Chapter 10

‘Right, the doctor…!’ 

Rykal had told her to call the doctor if anything happened.

Evelyn unfolded the paper where Rykal had written the address. Underneath the address of the mansion, there was the address of the doctor.

She quickly ordered the coachman, who was waiting with the carriage, to bring the doctor as fast as possible.

Soon, the doctor arrived at the mansion and examined Lady Merkel. His expression was extremely grave. 

“Her fever has reached 40 degrees.” 

“So, what does that mean?” 

“If we can’t bring the fever down… I can’t say how much longer she’ll last.” 

Even Evelyn could see that in this condition, Rykal’s grandmother wouldn’t last long.

She didn’t want to get involved in matters related to the plague, but watching someone on the brink of death made it impossible to stay calm.

The doctor packed his bag and spoke.

“Regrettably, there’s nothing more I can do…”

Evelyn, biting her lip, grabbed the doctor’s coat as he was about to leave and she asked, 

“Do you know a plant called Catton?”

“Catton…?” 

The doctor looked puzzled by the unexpected question. But Evelyn was dead serious. 

“Yes, is there any place nearby where it grows?”

* * *

The doctor, still confused, replied that Catton could be found all over the nearby hill.

Evelyn confirmed with the doctor what Catton looked like once again and left the mansion.

Upon reaching the hill, she searched for Catton herself. The coachman was shocked to see a noblewoman scouring the mountain like a herbalist, but when she handed him her necklace, he closed his mouth and started helping her look for Catton. 

Even though she had asked for detailed descriptions, all the plants looked similar, making it difficult to find.

‘So I have to play the role of a herbalist, on top of everything else.’

Finally, she found the Catton and checked it three times to make sure it matched the description given by the doctor. Then, she returned to the mansion. 

In the kitchen, she made a soup with the Catton leaves and various vegetables.

It would probably taste awful. 

Silently apologizing to Rykal’s grandmother, she prepared the mixed soup with Catton.

Evelyn brought the finished soup to the room and looked down at Lady Merkel.

She was still unresponsive, with only her eyelashes flickering.

Evelyn blew on the soup to cool it and slowly fed it to Lady Merkel. 

At first, the soup spilled out of her mouth, but after several attempts, she finally managed to swallow some. 

‘It worked…!’

Evelyn diligently fed the soup to Lady Merkel, moving the spoon vigorously.

After about an hour, the effects of the Catton leaves began to show. Lady Merkel’s fever noticeably subsided, and now her breathing was quite steady. 

Evelyn could finally breathe a sigh of relief. 

At that moment, her gaze fell upon the darkened landscape outside the window. 

Time had passed quickly.

‘I should hurry back.’

It was time for Dyffrin to return home.

He wouldn’t be looking for her, as she wasn’t someone important to him, but if she came back late, Dyffrin might find out about her trip to care for Rykal’s grandmother.

When Evelyn arrived at the mansion, she saw the silhouettes of two men in the first-floor hall through the window.

‘…Dyffrin must have already returned.’ 

The silhouette presumed to be Dyffrin was running his hand through his hair. His movements seemed irritated, as if he was angry about something. 

The man who seemed to be Rykal was bowing his head.

In the serious-looking situation, Evelyn cautiously opened and entered through the main gate. The air felt chilly. 

As she entered, she heard Rykal’s voice, tinged with guilt. 

“I’m sorry, Lord Dyffrin. It’s my fault. I’ll go get Lady Evelyn right away.”

‘Get me?’

Evelyn called out to the somber-faced Rykal.

“Rykal?”

“Lady Evelyn…!”

Rykal lifted his downcast face. Dyffrin, who had also been glaring at Rykal, abruptly turned his gaze.

Spotting Evelyn, Dyffrin’s eyes widened for a moment, then he spoke in a loud voice.

“Evelyn!” 

Dyffrin strode up and stood in front of her. His large physique seemed even more imposing.

“I heard you went to Rykal’s estate. Why on earth did you go there when you knew there was a plague patient?” 

From up close, Dyffrin seemed much angrier than she had thought.

She wondered if Dyffrin was worried that she might have contracted the plague. Because then she could pass it on to him, with whom she lived with.

If that’s why he was so angry, she could understand, but to get this upset over something done for Rykal, who was practically like a sibling to Dyffrin, seemed excessive.

Although Evelyn was irritated by Dyffrin’s sudden anger, she felt that she needed to calmly explain the situation. 

“Rykal had an important appointment with you this afternoon. Since there didn’t seem to be anyone to immediately care for his ill grandmother, I offered to go in his place.”

