“You don’t seem to need to worry.”

The doctor, dressed neatly enough to be rarely seen in this neighborhood, wore a warm smile.

“It’s just a common fever. It’s not any other serious illness.”

“But she’s been suffering for days now.”

Stella answered with a worried voice.

Ever since Mary had suffered from a severe fever last time, she collapsed frequently and easily developed fevers.

Even now, though not as severe as last time, her fever had risen again and she had been lying in bed all day.

“Children get sick often originally.”

The doctor nodded with a smile as if understanding her worry.

“It is indeed a simple fever. However, the problem is the environment.”

“Environment.”

“Yes, yes, since her body is a bit weak, she suffers greatly even from small fevers.”

Wiping his hands with a handkerchief, the doctor looked at Mary once more.

“Please keep the surrounding environment clean and pay attention to what she eats. If you do just that, this level of fever will get better without needing medicine. And Countess Ambrose seems to be in a similar situation.”

The doctor brought up the story of her mother lying in the next room.

“Her chronic illness is one thing, but the reason she can’t get up is because her energy has weakened. I’ll prescribe medicine for both of them for now.”

The doctor took out two medicine bottles from his brown bag and placed them on Stella’s hands.

“As expected, meals are most important. If you have quality meals and walk steadily even a little bit each day despite the difficulty, you’ll soon be able to walk without anyone’s help.”

“Yes.”

Stella nodded with difficulty while tightly gripping the two medicine bottles.

They were medicine bottles that looked expensive at first glance. It seemed like she could get a few coins just by selling these bottles.

How much would such medicine cost? How many coins would she have to pay to buy this medicine?

Stella, who had tried to calculate, soon gave up.

Whatever the amount, it was certainly a price she couldn’t afford.

“Give this one to Miss Mary, and give this medicine to Countess Ambrose twice a day. Since I gave it today, you can start taking care of it tomorrow morning.”

The doctor’s voice and expression were endlessly bright upon learning that the two patients didn’t have serious illnesses, but Stella’s expression was dark.

A clean surrounding environment, quality meals.

They sounded simple, but they were all difficult things for her.

As Stella bit her lips, one strange thing caught her eye. There was nothing familiar.

“Excuse me, Doctor.”

The doctor, who was putting on the coat his assistant had brought as if to leave now, turned around at Stella’s call.

“Do you not use remdri as medicine?”

“You mean remdri grass?”

“Yes. I always received medicine made from that grass.”

“Ah.”

At Stella’s words, the doctor nodded greatly as if one unsolved question had been resolved. Then he spoke carefully.

“Remdri grass certainly has effects on reducing fever, but since it’s quite strong, it often has adverse effects on young people.”

“Ah……”

“For young people, the medicine I gave you will be more effective than remdri grass.”

At the shocking story, Stella felt her throat choke up.

She had deliberately paid more money to get that medicine because remdri grass was said to be good for reducing fever.

“It’s cheap but highly effective, so people usually prefer medicine made from remdri grass.”

As if reading all her thoughts from her expression, the doctor spoke kindly.

But Stella was still unable to recover from the shock.

She thought she had made the best choice, but thinking that it had been like poison to her young sister made it difficult to come to her senses.

“Hah.”

Stella, who had barely seen off the doctor and assistant, placed the two medicine bottles on the bedside table and kept rubbing her dry face.

“Sister.”

When she raised her head at the sound calling her, Mary, with a cold handkerchief on her forehead, was looking at her while breathing heavily.

“Did you call me?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Then she wiggled out her small hand. It meant she wanted her to hold her hand. Stella tightly grasped the small hand.

“Sister’s hand is cool and feels good……”

“Really?”

“Mm-hmm, maybe it’s because I’m holding sister’s hand.”

Mary smiled brightly with her face flushed from the fever.

“My body feels light today.”

That wasn’t a miracle that happened because she held her hand.

“Right?”

It was because the medicine the doctor had given earlier was already showing effects.

“Sister is the best after all, right?”

But she couldn’t tell Mary such things. After putting Mary to sleep, Stella let out a big breath as soon as she closed the door.

Her head was dizzy.

She had thought of going to see her mother lying in the next room, but she sat down right there.

Even without going, it would be similar to Mary. Her complexion would have brightened, and she might open her eyes that had been closed for a long time and smile at her saying, ‘You’re working hard, my daughter.’

