3. Chill Syndrome (2)

“Whoa… The Cold Syndrome that Lady Eral suffers from is an incurable disease that is currently incurable. I’m presumptuous, but I can tell you that it’s a miracle that you’re still alive… ”

“Is it possible to fix it or not? Just say your business.”

A guest room in a grand mansion.

The skinny doctor sat on the couch and sweated profusely.

It was because of the muscular middle-aged man sitting across from him.

Even though they are clearly sitting on the same sofa, a large man whose body occupies the sofa.

The name of the man staring at the doctor with his arms crossed is…

It was Erral de Rochni, the father of Erral de Arlot and also called the Grand Duke of the North.

“Yes, yes, Your Excellency the Grand Duke. The symptoms can be alleviated with magic tools that can transmit heat, but the cold will become stronger over time. You must already feel the pain of burning your skin with fire. The pain will gradually be transferred to the muscles, bones, and nerves.

“… … … ”

The doctor’s mouth, which had been chattering about the condition of the disease since earlier, stopped.

Perhaps it was because he, feeling puzzled by the silence that followed, raised his head and faced the upper deck of the Grand Duke of the North.

Bold eyes glared at him fiercely, and a pure white beard moved along the veins on his forehead.

In the eyes of the grand duke who ripped open the jaws of monsters and demons with his bare hands, surely the doctor felt the danger of his life?

“… go out.”

“Yes, yes?”

“A powerless quack. Get away!”

“Hey!”

sudden congratulations.

The doctor ran out of the room with a scream before he even had time to express his doubts.

I was in such a hurry that I left all the documents and medical devices I had taken out.

“… … ”

The Grand Duke of the North just kept glaring at the visit he had left.

The atmosphere instantly became heavy.

And the person who eased the atmosphere was Erral de Arlot, who was sitting next to the Grand Duke of the North.

“Father, the doctor is innocent.”

“Arlot… However-“

“Stop calling them as guests and kicking them out with shouts. Now that I know enough that my illness is incurable.”

Arlott is 12 years old.

Now, she has lost quite a bit of breast weight and has mastered manners to some extent, to the point where she is called a ‘young lady’.

Of course, Cold Syndrome was still eating at her, so her face was terribly pale and her body overall dwarfed.

“The imperial family doctor hasn’t come yet. If he grows up… He would know how.”

“… I see. But is he the last one? Promise me.”

“I get it. Promise me.”

The Grand Duke of the North brought all the names of names from all over the country in order to cure Arlott’s illness.

All of their answers are unanimous, ‘a cure is impossible’.

Even in a hopeless situation, Arlott was only at peace.

“I’m OK. Stop worrying, father.”

Arlott smiled at his father.

The Grand Duke of the North faced that smile without a word.

He laughed more than anyone else, and the smile of a lively child-

The eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“…sorry.”

The Grand Duke of the North stroked Arlott’s head with his huge hand.

No matter how small and delicate her body was, her body could only be seen as a small stuffed toy held by the Grand Duke of the North.

‘The pain that such a small child has to endure… ‘

The Grand Duke of the North has faced many doctors in the meantime.

What they talk about in unison is ‘terrible pain’.

Extreme pain that cannot be felt even when a hand is cut, a foot is crushed, or a knife is cut.

Arlott must be feeling it several times a day.

“Then I’ll just go. I decided to take a walk with Schmitz. Can you help me?”

“…I get it.”

At the word ‘Schmitz’, the Archduke of the North’s eyebrows twitched, but soon he moved his big body and stood behind Arlott.

… I didn’t like the fact that a promise with an attendant took precedence over a conversation with my father.

The Archduke of the North couldn’t say anything because her face was slightly animated as she spoke of Schmitz.

– Kirik, Kirik, Kirik.

Arlott started to move with an unpleasant mechanical sound.

It was the sound of her wheelchair moving.

“Are your legs okay now?”

“…It doesn’t hurt. I can’t even move.”

“I see.”

The Grand Duke of North looked at his daughter’s legs.

Lay in a wheelchair, her slender legs stiffened like wooden stones.

The leg had completely stopped functioning a few months ago from the ‘cold’ the doctor had described.

Like melting ice, I hoped that it would regain its function someday…

Everyone around knew.

The fact that she had become paralyzed from the waist down.

* * *

“Meet the lady and the Grand Duke of the North.”

“I’m going. Take good care of Arlot.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

I met Arlot in the small backyard prepared behind the mansion.

I didn’t expect the Grand Duke of the North to drive his daughter’s wheelchair to this place, but…

As if that was all the Northern Duke’s business was, he quickly left his seat and disappeared from sight.

So, it was just me and Arlot left.

“My lady, the roses have bloomed so beautifully.”

“Yeah, that must have been hard. I didn’t know it could really bloom.”

There were many roses in bloom in front of her and me.

Originally, the territory where the Grand Duke of the North was located was cold and barren, making it difficult for flowers to bloom.

However, with the help of various magic tools and attendants, I was able to create a small rose garden.

It was only possible for one reason-

[There are few flowers like this in the territory where I lived… … Thank you for the wonderful gift.]

It was because of Arlott’s line from the game <Party to Savior>.

It may have been briefly dealt with in daily episodes… It would be something that wouldn’t be strange even if the deceased people couldn’t remember it.

For some reason, that line remained in my heart, and it eventually led to the creation of a modest rose garden.

“It’s really beautiful. I have never seen a live rose… I think I can see why people are looking for roses.”

Arlott carefully reached out and touched the rose.

