I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
“Forgive me, Your Highness. It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a miserable sight…”
The Countess, with swollen eyes, offered her apology with a flushed face.
She sat down in the middle of the road, crying for a long time.
I managed to hold the lady’s hand and lead her to a bench in the garden.
It was a while before the lady stopped crying.
‘I’m glad no one happened to pass by.’
Otherwise, we might have received some strange looks.
“But Your Highness, how did you know my child was sick?”
She seemed quite curious about that.
“I heard a little from the chamberlain.”
I hesitated for a moment, then chose a reason that the lady could easily understand.
“There was a strong herbal scent coming from you. So I thought I’d mention it, just in case.”
“I see.”
The lady nodded, holding the edge of her skirt as if embarrassed.
“Was it too much? I brewed the herbs myself…”
Seems like she doesn’t have much money.
It’s obvious, but there was a big difference in price between raw herbs and medicine.
So, commoners without money would either gather herbs themselves or buy them and brew their own medicine.
But for the wife of a Count, it’s unexpected.
‘She still looks young, but it must have been really tough.’
What has the world come to these days?
That even young children suffer like this.
I quietly observed the Countess.
With no family to help, and having lost her husband.
Yet, she has to nurse her sick child amidst all this.
And with no money, she has to work too.
“It’s embarrassing. To think a Count’s wife would be in such a state.”
“Yeah, but it’s proof that you’ve been trying.”
I nodded lightly.
“No need for you to feel embarrassed. Walk with your head held high!”
If you lower your head in embarrassment, those who lack manners will only point fingers at you.
But if you raise your head proudly and glare at them, they’ll slink away.
‘It’s all about strength and weakness.’
Hmph! I let out a loud snort.
The Countess chuckled softly at my antics.
It’s nice to see her smile.
“So, will you tell me where the child is hurting?”
“Oh.”
The Countess hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
She seemed to have an attitude of having nothing more to hide from me.
“Well, it’s… Rom Fever.”
I narrowed my eyes.
Rom Fever is known as a fever originating from the Rom region on another continent.
People in that area would suffer lightly, like a cold, but in other regions, it became a serious illness.
‘It’s a cruel disease.’
The bodies of those infected with the disease would break out in red spots.
They would suffer from fever until they died.
The cruel part was that the illness would improve and worsen repeatedly, draining the blood of the patient and those around them.
People on this continent, where the Pandelion Empire is located, didn’t often catch Rom Fever.
But once infected, it was known to be highly lethal.
“I tried everything, but I just couldn’t see any improvement.”
Tears fell again onto the back of the lady’s hand as she gripped the edge of her skirt.
“No matter how expensive the medicine, it only showed temporary improvement, then worsened again soon after.”
She spent an enormous amount of money.
She called in renowned doctors, gave the child expensive medicine from across the continent, and did everything she could day and night to save the child.
And time passed.
Unable to bear the cost of medicine and treatment, she let go of the servants first.
She sold valuables, paintings, furniture, and even the mansion.
“In the end, I even sold my wedding ring.”
The lady chuckled through her tears.
“But it was still not enough. Money.”
“…”
“We have to eat to survive, so I tried to find work as a governess, but no one would accept me.”
There was no one willing to accept.
They might fear the fever spreading to them or their children.
People would have coldly driven her away.
“So I kept walking and ended up here.”
All rejections.
People might have felt sorry even though they knew they couldn’t help.
And she must have felt pushed to the brink.
“Hah.”
The lady swallowed a deep breath and wiped away more tears.
She seemed to have forced back her crying.
“This story was long, wasn’t it? But Your Highness, thank you for listening so kindly. It eases my heart.”
After wiping her tears with the back of her hand, the lady tried to stand up.
Oh, where are you going?
“Excuse me.”
Before the lady could stand up, I grabbed her hand firmly again.
“If it’s alright, could I see the child?”
“You, Your Highness?”
Lady Saila’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Yeah, lately I’ve been very interested in herbalism.”
Since Lady Saila wouldn’t know my reality anyway, I decided to exaggerate a bit.
“I’ve even hired a teacher and learned a lot.”
At my response, the lady chuckled softly.
It was nice to see the woman diligently trying for herself.
“Thank you, but it probably won’t make a difference.”
“Yeah, why?”
Was it because a child was asking to see them? They seemed fine to me.
“In fact, with the money from selling the wedding ring and borrowing from friends, we finally called the most famous doctor in the empire.”
