There was a commotion outside the prayer room.

“…What’s happening?”

Just as Diana stood up to check outside, the door burst open.

“Your Highness!”

It was Ian.

“You must leave this place immediately.”

Behind him, the chapel was in chaos.

“What’s going on?”

When Diana tried to go outside after seeing someone had collapsed, Ian blocked her way.

“You must not go near that person.”

The man lying on the floor was coughing so violently it seemed he might stop breathing at any moment.

As soon as the man started coughing, people screamed and scattered.

“What on earth is…”

And at that moment, an incident Diana had forgotten flashed through her mind.

The Bamun fever.

Why had she forgotten about it?

“It’s a fever that’s been spreading in the south since last month. It started on Bamun Island in the south, which is why it’s called Bamun fever,” Ian reported as he quickly kept pace with Diana’s hurried steps.

Natasha was already waiting in front of the office.

“Thank you for taking control of the situation right away, Natasha.”

Natasha simply bowed her head in response.

“Your Highness. The Pope says he must return to the Holy See for his next engagement,” Natasha said.

“…Please tell him I won’t be able to see him off.”

Diana pressed her forehead, trying to stay calm. She resented the situation for not going her way.

“Um… did something happen?”

At that moment, Grinelda appeared from behind Natasha.

“Grin? What brings you here…”

“Well… There’s an article about the Naka region festival, and your interview was featured. The photo came out so well, I wanted to let you know…”

Grinelda handed Diana the newspaper with her interview.

“Did something happen at the palace?”

“…Let’s all come inside for now.”

Following Diana, they entered the office.

Once the door closed, Ian continued his report.

“We don’t know exactly how the fever is transmitted, and there’s no proper treatment, so we can’t do much at the moment.”

“What symptoms do the patients show?” Diana asked.

“They suffer from severe chills due to a high fever and red spots all over their bodies. As you saw in the chapel, they all have severe coughing, vomiting, and dehydration, and in serious cases, even hallucinations.”

Diana noticed that Ian’s expression was especially dark as he explained.

“The fever that started on Bamun Island…”

Bamun Island was the southernmost island in the kingdom.

Administratively part of the southern region, the island was under the influence of the Leheits family.

Was Ian’s dark expression because he was worried about the Leheits family?

While Diana was carefully watching Ian, Grinelda suddenly cried out.

“Bamun Island? Oh no…!”

“What is it, Grin?”

Diana asked in surprise, seeing Grinelda turn pale.

“D-Dale…!”

“Lord Dale?”

“A few days ago, Dale left for Bamun Island! For a film shoot he’s working on…”

“Ugh, that fool, of all places…”

Ian pressed his forehead, exasperated by Grinelda’s words.

***

“It’s been more than a week and we still haven’t found the cause…”

Diana let out a deep sigh.

The epidemic was spreading by the day, and the media was abuzz with news about it.

As the fever spread to the capital, the royal government, still unable to identify the cause or produce a treatment, was the target of public criticism.

“It’s my fault.”

Diana blamed herself as well.

Bamun fever had broken out around the time she left the kingdom.

She had been so focused on investigating her mother that she forgot events were unfolding faster than in her previous life.

“Since it happened while I was away from the capital, I don’t know much about it…”

“Your Highness!”

At that moment, the door burst open and Grinelda rushed in.

“Barging into Her Highness’s room like this is rude, Grinelda,” Ian said.

“I don’t think you’re one to talk, Lord Ian.”

“What did I do?”

“…Never mind.”

Diana rolled her eyes at his shamelessness.

“Grin, did Lord Dale send a reply?”

“Ah… Yes! He finally replied!”

Grinelda handed Diana a letter. The sender was listed as “Dale Bliven.”

“I ran here as soon as I saw the reply… so I haven’t read it yet. What does it say? He’s safe, right?”

Catching her breath, Grinelda asked anxiously.

“…”

But as Diana read the letter, she couldn’t easily speak.

“…It seems Lord Dale is showing symptoms of the fever as well.”

At Diana’s difficult words, Grinelda covered her mouth in shock.

“Still, it’s a relief… It looks like it’s still in the early stages.”

“Ugh, Dale…!”

“Your Highness, where are you going?”

“Lord Ian, please escort Lady Grinelda home. I need to go see my teacher.”

But Ian ignored the order and followed Diana.

“I’ll go with you. You, please escort Lady Rovice.”

“Princess Diana!”

Supported by a servant, Grinelda called out loudly to Diana.

“Let me come with you too! You’re going to see Vice Dean Gilrod, right?”

