Casius thought he was dreaming when he saw Adeline crying in front of him.

‘Now she appears even in my dreams.’

After all, there was no way Adeline could be here in Cologne.

Wasn’t he the one who had come alone, leaving her behind in the capital despite her attempts to follow?

Casius believed the scene before his eyes was a hallucination created by his high fever.

He had been hovering between life and death for two full days after being infected with the epidemic. In fact, it was hard to even keep his eyes open properly with a fever approaching 40 degrees Celsius.

But such a hallucination wasn’t entirely bad. He could see his beloved wife.

Perhaps due to his illness softening his heart, a faint smile appeared on Casius’s lips.

“Del.”

Casius called out softly to Adeline, who was crying before him.

Was it because he was sick? Adeline didn’t hear his voice that barely came out, and her crying only intensified.

Even though it was just a dream, watching her wail was painful.

It felt so real, as if Adeline would truly cry like this if she came to see him sick. It made his heart ache.

He wanted to tell the Adeline in his dream that he was fine and she could stop crying.

“…Adeline.”

When he called out to Adeline once more with force, she looked at him as if startled.

For a moment, the duke was dazed. Adeline looking at him, the air around them, everything felt too real.

‘…Could it be?’

He surveyed his surroundings with a surprised expression.

The familiar tent, the voices of medical staff murmuring outside, the burning heat felt throughout his body.

Everything was too vivid.

‘…Is this reality? Not a dream?’

It wasn’t a dream. At least, the vibration he felt from the bedsheet Adeline was clutching told him it wasn’t a hallucination.

However, as he realized all of this was the actual situation, Casius’s heart sank.

Through his eyelids that he had struggled to open, he saw Adeline.

His wife, Adeline, was right before his eyes.

“How…!”

In such a dangerously perilous place.

In Cologne, dozens of residents were dying every day from an unnamed epidemic.

Even the remaining medical staff were leaving, yet she had come to such a place on her own!

Casius’s chest boiled like an erupting volcano.

“Why! Why are you here?”

“…”

“Here… now, do you know what kind of place this is!”

Not only that. Casius, the one in front of her, wasn’t he also infected with the epidemic?

It was a disease that spread rapidly just by being in the same space.

Casius pushed Adeline away as nausea welled up, and he swallowed a dry heave.

“Are you alright?!”

When Adeline tried to approach again, Casius held up his hand to stop her.

As if telling her not to come closer. He slowly retreated to the opposite end of the bed.

“Get out of here right now! Why are you here, Adeline!”

The duke shouted with a voice that could barely come out.

He was spitting out a dull metallic sound as he shouted, straining his voice.

Adeline felt sorry for Casius like this. Also, as she had been blaming herself, she was relieved to see Casius awake.

Was it because the tension had eased? Adeline approached Casius, who was trying to distance himself from her.

And before he could avoid it, she suddenly embraced him tightly.

“Mel.”

Although Casius’s inner feelings also wanted to stay close, receiving Adeline’s embrace. The fear that Adeline could also contract the epidemic because of him overwhelmed him even more.

“Get out of here right now, Adeline. Who comes to such a dangerous place so recklessly!”

Casius, embraced by Adeline, trembled all over as if having a fit.

“It’s an epidemic! If we stay together like this, you’ll catch it too!”

He was desperate to push Adeline away.

Looking closely at Casius’s face, Adeline felt her heart breaking.

Deep shadows were cast under his sunken eyes. Moreover, his entire body was boiling like lava, and Adeline felt she might be intoxicated by the heat just from holding him.

Casius was suffering from severe dehydration to the point where he couldn’t even muster strength in his fingers.

Yet he tried to push away Adeline who was embracing him. Adeline read the fear reflected in his eyes.

He, known as the Iron Duke, was afraid. Afraid of transmitting his illness to her.

“I know how to treat this epidemic. It’s not a disease that spreads just by being together like this.”

Casius’s strength in pushing Adeline away was infinitely weak, but she simply allowed herself to be pushed as he wished. Already knowing about cholera from her previous life, Adeline remained incredibly calm despite Casius’s shouting.

“Adeline. Epidemics are scarier than you think. Ha…”

“…”

“Hey, you there. Escort the duchess away immediately.”

Casius called out to a passing servant, ordering as if trying to persuade Adeline.

At the duke’s command, a servant approached the duchess, but Adeline simply raised her hand to stop them. Adeline had no intention of leaving Casius’s side.

“It’s alright, Casius.”

Adeline carefully stroked Casius’s trembling back. Slowly, as if soothing a child.

“Trust me. The disease going around Cologne is not an epidemic.”

