Something was wrong.

Anastasia’s body was like a ball of fire as she continued to cry as if begging for help.

What should I do, how should I handle this?

I looked at poor Anastasia’s profile window.

♡PROFILE♡

Name: Anastasia Cromwell

Age: 0

Lady Evaluation: Not provided in Hidden Mode.

Usually the game would provide information when someone is this sick.

But there was nothing.

“Fi-first, I should tell D-Duke Cromwell……”

Still, her parent, Duke Cromwell should know…….

My voice trembled despite my will.

‘I need to find Cromwell,’

♡SYSTEM♡ Your access level is too low! (Access Level: 3)

Ding!

The system window popped up as if reading my thoughts.

What should I do?

This never happened in the game before.

‘Get a grip. This isn’t a game, it’s reality.’

I shouldn’t act carelessly as if responding to a game event.

This is reality without saves or guidelines.

“……”

But my body wasn’t as rational as my mind.

My hands shook violently. I barely managed to pick up Anastasia.

Every place the baby’s body touched felt like it would burn.

I desperately wished that Anastasia’s illness was just my imagination, but the baby was burning hot.

“Help, I need help first……”

Get help first. I need to get help first.

Finding what I needed to do by wracking my brain finally brought back some rationality.

I grabbed Anastasia and ran outside.

Michael was guarding outside the bedroom. When he saw me, his eyes widened.

“What’s wrong…… Oh, why are you crying?”

I didn’t even know I was crying. But there was no time to wipe away tears.

“Tasha…… Anastasia is sick.”

I skipped honorifics, but this wasn’t the time to worry about such things.

Even for someone who roamed battlefields, a baby’s fever seemed unfamiliar as Michael was visibly flustered.

“Please call the mansion doctor quickly.”

I roughly rubbed my eyes.

“Lorelai……”

“I don’t think I should move around. Please bring him here quickly. Hurry.”

I wanted to go with him. But I couldn’t leave in this state. Someone had to watch Anastasia.

“Yes……!”

Michael, now alert, hurriedly left the corridor.

“……”

Silence fell in the corridor after he left.

Now Anastasia seemed too weak even to cry, only groaning in pain.

Seeing this made my heart heavier.

I didn’t want to cry, but tears kept flowing.

There wasn’t even any fever reducer. I felt pathetic and stupid, just stomping my feet and unable to do anything.

I wanted to give her a recovery potion.

Maybe if she drank just a little, it would help reduce the fever…….

‘You shouldn’t carelessly give things to a baby.’

Barely remembering this fact, I returned to the room.

I couldn’t just sit and wait quietly.

I wiped Anastasia’s body with a wet cloth. If it could lower her temperature even a little.

There wouldn’t be any meaningful change. But I needed to do something to keep my sanity.

I held my breath and wiped the baby’s sweat-soaked body.

Tears blurred my vision.

It all feels like it happened because of me.

They say babies don’t get sick for the first few months after birth. What did I do to make her sick?

‘What did I do wrong……?’

Looking for the cause within myself, everything seemed like my fault.

I should have stayed in the bedroom. Even though it was inside the mansion, I shouldn’t have wandered around.

The library would open easily once spring came anyway, I should have been patient. What was the rush?

“When did you start feeling sick?”

I murmured while wiping her tiny arms with the cloth.

There were no special symptoms.

‘Were there really none?’

I couldn’t be certain.

Her condition couldn’t have deteriorated so rapidly in such a short time.

She’s a baby, I should have been more careful. I should have been more prepared. I should have been more ready.

Not treating this like a game…….

‘It’s all my fault.’

Anastasia being sick is my fault.

“I’ve brought Mr. Gordon!”

While surrendering myself to the whirlpool of self-blame, the door burst open and I heard Michael’s voice.

The doctor was beside him.

The elderly man in pajamas looked tired.

“Tsk……”

Gordon clicked his tongue immediately upon seeing me.

I couldn’t say anything.

As he approached the cradle, I moved aside.

“……”

“……”

A heavy silence enveloped the place.

While Gordon examined Anastasia, I remained quiet except for small sounds.

“……Will the lady be alright?”

I barely managed to ask.

It’s almost laughable that I’m the one asking this. The reason Anastasia is sick could be me, no, it must be because of me.

“Since when has she been like this?”

Instead of answering, Gordon asked sharply.

Is he avoiding the answer? Is her condition so serious that he can’t tell me right away?

The sky spun and my heart pounded.

“She’s been crying for about ten minutes.”

My voice shook. What right do I have to cry? Lorelai, speak calmly.

“Speak properly.”

