“Poison? What do you mean? Why suddenly?”

“It seems poison was mixed into the coffee that the master enjoys drinking. We’re currently tracking it, but nothing has been confirmed yet.”

Unlike Riley who turned pale, Sack was very calm. She seemed very familiar with this kind of situation itself.

“Poison often comes in originally, but in this case, it seems to be a new type of poison that the master hasn’t experienced before. He collapsed because he has no immunity to it.”

“…Is there no danger to his life?”

“I can’t be certain, but probably not.”

“…Probably?”

“Even if it’s an extremely potent poison that takes life in an instant, it can’t easily take a magician’s life. When something goes wrong with their body, magicians use magic to maximize their regenerative abilities.”

“…”

“He’ll probably be unconscious like that for at least a few days to a few weeks at most until his body fully adapts to this poison and develops immunity. Or even if he regains consciousness, he’ll be ill and bedridden. If he regains consciousness that would be fortunate, but if he remains unconscious, well… I can’t guarantee he’ll wake up unscathed.”

Looking at the pale Riley, Sack patted her and encouraged:

“Don’t worry too much. Poison isn’t that fatal to magicians. Unless his throat is cut at once, or his heart is stabbed, or he suffers a fatal wound to a vital spot, he won’t easily die from something like this. However, his body will be greatly weakened. Since he’ll be continuously using large amounts of magic, in the long term, it will significantly reduce his lifespan.”

Is this a situation not to worry about?

Sack’s very calm attitude was strange. He’s lying there like a dead person, really looking like a living corpse…

“So we should pray he regains consciousness?”

“For now, yes. We don’t know the type of poison, so we can’t rashly use medicine, and there’s not much we can do. For now, we plan to call a magical doctor to continuously monitor his condition.”

“…”

“Please take good care of the master by his side. I need to return to the magic tower.”

“Alright, don’t worry and go.”

After Sack left the mansion, Riley sat by the bedside looking at Givnen.

Head maid Sophia came in carrying a wet towel.

“You must have been very surprised, young lady.”

“Not just Sack, but you’re also very calm, Lady Sophia.”

“The master has often had such incidents since he was young. So now there’s nothing to be surprised about.”

“…Since he was young?”

“Inevitably, he’s in an environment where he can’t help but have many enemies around him.”

“…”

“Just being born as the legitimate heir of the Rianster family means he can’t help but have many enemies, and after entering Horizon, the number of competitors increased, making it worse. After becoming the magic tower master… well, needless to say.”

Thinking that his world must have had many hardships too, Riley kept her mouth shut.

When she first saw him, she just thought he was enviable. A person living in a completely different world. A person who has everything.

She didn’t think there would be shadows behind that splendor. Even if there were shadows, she didn’t think they would be more miserable than hers.

She had only imagined what it would feel like to look down on others while having a luxurious and splendid life with everything, but she had never thought about the weight of that position, about the things one has to bear.

“It must have been terribly frightening.”

“It must have been frightening, and very lonely and solitary. Because he’s always endured alone without relying on anyone.”

“I’ll nurse him.”

“Will you? Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Sophia handed over the wet towel and ice pack before leaving.

Riley smiled bitterly. It was their first time together in this bedroom, but seeing him lying there as if dead didn’t feel good. Her heart ached. While everyone else was calm, Riley found it difficult to maintain composure.

Riley carefully wrapped her fingers around his large, pale hand.

“Wake up soon.”

I’ll wait.

In the early dawn.

Givnen slowly opened his eyes. As soon as he saw the familiar ceiling, he frowned.

The ceiling he had always faced whenever he was in his worst condition. Whenever he was sick, collapsed, or something was wrong with his body, he always woke up here. That’s why Givnen didn’t like his personal bedroom in the mansion. It was a space where he faced his weakened self.

‘…What a mess.’

Even though he had regained consciousness, his body was still struggling with the poison.

He didn’t know what kind of poison it was, but this poison seemed to be beyond deadly, an extreme toxin. It had been a while since his body had been this thoroughly wrecked. His body, somehow fighting against the poison, was in complete disarray.

