Chapter 07
“You have caught a cold. Judging by your condition, I believe you’ll develop a high fever or body aches by tonight—or possibly even today.”
As soon as I returned to the mansion, I was examined by the physician and diagnosed with a cold-induced fever and body aches. I cheered inwardly. Evan, on the other hand, was filled with worry and concern.
“What about medicine?”
“First, I’ll give you some cold medicine. If you develop a high fever at night, take this medicine; if you get body aches,
take this one. Drink plenty of warm water and get plenty of rest, and you’ll recover quickly, so please don’t worry too much.”
The physician placed several medicines on the table beside the bed. I thought to myself, ‘I’ll get better quickly once I take the medicine,’ feeling at ease.
“Is there any possibility of it developing into something more serious?”
Evan asked anxiously.
“If you cough for too long, it could lead to pneumonia, but with the medicine, it won’t progress that far. With plenty of rest, you’ll recover soon.”
“Understood. You may go now.”
Once the physician left, Evan covered his face with both hands and slumped down on the spot. He reached for my hand with a deeply distressed expression, then pulled back.
“I’m sorry you’re in pain.”
“What good does it do for you to apologize? Apologize when you’re younger.”
“Alright.”
Evan stayed by my side, taking meticulous care of me until I fell asleep, checking on my condition every ten minutes.
Unfortunately, just as the physician had said, as night fell, my body grew more painful and I suffered from a high fever.
Evan was startled and urgently called for the physician. In my hazy consciousness, I prayed desperately.
After all this effort, please—please let Jason come to me.
***
‘It’s about time for him to come.’
When morning came and I regained consciousness, I stared at the door, waiting for Jason to arrive. I thought he would have come before I woke up, but he was later than expected.
Just then, the door opened. But there was no one there. I lifted my aching head slightly and peeked toward the door.
As if telepathy had worked, Jason shuffled in hesitantly, entering the room slowly. I lay still, making coughing and
groaning sounds, waiting for him to come closer. Soon, Jason sat down on the chair beside the bed, hung his head low, hesitated, and finally managed to speak.
“…Are you still sick?”
“Cough, can’t you tell just by looking?”
My face was flushed with fever—of course I was sick.
“…Sorry.”
Jason apologized in a small voice. For Jason to apologize like this, he must be reflecting on his actions. But the
situation I wanted hadn’t fully played out yet. That part required me to make a move, though.
“Why did you leave without finding me?”
I grumbled without even looking at Jason.
“No, I did look. But I couldn’t find you, so…”
So you gave up because you couldn’t find me. I didn’t need to hear more to know how it went.
“I didn’t know that, and I waited for you to come.”
“…Sorry.”
“I don’t care.”
I pulled the blanket up over my eyes. Then I forced myself to think sad thoughts and shed tears. When my body
flinched and sobbing sounds came from under the blanket, Jason lifted it.
“…Are you crying?”
“I’m crying because I’m upset and hurt! I’m this sick, and you’re perfectly fine—I’m always the one clinging to you, and you always ignore me!”
“N-no, that’s not…”
“Don’t make excuses. Just get out!”
Jason quietly left the room. Once I heard his footsteps fade away, I wiped my tears.
Ugh, I already had a runny nose, and now with the tears, it’s twice as bad. I should have cried just the right amount.
Anyway, perhaps because I’m in a child’s body, it hurts so much. This seems like it’s going to last quite a while. Now
I’ve done everything I wanted, so even if the cold gets better, it’s fine.
Jason will move on his own from here. And all I have to do is keep pretending I’m still not feeling well.
‘I think there was an item that cures colds instantly. Do I have such an item?’
<Searching for the item. You have already used all of that item.>
Ah, right. That one had a limited number of uses. I used them all in my previous life.
Ugh, if I’d known this would happen, I should have collected more cold-curing items. Regretting the past, I curled up and groaned in pain.
***
It took a full week before I finally recovered from my cold.
“That was a tough week.”
During the mornings and afternoons, Jason would hover around me and ask if I was still sick. And from early
evening onward, I received Evan’s gentle yet relentless care.
Why relentless, you ask? He force-fed me an entire bowl of bitter porridge, insisting I had to eat it somehow. And the
moment I felt a little better and tried to move even slightly, he wouldn’t let me leave the bed except to go to the bathroom, saying I absolutely must not move.
“He’s stubborn in his own way, isn’t he?”
I thought he had no stubbornness because he was so gentle and always listened to me, but unexpectedly, he has a firm will and is quite persistent. Well, that’s also charming, though.
Just then, a maid knocked on the door.
“Madam, are you feeling better today?”
“Yes, please bring me a regular meal today.”
Today, I will definitely have a normal meal. I’d like to eat with Jason, but since he eats alone, there’s no helping it.
Soon, the maid brought my meal, and I ate alone in my room. I couldn’t help but cheer at the delicious food after so long.