Gordon pointed out my attitude as well.

Taking a deep breath, I continued.

“She’s been crying for ten minutes. When I picked her up to soothe her, her temperature was higher than usual…… so I immediately told Michael to bring a doctor.”

My breath caught. I don’t know if this information will help.

“So you’re saying you don’t know exactly when this started.”

The doctor hit the nail on the head.

“In such cases, just say you don’t know.”

“……”

I nodded.

“Sigh……”

He let out a short but distinct sigh.

My body stiffened, feeling like he was saying it was my fault.

Gordon took out a syringe from the bag he brought.

“Since there are no symptoms other than high fever, I’ll start with reducing the fever.”

After that, Gordon spouted medical terminology.

“Did you understand?”

“……Well, not really……”

I said I was listening. But I couldn’t understand sentences full of technical terms.

“I’m saying she seems to have been infected because you went out too often.”

Gordon finished with those words and administered the injection.

“Waah! Waah—!”

As the sharp needle pierced the delicate skin, Anastasia cried again.

“Call me again if there’s no improvement after three hours. If the fever doesn’t go down……”

The following content didn’t sound good either.

“It will be dangerous. The lady might lose her sight or hearing. Perhaps even both.”

Gordon reminded me of the cruel reality with a calm expression.

“Aren’t your words too harsh?”

“I’m just informing you of the possibilities. I’ll do my best, but I can’t guarantee the outcome.”

When Michael, who had been silent, asked accusingly, Gordon shrugged and answered.

“……I see you haven’t reported to Duke Cromwell yet. Missing such a basic procedure…… I’ll deliver the news myself.”

“……”

“And I don’t know where you heard about this wet cloth business.”

Gordon knocked over the basin of water beside the bed.

“Don’t do it. Nursing that has no effect……”

“……”

“Do you understand?”

“……Yes.”

I answered weakly.

What could I say when the doctor said so?

Gordon had done everything he needed to.

He had completed the treatment and said he would inform Duke Cromwell on my behalf.

The bedroom door closed.

Michael tried to comfort me, saying everything would be fine, but I couldn’t hear a word he was saying.

I sat in the chair and looked at Anastasia.

A baby who can’t even cry yet is suffering because she got the wrong caretaker.

“Lorelai, please rest.”

As I stood up, Michael spoke urgently.

“……How could I possibly rest?”

What right do I have?

“Michael, can you bring some lukewarm water here?”

Even if Gordon said it was useless, it’s hard to just watch and do nothing.

I need to do something. I rolled up my sleeves.

It was going to be a long night.

Day 27 of Being Trapped in a Terrible Game, Day 26 of Tutorial

Jeremiah Cromwell tossed and turned on the sofa again today.

The sound sleep from a few days ago now felt like a fantasy.

That night was unforgettable.

He tried to recapture the sensation from that time.

Wondering if changing from the bed to the sofa wasn’t helping, drowsiness gradually found him.

Just as he was about to surrender to the welcome sensation—

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

‘So much for sleep.’

Jeremiah Cromwell got up.

He hadn’t had high expectations anyway. It would surely have been sleep that woke him from nightmares, just like before.

He walked slowly toward the door.

An unexpected figure stood beyond the door.

“What is it?”

“I greet you, Duke Cromwell.”

It was Gordon.

Someone he hadn’t seen in a long time.

A man he used to meet regularly years ago to treat his insomnia, but with no progress, now they barely met once a year.

Apart from that, he was skilled enough to keep at the mansion.

“……Seeing you awake at this hour, it seems my skills are lacking. I apologize.”

Forgetting that the master of the mansion disliked unnecessary words, Gordon began with a lengthy apology.

“The herbs I developed……”

It was too long for the tired Duke Cromwell.

‘Should I close the door?’

Duke Cromwell contemplated while watching the chattering Gordon.

Just as his hand reached the doorknob, the main point finally came.

“Lady Anastasia is ill.”

“……”

Gordon spoke while looking at Duke Cromwell.

His lack of reaction to the news of his adopted daughter’s illness made observers’ skin crawl.

‘There’s not a trace of affection.’

The way he just stood there without moving immediately…….

Tsk tsk. Gordon clicked his tongue inwardly.

But he just needed to fulfill his role as a doctor.

“Normally, newborns don’t get sick for about 3 months after birth. They inherit their mother’s immunity. But…… if she’s this sick, there’s usually one reason.”

It’s the caretaker’s incompetence.

To neglect a baby until she reaches this state.

“You’re talking nonsense at length.”

However, Duke Cromwell spoke quite differently from Gordon’s expectations.