Chapter 136 – In the Rain.
“Turn it off.”
Sif soaked the towel on Usher’s forehead until it became lukewarm, squeezed it, and put it back on his forehead. Fortunately, it was raining so the water never ran out. The barrels for collecting rainwater were still not in good condition and were overflowing. Sif was now desensitized to the scent of his herbs, his nose hurting, but he couldn’t help it. According to Helena, it’s true that he’s not very contagious, but he’s not immune to it at all.
Usher was in such a state, but Sif was embarrassed when Donar suddenly became the lord of this place. He didn’t know what would happen to Usher right away, but suddenly he was busy taking over the overdue duties of the Donar estate, arranging the castle and daily necessities. Because the castle is so large, it requires a certain number of people to manage it, but it was difficult to handle such a task.
“If it hadn’t been for Mr. Helena, what would she have done.”
The good thing for her was the fact that Helena, who thought she was a mere doctor, was already familiar with her as she had never worked in a castle before. Her self-appointment as her maid allowed her to focus on her job and freed up time for Sif to take care of Usher. It seemed that the castle was well-maintained and finished quickly for a castle that had been empty for a long time, but that didn’t take away from the fact that Helena was capable. Then, with the sound of the door opening and closing, and the sound of small footsteps, she knew it wasn’t Helena’s.
“Belkany?”
“Huh.”
Then she only had Belka. It was also because of her that she shared her work with Helena, even though she had work to do with Sif. If she didn’t do this at least, Belka wouldn’t be away from Usher’s side, even for the whole day. Sif came to her side and saw her caress Usher’s cheek. On her girlish face was a mask like hers. Sif also felt stuffy and dizzy when she was wearing this mask, but she didn’t even feel uncomfortable.
“Why don’t you take a little more rest?”
“But Usher’s sick.”
Sif looked at Tyler, but Belka still didn’t break her stubbornness. Seeing that, Sif sighed and thought about how to get the girl to rest for several days. Even though she has weak infectivity, if her body is weak, she will get sick, but if she doesn’t stop, she doesn’t show signs of resting.
“And what if Usher gets angry later?”
“Ah, Usher…?”
Just as expected. The girl, who had tried to stay by Usher’s side no matter what he tried to convince him, was agitated.
“Why?”
Sif laughed bitterly as Belka hesitated and tugged at her sleeve. It was a method I had thought of a long time ago, but I didn’t want to do it because it seemed like I was using the girl’s heart. Sif hardened his heart with the thought that it could not be helped.
“It’s good to be for the other person, but you also have to think about whether the other person really needs that kind of behavior.”
She had to speak for this clumsy girl. Because Belka didn’t know herself too much. I know they like each other, but this kind of relationship could hurt each other a lot.
“Even if you do something for the sake of the other person, there are times when it hurts the other person.”
“How?”
Watching Belka listen to her, Sif continued her words.
“Let’s think of it the other way round. What would she do if Belka was sick and she collapsed in pain while Usher nursed her Belka?”
“I hate that.”
“Usher would be the same.”
“…I see.”
“Then get some more rest.”
“…Huh.”
Belka, as if she finally understood, caressed Usher’s face a few more times, and the sound of her footsteps fell little by little. By then, when Sif looked back, the girl in her was no longer in sight. She looked at Usher, worried about Belka, who had disappeared beyond her door. In fact, even so, she didn’t want to keep the girl here for long because of her health, but because she wasn’t the only one in the room.
Sif glanced at the corner of the room. There was a catsy boy about the same age as Usher. According to Helena’s confirmation, Usher’s illness came from that boy. Because of that, that boy was also locked up in this room. It was because someone else might be infected. Apart from that, she was worried about Sif. It wouldn’t matter if Usher was fine, but he couldn’t come to his senses and was barely swallowing watery porridge.
Sif rolled a towel over Usher’s forehead and glanced at the Catsy boy who was sleeping in the corner of her room. Even though she had no choice but to lock herself up, she was strangely docile, and her presence was overly faint. She could understand if she was sick, but she had what Helena said.
“This disease appears to be fatal to humans rather than Cattsy.”
“Yeah? That’s what it is.”
Helena said she had heard her eyewitness account of the child years ago. There could be several Cattsie who came to Lantua, but the probability is low. However, the child, her original host, is said to be fine without any symptoms. However, she is not completely immune and is more like an asymptomatic carrier, she said. It is said that Parzu’s disease is so foreign to her that she has lived in Lantua, so it is impossible to know how the disease infects and works on Catsy or humans. Sif thought the boy might be pretending to be sick.
‘It would be nice if it was a simple old woman’s mind.’
Time passed just like that.
“Alvis! Why are you hanging around so often these days?”
Today, when he returned from digging for herbs, he saw a dwarf with a bushy beard occupying the place as if it were his own shop.
“Ahaha, there are a lot of herbs that have been ordered.”
As he evaded it, the dwarf looked at him suspiciously.
“Is this the lord’s request?”
“Yes, yes? How?”
He asked in surprise how the dwarf had figured it out, but he smiled smugly.
“There is a way to know everything. Think of it as the wisdom of the elders.”
