“Ha!”
Noein woke up on his bed, trying to understand his situation with a dazed mind.
“Ah, that’s right…”
With a dry throat and a hot, flushed body, he quickly recalled that he had been bedridden with a fever.
“Mathilda!”
Since there was no one in the room, he called out the name of his beloved slave. He was surprised at how childish and whiny his voice sounded, more so than he had expected.
Mathilda was probably nearby, and being a rabbit person, her hearing was much better than that of a normal person, so she would likely hear him even with his current voice.
As expected, he soon heard footsteps approaching down the hallway. The bedroom door opened, and Mathilda entered.
“Lord Noein, did you call for me?”
“I need some water, and I’d like to change my clothes too. Is that alright?”
Noein answered Mathilda, who had rushed in.
She poured water from a jug on the bedroom table into a glass and brought it to Noein’s mouth. He remained seated on the bed, allowing her to help him drink.
“I apologize for leaving the bedroom. Were you feeling uneasy when you woke up?”
“I’m fine. You probably have work to do too. Thank you.”
After Noein finished drinking, Mathilda left the room and returned with a tub filled with warm water and some fresh clothes.
Noein let Mathilda wipe his body with a cloth soaked in warm water and helped him change into new clothes. He felt so lethargic and heavy all over that he left everything to Mathilda.
…
The whole incident began five days ago. When he woke up in the morning, Noein sensed something was off with his health, and Mathilda, who had woken up next to him, immediately noticed her master’s condition.
He clearly remembered Mathilda being unusually flustered when she saw her master struggling with a high fever and chills.
Afterward, Yuri, the head knight, received a report from Mathilda and promptly decided to send Bart to Retvik to fetch a doctor in a hurry.
Though Noein himself thought it was an overreaction to just have a fever, if he were to die, the Earlkvist territory would likely be abolished due to having no one to inherit the title.
In other words, Noein’s life and death directly determined the fate of the Earlkvist territory. The knights were understandably anxious about it.
Before long, a doctor was summoned from Retvik that very day. According to the diagnosis of the experienced and skilled middle-aged doctor, Noein had contracted “Eld Fever.”
“Ha, I never thought I’d catch Eld Fever at this age…”
Having finished rehydrating and changed clothes, Noein mumbled as he lay back down on the bed.
Eld Fever is quite a common illness in the southern part of the continent, causing symptoms similar to a somewhat severe cold, such as high fever and fatigue lasting about a week.
It depletes a lot of physical strength, making it a disease that shouldn’t be taken lightly, especially for young children; however, there is almost no concern for losing one’s life if one reaches a certain age. This is especially true if they have a doctor examine them and receive medication.
Another characteristic of Eld Fever is that it mainly affects minors.
While it’s not impossible for adults to contract it, it is generally recognized as a “childhood illness.”
So, for Noein, who turned sixteen this year after becoming an adult last year, catching Eld Fever was somewhat embarrassing.
“This makes it seem like I’m just a kid.”
“However, I’m relieved that you, Lord Noein, were not suffering from a serious illness. It’s just Eld Fever, so that’s good.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
When Mathilda said this with a serious expression while devotedly caring for him, he couldn’t refute it.
Since Noein fell ill with Eld Fever, Mathilda had been almost constantly by his side, taking care of him. She went to great lengths to do her work in this room as much as possible, saying she didn’t want to leave Noein.
Given her age, she was unlikely to catch the illness, and more importantly, Noein was glad that Mathilda was there with him.
…
“Noein-sama, I’ve brought your meal!”
“Thank you, Mary. You’ve worked hard.”
Noein woke up just after noon, so lunch was brought to his bedroom.
The girl who brought it was Mary, a maid working in this mansion. Currently, there are three maids in the house, and the other two are named Kimberly and Rosetta.
“Today’s menu is mashed potatoes and a soup made with chicken and cabbage!”
Mary, with her cheerful and lively personality, explained with enthusiasm and set a small table on Noein’s bed, arranging the meal.
Soft mashed potatoes and warm soup—both are easy for someone like Noein, who is sick, to eat.
As he slowly made his way through the meal, he was just about finished when Mathilda came in with tea. The tea set was brought by Mary along with the meal.
“It was delicious, Mary. Thank you.”
“Oh, no, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!”
Saying this brightly, Mary cleared the dishes and left the room.
Noein took the cup from Mathilda, sipped the tea, and sighed contentedly.
“…Is everything running smoothly in the territory?”
“Rest assured, almost all operations are proceeding without any issues.”
“I see. When you say ‘almost,’ does that mean there are some problematic areas?”
“Regarding forest logging, we have significantly reduced operations due to the lack of golems, but there was originally quite a bit of leeway in the development plans. Given the pace of incoming immigrants, there is still ample land remaining to convert into farmland for the time being.”
The task of cutting down trees to expand flat land relies heavily on Noein’s strength to handle the robust golems. Logging is crucial to accommodate the growing number of immigrants by expanding the territory.
However, thanks to the diligent logging efforts so far, there is still plenty of leeway for that work.
“That’s good to hear. I need to return to work as soon as possible and focus on logging.”
“Please do not overexert yourself. Your well-being is the top priority, Noein-sama.”
“I know, thank you.”
…
By the fifth day of the Eld fever, the symptoms had calmed down considerably. Therefore, Noein decided to receive reports from his knights during his time resting.
Though he was sitting on the bed in his bedroom, he put on a shirt over his nightgown and lightly fixed his hair.
Just as he finished preparing, the first to enter the room was Yuri, the head knight who had been acting as the lord in Noein’s absence.
“You’re looking much better, young master.”
“Shut up. I’m just a kid who caught the Eld fever at my age.”
As soon as they faced each other, Yuri teased him, and Noein sulked in response.
They exchanged casual greetings, then proceeded to receive specific reports.
The content ranged from the security situation within the territory, the status of agriculture, the mining operations in the Restio Mountain Range, and the condition of the neighboring territory of Retvik. Yuri compiled the reports from the other knights and conveyed them to Noein.
“Got it, thanks. Good job.”
“Ah… well, anyway, take it easy. You’ve been working hard on development since you got here, so you deserve a little relaxation.”
Yuri said this somewhat shyly. Despite his teasing tone, it seemed he was genuinely concerned for Noein as a subordinate.
“I’ll take your advice. I do intend to return as soon as I can, though.”
In response to his subordinate’s words of encouragement, Noein smiled wryly.