“…”

“It doesn’t spread through human-to-human contact. You can believe me.”

Adeline spoke deliberately, making eye contact with Casius.

She felt the strength gradually leaving Casius, who had initially been trying his hardest to push her away.

“…You say you know how to treat this disease?”

Adeline nodded towards Casius.

Then she turned to instruct the servant who had approached.

“Go out and tell the medical staff. They need to keep giving the sick people water mixed with appropriate levels of salt and sugar, boiled vigorously. For this epidemic, preventing dehydration and giving strength to fight the disease is most important.”

Cholera is caused by cholera bacteria that breed in contaminated water. Adeline recited the treatment method, tracing her memories from her previous life.

“Ah. Since it spreads through patients’ bodily fluids and vomit, make sure to boil all cloths and utensils before use.”

The servant was surprised by the countermeasures given by the duchess, who was not even a doctor, and couldn’t continue speaking.

They just stared at Adeline’s back with wide eyes. As if sensing the servant’s gaze, Adeline finally turned around.

“What are you doing? Don’t take me away, go out and treat the villagers.”

Overwhelmed by the duchess’s confident demeanor, the servant completely forgot the duke’s order and left to treat the villagers.

Casius could only sigh at the current situation where his order was ignored, overwhelmed by the duchess’s aura.

“Stay with me. I’ll treat you.”

Hearing Casius’s sigh, Adeline turned back to him and continued speaking. Her eyes showed she would never yield.

“Adeline. You said it’s not contagious, but we don’t know for sure. If you become endangered too…!”

Cholera was a disease that could be quickly recovered from if dehydration was prevented with uninfected water and nutrients, and strength was continuously replenished.

Adeline silenced Casius, who continued trying to send her away, not trusting her knowledge of the treatment.

“Anyone can see I’m healthier than you right now! Lie down quietly!”

Adeline forcibly pushed down Casius’s shoulders, which kept trying to shake off her touch, making him lie down.

Faced with Adeline’s resolute attitude, Casius flinched and could no longer shout, but he tried to persuade Adeline again in a low voice.

“Adeline. I don’t want to put you in danger…”

“Just trust me. When you wake up after a good sleep, the villagers will be much better. I won’t get sick and will be fine, so just think about yourself.”

At Adeline’s words, Casius couldn’t continue speaking and just stared at her blankly.

Seeing her gentle yet confident gaze looking at him, he began to feel a sense of calm.

“Shh. Rest today.”

Perhaps due to the high fever, he felt like the ceiling was spinning.

Casius, who had been suffering from severe dehydration, soon seemed to relax and began to fall back into a deep sleep.

Many things changed from the day after Adeline arrived in Cologne.

The cholera, which had been unnamed and simply called an epidemic, was quickly improving due to Adeline’s swift response.

Treatment progressed rapidly, perhaps thanks to Casius’s timely isolation of patients.

And after they started boiling all food and water before consumption, the number of newly infected patients decreased noticeably. It was fair to say there were almost no new patients.

As the disease that had threatened to spread to nearby villages quickly subsided, even nobles from neighboring villages gathered to help Cologne.

Moreover, the imperial court, which had only dispatched one duke to the endangered Cologne, belatedly sent relief supplies.

“This is all thanks to the duchess. How did you know so much about the disease? It’s simply amazing.”

“That’s right. If it weren’t for the duchess, half of Cologne’s population might have disappeared.”

At the meeting where local nobles and medical staff had gathered.

As the situation improved just two days after Adeline arrived in Cologne, everyone was busy praising her.

But Adeline remained silent in the center, her face stiff.

As if waiting for her answer, people’s attention focused on her, and Adeline reluctantly opened her mouth.

“I simply enjoy reading and have read widely, that’s all.”

Adeline vaguely evaded, unable to say that it was a method she had recalled from memories of her previous life.

“To show such ingenuity from books alone, you are indeed worthy of being the Duchess of Torpeo.”

“As expected of the heir to the Credion viscounty, you are truly brilliant. Madam, you have saved Cologne.”

However, despite the endless praise from people, Adeline’s darkly shadowed face showed no signs of brightening.

“By the way. While everything is improving…”

As a noble sitting at the end of the table broached the subject, the surrounding atmosphere cooled. As if everyone had anticipated what would follow.

Everyone’s gaze turned to Adeline, seated at the center of the table.

“His Excellency shows no signs of improvement… what should we do about this?”

“That’s right. How is it that only the duke remains unchanged while all other patients are improving?”

“Sigh.”

As sighs erupted from all around, Adeline tightly closed her eyes.

The cholera that had swept through Cologne was improving perfectly thanks to Adeline’s quick thinking.

Except for one person, Casius.