AME 36

CH:36

Kaon woke up earlier than usual to the sound of birds chirping in the morning. It was a faintly lit morning, with only a sliver of light peeking through the curtains.

‘Oh, right. No training today.’

Kaon, who had been pressing his forehead in irritation, suddenly remembered something pleasant and smiled. Today was a rare day without morning training. He decided to generously forgive the birds that had interrupted his sleep.

Just as he was about to snuggle back under the warm blanket and return to sleep, Kaon frowned. A faint sound, barely audible, had pricked his sensitive hearing.

‘…Was that just my imagination?’

He focused, trying to hear it again, but there was nothing.

He was sure he had heard something. It made him uneasy, but maybe he was just still half-asleep. Rather than waste his rare day of rest, he decided to close his eyes again.

“Mm…”

But no sooner had he shut his eyes than a clearer voice rang out. Kaon instinctively turned toward the curtains. The sound had definitely come from Alessia’s room.

Kaon hesitated. If it was just sleep-talking, he’d be intruding for nothing. They hadn’t even been talking much lately—waking her up now might push them even farther apart.

‘What if she’s sick?’

Suddenly, he remembered how Alessia had looked yesterday. He wondered if he was worrying too much over a simple cough, but he couldn’t bring himself to ignore it.

With a resigned sigh, Kaon got out of bed and stood by the curtain, calling out to her in a low voice.

“Hey.”

“……”

Luckily or unluckily, there was no response from inside. Even the faint sounds had completely vanished.

“Are you sleeping?”

Kaon scratched the back of his messy bedhead and asked again. Still no reply.

Maybe he really was overthinking it. He had just turned to leave when—

“Hnn…”

“…Alessia?”

A stifled groan came from behind the curtain. Kaon froze, then stepped closer.

“Ugh… hnn…”

The pained moans rang clearly in his ears now. Unable to wait any longer, Kaon pushed aside the curtain and stepped inside. In the dim light, he saw Alessia curled up in bed.

“Why are you—”

He had intended to ask what was wrong or if she was hurt, but Alessia didn’t seem capable of answering. Feeling awkward for barging into a girl’s room, Kaon hesitated, then approached her bedside.

She was curled tightly under the blanket, clinging to it as if she might lose it. Her face was visible, at least. Kaon cautiously reached out and placed his hand on her forehead—and his expression turned pale.

“Holy crap.”

The curse slipped out before he could even think. Her forehead was burning with fever. Without a second thought, Kaon bolted out of the room.

“It looks like a simple cold. Could be from fatigue or being out in the cold too long—there are many possible causes.”

The elderly doctor advised the maid to change the cold towel frequently and wipe away any heavy sweat. He reassured her that he would prescribe effective medicine for colds and then left the room.

“Oh dear, how did this happen? She seemed perfectly fine just yesterday…”

Madeleine, who had rushed over after hearing the news, looked down at the sleeping Alessia with pity. It was as if she had forgotten all about the time she cried and wailed that the daughter of Ingelos was not welcome.

“She really did push herself too hard. I told her to take it easy, but she kept saying she was fine. Running around in this cold weather with that frail body—no wonder she fell ill. It’s a wonder she lasted this long.”

Madeleine sighed, saying Alessia’s small frame was barely half the size of her own second daughter, and stood up. Muttering that she should at least make some soup, she headed to the kitchen with a dark expression.

Once the door closed, silence returned to the room, leaving only two people behind. Kaon, who had run off himself because he hadn’t even thought to call for a maid, now sat staring at Alessia’s flushed face.

“She didn’t say a word, even when she got this bad…”

Madeleine was right. Alessia had pushed herself far too hard. Except for the one day Kaon had forced her to rest in the past three months, she had participated in every inspection. It was excessive—there was no better word for it.

Of course, Kaon had joined all the inspections too, but he was a knight trained through rigorous drills. Alessia was not. For someone with such a small, frail body to push herself like that—falling ill seemed inevitable.

Kaon took the towel, now heated by her burning skin, and replaced it with a freshly dampened one. The blanket rose and fell in time with her shallow, pained breaths.

