# 91
---
* * *
Thick darkness and deafening silence descended upon Elad's palace.
Even in the morning, it was a place where daily life went on peacefully, no different from usual.
But the moment the Duchess, who had attended a tea party at the Imperial Palace, regained consciousness, everything collapsed.
Although less than a year had passed since the Duchess's arrival in the capital, the servants were already immersed in the pleasure of serving the lovely lady.
I could no longer imagine returning to the previously gloomy and quiet palace.
Therefore, it was a time when everyone could not hide their deep sadness and devastation.
“What in Heaven’s name does it mean not to know the reason?”
A roar erupted from the Duchess's bedroom.
Everyone remained quiet and listened while quietly doing what they wanted.
“A normal person suddenly collapses and loses consciousness, and you don’t know why? Is this what the doctor will do now?”
Viscountess Bardot, who was receiving Duke Elade's wrath, bit her lip.
“Sorry, I still need to run more detailed tests, but right now, there’s nothing I can say...”
“Quickly find out whether it is a disease or poison, no, let her come to her senses first!”
“...I will do my best.”
Unable to hide her devastation, the Viscountess bowed her head and stepped back.
When all the legislators had disappeared from the bedroom, the Duke, who had been staring coldly at the door, sighed.
As he carelessly removed his tangled hair, his straight forehead and sharp eyes were clearly revealed.
He looked at his wife lying quietly on the bed.
“...Ethel.”
I called my pale-faced wife with a trembling voice, but she did not move, let alone respond.
The Duke clenched his fists without realizing it and thought about the afternoon's events.
While he was working in the Imperial Palace, he heard some extremely ridiculous news.
〈Go, Your Highness! I think you should go see it right away! The Duchess suddenly...〉
His wife, Ethel Ellard, was a warm, lively person of sound body and mind.
Although he was weak to the cold, he never caught a cold even in the harsh weather of the duchy, and with a strong will he protected the castle and raised his children.
However, the wife he met in the Empress's palace was not the same one he knew.
Pale skin and eyes tightly closed as if they would never open again.
The moment the Duke saw this, he felt as if his feet were sinking.
I felt a fear that I had never felt before even in the war, fearing that I would never be able to face those gentle golden eyes again.
Meanwhile, remorse came back again.
When my wife couldn't sleep well the night before and was complaining of chest tightness, she had to get a doctor right away.
We had to stop her from insisting on going to the Imperial Palace and force her to rest at home.
but . …
My surprisingly acute senses led me to the conclusion that this surprising event would have happened eventually no matter what process I went through.
It wasn't just a simple change, it felt like the possibility of being 'poisoned'.
At that moment, Duke Elad immediately went to the Emperor and asked him to restrict access to the Imperial Palace.
They began to investigate not only the noble ladies who attended the tea ceremony, but also the low-ranking maids, palace maids, and servants who accompanied them.
But no one had any doubts.
Everything the wife touched, from the items she used to the moisturizers, has been thoroughly examined, but there have been no clues yet.
At the same time, the imperial doctor who examined the Duchess was shaken.
The conclusion reached was that the cause of the collapse was unknown.
“Ha...”
However, I thought Viscountess Bardot would give a different answer than the imperial court physician….
Even when he hurriedly returned to the palace after overturning the Imperial Palace, he did not abandon his expectations.
But after hearing the same thing from Viscountess Bardot, I felt so miserable that I couldn't even put it into words.
They say there are still tests remaining, but there is no trace or evidence of poisoning at all...
"Hah! Mom! Mom....!"
At that time, Diana's screams could be heard through the open door.
The Duke felt his heart breaking when he heard the voice desperately searching for his mother.
He barely regained his senses and moved to open the door wide.
“Oh, father...”
Diana's face was covered in tears when she saw her mother collapse in the Imperial Palace.
Allen, who was standing next to him, was also holding back his tears, but when he saw the Duke, he couldn't hold back and burst into tears.
“Hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo with ahhhhhhhhhhhh)!”
The Duke's heart broke again when he faced the faces filled with tears.
He immediately bent his knees and took the children in his arms.
“Don’t cry, your mother is a strong person, she will never leave us behind.”
You will be fine.
It will definitely happen.
The Duke, who was whispering several times as if he was reciting a spell, slowly opened his tightly closed eyes.
Then a child with a white face appeared on the wall behind the children.