After finishing my meal, I left the room to find Jason, who might still be eating. The dining hall was empty, so he
must have already finished. After asking the staff, I finally found him hiding behind the secret door in his office.
Behind the secret door was a cozy little space, not much bigger than the space under a desk.
Jason was reading a book. He looked surprised, as if he hadn’t expected me to come find him. If you ran away, you should know I’d come looking.
“Are you all better now?”
“Yes, I’m all better.”
Jason’s lips curled up slightly in relief.
“Don’t interrupt my reading.”
But just like that, he returned to being his cold, aloof self.
“Okay, I won’t interrupt.”
I carefully entered and sat down softly beside him. Then I closed the secret door tightly. I helped by closing the door—I absolutely did not interrupt.
“Didn’t you hear me?”
“No, I heard you. I didn’t interrupt, I just closed the door. Keep reading.”
Since I need to stay by his side as long as possible, I decided to let him keep reading and just watch over him. It
wouldn’t be too late to say what I wanted to say after he finished the book.
But then Jason closed his book. He let out a deep sigh, subtly expressing his inner thoughts—that I was making him sigh.
But I don’t back down from things like this. With a brazen face, as if I knew nothing, I stared intently at Jason.
“If you’re acting like this because you have something to say, just say it.”
He must have noticed that I had something to say. It would have been nice if he’d noticed a little later. Still, since he called me out so directly, there’s no point in putting it off any longer.
“Shall we look for a way to break the curse?”
I can get items to break the curse, but to get closer to Jason and have at least some conversation, I have no choice but to use the classic method. I can’t stay sick forever.
“We’ve already looked several times.”
“I mean let’s look again. There might be even a small clue this time.”
The child has too little hope. Ah, actually, since he’s an adult inside, maybe it’s inevitable that he doesn’t have hope?
Jason frowned hard and swept his hair back. Is this really that annoying?
“Ha, fine. Let’s look. I want to break this damn curse as soon as possible anyway.”
Fortunately, Jason accepted, even while sulking. He picked up a book first and left the secret door. I followed behind him, and he closed the door for me since I was the last one out.
‘What, he’s being sweet.’
A kind consideration—closing the door so I wouldn’t have to.
He’s not as aloof as I thought. Unless he was just worried I’d leave the door open.
“What are you doing? Hurry up.”
Jason called out to me as he walked ahead. He’s making sure I don’t fall behind. The more I look at him, the more he’s like an adorable cat. I reached out my hand to our little kitty.
“Want to hold hands?”
“What are you saying.”
Jason widened the distance between us again that I’d barely closed.
‘The library is huge.’
I’ve seen libraries thousands of times by now, but every time I see one, I think ‘it’s so big’ and wish I could take all the books here to my room.
Jason went to the bookshelf where curse-related books were kept and carefully selected his books. I needed to choose
a book too, but I thought it might be better to read something from a different field rather than the same one as him.
Should I try looking into herbs?
Herbs and curses don’t seem to have much to do with each other, but there might be a solution there. I went to the herb-related bookshelf and scanned the numerous books with blurry eyes.
‘Should I read <The Mysteries of Herbs>?’
It was on a somewhat high shelf, and even standing on my tiptoes, I could barely reach it. Just a little taller and I could touch it.
‘What is Jason doing?’
I turned my head to ask Jason, who’s a bit taller than me, for help—but he wasn’t there. Even though the curse and
herb books are right next to each other, he must have gone to read elsewhere first. He should be close enough to come if I call.
“Jason!”
“……”
“Jason! Help me!”
“……”
This guy doesn’t make a sound and doesn’t come. Shouldn’t he come when I call out this much?
Really.
Left with no choice, I stepped on the lowest shelf, which had a slight ledge, and stretched my tiptoes with all my
might. I just barely touched the end of the book. My feet were about to give out, so I held onto the shelf and gently pulled the book out.
‘Phew, that was hard.’
After finally getting the book, I went to find Jason and headed to the sofa by the window. Sure enough, Jason was sitting on the sofa, focused on his book. I sat close to him and opened my book, glancing at him from time to time.
‘He looks even more handsome in the light.’
Even as a child, he’s so handsome in the light. I wonder how handsome he’ll be as an adult in the light. I’ll definitely have to see Evan bathed in sunlight sometime.
I made a resolution to see Evan’s sunlit face when he’s an adult all day, and sat up straight to read. I didn’t
understand the content, but I focused anyway. However, my posture gradually loosened until I was sprawled out, practically becoming one with the sofa.
“Hmm…”
And what I was looking for wasn’t there either.
Well, if it had appeared, we would have already broken the curse. There would have been no need to go through the
trouble of getting items. After putting in the effort to search, my eyes were getting dry and sore. Do I really have to
keep reading? Since Jason is still reading, I should at least pretend to read. Otherwise, this seat will be gone soon.
Jason put down his book and stood up. It looks like he’s about to leave. We’ve barely had any conversation.
“Wait!”
