“…Lize. This is really strange. I didn’t see it. I really didn’t see it.”

Yurik made excuses while breaking out in a cold sweat, perhaps because my expression was a bit too obvious.

“So what did you see? If you didn’t see it, did you imagine it?”

“……”

“What did you imagine? Tell me.”

Roger kept asking, either because he was clueless or on purpose. Of course, Yurik wouldn’t answer him nicely.

He shot Roger a glare and let out a deep sigh. On the other hand, Roger, who had been gloomy, seemed to have cheered up and chattered away.

Fed up with his babbling, Yurik stretched his arm back and struck Roger’s head hard. Roger, who wouldn’t stay still even after being hit, also stretched out his leg and kicked Yurik’s side.

“What are you doing?”

“You hit me first!”

“That’s because you were asking weird questions!”

“Weird questions? They were perfectly normal!”

A physical fight began. It wasn’t a fistfight like before. They just stretched their arms or legs as hard as they could and lightly hit each other’s bodies with me in the middle. Actually, it was close to playing around.

“…Can’t you stop now?”

The problem was that I, who had chosen the wrong seat, was also swept up in it.

“You stone! How can your hands be as hard as rocks?”

“You’re just too weak. Your muscles are empty, just like your head.”

Perhaps I got hit the most out of Roger, Yurik, and myself.

“You damn stone!”

“You idiot!”

“Stop it… I said stop!”

* * *

After filling our stomachs, we passed the time playing dice or board games we had brought.

The day had quickly darkened, but the storm was still ongoing. Even if the wind weakened enough for us to go outside, we didn’t know when the storm would rage again. The weather was that capricious.

“Lize wins again.”

“You’re not cheating, are you?”

Yurik and Roger couldn’t hide their disappointment upon seeing me win, as always.

“How can you cheat with dice? I’m just lucky.”

Luck that doesn’t exist in reality. It should at least be good in games, to be fair.

“Then I’ll go study some chess game records.”

As soon as I, the winner, left my seat, the real game began. The struggle to claim second place had started.

“Hey, stone. How about we make a bet?”

Before rolling the dice, Roger grinned and suggested to Yurik.

“What are you betting on?”

“If I win, you have to tell me what you couldn’t say earlier. About what you imagined.”

“…What?”

Roger seemed quite curious about Yurik’s lie. Yurik, who didn’t expect the topic to come up, looked quite flustered and examined the game board. The odds of winning were almost even, but if you had to pick who was slightly closer to victory, it was Roger by a narrow margin.

Normally, Yurik wouldn’t hesitate to bet on that small difference, but he was quiet. Yurik’s face turned slightly red, and it was obvious what he was thinking.

If he refused Roger’s suggestion, his pride wouldn’t allow it, but if he accepted, he was worried about the future.

“What’s wrong, why aren’t you saying anything? I’m throwing.”

“Wait!”

When Roger tried to throw the dice, Yurik quickly stopped him.

“Why? Are you afraid of losing?”

“No, it’s not that! I’ll do two other things for you, so let’s forget about the secret.”

“I don’t want to.”

When Roger flatly refused, Yurik became more desperate.

“Then I’ll do two, two things for you!”

“But I don’t want to?”

At this moment, they both seemed their real age. What they were doing was cute and funny to watch, but then heavy footsteps were heard from upstairs. The three of us turned our heads towards the second-floor railing.

“Yurik!”

Duchess Penton stopped halfway down the stairs and urgently called for Yurik.

“…Mother?”

“Could you fetch a bucket of cool water? The maids are busy taking care of Yune right now.”

“Is Yune very sick?”

“Strangely, she has a high fever.”

Duchess Penton’s voice was anxious, indicating Yune’s condition wasn’t good. The game was interrupted.

Yurik went outside to draw water and quickly went upstairs with the bucket. Roger and I looked at each other for a moment and followed Yurik.

“Yune, are you alright? Hm?”

As soon as we went up, we heard the Duchess’s worried voice.

“Mother, I brought the water.”

“Thank you, Yurik.”

Entering the room quietly, I discovered Yune’s face drenched in sweat. Her lips were dry, and her face was pale. She looked seriously ill at a glance.

The Duchess soaked a towel in the water Yurik brought and wiped Yune’s face. The other maids were also busy changing the sweat-soaked bedding with new ones and wiping her body.

Even so, when Yune’s condition didn’t seem to improve, a maid who was anxiously watching opened her mouth.

“I think we need to go to the hospital, Madam.”

“But…”

Following the Duchess, I looked out the window. The wind was weak, but the weather was still cloudy. The carriage wheels had not been repaired yet either.

It took time to reach the village even on horseback. It was also a problem to put Yune, who couldn’t even hold her body properly, on a horse. With many complicating factors, the Duchess couldn’t easily decide to go to the hospital.

“If the young lady’s condition worsens further…”

“I know that too. But won’t the hospital close soon?”

“Then we will ride horses and bring the doctor here.”

“…What if another typhoon comes?”