‘And she calls me stupid…’

Kaon was honestly dumbfounded. He had never met anyone as incomprehensible as Alessia Ingelos.

She wasn’t even a real mage, yet acted like one. And she was pointlessly diligent. Even real mages with actual magical power didn’t work this hard, yet she was throwing herself into everything as if repaying some debt to Ferdinand.

That was why Kaon couldn’t bring himself to tell Leonidas that Alessia was a fake mage. Even if she didn’t have real magic, she fulfilled the role of a mage more perfectly than anyone else.

Even if they kicked her out and brought in another mage from Ingelos or the Mage Tower, Kaon doubted they’d find someone who would give their all like she did. In fact, he was almost certain no such person existed.

People who had opposed bringing a mage from Ingelos were now changing their minds day by day. That said it all.

Alessia Ingelos was the very image of the mage Ferdinand had long hoped for—diligent, sociable, and selfless. If only she were a real mage, she’d be perfect.

‘She should at least take care of herself…’

Kaon couldn’t understand why she acted like this. If her goal was just to avoid criticism, doing the bare minimum would’ve sufficed.

Expectations for mages—especially those from Ingelos—weren’t particularly high, so no one would’ve said a word if she’d just skated by.

So why was she so desperate, sacrificing her own body to serve Ferdinand?

“Is saying you’re sick really that hard? What’s so difficult about it?”

Kaon couldn’t make sense of it, yet he also felt a strange emotion welling up.

The fake mage who had deceived him and his family was more helpful than any real mage, and that confused him. Seeing Alessia suffer in silence only made his chest tighten for reasons he couldn’t explain.

With no answer to his thoughts, Kaon sighed and wet another towel, repeating the same motion over and over again.

Alessia, just waking from sleep, slowly forced her heavy eyelids open. Her head was spinning, and her vision was hazy. Still, compared to the dizzying, collapsing sensation she’d felt at dawn, this was much better—enough to ease her mind a little.

‘Did I not sleep long…?’

The room was darker than expected. Winter mornings arrived slowly, so it seemed the sun hadn’t yet risen. She had feared she might have overslept, but that didn’t seem to be the case. As she sighed in relief, something fell from her forehead—a towel.

Alessia stared blankly at it. She had felt occasional coolness, and now realized it had been from the wet towel.

‘…Who did this?’

She hadn’t asked anyone for medicine, not expecting her condition to worsen like this by evening. Lost in thought, she heard a knock at the door. In a raspy, cracked voice, she told the person to come in.

“What, you’re up.”

“…Kaon Ferdinand?”

“You’re calling me by full name. Looks like your energy’s back.”

To her surprise, it was Kaon who entered. He set down a tray on the bedside table and nodded toward it.

“Still, eat that. Madeleine’s been cooking it since morning.”

“Madeleine? How did she know…?”

White steam wafted from the bowl of soup. It was a potato soup, rich with a savory aroma and tender chunks of meat.

‘Is this a dream?’

It seemed likely. Otherwise, how could anyone know she was sick? And there was no way anyone would nurse her like this.

“It’s better to eat it while it’s hot. You need to eat before taking medicine too.”

Even the fact that Kaon—who had been distant with her for almost a month—was caring for her was unbelievable. Though he certainly had the character to do so, still…

Never mind. Alessia gave up trying to think. It didn’t matter—it probably wasn’t real. She had often wished someone would care for her when she was sick, so this was likely just a dream born from that longing.

Besides, Kaon Ferdinand was unlike anyone else she had ever met. So showing up like this in a dream wasn’t surprising at all.

Thinking any more would only worsen her throbbing headache. She let her body relax and lay down again.

“Your face says the fever hasn’t gone down yet.”

His voice followed by the sound of water being wrung—Alessia ignored it. It was just a dream, and she didn’t want to be bothered by Kaon Ferdinand even in her dreams.

“Hold this on your forehead.”

Then came a refreshing sensation. A cool towel, with the perfect chill and weight, was placed gently on her forehead.

‘…A cold towel?’

The chill was too vivid for a dream. Alessia finally realized this wasn’t a dream—it was real.