Chapter 153

“Damn it.”

Levisia stiffened her face and quickly turned in Sheila’s direction.

“Sheila, it’s me. I’m coming inside.”

The door opened after two knocks. The one who would allow the visit was lying in bed and unable to come to her senses anyway.

As she got closer to the bed Sheila was lying on, Levisia could see her face excited with heat. And her breathing was unstable.

“…the look in her eyes has really gotten worse.”

Sheila’s health had started to deteriorate from the day she had gone on the inspection tour to the pier.

No. This problem might have started before then.

Anyway, Sheila’s unusual condition from that day until now hadn’t improved and continued to worsen.

Meanwhile, Pel and Levisia had been nursing her room from time to time.

She asked—of course, to Pel—picking up a towel from the bedside table  and wiping the sweat from Sheila’s forehead,

“What about her medicine?”

“She ate it earlier.”

Pel, who calculated the time, added that it had been about four hours ago.

“The medicine given by the marquess’s doctor doesn’t work much either.”

“He came today too?”

“Yes. A different doctor from last time.”

“I see.”

“Uggghhh… Arrgghhh…”

Fevered and half-asleep, Sheila made a sound as if sobbing. It was clear that she was in pain, but Levisia couldn’t do anything since she didn’t know how to make her better.

She swept her sweaty hair behind her ear with a frown on her face. All that while recalling a suspicion that had been bothering her since earlier.

What if it’s the same reason as the people at the Mentine estate?

If so, it was understandable that the medicine did not work.

Because it was no different from the completely different level of problem that medicine couldn’t solve.

Before she knew it, Sheila, groaning in pain, seemed to have woken up. Levisia was quietly looking down at her, when she placed the towel down and said to Pel,

“Go and rest. I’ll stay next to Sheila.”

“Aren’t you the one who should rest? Not me. Your face looks exhausted.”

“I’m fine. And you never know; maybe she will need me.”

If what she was guessing was correct, Sheila might somehow get better only with her by her side. Just like Count Mentine.

Though I couldn’t help it if that was a coincidence.

But she had no choice but to hope that now was not a coincidence. It was a real struggle to look helplessly at Sheila, who was in pain.

It wasn’t until after Pel heard her words that he got up from the chair. Levisia waited for him to leave as she grabbed the towel again and patted Sheila’s forehead again, but he didn’t move an inch.

“Are you staying?”

“I’ve felt something from earlier.

Looking like he had had something on his mind for a long time, Pel looked at her for a long time with his mouth hanging open but didn’t say a thing

“Why?”

“You didn’t ask about the cause or name of Sheila’s condition despite me saying that the doctor visited today.”

“Huh…?”

“Not once.”

His gaze was beaming through her. Like sun rays through thin curtains.

Levisia, placing a hand on her prickly chest, asked,

“I didn’t?”

“No. You never did.”

She really hadn’t realized it. Thinking about it now, however, this could have looked strange in Pel’s eyes.

Like someone who already had something to guess.

‘…his words are not completely wrong.’

It was only an assumption, but she didn’t know she’d reveal it like that.

“So, the doctor… What did he say?”

Pel spoke, glaring at her.

“Everyone’s saying it’s the debilitation of the body. The cause is unknown.”

Answering as if it would suit her rhythm, he added with his head tilted,

“But you look like you know the cause.”

He was not saying that Levisia was quick-witted for no reason. He had caught something that she hadn’t even recognized. It wasn’t enough to say that she was quick-witted.

“But you are not saying anything…”

Pel looked down at her with his arms crossed. She sat still like a criminal who’d just received a jail sentence, waiting for him to continue.

Soon, he asked, raising his eyes,

“Is it about the Kraiden family?”

“……”

That was precise. He continued to stare, piercing right through her.  So, he was certain of that.

I can’t fool him in any way.

You couldn’t avoid talking about the boundary stone at the mention of the Mentine estate. And that story penetrated what Levisia had been hesitating for a long time.

As to whether she was giving the Kraidens’ weak spot to Pel, who would destroy them in the future.

But right now, Pel seemed to have recognized exactly what she had hesitated to do. If not, he would have never asked if it had anything to do with the royal family.

Because the conclusion was based on the judgment that “I can’t even tell you why Sheila is sick because it’s Kraidens’ business.”

He nodded his head as if he had received the answer from Levisia. And she belatedly opened her mouth, but he was quicker to speak.

“Can I ask one thing?”

In the end, she couldn’t tell him “Not here” and instead said,

“…yes.”

“Before, you said that you would leave the royal palace. Do you still have that thought in mind?”