The Villain's Sickly Wife Dislikes Being Overprotected - Chapter 3.12

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I woke up with a strange feeling.

“Are you awake?”

Kyron was beside me.

The book I had been holding limply was now on the nightstand, and Kyron was sitting next to me, looking at some documents.

I had been sitting up against the headboard earlier, but now I was lying down properly. It seemed Kyron had seen me sleeping sitting up and laid me down properly.

But I couldn’t ask Kyron about this situation.

My physical condition…

“Ugh……”

I pressed my hand firmly against my chest area, feeling nauseous.

Ah, why am I like this?

“Ekette?”

Kyron reacted sensitively to my unusual behavior.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t feel well.”

My head hurt much more than before I fell asleep, and I felt nauseous.

Suddenly, I remembered the story of the hotel staff who had complained of a headache and then vomited. My symptoms were similar to that staff member’s. This suggested something.

If I wasn’t the only one showing these symptoms, there could be a common problem affecting everyone.

The first thing that came to mind was food. There might be a problem with the hotel food we ate today. Or there could be another issue with this hotel. Or it could be something like an epidemic.

Various possibilities came to mind.

“Ekette, are you alright? Are you feeling very unwell?”

Seeing my serious expression, Kyron asked worriedly.

“……You know, I think there might be a problem.”

“A problem? What kind?”

“Remember earlier, a staff member complained of a headache and then vomited? Well, I’m having similar symptoms.”

I explained my current condition to him and also shared the various possibilities I had thought of.

As I spoke, Kyron’s expression gradually darkened.

“Come to think of it, I heard that a few more people outside this room are complaining of dizziness and headaches.”

“A few more?”

I sensed that this situation was serious.

“Yes. Seeing that you have similar symptoms, it doesn’t seem like something we can ignore.”

“Then I should go and see. The people who are sick now, with my own eyes.”

“Will you be alright?”

It wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t move at all.

“Yes, I can go.”

I slowly got up and headed to the lobby with Kyron.

The lobby was quite a different sight from when I had last seen it.

Some were slumped on sofas, leaning back their upper bodies as if in distress, while others were hugging buckets, while vomiting.

The situation was quite serious.

“It looks worse than when I saw it a little while ago.”

Kyron muttered dejectedly.

“Your Grace! Duchess!”

Someone spotted us and came running. It was one of the staff members who had been serving food during meal times.

“What’s wrong?”

“There are too many patients in this building now. Please, do something!”

The staff member clung to us as if we were saviors. As if we could solve something.

“You two can help us, can’t you? Please help us! What if we’ve all caught some disease?”

This one person’s cry amplified everyone’s anxiety.

The staff member’s words acted as a signal flare, and suddenly voices directed at us poured out.

“Please help us, Your Grace!”

“Could it be an epidemic?”

“Are we all going to die in here?”

Fear spread quickly. As soon as someone mentioned ‘epidemic’, everyone instantly started repeating the word.

They all started to fear as if they were about to die right away.

They were worried that everyone would slowly waste away and die together in this small hotel.

I too was gradually being engulfed by such fear.

“What should we do?”

Looking at the chaotic lobby, I quietly asked Kyron.

“It seems everyone is easily swayed by others’ words, being isolated in this heavy snowfall and with the number of patients increasing.”

Kyron answered coolly.

“Seeing the patients right before their eyes must make them more anxious. We need to send the patients to another room and isolate them immediately.”

He had already called for his aide and guard knights.

“Send all the patients to an empty room. If new patients appear, send them to the same room as well.”

“Yes, understood.”

Being Kyron’s people, they carried out the instructions swiftly. They supported the patients one by one and took them to an empty room.

“Would it be possible to bring a doctor even now?”

At my question, Kyron checked outside. We could see snow flying in the darkness.

“The weather doesn’t seem to have improved since earlier. It looks difficult to bring a doctor here.”

Just then, a staff member who had overheard our conversation approached.

“The village doctor’s house is not far from here.”

“How far is it?”

“Usually, it’s about a 30-minute walk.”

“In this weather, it would take much longer.”

Moreover, it was night. The doctor might already be asleep.

“Haa……”

Kyron sighed. He must be conflicted over how to handle this situation. After rubbing his face, he turned his gaze back to me.

“How’s your headache?”

“It’s getting worse.”

Just a few hours ago, it was just a slight throbbing, but now it hurt severely as if my head was being tightly squeezed.

I had thought it was just because many people were gathered in one space, making the air stuffy and causing headaches.

But the symptoms were too severe to be just from stuffy air. The dizziness and nausea were also getting worse. It also felt a bit difficult to breathe.

It would be nice if we could open some windows, but all the windows had been tightly shut all day.

At that moment. Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

“Ah…!”

I grabbed Kyron’s collar tightly.

“What’s wrong? Are you in more pain? Can’t you bear it?”

“That’s not it……”

Perhaps we could solve this situation more easily than we thought.

“We haven’t ventilated at all today, have we?”

“Ventilation?”

His voice suggested he thought it was an out-of-the-blue statement.

“Yes, ventilation.”

I even nodded my head to show him that he had heard correctly.

“The answer might be here.”

Kyron still looked puzzled but thought for a moment before answering.

“To save firewood and keep it warm, we didn’t open the windows. They’re probably locked.”

As I thought.

“We need to open the windows now. All of them.”

“Open all of them? Now?”

Although I couldn’t be sure if this was the real cause, at least fresh air would be needed for the patient’s recovery.

Just then, the hotel owner was passing by in a hurry. He too was in a fluster due to the current situation.

“We need to open all the windows right now.”

I called out to him and said.

“Pardon?”

The hotel owner looked frazzled, covered in sweat. He blinked a few times as if he didn’t understand what I had just said.

“I said we need to open all the windows. I’d appreciate your help.”

“The windows…… You’re saying we need to open them suddenly?”

“Yes.”

I had knowledge from my previous life, picked up from frequent visits to hospitals.

Once, I had seen someone who became critically ill after using a small stove in a tent while camping. I realized then that people could die from such seemingly trivial things.

“Keeping the windows closed all day might be the cause.”

“Pardon?”

“The toxic substances produced by the fireplace couldn’t escape, and that might be causing all this trouble.”

The hotel owner and other staff were listening to me, but they didn’t seem to understand much.

They might already be paralyzed with fear that it could be an epidemic. Or perhaps the knowledge I gained from my previous life was difficult to accept here.

This won’t do. I’ll have to open the windows myself. The most urgent thing was to breathe fresh air.

I headed towards the window. It took a lot of strength to unlock the iron latch. With a grunt, I unlocked it and opened the window wide.