“That’s not something you should worry about!”

Dyffrin shouted loudly.

Surprised, Evelyn blinked.

Only then did Dyffrin seem to realize and gently removed his hand from Evelyn’s shoulder, which he had been gripping.

“Don’t ever get involved in such matters again.”

Dyffrin coldly spat out the words and walked past Evelyn. The sound of his footsteps ascending the stairs echoed unpleasantly.

Evelyn stood there, bewildered, when Rykal approached her.

“I’m sorry, Lady Evelyn.” 

She didn’t know how many times he had apologized to her today.

“Rykal… Did Dyffrin get angry at me for going to care for your grandmother?”

Rykal gave a bittersweet smile.

“He had every right to be angry. Lord Dyffrin must have been worried that you might fall ill with the plague, since you are rather delicate.”

Evelyn didn’t find this reason very convincing. 

‘Dyffrin, worried about me? The way he had yelled didn’t make him seem like he was concerned at all.’

Furrowing her brow, Evelyn tried to change the subject to comfort the guilt-ridden Rykal. 

“Your grandmother is fine. Her fever went down after she ate. She’s much better now.” 

Evelyn didn’t go into detail about what had happened today.

Rykal already seemed quite troubled by getting scolded by Dyffrin . 

In fact, Lady Merkel had improved to the point where there was no need to worry. 

In a few days, they would probably hear news of her full recovery. 

After thanking Rykal, Evelyn went upstairs. 

Having done things like picking herbs in the mountains and cooking, her whole body felt stiff.

She was about to enter her room, tapping her shoulder with her hand, when she noticed the firmly closed door to the adjacent room. 

‘Hmm…’

The cold expression Dyffrin had worn as he disappeared earlier was bothering her.

Eventually, instead of going to her own room, Evelyn turned her body and stood in front of Dyffrin’s bedroom door.

Knock, knock. 

She knocked, but there was no answer. 

“Dyffrin.” 

She called his name, but still, there was no response from inside.

‘He must be in there, though.’ 

She thought she should just say what she wanted to say and leave. 

“Thank you for worrying about me today.”

Even if it was because he was worried she might have brought the plague to him. It would have been better if he hadn’t gotten so angry.

As Evelyn stared at the unresponsive door, about to turn and leave, the door suddenly swung open.

Dyffrin was standing there with an expressionless face.

He had been quietly listening inside, as she had suspected.

“Come in for a moment.”

Dyffrin seemed to have something he wanted to say. As he stepped aside, Evelyn entered his room.

Clicking the door shut behind her, Dyffrin turned around and silently regarded Evelyn.

“You.”

‘Me…?’

Evelyn waited for Dyffrin’s next words.

“Why did you go to Rykal’s estate?”

Even though she had already answered this, she couldn’t understand why he was asking again.

“As I said before, Rykal had an important appointment with you in the afternoon, so I thought he wouldn’t be able to take care of his grandmother.”

“How did you know Rykal had an important appointment with me?” 

Evelyn hesitated for a moment. She didn’t expect him to ask such a question.

“I talk to Rykal often, so…” 

A faint crack seemed to appear on Dyffrin’s smooth brow. 

Evelyn briefly reconsidered her answer, but no matter how she thought about it, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with it. 

“That’s why, in this case, since I’m close with Rykal, I couldn’t ignore his distress.”

“…Close?”

Evelyn felt a chill in Dyffrin’s gaze. 

“Yes. Since Rykal is close to you, it would be nice if I also became close to him.” 

She said it casually, but she felt his mood souring.

Observing Dyffrin, Evelyn carelessly remarked, 

“Are you… perhaps jealous?”

Dyffrin, who had been clenching his eyes tightly, opened them wide as if he had heard something unbelievable. Then he hardened his expression.

“That’s ridiculous.”

Evelyn nodded.

“That’s good, then. I was surprised to think that you might be jealous of Rykal, of all people.” 

“…” 

“It seems you’re worried I might have brought the plague, but I was very careful, so don’t worry.”

Dyffrin remained silent, but since he wasn’t getting angry, it seemed he had calmed down somewhat.

Evelyn stepped back. 

“If you’re done, I’ll be going now as I’m tired.”

Just as Evelyn was about to open the door and leave, she suddenly turned her head to look at Dyffrin.

“And just a reminder, I won’t be giving you massages while Rykal is around. It would be awkward to be wandering around your room when you have guests.” 

Evelyn assumed he would agree with her and opened the door. 

“Goodnight, Dyffrin.” 

Without any response, Evelyn left, leaving Dyffrin standing there in silence.