“Leia, you come here too.”
Like Diana, Leia must have been extremely shocked.
However, Leia looked blankly at the Duke's outstretched hand and then shook her head.
Then he hesitated and took a step back, then turned around and started running somewhere.
* * *
“Ha, ha, ha.”
I rushed outside and was out of breath.
It still doesn't feel real.
Even when I saw the Duchess collapse.
Even when a shocked Diana burst into tears.
Even when the Duke, who rushed to the Empress's palace, sent me and Diana to the palace first...
I couldn't believe this actually happened in real life.
'I thought I could protect her.'
The decision I made when I came to the capital was not merely a determination to save the Duchess.
To be honest, I was fairly confident.
I really thought I could protect her.
But I couldn't.
I felt inadequate, like when I was a child living in an orphanage or ing like a ar.
Violent blow!
I slapped my cheek.
This was not the time to be dazed and distracted.
“It's not stress.”
Meanwhile, he was keeping a close eye on the Duchess from a close distance without letting his guard down.
If there was even the slightest sign of them being bullied or having a hard time during social activities, he would even consider touching the other nobles' weaknesses.
However, contrary to my fears, the ladies of the aristocratic faction were not particularly rude to the Duchess.
The noble ladies from the same imperial faction either showed a low attitude or were careful not to get close.
Above all, after becoming Duchess Beronde's friend, I don't seem to feel left out or lonely.
“Then it's really a disease?”
Honestly, I couldn't believe it.
This was because the Duchess had a fundamentally healthy constitution, and, from what I observed from the side, she dom suffered from minor ailments.
'. …Except you said you couldn't sleep last night because her chest was tight.'
At that moment, the words of Duchess Peronde, who was explaining the situation in the Imperial Palace, flashed in my mind.
〈Suddenly, she clutched her chest and gasped, saying that she was having difficulty breathing. …. And then I fell to the ground...〉
Just by looking at the symptoms, it seems to be a heart disease problem.
But if it really was a disease, could symptoms appear and deteriorate so quickly?
“Furthermore, Viscountess Bardot said that the exact reason is unknown.”
While I was biting my lip nervously, I raised my head when I heard the sound of rushing footsteps.
Viscountess Bardot, who had brought reagents and testing tools from the annex, was hurriedly heading to the main building.
“Doctor!”
“Leia? Why are you here? Not with the others...”
“Me too! Can I help you too?”
"Huh? What do you mean?"
“I want to take care of her by your side.”
I had extensive knowledge of drugs and poisons, but since I was not a doctor, I had never met a patient.
So there was no point in checking on the Duchess myf.
'but . …I have to see it with my own eyes.”
Viscountess Bardot looked at me and sighed, as if she were unable to speak.
Do you think that the child throws a tantrum and does not accept it?
It was a time when I felt frustrated because I was in a rush and wondered if I should have found another way.
“You have a good heart, but it will be difficult, your heart will hurt a lot...”
“It's okay! Please let me do it.”
Has the seriousness been conveyed? Or because of time constraints?
The Viscountess, who was looking at me, quickly nodded and took the initiative.
I followed her immediately.
When I returned to the Duchess's bedroom, there was no one in the hallway, perhaps because Allen and Diana had already returned to their room.
“Sorry, you have to prepare your mind...”
"Be quiet !"
Instead, the Duke's angry voice was heard across the room.
Certainly enough.
When I entered the room, the priest, Thelin, and the other wizards looked embarrassed.
The Duke, who was pointing his sword at the priest, soon saw me and frowned.
“Why in God’s name did you take this child?
“You will take care of her by my side.”
When Viscountess Bardot spoke hurriedly for fear of getting into trouble, the Duke clicked his tongue and put away his sword.
“Go away, you uess bastards.”
As soon as the words were finished, the priests and magicians rushed outside.
The Duke, who was sighing in confusion, spoke to me.
“Leah, get out too, I know how you feel, but stay by Diana’s side.”
I lowered my head at the Duke's words.
In my opinion, it would have been better to protect little Diana in a situation like this.
"sorry . … ".
But I couldn't.
“I feel sorry for Diana, but in the end, this is for her.”
If, like me, you don't know your parents' love from the beginning, you won't.
Because I can't let even Diana lose her mother's love.
Finally, she took a deep breath and spoke.
“I don't mean to be stubborn, there's something I want to check.”