Seirei Gensouki's
Chapter 185: Paladia Royal Castle and Village Situation pt2
Meanwhile, Flora lived in a certain rural village in the western part of the kingdom. The day had turned into night, moments before Rio infiltrated the Paladia royal palace.
Four days had passed since Flora decided to stay in the village due to her fever. But Flora fever shows no signs of improving at all, on the contrary, getting worse.
「Haa, haaa …………. . 」
Flora's irregular breathing, intense pain, arthritis and high fever ravaged her body from within. Even the slightest movement caused her great pain in her current state. Despite being a bedridden patient, he could not even sleep well due to the acute pain all over his body.
Will, the son of the village chief and also the one in charge of carrying food, knocked on the door of his room stronger than usual―― ――
「Flora-sama, I brought your food ……………. Can I enter 」
He called her to guess the situation inside the room.
「……………. Ah yes . Thank you very much . 」
Resisting the pain in her body, Flora lifted her upper body while answering with a painful voice. The door to his room opened and Will entered, carrying with him a tray of food. [Ed: he wishes he'd come in, lol]
「How are you doing, it's a nice morning isn't it? 」
「Yes, good morning. I was sleeping until a while ago. 」
Seeing Will tilting his head, Flora answered thus while collecting the best smile she could do in the current situation. It seemed that his determination was strong enough to make others think that he was fine. First, he could not fool everyone when he said his part with a pale face.
「Has your fever subsided? 」
Will looked at Flora who could not hide her pain and felt as if her own body was also suffering from it.
"……no . I'm sorry for causing you trouble. 」
Flora said her apology in a weak voice.
「A-It's nothing, you're not interrupting at all! 」
Will shook his head in panic and said as if making excuses—
「Only your condition is as bad as before and, since there are no doctors in this village, there is nothing we can do, so my father kept nagging. On the other hand, he said it was time to call the feudal lord .... 」.
Flora's face became even paler when she heard it.
「M-my apology, I cannot rely on this royal noble in my current situation .........」.
He said, as if feeling guilty about it.
「N-It's natural if Flora-sama wants it. Please don't make that expression! I'll tell pops, please stay in this house as long as you want. We are happy to help you! 」
Will calmed the desperate Flora in a hurry.
「……. . Thank you very much"
Flora lowered her head, feeling somewhat relieved.
「Ah, true too. Come to think of it, the village youths have been eager to meet you since the second day Flora-sama arrived here. 」
Will tries to change the awkward atmosphere by telling the story in a bright tone.
"Is that so? Then, I will meet everyone once I feel better. 」
Flora showed a rather bright smile on her pale face.
「Hahaha, it is better to stop those thoughts because they are just impolite youths. Especially the one called Donner, do you remember him? Plain-looking man who guided Flora-sama towards this house 」
「Ah, uhm, the one who guided me to this house? A man with a tall and stocky body, right? 」
Flora replied with a somewhat troubled tone in hearing Will speak as if looking down on Donner.
「Yup, it's the guy. For some reason, the man said that he would visit Flora-sama. Although she had never said such a thing before when the girls in the village fell ill. Other people were also influenced by him and started to become arrogant. 」
「Uhm, because I seem to catch a cold, although I will not be able to talk at length with them due to fever, if only briefly....」.
「EH? A ~ h, your feelings alone are enough. You are not in the best condition, so please rest and do not push yourself. Those people will be happy just with me conveying your words to them 」
Will finally smiled wryly as he never thought about the possibility of the woman being willing to meet the other youths in the village.
「……………. . I saw . Please help me to get my message across. And my deepest thanks for worrying about my health. 」
Despite the hesitation, Flora was fully aware of what she could and could not do in the current situation. In fact, even a brief conversation with Will was already quite painful for her, but she was a girl who could not just scorn those who naturally worried about her health.
「Understood. ………. . Ah, right too. I've brought you some food, so please enjoy. I can't guarantee the taste. 」
"That's not true . Very delicious . It was something your mother made anyway. 」
In fact, her senses were already paralyzed, but Flora was only stubborn.
「...... Hahaha, Flora-sama is very good. Oops, I almost forgot – I will leave food here. 」
Will looked at Flora as if fascinated by her and placed the tray with his food on the table beside the bed.
"Yes thank you very much . I'll soon take part then 」
Flora nodded gracefully and gently tied up her sweaty hair so as not to disturb her eating. When she tied her hair to the side, Flora's nape became open.
Will gulps his saliva looking at Flora's movements, but- 、
「..... Y-Alright, I'll go first. If there is anything - …………. EH? 」
He was so surprised that he shifted his eyes. But, when he realized there was a bluish birthmark on Flora's nape, he immediately turned his gaze away regretfully.
「……. Uhm, is there something? 」
When Flora noticed that she was being stared at, she timidly asked Will the question.
"Ah no . That's fine! Please contact me if you need anything. I'll be here soon! Alright, pardon. 」
Will's body twitched. He shook his head with a puzzled face and when he was about to leave the room, he glanced at the nape of Flora for the last time—,
(What……… . Mark what is that? Does Flora-sama not know about that? It looks like burn scars or old wounds）
He closed the door as he left.
◇ ◇ ◇
After that, Will went down the stairs to the first floor of――,
「Oi, Will. How is the condition of the noble? 」
The village chief, Will's father, who had been waiting for him, asked.
「N? Yes, the fact that the fever has not gone down is very worrying. 」
Will replied in a cold and half apathetic tone.
Perhaps because he hoped Flora brought a lot of unwanted trouble, Will's father didn't find it too pleasant to live in the village. In addition, due to her fear of the unknown Flora's disease and to prevent her from getting in touch with Will's mother and brother, she is, he told Will 「Caring for him is your responsibility because he stayed here because of your careless comments」.
However, Will finds it troublesome that his cowardly father asks about Flora's condition with every opportunity.
「…………. . The fever has not come down. Could he be infected with some kind of strange disease? 」
Will's father asked in a curious tone.
"Who knows . But I don't have the disease, do I? 」
「………. . You are right . Okay then . Why don't we ask for help from our feudal lord? 」
「That sounds good, but let's wait for his condition to improve. 」