Companion

“Mother!”

“Kata… cough cough!”

By the time we arrived, the Duchess’s condition was already dire.

She could not even finish a sentence now, and the slightest breath sent her into a fit of coughing.

When I saw her before, she was weak but had always kept a smile; now, she couldn’t even manage a smile, her pale face contorted only in pain.

“Mother…”

Seeing her mother in this state, the Young Miss’s face filled with grief.

The Duke and the others, who were already standing by, also wore expressions of deep worry.

“Katarina, I’m alright… cough cough cough!”

The Duchess most likely wanted to comfort Lady Katarina, but speaking so much only made her cough more violently.

‘…Is that black liquid leaking from between her fingers… blood?’

Has it already gotten this severe?

“Selina! Don’t speak anymore!”

“…!”

The Young Miss’s eyes widened; she likely never imagined her mother’s illness had progressed to this stage.

“…Katarina, come out for a moment. Ailena, you too.”

Just then, the Duke called us out.

“The Madam’s condition is extremely grave.”

The man standing before us was said to be the most skilled doctor in the kingdom.

The king had once tried to recruit him as a royal physician, but he had refused, citing the need to care for his elderly mother.

“The cause of the illness is unknown.

At least, with current medical techniques, it is completely undetectable… If the root cause cannot be found, then even I am powerless.”

For even him to say so, it seemed the situation was truly critical.

These words also pierced the Young Miss’s heart.

She stood frozen in place, a look of disbelief on her face.

As if unable to accept this reality, she suddenly grabbed the hem of the doctor’s coat and shouted at him:

“Aren’t you the best doctor in the kingdom!? Save my mother! How can you call yourself the best if this is all you can do!”

“Katarina!”

The Duke rebuked the Young Miss.

Then, he looked toward the doctor.

“…Is there really no other way?”

“If we can determine the cause of the illness, there is still hope for her survival.”

“Then… Selina… how much longer can she hold on?”

“Based on her current condition, about three months. But if she receives excellent care, a few more months might not be impossible.”

“…Is that so. I understand. Thank you, Doctor Pino.”

“I am only doing what I can… I must be on my way to my next patient.”

With those words, Doctor Pino departed.

“Father!”

As soon as Doctor Pino’s figure vanished, the Young Miss immediately glared at the Duke, challenging him:

“You don’t care about Mother at all…”

But she stopped abruptly, halfway through her sentence.

The reason was simple: she saw the Duke’s fists clenched tight, his teeth gritted, his body trembling uncontrollably.

To have his partner suddenly handed a death sentence, he must be feeling utterly unwilling to accept it, too.

“But… it is not yet time to give up.”

The light of hope rekindled in the Duke’s eyes.

“Doctor Pino said that if we can determine the cause of the illness, there is still a chance to save her…”

“But if even the best doctor can’t find it, how are we supposed to?”

“I have a clue.”

After a pause, the Duke continued:

“After Vladimir infiltrated the estate, Selina’s health suddenly deteriorated.

Before, she was merely frail, with no threat to her life… But after that, it suddenly became an unidentifiable and life-threatening strange illness… It is far too much of a coincidence.”

As he spoke, the Duke looked at me.

“Ailena, you saw it too, didn’t you? The moment Vladimir made his little move.”

At the Duke’s words, I recalled that night—Vladimir’s strange pause that had saved my life.

Indeed, he had done something in the mansion at that moment.

I just never imagined he had targeted the Duchess.

“As long as we can capture Vladimir, there is a chance to save Selina!”

The Duke clenched one fist, seemingly having made up his mind to fight Vladimir to the bitter end.

‘…But, to be honest, the chances are slim.’

This demon, Vladimir, comes and goes like a shadow.

The Duke’s forces have surely been investigating him all this time, yet they’ve found not a single clue.

“Selina needs to rest quietly during this time… I will arrange for several more maids to care for her.

Meanwhile, I will do everything in my power to track down Vladimir… Katarina, you need not worry about such things.

Just do what you want to do, and rest easy.”

“What do you mean, I don’t need to worry…”

Before the Young Miss could finish, the Duke strode away, his pace hurried, nothing like his usual calm demeanor.

“…”

Her face clouded over, and the Young Miss returned to her own chambers.

After her bath, the Young Miss sat on her bed, her arms wrapped around her knees, not saying a word.

She had remained in this state for a full two hours.

‘…She seems quite despondent.’

Well, any child in this situation would be.

Seeing her like this was truly unbearable.

I moved closer to the Young Miss, sat down beside her, and pressed my shoulder against hers.

I extended an arm, wrapping it around her slender waist, trying my best to transfer my body heat to her.

“Hey… Ailena, do you think Mother can still be saved?”

Suddenly, the Young Miss spoke.

Perhaps because her head was buried between her legs, her voice sounded muffled.

“…”

‘Saying something reassuring to comfort her would surely be the best course of action right now.’

But saying something like that would be too irresponsible; in reality, the Duchess’s survival rate was probably one in ten thousand.

“I don’t know…”

Hearing this, the Young Miss hugged her legs even tighter, and her body began to tremble slightly.

“I don’t know, but…”

This time, I wrapped both arms around the trembling little golden pufferfish, pressing my body gently against hers.

“I will always be by your side, Young Miss.

Now, and in the future… forever and always.

So, when you’re unhappy, please feel free to lean on me.

My arms will always be open for you, Young Miss.”

The Young Miss finally turned her head.

Under the lamplight, her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

“I had decided I was going to be strong…”

“You don’t have to put on such a brave face in front of me.”

“…Is it okay even if I cry?”

“It’s okay.”

“Is it okay even if I soak Ailena’s clothes with my tears?”

“It’s okay. It’s just one more piece of clothing to wash.”

“Wuu… Waaahhhh—”

Spurred on by my words, the Young Miss could finally hold it in no longer.

She threw herself into my arms and began to wail.

I gently patted her back, sharing this sorrow with her.

After crying for I don’t know how long, the Young Miss finally quieted down.

Those lovely, endearing eyes were now red and swollen.

‘…This should be alright now.’

“It is about time for bed, Young Miss. If you’ll permit me, I shall…”

Just as I was about to leave, I felt something tug at my skirt.

“Ailena, stay. Sleep with me.”

Turning back, I saw the Young Miss’s small hand clutching the hem of my skirt.

Her other hand held a stuffed lion, covering most of her face, but even so, I could see the blush on her pale little cheeks.

“Young Miss, we are master and servant…”

“Stay with me.”

“We cannot sleep in the same bed, this is…”

“Stay with me.”

“It is against etiquette…”

“Stay with me.”

Unable to win against the Young Miss, I could only sit back down on the edge of the bed and, as she wished, get into it.

She was in a fragile state right now; it would be good to stay with her a little longer.

“Just for tonight, okay?”

“Hehe.”

The moment I slipped under the covers, she immediately broke into a blissful smile.

For the sake of this smile, bending the rules of etiquette between master and servant just a little was surely fine.

In the dead of night, within a shadow no one perceived.

“Hmm? So the Duke has started looking for me?”

Swirling a goblet filled with red liquid, the black-haired man revealed a cryptic smile.

“Yes.”

“Mm, just as planned.

Well done.

Here, this is your reward.”

Biting his own finger, the man let a drop of his blood fall.

The person reporting immediately leaned in, extending their tongue to catch the blood.

After licking up the blood, the informant’s face instantly flushed red, their expression one of dazed ecstasy.

“From now on, I’m leaving the surveillance of the ducal household to you, too~ If you do well, there will be more rewards.”

“Yes…”