Lady Saila said bitterly.
“They said it couldn’t be cured unless Karlbom came back alive.”
It was practically a death sentence.
Karlbom, a man from hundreds of years ago known as the god of herbalism.
He discovered dozens of new herbs and developed hundreds of new treatments.
He conquered diseases that had no cure.
It meant there was no hope if he didn’t come back alive.
“Karlbom won’t come back to life.”
The lady laughed faintly in despair.
“…”
I blinked.
That’s odd.
Why am I out there?
* * *
“This can’t be real.”
The place Lady Saila, the Countess, was staying was a one-room lodging on the outskirts of the capital, like an inn where you had to pay monthly for an extension.
But there, the child who was dying was now recovering.
“This is unbelievable.”
Approaching the lone bed, the lady lovingly stroked her child’s face.
Just a few hours ago, the child’s face was contorted with fever, but now it looked peaceful.
“Your complexion… Your complexion has improved so much!”
Unbelievable.
As if not believing this miracle, the lady continued to stroke her child’s face and head, then hugged him tightly, tears streaming down her face again.
After lighting a small fireplace, I put dried and crushed herbs into a borrowed pot.
The small room was filled with the necessary herbs, thanks to the money the lady had spent.
There were also many unnecessary herbs, but well, they could be made into a tonic for Lady Saila.
“There we go.”
As I stirred the pot filled with herbs with a long ladle, I spoke.
“When this water boils, let it cool for a bit, then use it to bathe the child twice a day with the herbal water.”
“Yes, yes!”
Nodding, the lady, still holding the child tightly, expressed her gratitude.
“If you bathe him for about a week like this, the fever should subside significantly.”
Though prescribing the medicine would have been enough, leaving traces of the fever might not look good later on.
This way, the fever would go down faster.
“Yes, Your Highness. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
After barely stopping her tears, Lady Saila expressed her thanks again.
There are indeed many crybabies in the world.
“I’m really grateful. How can I repay this favor?”
Slowly approaching the lady, I wiped away her tears and smiled.
“You’ve been through a lot, Lady.”
And grinned.
“The fact that the child is getting better is all thanks to your efforts.”
“!!”
She’s crying again. I had to console the sobbing lady again for a while.
“But Your Highness.”
After a while, the lady, who had finally stopped crying, was drinking the tea I had given her.
It was an herbal tea I concocted from various ingredients in case she fainted while crying.
It might not taste great… but it’s better than fainting.
“Yeah?”
I smiled as I sipped another tea.
“May I ask what herbs you used? I’ve tried every herb.”
I nodded.
The small room with only one bed, one table, and two chairs was filled with herbs, almost like a herbal shop.
Her words weren’t lies.
“But I’ve never seen such an effective herb before.”
That would be the case.
The herb I used was the Starlight Flower which I cherished dearly.
‘It just sprouted!’
I shed a tear inside.
After secretly leaving the palace with Lady Saila to check on the child’s condition, I ran back to my palace.
“Lady Lottie? Aren’t you cherishing that- Eek!!”
<Halt, Your Highness!!>
<No, nooo!!>
Ignoring the startled protests of Betty and Undines behind me, I plucked the Starlight Flower that had just sprouted with my own hands.
Would it fly away if I let it go, or shatter if I squeezed it?
The precious sprout of Starlight vanished into the pot.
Sigh.
‘But there was no other way.’
There was no need to use the Starlight Flower for Rom Fever.
Honestly, with the herbs and remedies the lady currently had, a proper combination could have made a better remedy.
However.
‘The child’s condition was too critical.’
The child, suffering from Rom Fever for a long time, didn’t have enough time left for treatment.
If treated conventionally, he would have died during the treatment.
If I had left it alone, he would have passed away even sooner.
Yes. So it’s right to use it, but it’s right, but…
“…”
I buried my face in my palm.
It’s okay, there are still some seeds left. I just have to grow them…
“Um, Your Highness?”
Whether it was my unusual reaction or not, Lady Saila glanced at me.
“I used the remedies given by His Majesty. They work so well and quickly.”
I smiled, barely holding back my tears. Then I leaned towards the lady.
“But Lady, earlier you said you’d repay me for the favor.”
“If you have any requests, please tell me, Your Highness.”
This is reassuring!
“Then, would you like to be my maid?”
“That’s…”
The lady’s expression darkened at my request.
Wait, am I getting rejected again?