𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒𝟕: 𝐒𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠

For a moment, I was at a loss as to what was happening.

Nevertheless, my body moved on its own, rushing to the fallen Lord Montyver.

His brow was furrowed tightly, his face etched with pain. He was breathing heavily, as if he was suffocating.

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“Lord Montyver, are you okay?! Lord Montyver!!”

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I called out to him while patting his shoulder, but there was no response. He could be said to be unconscious.

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I must urgently change his body position, or he’ll suffocate.

First, I turn his face sideways and bring his left and right arms in front of his chest.

Although he appears slender and thin, his arms are heavy like logs when I try to lift them.

I brace his shoulders with my knees bent. While toppling my knees sideways, I forcefully lift his shoulders.

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“Ugh, uuuuh!!”

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Despite his slender appearance, Lord Montyver is heavy, and I have a hard time turning him sideways.

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[Nya!!]

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Ga-chan offered to help.

She wraps a string around Lord Montyver’s knee and pulls along with me.

His body then turns sideways.

This is a body position changing method that I learned from a doctor when my father vomited blood. If not in this position, there’s a risk of suffocating when vomiting a clot of blood.

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I was surprised because it was easy to practice this on my father’s body, but Lord Montyver, despite his appearance, is heavy and didn’t budge.

I am only grateful to Ga-chan who helped me.

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Lord Montyver coughs several times, continuing to vomit blood.

While rubbing his back, I shout as loudly as I can.

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“Someone!! Please, someone come!!”

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This was the first time in my life I had raised my voice this much.

I remember being taught that it’s not ladylike for a noblewoman to shout, but now Lord Montyver’s life was at stake. I couldn’t care less about decorum.

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A waiter from the restaurant immediately came running.

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“What happened?”

“After eating the pancake, he vomited blood and collapsed! Please call a doctor!”

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The waiter nodded and immediately ran off.

Although Lord Montyver had stopped vomiting blood, he began shaking violently.

To warm him up even a little, I vigorously rub his arms and back.

Who on earth put him through this ordeal?

With a frustrated feeling, I waited for the doctor’s arrival.

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Ten minutes later――a man in his forties, dressed in a knight’s uniform, arrived.

I was surprised because he was not a doctor.

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“Is he Lord Montyver?”

“Yes, he is.”

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The knight placed his hands on Lord Montyver’s pulse and forehead, opened his eyelids to check his pupils, displaying actions like a doctor.

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Further, he took out a silver can, applied the ointment inside to Lord Montyver’s lips.

Then, Lord Montyver’s rough breathing settled down, as if he was sleeping.

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“I am a medical officer. I’m not suspicious, so don’t worry.”

“Y, Yes.”

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Even though I didn’t say anything, it seemed he had seen through my suspicions.

When I heard he was a medical officer from the knight’s corps, I was somewhat relieved.

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It seems that he gave Lord Montyver something that was a mix of a sedative to suppress pain and a sleeping drug.

It was a temporary prescription, and it seems he’s not cured.

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The medical officer, sensei, takes out a cloth with a magic circle drawn on it from his pocket and wipes the blood adhering to Lord Montyver’s mouth.

It seemed like he was chanting some sort of spell, but nothing changed.

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“Is this. . . . . .not poison?”

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It was a mutter like talking to myself.

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“Did you say that Lord Montyver vomited blood the moment he ate the pancake?”

“Yes.”

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The medical officer stands up and looks at the table.

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“Lord Montyver was sitting closer to the front, and you were sitting behind?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Given there are no pancakes in front of Lord Montyver, you shared yours with him, right? And you also ate the same pancakes.”

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As I nod, the medical officer picks up a fork and stares at it intently.

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“If there were poison mixed in the pancakes, this silver fork would tarnish to black.”

“So, are you saying that the pancakes aren’t the cause?”

“All I’m saying is that it’s highly probable.”

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When the medical officer picked up the bell hanging from his waist and rang it, the squad members started to file in.

Lord Montyver was being carefully carried out. He was apparently going to be taken back to the knight squad for treatment.

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“You’re coming along too.”

“Yes.”

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A knight stood on either side of me and led the way.

It was here that I realized that I was being asked to accompany them as an important witness, or possibly a suspect, in this incident.

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🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

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Then I was taken to a room like a guest room and questioned by a female knight.

The treatment was more courteous than I had expected, and the room was not locked even after the knights left.

It didn’t seem like I was suspected of being the culprit.

After being left alone for three hours, I started to feel restless.

I was also worried about Lord Montyver’s condition.

When I went outside the room, there were two young female knights standing there, and one of them asked, “Is there something you need?”

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“Do you know how Lord Montyver is doing?”

“I heard he’s receiving treatment.”

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It seems that they too didn’t know the details.

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“Please wait here a little longer.”

“Yes.”

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I may not be able to go home today.

Thinking this, I begged them to prepare some writing paper so I could send a letter to the Marchioness.

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“I’m sorry. Currently, orders from above to refrain from external contact.”

“Hmm. . . . . . Is there someone who can inform the Marchioness of the situation of myself and Lord Montyver?”

“That can be arranged.”

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While they couldn’t speak in detail about the circumstances surrounding Lord Montyver and me, it seemed they were able to send a message that we had been involved in an incident and might not be able to return home for a while and asked her not to worry.

Florenci would probably be surprised, but I was sure he would trust me and wait for my return.

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From then on, I spent the time until nightfall in the room with Ga-chan.

Meals, sweets, and tea were brought in, but I was not in a state to eat anything.

Ga-chan, who was also worried about Lord Montyver, didn’t even try to eat her favorite lump of sugar.

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Caught up in an unexpected incident, I was shaking unbelievably.

All I did was go out with him to check the truth of the information that Lord Montyver didn’t kill Irma.

Who could have thought that someone would try to kill Lord Montyver?

Who could the culprit be?

I wasn’t familiar with his social circle, so I couldn’t even identify a suspect.

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An unexpected visitor came to see me, who was only sighing.

A female knight came in first and whispered something shocking in my ear.

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“Prince Ghodrove wishes to speak with the Lady.”

“!”

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Prince Ghodrove, the brother of the king and the person Lord Montyver was guarding, was coming.

I was so surprised that my eyes popped out, and then Prince Ghodrove elegantly appeared.

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“Is this our first meeting?”

“Y, Yes. My name is Lara Dosa.”

“I heard from Leon that you’re a noblewoman from Vulcano.”

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It seemed that Lord Montyver had been talking about me to Prince Ghodrove.

What on earth did he tell him? My stomach started to hurt with anxiety.

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“You must have been very surprised by this incident?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t need to worry about Leon. We have identified the cause and the treatment was successful.”

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The reason why he vomited blood was surprising.

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“The reason Leon vomited blood and collapse was due to a curse he received from someone――.”