His paralyzed body wouldn’t move, his insides felt like they were on fire, burning and bitter. Not only did he have a splitting headache, but his airways were constricted, making it hard to breathe. The pain was one thing, but the frustration of not being able to move at will was the most agonizing.

With poison this severe, he would have to lie in bed motionless for at least 3 days.

Givnen hated this. Rather than dying, having to endure this helplessness with a body like a living corpse evoked fear of not knowing when, where, or how he might be attacked again.

When the body breaks down, the mind follows. As the body couldn’t keep up with the mind, he became sensitive.

That’s why when Givnen was injured, he spent time alone without anyone by his side. Because he couldn’t trust anyone. Because others were beings who could suddenly pull out a knife anywhere, anytime.

But why…

‘Are you here?’

As he slightly turned his gaze, he saw someone sleeping face down by the bedside.

Givnen spat out his irritation.

Nursing was not welcome at all. At least everyone in this mansion should know not to be by his side when he’s sick, so why didn’t they send Riley away?

Givnen didn’t want to show such a weak and helpless appearance in front of Riley. He also didn’t want her to stay by his side and take care of him. Now that he was as sensitive as he could be, it was better to be alone.

Because in front of her, he wasn’t confident he could perfectly control his overly sensitive emotions.

“Mmm.”

Riley, who had fallen asleep holding a wet towel, opened her eyes.

Givnen blinked slowly as he watched her. Seeing this, Riley was startled.

“You’re awake?”

“Why are you doing this here.”

“Because you’re sick…”

“I don’t like having someone by my side when I’m sick. I appreciate the thought, but you should go now.”

Riley blinked in confusion at the cold tone, different from usual.

Givnen turned his head away, not wanting to see that look. Even if she was hurt, it couldn’t be helped. He wasn’t in a state delicate enough to consider her feelings. He didn’t have the composure to treat her kindly and gently as he usually did.

However, Riley, who seemed momentarily surprised, soon changed her expression and stuck close to him.

“No, first take this medicine.”

“…”

“You’re sick, you shouldn’t be alone.”

Riley placed her hand on Givnen’s forehead as if nothing was wrong.

“The fever seemed to have gone down for a moment, but it’s rising again. Wait, I’ll bring some medicine.”

“Don’t bring medicine, just go.”

“I said no.”

“I said go. You’re not listening at all.”

“How can I just leave a sick patient?”

“I’m fine, so go. Go and sleep. Don’t stubbornly suffer for nothing.”

Instead of answering, Riley went outside.

Givnen let out a low sigh after Riley left. He wanted to speak as compliantly as possible, but his emotions were not under control. Right now, just swallowing and enduring this irritation was burdensome enough.

As he was thinking he should apologize to her later when his body was fully recovered, the door opened and Riley returned.

She had brought medicine.

“Let’s take the medicine.”

“…Were you always this stubborn?”

“I thought this was a situation that called for being stubborn.”

“…”

“It’s lonely to be alone when you’re sick.”

“Not for me.”

“You’re just pretending it’s not.”

Riley slightly opened Givnen’s mouth and fed him the medicine with a spoon.

Givnen, unable to move his body at will, took the medicine she fed him without being able to resist even once.

As he was looking at her in bewilderment, this time she soaked a towel in cold water, wrung it out, and started wiping his sweat. After wiping his sweat like that, Riley even went to get new clothes.

“I think it would be good to change clothes. You’re all drenched in sweat.”

“You’re going all out to take care of me, aren’t you.”

“There’s nothing I can’t do.”

Givnen couldn’t understand why Riley was going this far.

“Why are you going out of your way to suffer?”

“Because you’re sick.”

“Or you could just order the servants.”

“According to Lady Sophia, you’ve always never let anyone stay by your side. Even if other servants were placed, it was obvious you’d chase them away, so I decided to stay.”

“Then you know well that I don’t like having someone by my side, yet you’re still doing this?”

“I think it’s unavoidable to be disliked in the current situation.”

Riley hesitated, then removed the shirt Givnen was wearing and started wiping off the sweat that had soaked through. Then she held out new clothes.

