“Open your eyes, Clea.”

At the familiar voice, my heavy eyelids finally lifted. Right in front of me, Thadeus watched with a completely rigid expression, while beside him, the elderly man I’d seen before examined my body.

“Where… am I?”

“The inner room. You fell asleep, so I moved you to the bed.”

My body felt even more chilled than before, seemingly wracked with shivers. Even under the thick blanket, my body kept trembling.

My throat tickled with an impending cough—my condition must have worsened in the meantime. As I pulled the blanket up to my chin, a cautious voice continued.

“At present, it appears to be a fever from a cold. I’ll prepare fever-reducing medicine that can bring down your temperature quickly. When you’re in too much pain to sleep at night, brew these flowers into tea and drink it—you’ll feel much more comfortable.”

At the doctor’s words, Thadeus threw out various questions. Was there any serious problem? What if the fever wouldn’t go down? And what else should he be careful about? 

After that lengthy conversation, the old man bowed and left the room.

I stared blankly at the medicine the doctor had prepared, then forced my heavy body upright. Rather than staying here like this, it seemed better to get home as quickly as possible.

“Lie down a bit longer.”

Thadeus blocked my way. Even when I tried to get out of bed, his actions to make me lie back down irritated me.

“I’m going home.”

“Where do you think you’re going in that condition? You’d be better off resting here until you feel better.”

“How do you know when I’ll feel better?”

“Whenever that is.”

I had a bad feeling about this. My body had no strength, and the world spun around me—it felt ominous, like the calm before a storm. 

My condition was already strange, and I had absolutely no desire to stay in an unfamiliar place with people I wasn’t comfortable around.

“Even if I’m sick, it’s better to be sick at home. So don’t stop me.”

Thadeus still looked reluctant, but seemed to back down at my firm attitude. Instead, he stubbornly insisted on taking me home.

“The more you act like this, the more you’re just delaying my trip home, you know? Even now, Rachel must be waiting for me at the lake.”

“Your precious Rachel isn’t there.”

“Why wouldn’t Rachel be there?”

“I sent her to the estate first.”

“What? Rachel wouldn’t just go along with that…”

“Because I said I’d take you there myself.”

Given Rachel’s stubborn personality, she would have refused to leave without me and stood her ground. But since she was someone who supported Thadeus and me, she might have stepped aside with good intentions.

Without me, Rachel can’t return to the estate alone.

I wondered if she was wandering around near the estate because of me. For Rachel’s sake, if nothing else, I needed to get back quickly.

“Fine, then take me home.”

With the carriage to take me home gone, I couldn’t insist any further. When I reluctantly agreed, Thadeus wrapped my body tightly in the blanket. Then he lifted me up just like that and carried me outside.

“What do you think you’re doing right now!”

“You’re heavy when you move, so just stay still.”

I squirmed in the blanket wrapping, and Thadeus silently carried me like that. At our bizarre appearance, the estate servants’ eyes went round. Each time their gazes touched me, I wanted to hide in a mouse hole.

“Why are you doing this to me…!”

“Didn’t you hear what the doctor said? He said not to be exposed to cold air.”

Even so, this was too much. Could he be taking revenge for everything that had built up? My condition was already poor, and being tormented on top of that made resentment well up inside me.

“You’re really annoying, Thadeus.”

“What? Are you crying?”

Normally, I would never have shown tears over something like this. However, with my head dizzy and my physical condition poor, it was hard to suppress my surging emotions.

At my tearful voice, Thadeus stopped walking. Only then did he set me down on the ground and unwound the blanket that had been wrapped around my body like shackles.

“Why are you crying?”

He looked uncharacteristically flustered. When I kept asking him to put me down, he didn’t even pretend to listen. I felt even more wronged and barely held back tears that threatened to pour out.

“I don’t cry over something like this.”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong, so don’t cry.”

His obedient apology irritated me instead. Thadeus looked at my tear-filled eyes and muttered that he didn’t know what to do when I acted like this.

That sight suddenly reminded me of the old Thadeus. When I burst into tears at his mean words, he would turn pale and be busy trying to comfort me.

“Why, why are you crying? Is it because I called you ugly?”

He’d quickly pull out chocolate from his pocket—chocolate he normally found disgusting—and shove it into my mouth. 

