“We need to replenish the fluids lost from sweating. Mix a little bit of the salt and sugar you brought into the water. Just a small amount, barely enough to taste.”

I didn’t even know the exact ratio of salt and sugar to water, let alone how many liters were in a bottle.

I knew that excessive sweating leads to dehydration, but I was still unsure about how much salt and sugar to mix.

“My goodness! You chase away the doctor and all you do is give her water? We would have been better off doing bloodletting!”

“It’s not just water. It’s water mixed with a very little bit of salt and sugar.”

“That’s the same thing! Even as the lady, you can’t do this. This is unacceptable. We should call Dr. Orwell back now. Lucion, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and fetch Dr. Orwell!”

Rose’s father shouted in panic.

I calmly responded.

“Do you see those sheets there? All of them are soaked with Rose’s sweat from overnight. It’s natural to give her water after she’s sweated so much.”

I poured the water into Rose’s parched lips while questioning.

The concentration was just as I wanted, barely any taste of salt or sugar.

“Rather, I’d like to ask you. She sweated enough to dry her mouth, and Dr. Orwell didn’t give her even a sip of water?”

I carefully spooned the water into Rose, but she couldn’t drink it properly.

“Cough, cough!”

Much of it spilled.

“Rose!”

Her father was wringing his heart in anguish.

‘If he’s so sad seeing her unable to swallow a spoonful of water, how could he ever agree to bloodletting?’

“Come here and support her head! She doesn’t need much, but she must finish this bowl!”

It wasn’t prescribed medicine. She didn’t need much, just enough to replenish the lost fluids. Just one or two bowls. Conversely, that much was necessary.

“The air is stuffy. Open the window for ventilation.”

“Miss Rose keeps feeling cold. Is it okay to expose her to the wind?”

“It’s fine since her neck is covered tightly with the blanket. If you’re worried, open it just a bit. Stuffy air lingering like this is also bad.”

After persisting, Rose managed to drink the necessary amount.

‘Phew, that’s the hydration done.’

“You didn’t feed her anything last night, right?”

“No, she’s been unconscious the whole time.”

Rose’s mother quickly answered.

Rose must have been fasting for about a day and a half since the ordeal.

“I need honey water and a thin soup, or maybe porridge. Make sure the soup isn’t salty.”

“I’ll request it in the kitchen right away!”

Something to replenish calories while being easy to digest was what the feverish Rose needed most.

“My lady… Rose’s breathing seems better! She looked like she was going to stop breathing just a while ago!”

After most of the treatments, Rose’s condition improved. Lady Temerly, with tearful eyes, grabbed my hand.

“Thank you so much, my lady. Your words were right; bloodletting was the wrong method!”

“My lady…”

Even Sir Lucion and Rose’s father, who had been staunchly advocating for bloodletting, looked at me with a bit of confusion but relief. However, I shook my head.

“No, it’s not over. I’m worried about tonight.”

A fever patient’s condition often worsens at night. Rose needed to get through this night to fully recover.

‘What more can I do…’

Thud. As I finally sat down on a chair after standing all day, something caught my eye.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, that’s whiskey. Dr. Orwell brought it as a pain reliever. He suggested giving it to Miss Rose to calm her down during the bloodletting procedure.”
If there’s alcohol, you should think about using it to disinfect surgical tools, not to give it to the patient!

“Alcohol, yes, something that can act as alcohol!”

Still, I announced to everyone with a sense of triumph.

“Bring all the alcohol in the castle here! Preferably the ones with high alcohol content!”

After driving out Sir Lucion and Rose’s father, along with other male family members, we soaked towels in alcohol. Then, we used these alcohol-soaked towels to wipe down Rose’s body.

“Ah, this is whiskey that the previous Duke personally brewed…! Eh, never mind!”

“Yes, if it’s aged, the alcohol content must be high. Perfect for evaporation!”

“This, this is a bottle gifted by His Majesty the King long ago! I’m sorry, ancestors!”

“Never mind, the ancestors will forgive us!”

We didn’t care about the taste, price, or who made it; we just needed strong alcohol with high content and rubbed it on Rose’s body.

With each bottle we used, the maids trembled, and Lady Temerly, who had seen the history of Inkheart alongside her family, prayed to heaven.

And indeed, the expensive stuff had its effect.

“Miss Rose is not talking nonsense anymore. The fever seems to have stopped.”

“When we wiped her with water, she couldn’t bear it.”

As midnight passed, Rose’s temperature completely dropped. Her breathing eased, and she just turned into a slightly red-cheeked young lady. The maids, who had been working hard all night, burst into tears seeing Rose’s recovery.