Chapter 151.1 : Sudden Change
Chapter 151.1 : Sudden Change
While Lucius was fighting Renji, Flora’s condition had started going downhill.
(............. What should I do?)
Flora pondered frantically as she suffered from a serious headache.
The matter of her physical condition worsening as time passed was something that she herself was well aware of. Moreover, the pace at which her physical condition deteriorated got faster as days went by . She couldn’t help but feel frustrated by her condition.
At that time――,
「Flora-sama, I brought your meal.」
Will’s voice, the son of the village chief, came from the other side of the door. But, Flora who was almost delirious was unaware of that.
「.............. Flora-sama? Are you asleep? 」
He tried knocking at the door again as there was no reply when he called her name――,
「............ Y-Yes!」
Flora replied with a flustered voice, following which the door opened with a clank.
「Ah, so you’re awake!」
Will appeared from behind the door with a flushed red face.
「I’m sorry. I have been in a daze for a while.」
「I see, your fever has yet to go down, huh............」
When Flora apologized, Will’s expression also became gloomy. Yesterday, a few days after his quarrel with his father, despite saying that he would observe her condition, there was no sign of her fever going down.
(.............. Should I report Flora-sama’s condition to pops? He said he would report to the lord about Flora-sama if her fever did not go down in a few days.)
By doing so, Flora might become angry with him. Will at least, expected such a reaction from her. But, they might have to lie to Flora if she didn’t agree with their decision.
Thus, depending on their choice, it would truly be difficult to make Flora agree with their plan. When Will hesitated while thinking over what he should do――、
「................. What’s the matter? 」
Flora asked timidly. Maybe because even the smallest movement was already causing her a lot of pain, even just tilting her head looked clumsy to others.
「Eh, A~h, it’s nothing! Please eat a lot............... And get well soon!」
Will, unable to tell her the truth, shook his head due to the guilt he felt towards her. Even so, when he was about to put the tray containing her meal on the desk beside the bed――、
(The birthmark on the nape of her neck. .............. Doesn’t it look bigger than yesterday? No, is that really a birthmark?)
He was stunned upon finding the birthmark on Flora’s nape. Though he couldn’t see her birthmark yesterday as it was hidden by her hair, today, the birthmark seemed to have spread all over her neck to a point where even her long hair couldn’t hide it anymore.
「.......... U-Uhm..」
Being stared at by Will, Flora tried to hide her breast with a flustered face. Since her dress wasn’t suitable as a sleepwear, she was currently wearing a slightly bigger shirt she had borrowed from the village chief, as such there was a dangerous gap that could be seen from above.
「Eh, Ah, sory, you misunderstood! I didn’t mean to peek at you! 」
Though Will understood the meaning of Flora’s action, he still denied it with a beet red face. The place he was staring at was her nape, but it seems Flora had misunderstood that. Moreover, even Will himself couldn’t deny that he was not taking the chance to look at her chest.
「Ye-Yeah. I know.」
Flora nodded with flushed cheeks while hiding her chest, yet leaving her birthmark as it was. Her action told him that she was not aware of the birthmark on her neck――、
(Has she never noticed it? Is that............ An illness?)
It suddenly dawned on Will. But, he hesitated to ask at this time due to the extremely awkward atmosphere between them. Thus――,
「Hahaha. Anyway, I’m going to leave the meal here. See you again! 」
Will left the room as if running away from her.
After he closed the door, Flora heaved a relieved sigh. Despite the awkward situation, to be honest compared to yesterday, today she had managed to cope with Will’s actions, albeit only slightly better than the previously. On the other hand――,
(............. If it is an illness, it might be a bad one.)
Will had troubled expression outside of Flora’s room. Fundamentally he was an optimistic person, but as expected he became more and more anxious as her condition deteriorated. At worst the disease could spread to the entire village if it was an infectious type.
(.................. Should I report this to pops? What should I do? No, I guess I have no other choice. I don’t want to do this, but........)
He somehow became really worried when he recalled Flora’s expression. Will decided to tell his father the next day.
◇ ◇ ◇
The next morning.
In the agricultural field of the village where the villagers were doing their job, there were the figures of the young men of the village including Will and Donner.
(............ As expected, I really can’t tell my pops about it. With Flora-sama’s deteriorating condition, I have no choice but to ask the lord of this area to save her)
Will was racking his brain the entire night last night and finally managed to put his thoughts together.
「Oi, Will. Haven’t you been absent minded since this morning? Are you still worrying about Flora-sama? Aren’t you the one who always comes up with one reason after another?」
They, who were of the same generation, were gathered around Will.
「You guys really aren’t aware of another person’s misfortune huh. ................ Oh well, hear me out. Flora-sama’s physical condition isn’t that good.」
As he said that, he heaved a sigh with dismayed expression, and decided to consult his peers due to his endless worry and exhausted mind.
「WHAT! ? 」
It caused a complete change in their expressions.
「What do you mean! ? 」
「Was her condition that bad? 」
「Tell us the details!」
And so they kept inquiring Will about Flora. Especially Donner who was basically shaking Will’s shoulders with an angry expression.
「C-Calm down! I’m about to explain the situation to you! Donner, cut it out already, your brute power is hurting me! 」
Their fervor abated after Will said that. Thus, after everyone had calmed down, Will explained in detail about his recent worries regarding Flora’s condition and the men attentively listened to Will’s story.
「Well, that’s a troubling matter indeed. Should I report Flora-sama’s condition to my pops? I mean Flora-sama seems reluctant to ask for the help of other nobles.」
Will heaved a sigh after telling his peers about Flora’s condition.,
「Ha~h, in the first place. Why is Flora-sama reluctant to rely on other nobles? 」
A certain youth asked with a curious tone.
「Dunno. My father told me to not pry too deeply into her situation as it might bring in unexpected trouble.」
Will shook his head while heaving a sigh for the second time.
「I see...............」
All of his peers also had a troubled expression. A while later――,
「But then, it’s not like we know what goes on in the minds of those nobles anyway. Could it be that an evil noble is targetting her life? The same thing can be said for our local lord.」
Another youth said that.
「............. Yeah, you guys are thinking the same thing as me right? 」
Smiling wryly, Will asked to confirm. A promise is a promise, but even that kind of situation was already outside their expectation.