“Grin.”

Diana called her name as if to calm her.

“I can’t just sit still. I have to do something. Please let me come with you.”

Diana looked at Grinelda for a moment, then hurried her steps again.

“It’s a long way to the lab, so we’ll take horses. Ride behind me.”

When they arrived at the pharmacy research building on the royal university campus, Gilrod and Ash greeted them.

“I’m sorry, but we still haven’t identified the pathogen, so it’s difficult to make a cure,” Gilrod said.

“Severe coughing and vomiting that leads to dehydration… Are there any other diseases with similar symptoms?” Ian asked Gilrod.

“There are plenty of such diseases. But this one is strange because of the hallucinations. I’ve never heard of hallucinations being contagious,” Gilrod explained with a deep sigh.

“Hallucinations are usually temporary and irregular, but Bamun fever causes vivid visual, olfactory, and tactile hallucinations in patients while they sleep. It’s like experiencing a nightmare while awake. Ash, put those herbs over here instead.”

As Gilrod gestured, Ash came over, struggling with a heavy basket of herbs.

“This is… Dallis, right?”

“You remember, Your Highness.”

It was one of the herbs prescribed when Queen Isabella’s cough worsened.

“Yes. You also warned me to be careful with Terromlia family herbs because of resistance.”

“As expected of Your Highness. You remember everything I’ve said.”

“Are you prescribing this herb to Bamun fever patients as well?”

“We did. But while it slightly reduces coughing, it doesn’t really improve the condition. Right now, all we can do is try to reduce the coughing.”

“Do you only use the root of this Dallis herb?”

Watching Ash trim and separate only the roots, Ian asked.

“Terromlia herbs grow in dry regions, so only the roots retain moisture. It’s the moisture in the roots that makes them effective for coughs. But even Dallis, which we’re barely able to prescribe, will be hard to cultivate in winter.”

Ash replied.

“So there’s nothing else we can do right now…”

Diana sighed in frustration, and the others couldn’t hide their concern either.

“Um… About what you mentioned earlier. You said it’s a flower that grows in dry regions?”

At that moment, Grinelda asked Ash.

“It looks like a flower, but it’s actually an herb. Unless you look closely, all Terromlia herbs look like wildflowers.”

Even as she meticulously cleaned each Dallis root, Ash answered sincerely.

“Then… is that red flower also a Terromlia herb? I saw a flower like that in the Oron Republic before. Dallis has purple petals, but the shape is very similar.”

“Are you talking about Yuralis?”

“I’m not sure about the name. I don’t know much about plants… But I remember they used it as a medicinal herb in Oron too.”

“Yuralis?”

Hearing Grinelda, Gilrod’s already grim expression darkened further.

“Yuralis… Yes, it’s much more effective than Dallis for coughs and reducing fever. If we can just bring the fever down, the condition might gradually improve.”

“Teacher, have you found a solution?”

Diana, seeing Gilrod deep in thought, stepped forward with hope.

“Ahem… It’s not that I haven’t considered Yuralis. But Yuralis doesn’t suit our kingdom’s soil at all. We’ve tried cultivating it here several times, but always failed.”

“In Oron, they said it can only be grown in areas close to the desert. The red petals are so pretty that I wanted to bring it to the Rovice Hotel, but the conditions weren’t right, so I gave up.”

Grinelda spoke with disappointment.

“If we only had the roots, we could try making a medicine.”

Hearing Ash’s words, Diana grew more anxious.

“We can ask the Oron Republic for help. I’ll send an official letter right away.”

“How much do we need?” Ian, who had been quietly observing, asked.

“We’ll need a considerable amount. The number of patients is increasing. Can we manage with a short-term import?”

“Well…”

Caught off guard, Gilrod couldn’t answer easily.

“Before we ask for help blindly, we have to prepare for a long-term situation, Your Highness. The Republic might demand unreasonable terms.”

“So are you saying we should just do nothing?”

Frustrated, Diana raised her voice.

“Who said we should do nothing? I’m saying we’ll have to solve this ourselves in the end.”

“I know that! But even if we have to borrow someone else’s help or meet their demands, we need to get the medicinal herb that could become a cure as soon as possible!”

As the argument between Diana and Ian threatened to erupt, the others didn’t know what to do.

Just then—fortunately or unfortunately—a researcher from Gilrod’s lab burst in, out of breath.

“V-Vice Dean! There’s a strange rumor going around about Bamun fever!”

The content of the rumor the researcher brought left everyone in the lab in shock.