He’d coax and comfort me with insincere words, saying I was much prettier than the famous young ladies Cherona and Amandre, the flowers of the empire, and I would laugh cheerfully, forgetting I’d even cried.

I was such a fool too.

I glared quietly at Thadeus, then turned my body sharply. My condition was still terrible—cold sweat broke out and my vision swam—but I walked resolutely.

When we’d almost reached the carriage, Thadeus grabbed my hand. Wondering what the problem was now, I looked at him with narrowed eyes, and unexpected words flowed from his mouth.

“You need to hold hands to raise your body temperature.”

“Who said that?”

“The doctor.”

I couldn’t recall any such statement in the conversation the two had shared earlier. The absurd excuse was ridiculous, but I couldn’t dislike the heart full of concern.

Who would believe that?

The hand he held so tightly didn’t let go even after we boarded the carriage. When I said it was getting uncomfortable, he scolded me instead, asking if I knew how important maintaining body temperature was. 

On top of that, using the excuse that he couldn’t let go of my hand, he deliberately sat right next to me instead of in the empty seat across from us.

“You know you’re really strange today, right?”

“Well, whose fault is it for getting sick?”

Thadeus acting persistently unlike usual felt unfamiliar, but I couldn’t deny the fact that the warmth of our touching hands was pleasant. 

Moreover, his large hand that covered mine completely and then some gave me a strange sense of security, and his broad shoulders were perfect for leaning my tired body against.

Sitting like this made my heart feel all warm and fuzzy. It seemed like my heart was tingling. 

With the pleasant drowsiness, my eyelids kept closing. With my consciousness growing increasingly hazy, I reminded him several times.

“Don’t forget to bring Rachel too. She’s probably waiting for me near the estate.”

“I know, so rest a bit.”

I slowly blinked my eyes, closed them for just a moment, and when I opened them again, I saw the familiar chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

I was definitely in the carriage with Thadeus just a moment ago…!

No matter how I thought about it, I had no memory of returning home. Then someone must have brought me here. As I bolted upright, the towel on my forehead fell onto the blanket with a plop.

“Are you feeling a bit better, Miss? Should I bring you some water?”

“Rachel…? Why am I here?”

“Young Master Thadeus carried you home while you were sleeping.”

There was no way my parents didn’t see that. Even if they hadn’t seen it, the news would have reached them quickly through the servants. If they’d gotten the wrong idea, I had no clue how to explain—my future looked bleak.

Rachel was manageable somehow, so that didn’t matter, but my parents were a different story. As I tried to get up, Rachel spoke urgently.

“You need to stay lying down! Your forehead is burning up right now.”

“What did my parents say? Are they angry… or looking at me strangely?”

“Not at all, so just lie down.”

At Rachel’s insistence, I had no choice but to lie back down on the bed. My parents, who would normally be singing about getting married quickly, couldn’t possibly let this opportunity pass. Their silence seemed very strange.

“Why… is it so quiet? They should be asking what happened by now.”

“I don’t know either. They were a bit surprised when they first saw you, Miss… but after going into the drawing room with the young master and talking, they just said they understood and didn’t say much else.”

How unusual. What on earth did Thadeus say to sweet-talk my parents into letting this pass without any fuss? Given Thadeus’s wicked nature, it seemed more plausible that he’d threatened my parents.

If I ask what Thadeus said, they might bombard me with questions about our relationship. I should play dumb as much as possible.

When night came, my condition plummeted to its worst. The fever was so high I couldn’t sleep at all. Even drinking the medicine from the doctor and the tea that was supposed to help with sleep was useless.

As I groaned while breaking out in cold sweat, Rachel fretted about what to do with her poor miss. Falling asleep and waking repeatedly like that, hazy memories from my childhood surfaced in my dreams.

* * *

When I was young, I was busy following Thadeus around wherever he went. He was the first friend I’d made in my life, so I found him fascinating, and I didn’t dislike him despite the mean things he often said. 

To add more explanation, it was because of Thadeus’s caring side that only I knew about.

Though he usually found me annoying, his gaze was always directed at me. If I fell while trying to follow Thadeus as he tried to leave me behind, he’d come running with an urgent expression.

Each time, harsh nagging would follow about how a newborn calf would walk better than me. But somehow those words sounded to me like he was worried sick, so I didn’t mind.

“Are you worried about me right now, Teddy?”

