Chapter 57
Something’s Suspicious
“Is this person really sick?”
If she hadn’t witnessed him in such a dangerously breathless state when they first met—
She would never have believed it. That the Duke could be so frail.
“Who would ever believe it, looking at this body…”
Elucia’s cheeks burned almost painfully at the contours of his muscles she could feel under her palm.
“Elucia? Are you alright?”
“Ugh.”
Only then did she realize she was pressed tightly against Aster’s chest, and she pushed him away.
Her heart trembled. Her cheeks flared, and a fluttering warmth spread across her chest.
“Oh my god… whose arms was I just in?”
Even after letting go, she could still feel the warmth at her fingertips, the sensuous feel of his muscles flexing as he moved.
Elucia pressed her hot cheeks and buried her head, unable to meet the Duke’s gaze in this state.
Then, a low groan escaped from Aster’s lips.
“Ugh…”
Startled, Elucia shot her head up.
She saw Aster clutching his chest, leaning forward, gasping for air.
It looked to anyone as though his body was trembling from unbearable pain.
“C-could it be because I pushed him?”
Panicked, Elucia moved closer to him.
“D-Duke… are you alright? Is the pain… bad?”
“Hah… haah… my… breath…”
Aster swayed, clutching his chest. Cold sweat dotted his forehead.
Elucia, pale as a ghost, supported him as if holding him in an embrace.
“What should I do? Did I trigger his condition?”
Biting her lip, she guided the panting Duke under a large tree.
She carefully helped him sit, fidgeting nervously inside. His pale face looked like he could stop breathing at any moment.
“If he stays like this, he might die… what do I do?”
Listening to Aster’s increasingly shallow breaths, Elucia drew upon her modern knowledge.
“Ah! That’s right. I need to lay him slightly on his side.”
Though she lived day-to-day, she at least knew the basics of first aid.
“Secure the airway first,” she remembered thankfully.
“But… how do I tilt him without letting him lean too straight against the tree?”
Before she could decide, Aster coughed violently again.
“Hah… cough… cough… ugh…”
He bent over, holding his throat, writhing as if death were before him.
Elucia quickly drew him close and rested his head on her lap.
“Here… rest your head here.”
Aster flinched. His body stiffened as she positioned his legs, but Elucia was too focused on his condition to notice.
Soon, the violent coughing subsided almost instantly.
“It… it worked.”
Elucia breathed a small sigh of relief, recalling the memory from long ago, uncertain if it would still apply.
Seeing that it worked confirmed her recollection was accurate.
“Now, I should provide oxygen.”
Feeling a slight sense of accomplishment, she paused mid-action.
“But he’s still breathing… do I need to do that?”
Providing oxygen would require pressing her lips to his…
Elucia shook her head, but her gaze unconsciously drifted to Aster’s lips.
They were red, crushed between his teeth, as if he were forcing himself to endure the pain.
She swallowed nervously.
“Hm… he’s breathing, and blocking that could be… dangerous. Plus, the position isn’t right… I’ll think about that later.”
She focused on monitoring him. His breathing seemed more stable than before, so she didn’t need to intervene further.
“Still, I should check his temperature.”
If he didn’t have a fever, she could relax a little. Illnesses usually worsened with a sudden fever.
Elucia placed her hand on Aster’s cheek and her other hand on her own, comparing the temperatures.
“Hm… seems about the same… huh?”
Suddenly, the warmth from his cheek spiked dramatically.
“Why… why is this happening? This can’t be…”
“Cough… cough…”
“Duke!”
Elucia shouted in alarm. She had thought he was improving, but this sudden heat spike confused her.
“Was this a prelude to death, like the calm before a storm?”
Trembling, she touched his cheeks in panic.
Then, she heard it.
Hiii-ing—
A loud horse whinny, followed by heavy footsteps behind them.
“You’re here. I almost missed you.”
Elucia turned sharply to see a man looking down at her with kind eyes and a cheerful smile.
“Sir Logan.”
She remembered why. The Duke had ridden recklessly to win a bet with him.
Relieved, Elucia quickly explained.
“You’re just in time, Sir Logan. The Duke’s breathing is unstable right now.”
“Unstable?”
Logan looked down at Aster, lying comfortably on her lap, as if saying, “That can’t be true.”
“I administered first aid. He was fine a moment ago, but his temperature suddenly spiked…”
“Hm.”
Logan rubbed his chin, narrowing his eyes. His master, stronger than himself, was supposedly in respiratory distress—but he looked perfectly fine.
Clearly, anyone would think the same.
Logan shivered at Aster’s blood-red eyes, understanding what the signal meant even if he were a fool.
Correcting himself, Logan said instead:
“I brought a basket containing the Duke’s medicine.”
“Medicine? You brought medicine? Oh—thank goodness. Thank you, Sir Logan.”
“The medicine was prepared by Lady Haila.”
“Lady Haila?”
“Yes.”
Logan set down the large basket in front of Elucia.
She quickly opened it. As promised, she found small black glass bottles, about the size of two stacked fingers.
“Oh! This is definitely the Duke’s medicine!”
Tears brimmed as she held the bottle.
“We should start with this and monitor his progress. He probably can’t move right now.”
Opening the bottle, she paused.
“What… kind of medicine is this?”
Though meant for medicine, the contents were colorful star-shaped pills, like candy.
“They really do look like the star-shaped candy kids eat.”
Elucia frowned, staring at the black glass once more. Now it made sense why the container was black.
“Ugh…”
“Ah! Duke!”
Aster groaned, curling inward. Elucia carefully lifted him, holding the black bottle.
Feeling guilty for thinking frivolously in front of a sick person, she handled him with extra care.
Logan, watching quietly, scoffed in disbelief.
“What on earth are you doing?”
Sweating, Elucia finally sat Aster beside her and looked back at Logan.
“Sir Logan, what did you just say?”
“…Nothing. Just talking to myself.”
Elucia tilted her head, uncertain.
She glanced at Logan’s broad back, still thinking she’d heard something, when Aster swayed again with a soft “ugh.”
She quickly reached out, hugging him as she steadied him.
Though it seemed she was almost draping over him, her full attention was on his safety.
“Just a moment, Duke. I’ll give you your medicine right away.”
Elucia withdrew her gaze from Logan and picked up a pink star-shaped pill.
“Duke… open your mouth.”
“…Thank you.”
Aster complied, parting his lips like a baby bird receiving food. The pill slipped inside.
He chewed it slowly.
Elucia watched without looking away, listening for the swallow, then asked,
“Would you like some water?”
Aster nodded. Elucia turned to Logan.
“Sir Logan, could you get a water bottle from the basket? As you can see, he’s in this state.”
Logan gave her a slightly reluctant look as he observed Aster pressed against her.
