Episode 31
***
It seemed she had caught a cold while taking care of Lilia .
There was a mountain of work waiting for her, but being in this condition would make things difficult.
She had planned to leave the South soon for Lilia ’s education.
Leaving Leclere Village and her grandmother behind still weighed heavily on her heart.
But since the child trusted her, doing her best for her was only natural.
‘……First, let’s move to a larger town. Starting next year, I’ll send Lilia to school… and I’ll find a new job for myself. Then, without Lilia knowing, I’ll also search for Celine.’
Her thoughts began to slow.
The fever brought on waves of drowsiness.
Blinking sluggishly, Ranie looked up at the clear sky.
‘……Ah, come to think of it, I had something to say to Herdian.’
She had to thank him for saving Lilia , and also apologize for the things she’d said that had hurt him.
She had organized all the words she wanted to say clearly in her head, but was driven out of the farm before she could utter a single one.
That was her last thought before sleep overtook her beneath the shade of a tree.
Half-asleep, she vaguely felt someone wake her and lift her into their arms, but her fever was too high for her to stay conscious.
Half a day later.
Ranie woke up in an unfamiliar bedroom.
White wallpaper and an ornate chandelier greeted her from above.
“Are you awake?”
Herdian, who had been sitting right beside her, immediately rose to his feet as soon as her eyes opened.
She was startled at first by the strange ceiling, but relaxed a little when she saw his familiar face.
“……Your Grace.”
Her voice was hoarser than before.
Ranie was shocked that her throat could produce a sound rougher than metal scraping.
It had been sore earlier, and now after a short nap, it seemed her voice was completely gone.
“It’s better if you don’t speak. The physician came while you were asleep. He said it’s a cold.”
“……”
“I went through the trouble of driving you out of the farm, so why were you resting in a place like that? You should’ve stayed home.”
“……”
“Can you sit up?”
Ranie nodded.
She thought sitting up in bed wouldn’t be a problem, but when she tried, her strength gave out and she collapsed back onto the mattress.
“……?”
Her body wouldn’t obey.
Shocked, she opened her eyes wide.
Watching her, Herdian gave a faint laugh and then sighed.
“I’ll help you.”
In the end, Ranie had no choice but to accept his help as he lifted her to a sitting position.
Leaning back against the cushion he prepared, she blinked a few times.
Just sitting up made her dizzy.
In that short time, he had brought her soup and medicine.
“I can—”
“Stay still. You can’t even hold anything right now.”
Ranie opened and closed her hand on her thigh.
Indeed, she couldn’t muster any strength.
She had no choice but to take what he fed her.
Herdian cooled each spoonful before bringing it to her lips, afraid it might be too hot.
She was used to caring for others, not being cared for, so the situation made her feel embarrassed.
Her gaze shifted to Herdian’s right hand.
He still had a bandage wrapped around his wrist.
‘He didn’t need to go that far for me.’
She couldn’t tell if the heat rising in her face was from embarrassment or the fever.
Either way, her body burned with a heat she couldn’t name.
After quietly swallowing the medicine, Ranie thought of the family waiting for her at home.
“My grandmother… and Lilia …”
“I’ve told them you’re being treated at my estate. Going home now will only risk spreading the illness, so stay here until you recover.”
“……Thank you…”
“If you’re that grateful, focus on getting better quickly. And don’t talk. The more you strain your throat, the longer it’ll take to heal.”
It was frustrating.
As she moved her lips in protest, Herdian ordered someone to bring paper and a quill.
The quality of both was far better than the ones she had once given him.
“If there’s something you want to say, write it here.”
Ranie awkwardly took the quill.
The situation felt strangely reversed from two years ago.
She hesitated before writing on the paper.
[How did you know where I was?]
Herdian examined the words carefully.
A deep line formed between his brows.
“……Ranie, do you usually write in a foreign language?”
Her expression froze.
What on earth was he talking about?
She grabbed the quill again.
[I asked how you knew where I was.]
“I can’t tell what language this is. You speak the imperial tongue, but you write in another?”
“No…! I asked, how did you—find me!”
“I told you not to talk.”
“I’ve… never written… in a foreign language before!”
“Then you’re saying this is imperial script?”
Ranie felt like her chest would burst with frustration.
She nodded vigorously, and Herdian looked back down at the page, disbelief in his eyes.
No matter how long he stared, it didn’t look like imperial writing.
He rubbed his forehead.
Two years had passed, yet her terrible handwriting hadn’t improved one bit.
“……Who taught you to write?”
[I taught myself.]
He stared at the paper again.
This time the sentence was short enough to make out.
“Have you ever thought your handwriting might be… unusual?”
[No.]
Ranie had developed her bad handwriting around the age of ten.
It was during the period she dreamed of becoming a physician, staying up late every night at her desk.
She had no teacher.
She copied from cheap paper and memorized on her own, and naturally, her handwriting became what it was now.
She had never written for anyone else to read.
As long as she could understand her own writing, it had never been a problem.
‘As long as I can read it, what does it matter? How bad can it be…?’
She stared at her writing again, still not seeing the issue.
“When you’re better, I’ll teach you how to write properly.”
“……”
“It’ll be useful someday.”
She wasn’t particularly eager.
Her handwriting had never caused her trouble.
But Herdian’s insistence looked so sincere that she nodded without thinking.
His eyes went back to the first line.
Still, he couldn’t make out what she had written.
“You asked how I knew where you were. When I heard you hadn’t gone home, I searched every place you might go. I just happened to find you by chance.”
Ranie’s eyes widened.
Even in a small village, checking every possible place would take enormous effort.
She herself had once collapsed while playing hide-and-seek with Lilia around the village.
“If you’re a mother, you should’ve been careful not to make your child worry.”
There was nothing wrong with his words.
Ranie’s shoulders drooped in defeat, and he stopped scolding, a bitter expression crossing his face.
“……Sorry. I’m not really in a position to be angry.”
“……”
“Get some rest.”
Before Ranie could stop him, Herdian extinguished the candle and left the room.
The silence that followed was thick.
She set the quill and paper beside her, pulled up the blanket, and lay down.
Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, revealing the ornate ceiling.
She couldn’t imagine ever getting used to something so grand.
‘……I didn’t say it again. I should’ve thanked him… and apologized…’
Once outside the bedroom, Herdian’s face turned cold.
It was hard to believe this was the same man who’d looked so relaxed moments ago.
In his study, Serf was waiting with a medicine box.
“I’ll change the bandage.”
The wounds on Herdian’s torso had mostly healed, but his right wrist still showed no sign of recovery—because he kept using it.
A few days earlier, he’d gone alone to deal with the remaining bandits in the forest, causing his wrist to swell again, which Serf had barely managed to reduce.
Serf was truly thankful no villagers had witnessed that scene.
Had they seen it, the “kind young lord” image Herdian had built would’ve shattered instantly.
The aftermath of that slaughter had been too gruesome to look at.
“You must be careful now, sir. If it leaves aftereffects, you may find it hard to wield a sword again.”
“That would be good news for my uncle and brother.”
“My lord.”
“Can’t I even make a joke?”
It wasn’t entirely a joke, which was why Serf flinched.
He tightened the new bandage firmly around Herdian’s wrist.
“You’ll need to start preparing to return north soon.”
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