‘This isn’t right.’

This shouldn’t be done. She thought so with her head, but other feelings kept surging up.

If she just closed her eyes once, if she just sacrificed a little.

“Sister.”

All her family members could have health and a decent future.

“Are you okay?”

When she raised her head, Sanderson was standing there. He looked completely different from usual.

The vest he had worn patched up several times was gone, and he was wearing decent clothes.

His face, which had always been dirty with soil and soot, was also clean, and his disheveled hair was neatly arranged, making him look like a completely different person from usual.

So he looked exactly like the heir of House Ambrose should.

“You’re not sick, are you?”

Behind Sanderson, who approached in confusion, Uncle, who had gone out with him, was entering the house.

“I’m fine.”

Stella barely got up. A smile hung on her face.

“I was just dizzy for a moment.”

“Sanderson.”

Baizel smiled while grasping his young nephew’s shoulder.

“Tell your sister how much fun you had today.”

“Ah!”

Then Sanderson’s eyes sparkled.

“Today was really fun, sister. Uncle bought me clothes like this too? Isn’t it really cool?”

Perhaps excited, his words were getting faster and faster. Where he had been, what he had learned, how he had ridden a horse for the first time.

“When I rode the horse, my perspective really changed! I felt like my height had grown this much! And also and—!”

“Oh my, Sanderson.”

Baizel smiled brightly while interrupting the child’s words.

“I almost forgot that I have something I must discuss with your sister. Why don’t you go tell your mother about it first?”

“Ah, yes, Uncle.”

Sanderson nodded. As he entered the room where Mother was lying, he glanced at Stella once.

It seemed like he thought something was strange after his excitement subsided.

It’s okay.

When she mouthed those words to her young brother who was worried about her, only then did Sanderson enter the room.

Click, the door closed and the two people sitting at the old dining table looked at each other.

“So, have you thought about it?”

Baizel asked carefully. Stella hesitated and answered as if spitting it out.

“I don’t really know about that, Uncle. Would Duke Rochester and I really suit each other?”

Moreover, the one who had ordered this marriage was none other than the king, the owner of this country.

How did the king, of all people, know about her and arrange a marriage with the duke?

Something was strange. This was a marriage that should be refused.

……Most of all, the duke hated her.

She was also preparing to fold away her feelings.

“Stella.”

But Baizel tightly grasped the hand of Stella, who was hesitating because she couldn’t easily say she wouldn’t marry.

Warm warmth was transmitted through her hand.

“You can speak comfortably.”

When she raised her gaze, Baizel was looking at his nephew, who was troubled, with a kinder face than anyone.

“You come first for us.”

“……Uncle.”

“If you say it’s truly too much, I’ll tell His Majesty that the marriage can’t go through.”

Ahem, as if making a big decision, Baizel nodded while clearing his throat.

Honestly, Stella was moved there.

She knew well that refusing a marriage arranged by the king was difficult without ordinary courage.

This is why family is good.

“However, if you refuse this marriage, it will be hard to expect days like today anymore.”

“……”

“Having a doctor come, having Sanderson receive education as the heir of House Ambrose, that would become difficult.”

It was something she had been prepared for.

“I heard they were also preparing education for Mary. I think they said they’d give us a small but two-story mansion.”

The doctor who had visited the house today, and the education given to Sanderson, were all given under the premise that Stella would marry Duke Rochester.

The scenes she had seen today kept holding Stella back.

The doctor who had much more knowledge than street doctors, medicine so expensive she couldn’t even dream of it, Mary who had almost gotten into big trouble because of her, Mother who had regained energy after a long time.

And the sight of her siblings who had regained the future they should originally have kept coming to mind……

“Everyone would have been happy for sure.”

At Baizel’s bitter murmur, Stella’s heart dropped with a thud.

She should say no.

She should firmly say she wouldn’t marry.

If she married Duke Rochester, that would be.

“……I’ll do it.”

Rather than walking into a pit of fire.

“I’ll marry Duke Rochester.”

It would be a more cruel future.

Think positively.

After nodding as if pushed from behind, Stella couldn’t sleep properly.

She tossed and turned until late at night, and even when she barely fell asleep, she soon woke up and let out a long breath.