.”
With him insisting so earnestly, I couldn’t refuse. I lay down, and His Majesty touched my forehead with his large hand to check my temperature.
“Still a little warm. Do you think you can eat lunch?”
“I can get up and eat normally.”
“Don’t force yourself. I’ll have it brought here. Soup and porridge would be best.”
“Then I’ll move to the sofa.”
Since eating in bed was unthinkable, I sat on the sofa, and the maid brought soup, porridge, and fruit.
His Majesty, without hesitation, scooped soup with a spoon and held it to my lips.
“I can eat by myself.”
“When I had a fever, Cecil fed me like this. I was happy.”
“But, Your Majesty, you were six years old at the time. I’m nineteen now.”
“I want to take care of you, Lacey.”
No matter what I said, he wouldn’t yield. Embarrassed, I finally opened my mouth and let him feed me the soup.
I couldn’t manage the porridge, but I enjoyed the fruit afterward. His Majesty carefully peeled a pear and held it out to me.
Wasn’t this the infamous “say ahh” situation?
The thought made me blush, so I shut down my mind and simply savored the pear.
Afterward, I brushed my teeth, only to be ushered back to bed once more.
Even when I insisted I was fine, His Majesty wouldn’t listen.
My fever was completely gone that same day, but His Majesty remained so concerned that he ordered me to rest another day.
For the next day as well, he personally fed me all three meals. Only when the doctor returned that evening and confirmed that I was perfectly healthy did His Majesty’s overprotectiveness finally relent.
And perhaps it was understandable.
At the age of six, His Majesty had witnessed Cecil, his first love, killed before his very eyes.
It was no wonder that he became overly sensitive about losing someone dear to him.
“Though really, one doesn’t die from a slight fever.”
I smiled wryly, relieved that tomorrow I would finally be free to move about again—returning to the workshop for embroidery lessons, tending the garden in the courtyard, and resuming Lady Laval’s princess training.
