“Lord Wolf, I shall move the extra medicine over there.” 

“Thank you.” 

    I thanked her without looking. Lily's light footsteps trotted away in a hurry, and the door closed behind her shortly afterwards. 

    I held up the boy's body as I fed him the medicine in the bowl.

    Lukewarm medicine diluted with water slowly entered the boy's mouth. A furrowed brow came from the boy who swallowed it. 

“…Gross.” 

“Good. Your taste has returned.” 

    I paid no attention to the refusal in his gaze and tilted the bowl once more.

    The boy reluctantly opened his mouth with a grumble.

    It was a bitter medicine. Since it was hard to take as a pill, the taste got worse when it was dissolved in hot water. With that said, I believe the boy here understood that he would be cured if he took it. He was drinking it despite showing clear disgust, after all. 

“Ew…” 

    ‘Alright, we're done,' I declared. The boy spat out his tongue and gave a repulsed groan after he finished the bowl. Perhaps the aftertaste still lingered in his mouth.

    To make up for this, I held a bottle of plain water to his lips, and the boy gladly gulped it down.

    Next, I laid him down and started patting his head. 

“Take a good rest.” 

“‘Kay.” 

    The boy nodded in obedience and began to doze off.

“Hey, mister…” 

“Hm?” 

“Will I… Get better?” 

    Without thinking, my patting hand stopped in place.

    His clear, straightforward eyes clung onto me. 

    A deteriorating body that won't move as you wish. Families all around you with gloomy faces. The painful moans surrounding us. Of course, this entire experience would be terrifying for such a young boy.

    I held his hand and forced my bitter face into a smile. 

“…Of course. It's a big mistake if you think you can sleep forever. Recover soon so you can go outside and play.” 

“…I see.” 

    The boy muttered before smiling whimsically.

    The boy, finally feeling relieved, closed his eyelids. I patted him one last time on the head. Soon, the boy entered a peaceful slumber. 

“And so, who might ya be?” 

    As I watched the boy's sleeping face, I heard a voice coming from behind me.

    An elderly man with a wet cloth on his forehead s.h.i.+fted his eyes in my direction from the bed he was on. 

“Just a pharmacist.” 

“Even the aristocrat's pharmacists abandoned us without a second thought. There's no way you could help us.” 

“You guys will be cured. No, you will definitely heal.” 

    After declaring so, the man looked over at me with an unsteady gaze.

    Then he cracked a thin smile. 

“Yeah, I believe ya… And that's why it's so strange. Who are you and where are you from, I wonder?” 

“Didn't I just say I was a pharmacist? Your temperature will go up if you talk too much, so go back to sleep.” 

    I took the cloth off him, dunked it in water and squeezed it lightly, before replacing it back on his forehead.

    The man squinted his eyes pleasantly as I lightly aired him with a nearby fan. 

“That's a nice smell.” 

“I'm burning incense. It's simply a bug repellent, but if you like the smell then all the better.” 

    The room was filled with white clouds that smelled of citrus.

    I had thought about adjusting the amount after I had the smoke, but it looks like this will do just fine. 

“I've once heard of a miracle tribe living in the back mountains. They are so knowledgeable about medicine that they could even cure the dying sick…” 

“…That's just a fairy tale. We can't do miracles.” 

    I stopped fanning and gave him a wry smile. 

    Time and time again, I've watched life burn out with my own eyes.

    And each time, I have always lamented over my own powerlessness. If I can't do anything, then that's the same as doing nothing. It made me question my own existence. But- 

“All that we know today was thanks to what our ancestors had left behind. We're just a bunch of hard-headed people with no special skills. …But I am here now because a child needed our help. That's all.” 

“Are you talking about Lord Nacht?” 

“What? Who's that?” 

    I frowned upon the unfamiliar name.

    Who might that be, I wonder? …I feel like I've heard it somewhere before. 

    When it was clear that I didn't know, the old man's mood turned sour. 

“Haven't you heard of The Eccentric Prince? He's a wonderful lord.” 

    Now that he mentioned a prince, I remembered. Wasn't he that kid that went into the forest?

    So he's the second prince of this country, huh. I wasn't very interested, so I didn't bother to remember his name. Though I have to say, despite fervently praising him, that's a terrible moniker. 

“I wouldn't think to respect anyone with a nickname like that."

“We couldn't help it. He truly is eccentric. But above all, he is kind. He is our pride and joy.” 

    The man turned away bashfully while saying so. His flushed face was probably not just due to the fever. 

“Oh, what a coincidence. Marie is our pride too.” 

    I said as I fixed the cloth that fell from his forehead.

    The man's eyes returned to me and he asked, ‘Who's that?' 

“Her Highness, Rosemarie von Wervard.” 

    Just saying her name warms my heart. As if someone lit a light in my chest, the warmth was starting to spread rapidly.

    Feeling a bit shy and happy at the same time, I continued to smile. 

“The First Princess of the Kingdom of Nebel, who rushed here to help you allーand also, my one and only master.” 

    The man's eyes widened. 

“It doesn't matter how wonderful your prince is. Only that child can tell us what to do. No one other than Marie.” 

    I'm sure the prince is a rare breed in his own right. Few royals would ever bother to lift their own finger for their own people.

    But those who put their own lives on the line for the people of other countries are far fewer. 

“…Why is she, the princess of another country… For us?” 

    When I heard the stunned old man's words, I could only return another wry smile. 

“Who knows? I don't know her situation any more than you do.” 

    Relations.h.i.+ps are never everlasting.

    The things we don't know far outnumber the things that we do. I realised that after I came to this country.

    That and the fact that I never knew how close she was to her brother. 

    The only thing that came to mind was a picture of Marie's face, with her cheeks red and her face bashful. And a certain tall man beside her. I can't blame her, he is quite the charming man. 

“I didn't even realise that she had someone she liked…” 

    I murmured.

    My small remark disappeared along with the floating smoke from the incense and reached no one's ears.

TN:

EN: aaaaaaaaaaa