Rough breaths and hot air came out of Yune’s groaning mouth. Seeing the child suffering with a frown, Duchess Penton hesitated for a moment and stood up.

“It’s dark outside. There’s not a single person around here. If you encounter a storm while riding a horse, it’ll be a big problem. …For now, let’s nurse Yune ourselves. She might get better after the night passes.”

“Then I will do my best to fix the carriage by then.”

The coachman who had been watching turned his back.

The room was filled with Yune’s moans. I wanted to stay by Yune’s side longer, but the Duchess told us to leave, worrying that the illness might spread.

After the door closed, Yurik, Roger, and I stood still in the middle of the hallway.

My heart grew heavy upon realizing Yune was sick. Roger felt the same way, and needless to say, so did Yurik.

“Has your sister often suffered from high fevers?”

Roger, who was sitting against the wall, asked. Yurik and I also bent our knees, following Roger.

“She has a weak body. Whenever a cold is going around, she always suffers from a fever.”

“Hmm.”

“But she’s always gotten better each time.”

Yurik said she would surely get better this time too. Doesn’t time heal all wounds? Yune is usually so strong and lively, so she’ll quickly overcome the illness. Still, it wasn’t easy to walk away.

There was no light in the dark hallway. Yune’s crying from inside the room sounded louder and clearer.

…Ah, did I make a wish to go to the sea for nothing?

“Stubborn Lize.”

Roger broke the silence and spoke. I was so disturbed I could die, but Roger seemed to be in the mood for jokes. I had no energy to answer, so I buried my head in my knees, but Roger covered me with a blanket. When did he even get a blanket?

“Don’t think strange thoughts and just stay covered.”

“I wasn’t thinking strange thoughts.”

Roger always makes me open my mouth. Yurik, who was tossing and turning, pulled the blanket I was clumsily covering myself with up to my neck.

“Lize. That idiot is right for once. Don’t think strange thoughts. You’re sometimes so stubborn.”

“Did you just call me an idiot?”

Although he got worked up, Roger didn’t say much to Yurik, who took his side. I was a bit shocked by the reason.

Stubborn? Me? Where?

I looked at Yurik, feeling wronged, and he poked my cheek with his finger.

“…?”

Not just once, but quite a few times.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m releasing your stubbornness.”

Upon hearing Yurik’s words, Roger, who was listening, said, “That’s a good idea,” and poked my other cheek. The current situation of me giving both cheeks to the boys on either side of me was quite…

It felt strange.

This won’t do. I should never sit or stand between these two in the future. This spot has very bad feng shui.

“Lize, your cheeks are like whipped cream. Really soft.”

“Oh? I thought the same thing. Doesn’t it feel like touching a baby’s skin?”

“It’s even squishy.”

“I’m telling you, the texture is surprisingly nice. This could be addictive.”

Roger and Yurik got along surprisingly well. I opened my mouth to stop their fingers from poking my cheeks but soon gave up. Come to think of it, it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Although a bit ridiculous, the sound of laughter coming from beside me was quite nice to hear.

* * *

“Yune! Yune! Hurry and bring water…!”

I opened my eyes at the sound of the door bursting open.

The hallway was blurry but bright. I must have fallen asleep like that because I could see the day had dawned outside the window. I sat up and checked on Yurik, who had his face on my lap, and Roger, who was leaning on my shoulder, both still asleep.

“Yune! Are you alright? Yune!”

The Duchess’s voice came from the wide-open door. It was a voice that completely chased away drowsiness. Realizing the situation was serious, I woke up the two boys using my body as a pillow.

“Yurik, Roger, wake up, hurry!”

“…?”

“Ugh… What is it, Lize?”

The two were weak to sleepiness.

As I abruptly got up from my seat, Yurik and Roger’s heads fell to the floor. With their heads touching nicely, the two just blinked their eyes.

“We need to go to the hospital right now.”

Entering the room, I saw the Duchess hurriedly putting on her outer clothing. On the bed, Yune, even paler than yesterday, was roughly exhaling breaths. How high was her fever? Her face was covered in cold sweat, and her clothes were all soaked.

“But Madam, the situation outside…”

“We fixed the carriage last night, so we’ll have to take that.”

“We don’t know when the wind will get stronger again. We will call the doctor…”

“Then it will be too late.”

The Duchess, who had already made her decision, was resolute.

“Mother?”

“This is good timing, Yurik. Please guard the villa.”

Yurik and Roger were standing still at the threshold of the door, perhaps fully awake from sleep. Yurik examined Yune and the Duchess once, grasped the situation, and entered.

“I will go with you.”

“No. You stay here and protect Lize and Roger.”

“The idiot and Lize will be fine without me.”

“No, only Yune, myself, and two maids will ride in the carriage. If we take more people, the repaired wheel might come off again.”

Just then, the coachman’s voice came from downstairs, saying the carriage was ready. The Duchess carefully held Yune in her arms.

“Yurik, I promise to return soon. Okay?”

At the Duchess’s words, Yurik bit his lip hard, unable to hide his impatience.

“…Please don’t get hurt.”