A shrill scream that seemed to pierce my eardrums. Before I could even work out what was happening, someone came clattering noisily into the room.
“Good heavens! Look at his face! Are you all right? Why do you keep making me worry so!”
The woman rushed straight to the bedside of the sleeping Jayden without so much as a pause.
Who on earth is this? The personal maid I heard about? But…
Looking at how she was dressed, I wasn’t so sure.
She was plastered in jewelry from her hair down to her wrists, and she reeked of heavy perfume.
She didn’t look like someone who took care of a patient.
“Excuse me…”
If Jayden woke up because of this, it would be a disaster.
When I called to her in a small voice, she finally noticed someone else was there, whipped her head around, and glared at me.
“…”
The moment our eyes met, her gaze swept rapidly over me from top to bottom.
“And what are you? A maid?”
“Ah, I’m the newly arrived—”
“Never mind.”
She cut me off flatly, as if my answer didn’t matter in the least. Then she began glancing toward the door.
“Where is His Grace the Duke?”
“…Pardon?”
“I heard His Grace had come here.”
Her tone made it sound as if that had been her real purpose from the start, and a wave of disbelief washed over me. But that wasn’t what mattered right now.
Jayden’s face, which had finally relaxed, was starting to crease again, and the child had begun to cough.
Ugh. Come to think of it, how much perfume did she put on? With a sick child in the room. First, I had to get her out.
“The patient’s asleep. Let’s go out. Let’s talk outside.”
I casually opened the window to air the room out and tried to lead her away.
But the woman didn’t stop.
“Can’t you hear me? I asked you where His Grace the Duke is!”
My suggestion that we talk outside apparently went in one ear and out the other.
Haa. Thinking I’d better just answer her quickly and get her out, I spoke again.
“His Grace isn’t here right now.”
“Then you should have said so in the first place!”
Tsk. What a waste of time.
Muttering irritably, the woman shot out into the corridor like an arrow.
It was as if a storm had swept through and gone.
I had no idea what that had been about, but for now, it was a relief. Jayden hadn’t woken up.
I hurriedly opened the windows wider to let the stale air out.
“Mmm…”
Only when the cool breeze came in did the crease between Jayden’s brows ease.
Hm. I think he’s all right now.
His breathing was steady, too… He seemed to be in a completely deep sleep.
Now I really should go. With a sigh of relief, I carefully made my way out.
The very moment I tiptoed out the door without a sound and stepped into the corridor—
“…!”
Cain was standing in front of the door, though I had no idea when he’d gotten there.
He asked at once:
“How did it go—”
Shhh.
In my panic, I pressed my index finger to my lips, signaling him to be quiet.
“…”
Cain looked taken aback, but he closed his mouth for the moment. Still, there was something odd about his reaction.
Was that too impertinent? He is the Duke, after all.
But I was in a hurry. I can’t let Jayden wake up.
After how hard it had been to get him into a deep sleep.
Hoping he’d forgive me, I gave him an awkward smile and took two steps closer.
Then, getting as close as I could without overdoing it, I whispered to him in a very small voice.
“The young master is asleep. I’ll tell you everything somewhere else.”
Dragonbloods were known to have sharp senses. And since Jayden was a patient, it was all the better to be careful.
Thankfully, Cain nodded as though he understood.
He motioned for me to follow him.
The corridor was astonishingly quiet. It had been rather noisy earlier.
It seemed Cain had sent away not only Conrad but the servants, too, while I was treating Jayden.
It seemed like consideration for his nephew.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me…!”
The place Cain led me to was his study.
The moment I stepped inside, bright sunlight fell over my head. Through the wide-open windows, the whole garden came into view at a glance.
Wow. It’s beautiful.
Given the situation, I didn’t let it show, but inside, I was amazed.
It was a garden so beautiful that the one at the marquis’s house couldn’t compare.
The colorful blooms of all kinds of seasonal flowers made it hard to look away.
But Cain seemed to have grown used to it long ago, because he didn’t look particularly moved. He was leaning against the desk, watching me closely.
Ahem. Ahem.
Belatedly feeling his gaze, I cleared my throat and began to explain.
“First, I’d like to tell you that you can worry a little less. The young master had a small cut on his palm from a glass shard, but I’ve treated it well. Oh, and…”
Where did the fever medicine go? I’d like to show it to him.
When I reached into my bag without thinking, the area around my forearm stung a little.
Paying it no mind, I finally pulled the fever medicine out of my bag.
“The young master had a high fever. So I gave him fever medicine, and—”
“That shouldn’t be the first thing you have to say.”
Cain cut me off in a displeased voice. Oh, right—I still haven’t reported on Jayden’s condition. As his guardian, he must be very worried.
“Oh, thankfully, his high fever has broken completely!”
“That’s good news, but I already know that much.”
Hmm… Then what on earth does he want me to say?
I was stuck, unable to go one way or the other. After I’d stood there looking at him for a moment, Cain pointed at my arm with his chin.
“Your arm.”
“…Pardon?”
“The smell of blood is overpowering. Don’t you notice it yourself?”
Ah. Only then did I become aware of the state I was in. I’d been so focused on Jayden that I’d completely forgotten about first aid and everything else.
Red blood had seeped through the torn white sleeve, and it was a mess.
Ugh. I’ve shown him something unsightly. It must look awful.
When my lips parted slightly, Cain spoke bluntly again.
“I hired you as a physician. I don’t recall calling you here to be a patient.”
I hurriedly hid my arm behind my back.
“Oh, this? It’s nothing. Just a little scratch, it’ll heal quickly!”
“Heal quickly?”
One of Cain’s eyebrows went up at an angle.
“Are you a Dragonblood too?”
“Well, no…?”
“Listening to you, it sounds as though you have something to count on.”
He’s being sarcastic. But he’s so right that I can’t argue.
Honestly, I probably did look a little careless to other people.
But it wasn’t as though I had no intention of treating it at all.
If anything, that’s the last thing I want. If I left it alone and Melody found out… Ugh!
Just thinking about it sent a shiver crawling down my spine.
My little bunny, who was normally glued to her mommy’s side, made an enormous fuss whenever I got hurt.
“Something like this heals quickly with a little medicine. I’ll just finish my report and then go back and treat it right away.”
“Is there any need for that? You don’t need your hands to report.”
“Pardon?”
“Treat it here.”
Oh! Is he a genius?
…Or maybe I’d just been a bit of an idiot.
But it certainly was an efficient approach. I could just treat it while I reported.
“Yes, sir, as you command.”
I answered with mock solemnity, rolled up my torn sleeve, and began removing the glass shards one by one with tweezers.
At the same time, I began my report.
“Um, first, as I said earlier, the young master’s fever has come down—”
Ow. Pinched the skin.
With my eyes darting back and forth between the wound and Cain, I made a mistake I normally never would.
What’s wrong with me? Then it came to me: the injury was on my left arm. And I was left-handed.
Still, I acted as if nothing had happened.
“—so! For the time being, to keep his fever from rising again…”
“Enough.”
“Pardon?”
“I told you to treat it, and you’re hurting yourself.”
He said it in a sharp voice, then pushed himself up from where he’d been leaning against the desk. Standing in front of me, he held out his hand, indifferent.
“Give it here.”
