Chapter 008
‘What is this?’
Lavian’s confused gaze suddenly landed on the nightstand next to the bed.
“Hey… what’s this? Don’t tell me you gave this to her?”
A chilling growl escaped Lavian as he picked up a familiar bottle of juice.
“I-It wasn’t me! Mira gave it to her! The baby asked for it!”
“What?”
“So, that lunatic was sniffing around saying something about the baby’s scent, and suddenly said she seemed hot, and she did seem hot so…!”
Kiss, on the verge of tears now, explained in a shaky voice that Nina had suddenly looked ill, and in the middle of their panic, she had gotten up and asked for Salamander Juice.
Salamander Juice — commonly known as “Sally Juice” — was the most common fever reducer and painkiller in the Western Continent.
Kiss had hesitated, unsure if it was safe for a baby, but Mira had stepped in and given it to her anyway.
The problem was, Nina’s condition worsened afterward — and Mira had bolted while Kiss went to fetch Lavian.
Lavian growled, barely resisting the urge to grab the back of his neck in frustration.
“You bunch of brainless idiots!”
“I-I didn’t know it would turn out like this! What do we do now?! What should we do?!”
“What do you mean what do we do, you dumbass?! Go get a doctor, now—!”
“No need… for doctor…”
At the sound of Nina’s small, weak voice, the two men stopped mid-yell.
“Huh? What do you mean—”
“Dun need a doctooor… ‘cause I’m faking it… no need…”
Nina slurred her words due to the high fever and slumped over.
They had thought she was scared of the doctor like a typical child, but it seemed she was sulking because they had accused her of faking it.
Realizing that, Lavian snapped in irritation.
“You still here?”
“I-I’m going! But what kind of doctor?! Internal medicine? Surgery? Dental? OB-GYN? A midwife?!”
Lavian’s fist landed hard on Kiss’s jaw, shutting him up.
Kiss stumbled briefly but quickly gathered himself and ran off energetically.
Lavian swallowed dryly and looked at Nina.
Her clothes were soaked with sweat from the high fever.
The fever itself was bad enough, but the fact that she had drunk Sally Juice was worse.
Though it was a common over-the-counter medicine, Sally Juice had sedative properties and could be addictive. Even adults had to avoid overdosing.
If a child took it improperly, it could cause permanent damage.
“Hey, kiddo, are you okay?”
Even to his own ears, it was a stupid question. But Lavian didn’t have the luxury to feel embarrassed.
Nina whispered weakly between shallow breaths.
“Y-yeah… just leave me alone, dummy…”
She was clearly sulking.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. I’m a dummy. A hopeless idiot. A total moron. No argument there.”
Surprisingly admitting his own faults, Lavian picked Nina up and stepped out into the hallway.
He didn’t have a specific plan or destination.
But he couldn’t stay still, gripped by the fear that something might happen before Kiss came back with the doctor.
“First things first, let’s change your clothes.”
Just as he thought that was a decent plan, he froze.
He had only just remembered the conversation Kiss and Merci had earlier about the need for children’s clothes.
He cursed himself under his breath.
“Shit, you distracted, love-crazed dumbass…”
Even he admitted it was an accurate self-insult.
Nina misunderstood his self-deprecating muttering.
“Told ya… just leave me alone…”
“What? No, hey, I wasn’t mad at you.”
Instead of replying, Nina just let out a heated sigh. Clearly, she didn’t believe him.
“Ahem, listen, kiddo. I was just mad because those so-called executives — I mean, my subordinates — were stupid enough to give Sally Juice to a child without thinking.”
Nina finally lifted her head slightly and looked at him with dazed eyes.
“I always drank that when I was sick though…”
Lavian stared at her sweaty forehead in disbelief.
What kind of nonsense is this?
The First Imperial Princess drank Salamander Juice when she was sick?
It made more sense to think she was confusing it with another juice.
“You shouldn’t talk much, okay? When you’re sick, you need complete rest.”
Mumbling nonsense, Lavian headed to his bedroom.
In a hurry, he found a relatively clean shirt and changed Nina into it before laying her on the bed.
Under a thick blanket, she curled into a ball, breathing heavily.
Her face was red like an apple — whether from the fever or the juice, he couldn’t tell.
After pacing nervously for a moment, Lavian rushed to the study and came back with an ice bucket and towels.
Maybe a cold compress would help.
Even for babies, lowering a fever worked the same way.
“Seriously, these idiots… even if we grew up in the slums… Anyway, hey, kiddo, let’s drink some water.”
“Nooo… I feel like I’m gonna puke…”
“That’s exactly why you need to drink.”
Ignoring her protests, Lavian anxiously bit his lip as he lifted her to make her drink.
‘Where the hell are they?!’
Even he didn’t know why he was panicking this much.
Was he afraid the little brat might actually die?
That the entire plan might fall apart?
‘How ridiculous.’
Being scared that the daughter of Leoparte might get hurt? Absurd.
As Nina reluctantly sipped a few gulps of water, she suddenly jerked her head away and coughed violently.
“Cough, cough… You’re mean!”
It wasn’t the first time he’d been called a bad guy, but this time felt unfair.
“What, did you think a kidnapper was supposed to be nice?”
Nina glared at him through her fevered eyes and flopped back down.
Lavian was dumbfounded.
“Such a tiny thing, with such a big temper.”
Clucking his tongue, he reached to gently place the ice pack on her burning forehead—
“Doctor—! Huff—doctor! Boss! Baby! Where?!”
“Over here!”
CRASH. With a loud thud, Kiss tumbled into the room.
Clinging to his arm was a disheveled underworld physician, wearing pajamas and an overcoat with a dazed expression.
“H-Hurry… baby! Help!”
“Is the patient… that child?”
“Who else would it be, you quack?!”
Lavian’s rage made him look like a demon, and the doctor, Oscar, nearly wet himself. But he managed to keep his cool — like a pro.
“Please lower your voice. It’s not good for the patient. Especially a child this young.”
Oscar’s calm and professional rebuke had a sobering effect, and Lavian cooled down — just slightly.
Only slightly.
“While I examine her, could you two wait outside, please?”
“What? No way. I don’t trust you—”
“Then why drag me here in the middle of the night if you don’t even trust me?”
“Shut up and treat her, you bastard!”
Lavian exploded again.
Kiss, sprawled on the floor catching his breath, shouted too.
“Stop yelling! It’s bad for the baby!”
Apparently, these men had no clue how much chaos they brought into the room just by existing.
Having no energy left to argue, Oscar silently began to examine Nina.