Looking from the side, her eyes were brighter than ever.

Unbeknownst to me, my father smiled.

‘I’m so glad you like it.’

How much effort did you put into making this?

At the once-a-month great meeting of attendants, we have raised agendas, made plans, planted roses, and constantly managed to keep them from dying…

It felt like my hard work had been rewarded.

While she was preoccupied with the rose, I took out the thing I had prepared from the basket.

And put it on Arlott’s head.

“Shu, Schmitz. This… ?”

“It suits you well.”

The thing that was put on her head with a crunchy touch was—

It was a corolla made of roses prepared in advance.

Arlott fumbled through his hair, and soon his eyes widened as if he had noticed that it was a crown.

It was rewarding to cut the thorns and make a corolla by hand.

She took off her garland before she knew it and was looking around.

“this… That ‘corolla’ is what it is.”

“That’s right. It’s a little sloppy, but… This is a present I made myself to give to my lady.”

“Whoops… It definitely looks like a beginner.”

Because it was made by myself, not by an expert, the corolla was crooked rather than round.

I also forcibly pushed the flowers in and they got a bit crushed…

Time is running out and there are not many roses, so in the end I gave it as a gift.

Fortunately, she was smiling as if she had tolerated my efforts.

“Schmitz, is there anything you can’t do?”

… Now that I see it, it was the smile of a little devil looking at a toy.

Still, it must mean that it makes me feel very good to see them play pranks like this.

“Please don’t make fun of me. I’m a human too, so there are things I can’t do.”

“Because I thought that even if I stabbed him with a needle, not a drop of blood would come out, Schmitz.”

“……”

Saying that, Arlott stabbed my arm with his hand.

What does this lady think of me?

Well, it was true that he was superior to his peers as he had memories of his previous life.

Even now, at the age of 12, she lives with a schedule no different from other adult attendants.

Anyway, I’m glad she seems to have recovered her mood with the rose.

I must have heard a lot of negative things from the doctor today.

I’ll show you the corolla too. Finally, I carefully take a flower out of my pocket.

“…that?”

“My gift to you, my lady… no see.”

I held out a flower to the lady with a slightly embarrassed expression.

To be honest, calling it a flower was a bit of a misnomer.

What I gave was a rose that had already withered and lost its splendor.

The reason I gave it to her though…

“A rose… Is it white?”

The bud, which she carefully received, was as white as her hair.

‘It’s a pity it’s not a perfect flower.’

Among the few roses, only one white rose was planted.

This was a secret he hadn’t even told the other attendants.

Because it is a rare species, the seeds were about 10 times more expensive than the red rose.

But I thought it would wither before I could even give it to her…

“I planted one to give to the lady, but… Unfortunately, it withered away. sorry.”

I was sincerely sorry. I wanted to put it on once as a corolla, and then insert a white rose in full bloom into her ear…

Because my plan has gone awry.

“… Can you really give this to me? really?”

“Oh, sorry. Dispose of it right away-”

“no! No, stop.”

I tried to take the rose from her hand, as she seemed to be displeased.

Then she hurriedly hid her hands behind her back.

“Whoops, don’t be shy, Schmitz.”

“… ?”

She said something incomprehensible and eventually put a white rose in her ear.

The flower, which was insignificant, has been transformed into an accessory that creates a mysterious atmosphere under her beautiful appearance.

After all, it seems that there is no reason to say that appearance is probable.

“Thank you, really. The creation of this rose garden, the corolla, the white rose buds… ”

“I’m glad you found it helpful.”

“… Yes, I actually wanted to die.”

The accident stops at her sudden words.

Arlo was looking at the flower field, fiddling with the white buds near her ears.

“Hey. I am terminally ill.”

“… ”

“I suffer from insane pain every day. I can’t do anything I want to do and I have to lie quietly in my room. However, the disease cannot be cured.”

“… miss…”

“I… I still want to give up on life every moment. I can be sure that tomorrow will be more miserable and painful than today, when I endured with my teeth clenched.”

There was no emotion on her face when she said that.

A calm appearance, as if he were talking to someone else.

The look on her face clearly showed how hard she was.

Her gaze, which was heading toward the flower field, turned to me.

“by the way… I think there are too many people who will be sad when I die.”

-Sueug

Her hand reached my face.

It was a cool skin with no warmth whatsoever.

Feeling it still, after a while, a small drop of water came out of her hand.

It seemed that tears welled up from his hot eyes.

“It’s the same, Schmitz… ”

[You’re welcome, Schmitz… ]

Memories from 4 years ago come to mind. Because of the lines similar to those from 4 years ago and her touch that wiped away my tears.

I guess I wasn’t the only one who remembered the memory of that day… I was willing to

“I will try hard. Even if there is no way to fix it now… Could a cure be found in the near future? So… ”

Her eyes, which had been silently reciting her promise, suddenly trembled.

“Oh, you gave me a ‘withered white rose’ today… can’t you forget Understand?”

“… of course. We will continue to do our best for the safety of the young lady.”

I don’t know exactly what she meant, but I also made a new resolution.

It was fortunate that Arlott had hope to live again.

However, it seems embarrassing to keep avoiding my gaze.

Because her eyes were averted, her white ears, which were exposed, turned pale pink before she knew it.

“Kuhm… Schmitz, let’s go back now.”

“Okay, lady.”

I grabbed the handle of her wheelchair and started moving slowly.

Arlott, as if his embarrassment had not gone away, continued to avoid my gaze.

At this time, I did not know the meaning of the flower language of ‘withered white rose’.

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