“Adelia, Kaern is in danger. Right now, the first priority is to remove the poison inside his body.”

“Poison? What on earth… Oh, a doctor, we need to call a doctor.”

Even in the midst of confusion, Adelia knew exactly what she had to do.

“Call for a doctor. Tell them to come as quickly as possible.”

“Yes. Understood.”

While Adelia ordered the butler to call a doctor, I took Kaern to his room and laid him on the bed.

“Herena.”

Seeing Kaern desperately trying not to lose consciousness brought tears to my eyes. But I couldn’t cry now. No, even the time to cry felt wasted. Instead, I had to exert all my strength to save Kaern.

Perhaps because the purpose was clear, I felt more focused than usual. As a result, the hesitation and reluctance that were always present in me seemed to have disappeared.

After a while, a doctor residing in the mansion hurriedly entered the room.

Then, he immediately began examining Kaern.

We all anxiously watched the scene.

“How is the Viscount?”

“The poison is spreading rapidly throughout the body through the wound on his arm.”

I handed the doctor the dagger I had wrapped in a handkerchief.

Earlier, while escaping from the temple, I quickly ordered Kaern’s subordinates to find a dagger.

Fortunately, they swiftly located a dagger lying on the ground and brought it to me.
“The Viscount got his arm cut with this dagger. Can you find out what kind of poison it is and get an antidote?”

“There are various types of poisons, so it’s not easy to determine quickly. Moreover, obtaining an antidote is also not that simple. However… I will do my best.”

“It’s not about doing your best; you must find it.”

“Yes? Yes. Understood.”

After the doctor left, I realized that I couldn’t just stay still and decided to leave the room.

“…Herena.”

When Kaern called me, I quickly approached him.

“Kaern.”

“Herena, are you… okay?”

Even in his own predicament, he was concerned about me.

I felt like I might burst into tears at any moment, but I held back.

“I’m fine. Thanks to you, Kaern, I’m completely unharmed.”

“I’m relieved.”

“I’m not relieved at all. Kaern, Kaern…”

Unable to hold back any longer, I broke down into tears at his words.

“Don’t cry, Herena…”

“I’m not crying.”

I quickly regained my composure and wiped away my tears.

“Kaern, you have to hang in there. We’ll definitely find an antidote or herbs, so you have to hang in there. Okay?”

In response to my words, Kaern nodded with a faint smile.

As I was about to stand up again after looking at him once more, he held onto me again.

“Don’t go.”

“Kaern.”

“Stay by my side…”

“Sure. Herena. Stay by my side, sister.”
Adelia nestled in Calix’s embrace and tearfully told me to stay by Kaern’s side.

“But we need to find something that can detoxify him.”

“The doctor hasn’t figured out what poison it is yet. So, please stay with my brother. I’m begging you.”

“Adelia…”

Upon reflection, Adelia’s words were correct.

It was futile to search for an antidote or herbs in a state where we didn’t even know what poison he was poisoned with.

“Alright. I’ll stay by Kaern’s side and take care of him.”

“Thank you, Herena.”

“Adelia, take a break too. If you collapse, it’ll be a big problem. Take Lady Adelia, Crayten Junior Duke.”

“Understood.”

Adelia, Calix, and even the servants all left, leaving only Kaern and me in the room.

“Kaern. If you feel worse, you must tell me. Okay?”

“…I will.”

I sat on the chair right next to the bed and observed Kaern’s condition.

While doing so, I kept talking to prevent him from falling asleep.

“Do you remember when Adelia and I went to the place where you used to be with us in the capital?”

Kaern slowly nodded.

“Adelia wanted to go because you hadn’t come to the capital for over a year. She said she missed her brother and wanted to go together.”

Kaern urged me to continue with a slow blink.

“But you got really angry when you saw us.”

As soon as he saw us, Kaern asked why we were here.

“That’s right.”
“At that time, it was the first time I saw Kaern so angry.”

“It was a dangerous place…”

“That’s right. It was a dangerous place.”

Even so, I was so eager to see him that I didn’t even think of stopping Adelia.

“But I still wanted to go. And it was good.”

“…Good?”

“Yes. Oh, by the way, suddenly, I remembered the first time I met Kaern.”

I quickly changed the subject, fearing Kaern might ask what was good about it.

As I did, I began to recount the story of our first meeting.

The first time I saw him was when I was 6 years old, and Kaern was 12.

At that time, I had been staying in the capital since birth, while the Raverion Duke’s territory was far away, so we rarely visited.

Our parents were acquaintances, but due to the distance of the Raverion family’s territory, we seldom interacted.

It was when Kaern came up to the capital for academy admission that I first saw him.

He was very young, and even though a lot of time had passed since then, I still vividly remembered the moment I first saw him.

As he shone brightly, I couldn’t help but fixate on him for a while.

“So, do you know how much the adults teased me? I was just surprised because I had never seen anyone as handsome as Kaern.”

“So, were you avoiding me?”

“Huh? You knew?”
Looking at Kaern, who spoke as if he already knew everything, I asked with quite surprised eyes.

“You openly avoided me.”

“I didn’t do that on purpose. It’s just…”

There was also a sense of embarrassment and shame, but I was also afraid that he might come to dislike me.

So, for quite a long time, I made an effort not to run into him.

Of course, during that time, not being able to see him made me feel sad as well.

“Just?”

“So, I had no choice because it was embarrassing.”

“…Was that it?”

With a look as if he realized something, he smiled wryly.

“I thought you hated me.”

“It’s absolutely impossible for me to dislike Kaern.”

“So, I had a foolish misunderstanding.”

Saying that, Kaern chuckled bitterly.

After that, we continued talking about the past for a long time.

However, just when I began to feel somewhat relieved that Kaern seemed to be holding up well, he suddenly started groaning, accompanied by rough breathing as he did in the cave.

“Ugh.”

“Kaern? Why are you like this?”

“…Haah.”

“Kaern, you can’t lose consciousness.”

I quickly pulled the bell near the bed.

Soon, the butler entered the room.

“Fetch the doctor quickly!”

“Yes. Understood!”

Subsequently, the doctor entered the room and examined Kaern’s condition.

“It seems like the poison is spreading more and more.”
“Have you not yet figured out what the poison is?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Despair hit me like a wave at the doctor’s words.

No.

Snap out of it.

You can do it. You can save Kaern.

It wasn’t over yet.

No, it couldn’t end like this.

Perhaps sensing the sudden commotion, Adelia and Calix entered the room.

“Brother! No. Brother, hang in there. Huhuh.”

Calix quickly held Adelia, who seemed to collapse.

I continued wiping Kaern’s face with trembling hands, speaking to him as I did earlier.

“Kaern. You can’t give up.”

“…Herena.”

“I just want you to stay alive. I won’t ask for anything more. So please, stay alive.”

Now, not knowing what I was saying, I repeated the same words into his ear.

“I will never stand by and watch you go like this. How, with what feelings…”

But now, he had no strength left to respond.

He just continued to breathe, barely holding on.

Then, it was that moment.

Amidst the chaos, I sensed a familiar scent in Kaern’s breath, even in my disoriented state.