He already knew that the dwarf would never tell him how.
‘The wisdom of the elders is a piece of shit.’
He remembered the last time he met the lord after being caught sneaking in and out of the castle.
“This is a herbalist, so if he finds the herbs he needs unconditionally, it will be a sufficient punishment.”
When the lord asked what kind of punishment would be good, a woman named Helena said. He had to get the herbs she asked for at random and pay for them. Because of this, he had to go out to gather herbs every day. She felt bad that she couldn’t see the girl because Helena was coming to get the herbs herself, but she couldn’t help it. But she also had facts to know thanks to her. That someone important to the lord is seriously ill with an illness.
She asked for so many herbs, and I couldn’t help but notice. Moreover, it is mainly related to lowering the fever. Could it be that the girl is sick? I thought about it, but there was no way I could walk around like that if the already slender girl was sick. It’s all the more because the disease that accompanies the fever is easily teased. It was when he was arranging the herbs he picked up today, giving the dwarf a rough match today.
“I’m here to get some herbs.”
“Ah, yes! Mr. Helena…?”
After that day, she kept coming to visit her, trying to greet her in a familiar way, but her words were cut off. Because she had a red girl standing next to Helena. The mask still obscured her face, but even so, the girl’s beauty was not something that could be concealed. Seeing them, the dwarf changed her grumpy expression as if she had never bothered him. Knowing his usual appearance, he had the illusion that he might have been good from the beginning.
“Ohh? It’s been a while.”
At the same time, he frowned at the sight of the dwarf approaching them and talking to the girl. What qualifications did he have to be so bold with a girl like the lord’s daughter? No matter how long ago, in a mining town without a lord, he had been doing some of the lord’s work as the village head, but he still found it ridiculous to see me acting like the lord.
“Are you… Back then?”
“You remember!”
“Yes, I said Pyalyar.”
The fact that the girl seemed to know the dwarf surprised him. When the hell did he meet her? At least in this town, I thought he’d be the first to meet me. It was when his mood was about to drop.
“Huh?!”
Helena took a dagger from her sleeve and thrust it under his chin as he drew closer to them. It was a neat skill that made me think that he was a skilled assassin.
“Don’t approach me recklessly. I’m also escorting the lady.”
“Mi, I’m sorry.”
Then the dwarf withdrew in a cold sweat, and Helena hid her dagger again. At first, the first impression was not so good as he tried to separate himself from the girl, but I liked it when I saw him. Taking a light bite of Pyalyar, she approached the counter where he was, as always. She took the girl with her, but he was more than welcome.
“What’s wrong with the young lady…”
“Do you need to know?”
“It’s not like that.”
He turned her tail around Helena’s words, which were even sharper today.
“Would you like to bring herbs by type?”
He questioned Helena’s order, which was different from usual, but assumed it was something related to the girl, and brought out all the herbs he had gathered so far, one by one of each type. But just as he did so, Helena’s cold eyes pricked him.
“Are you really an herbalist?”
“Uh, why is that?”
“Here, this herb should not be dried like this. It should be wrapped in a towel soaked in water and stored, or it should be pulled out along with the surrounding soil and transplanted into a pot and used when needed.”
When I thought about it, I remembered that there were several towels piled up in the storage room. He smiled awkwardly and averted his gaze.
“It doesn’t matter since it’s not the herb you’re using right now, but if you’re an herbalist, shouldn’t you know this much?”
The thought that Helena’s nagging might continue made him look sick, but Helena’s nagging was cut short as the girl next to her tugged at the hem of her dress.
“Oh, sorry. Did you find the herb you were looking for?”
The girl shook her head excitedly at her words.
“…Is that so.”
In the end, they decided to take only the herbs they normally take from him.
“If you are a herbalist, you should know how to store herbs properly.”
Helena kept nagging her warning until the very end. Silence came as they walked out of the store with umbrellas. She didn’t even have time to enjoy the moment she met the girl again. By the time they walked away from the store.
“Sniff, as long as this bitch who doesn’t know how to take care of others only survives!”
She got her nerves as if Pyajar had been waiting for her, and she went back to normal.
“Also, those bitches know the subject only when they are forced under a man.”
She continued, saying, “I don’t know if she knows that his vulgar words crumple his expression.”
“Tsk tsk, so shouldn’t you study herbal medicine hard to avoid being criticized by a bitch like that?”
He must have mistakenly thought that the reason he was offended was because of Helena, but that wasn’t a bad thing. At least I was able to freely express the displeasure I had endured until now. But she was taken aback by Pyalyar’s next words.
“By the way Alvis. Did he have a crush on her?”
“That, that’s it.”
She smiled as if Pyarjar didn’t even need to listen to him.
“Keuk keuk, if you pretend, you pretend. Did you think you wouldn’t know? Anyway, you’re a guy who doesn’t really know the subject. You should aim for a suitable opponent.”
Then Farjar pushed his head with his fingers. She felt that her patience was reaching the limit the more he acted. When he was really debating whether or not to be patient, the words he heard stopped his thoughts.
“But you’re the guy I’ve been thinking of like my son, so I’ll give you a special chance.”