“Can’t you move?”

“…”

“I thought so. If you could move, you would have chased me away already.”

“…”

“I’ll help you put it on.”

Riley carefully raised Givnen’s body and helped him change into a new gown.

Seeing how devoted she was, Givnen couldn’t nag anymore and kept his mouth shut.

No matter what he said, she didn’t seem like she would leave. Thinking she was so stubborn that he wondered if she had always been this obstinate, Givnen finally gave up on chasing her away and half-closed his eyes.

As the medicine started to take effect, drowsiness began to pour in.

“Sleep if you’re sleepy.”

“…”

“No matter how much you glare at me like that, it’s no use. How can I leave a sick patient alone.”

“…”

“There’s nothing as pitiful as being alone when you’re sick. I… I hated the times when I was sick and groaning alone more than dying. I felt much lonelier, more scared, and craved affection more than usual. I always thought it would be nice if someone would hug me when I was sick. When a person is physically ill, their heart becomes weak too. When you become weak, you want to depend on someone. But not having anyone to depend on… it’s too painful and sad.”

Givnen turned his head to avoid Riley’s gaze.

To be honest, he had nothing to say. He was good at hiding emotions, but he hadn’t learned how to eliminate them.

This is probably why he wanted to be alone when he was sick. Because he didn’t want to show his raw emotions to others. Because he didn’t want to show his lonely and dependent side. Because he didn’t want to depend on anyone.

“I’ll stay by your side at least until you can move your body a little.”

“Why are you going this far?”

“You did the same for me.”

“…”

“You stayed by my side continuously when I was sick. You even took care of my medicine. Why did you go that far then?”

Givnen was at a loss for words.

Why did he do that then? Just because that face, limp like a corpse, bothered him.

Given the situation where she had been kidnapped and nearly killed, he couldn’t leave her alone. He could have just called medical staff to take care of her, but he stayed by her side, that was…

“To curry favor.”

“…”

“That’s all it was.”

Riley smiled weakly at Givnen’s words.

“I know.”

“…”

“I’m doing this to curry favor with you too.”

“…”

“So get better soon.”

There was no more conversation after that. Givnen didn’t answer, and Riley didn’t speak to him anymore either. She just diligently wiped his sweat with the wet towel.

The night deepened like that. Quite a long time passed. Two hours? Three hours? Unable to check the clock, he couldn’t know exactly how much time had passed, but it seemed about two or three hours had gone by.

By then, Riley started nodding off. Her head swayed left and right, and her usually straight back wobbled unsteadily. She looked like she might fall over at any moment.

Givnen looked at Riley with uneasy eyes and wiggled his hand.

Whether it was because of the medicine, or because time had passed and the paralysis from the poison had eased a bit, he could move one arm now.

‘…How foolish.’

Givnen reached out his hand. Then he gently supported Riley’s head, which was swaying left and right mercilessly. Riley jerked awake, opening her eyes wide. She probably was surprised by the fact that she had dozed off.

Givnen’s hand, which had lost its place, grabbed Riley’s wrist and pulled her sharply.

“Wh-what?”

Riley’s body was helplessly pulled towards him, falling onto his body. Startled, Riley raised her head to look down at Givnen. Then Givnen sighed and said:

“If you’re going to nurse me, do it properly.”

“Sorry, I fell asleep without realizing. I’ll stay wide awake.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“?”

“Lie down beside me.”

Looking at Riley’s eyes that had grown so large they seemed about to pop out, Givnen said calmly:

“Sleep next to me.”

“…”

“Don’t doze off in such an uncomfortable position.”

“I’m not sleeping, I have to take care of you.”

“If you’re going to do it, sleep first and then do it. How are you going to take care of anyone in that state?”

As Riley hesitated, Givnen pulled her again with one arm and laid her down beside him.

“Come on, quickly.”

“…”

“If you’re not going to sleep, then leave. The bed is wide, so sleep far away. I’ll probably keep sweating.”

Riley stared at him grumbling for a while, then smiled.

“Get better soon.”

There was no answer in return. But as if it didn’t matter, Riley closed her eyes.