“Wh-when did I ever worry about someone like you! I’m just afraid that if you get scarred, you’ll get even uglier!”

Back then, I was often teased by boys my age. Whether it was because I was small, or if there was some other reason they disliked me, I still don’t know to this day.

Whenever news reached him that some boy from another family had bullied me, it wouldn’t be long before Thadeus went and thoroughly taught them a lesson.

The methods were quite varied too. 

He’d designate them as wooden sword sparring partners and toy with them as he pleased until they wet themselves and became laughingstocks, or hang them upside down from trees until they burst into tears. 

He used other cruel methods beyond imagination.

The children who got punished by Thadeus like that never dared to bully me again. Even though he didn’t go around openly saying it was because of me, it was hard to accept as mere coincidence that only people who bullied me ended up in miserable states.

Thadeus seemed strange to me. Why couldn’t he tolerate others bullying me when he said mean things to me himself? 

I couldn’t understand it at all. After holding back my curiosity, one day I asked him outright.

“Why did you punish Timmy?”

“I didn’t punish him because of you, so don’t get the wrong idea. His face suddenly looked annoyingly ugly.”

“Then why did you roll James in the manure field before that?”

“He…! His cackling laugh sounded too frivolous.”

James was famous for being expressionless all the time. So few people had seen him laugh properly that you could count them on one hand. How frivolous would his laughter have to be to deserve being rolled in a manure field?

“…Are you sure?”

“Yes. It’s obvious to anyone… Don’t go around crying about it, ugly.”

Then came a certain day. That day, unlike usual, I threw a tantrum and went on a picnic deep into the mountains with the maids.

At that time, I was obsessed with rumors about a golden dragon—I believed the fairy tale-like story that if you happened to meet one, it would grant any wish.

I’ll meet the golden dragon and ask it to make me a chocolate mine. Then I can share lots of sweet chocolate with the people of the empire!

But on the very day I left, heavy rain poured down, and to make matters worse, I got lost and separated from the maids who were with me. I even misstepped and fell somewhere, but fortunately my clothes caught on a tree branch, so I wasn’t badly hurt.

“Rachel? Amanda! Where is everyone…!”

Darkness had settled over what had been a bright world. On top of that, my whole body was soaked with rain, and my body temperature had turned colder than ice.

There wasn’t a person in sight, and whenever I heard an animal’s cry while walking, the fear that I might be eaten made it hard to maintain my composure.

It’s so cold and dark here. I won’t be left here alone forever, will I?

While walking aimlessly like that, I discovered a small cave. It was a cozy space perfect for resting alone.

I huddled inside the cave watching the drizzling raindrops, and gradually grew hungry. My anxiety intensified, and bad thoughts kept surfacing in my mind.

Am I being punished because I’m a bad child? If I’d known this would happen, I should have told my parents I loved them more often.

It was the moment fear began to consume me. Just when the tears I’d been holding back were about to flow, I heard a sound from somewhere.

When I listened carefully, it wasn’t an animal’s cry but a person’s voice. If I hadn’t heard wrong, the owner of that voice was desperately searching for me right now.

“Clea, where are you! If you can hear my voice, say something!”

Surprised for only a moment, the voice that had been getting closer started to grow distant again. At this rate, I might be alone again. 

The faces of my family waiting for me appeared before my eyes, and I wanted to go home as soon as possible. I shouted at the top of my lungs with all my strength.

“I’m here! So please don’t leave me behind!”

“Clea…? Keep shouting so I can figure out where you are!”

“I’m here, right here! Below the big chestnut tree hill!”

Whether the mention of below the chestnut tree hill served as a hint, the voice sounded closer than before.

“I’ll come down right away, so don’t move and wait there!”

The person coming down from above was Thadeus. 

His purple hair was completely soaked with rain from running around frantically, water dripping down, and his usually neat clothes were a mess, covered in dirt. 

He looked at me with an expression like he was about to cry, then suddenly got angry.

“What were you thinking coming into these mountains? If you’d been unlucky, you might have already been eaten by a wild beast! Why would you, Clea, do something so reckless that even a five-year-old wouldn’t do!”

I was the one who’d had the hardest time. I was scared I’d never see my family again and starve to death like this. 

But Thadeus’s complexion was deathly pale, like he was about to collapse, and his voice trembled endlessly, so I couldn’t say anything.