# 10
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“Okay, doctor...!”
Rical told her to call the doctor if anything happened.
Evelyn opened the paper on which Rykal had written the address. Below the address of the palace, there was the address of the doctor.
She quickly ordered the carriage driver, who was waiting for her with the cart, to bring the doctor as quickly as possible.
The doctor soon arrived at the palace and examined Mrs. Merkel. His expression was extremely serious.
“It was 40 degrees.”
“So, what does that mean?”
“If we can't get the fever down...I can't say how long it will last.”
Even Evelin could see that in this situation, Rekal's grandmother would not be able to last long.
She didn't want to get involved in matters related to the plague, but watching someone on the verge of death made it impossible to remain calm.
The doctor packed his bag and spoke.
“Unfortunately, there is nothing else I can do...”
Evelin bit her lip and grabbed the doctor’s coat when he was about to leave and asked,
“Do you know a plant called catun?”
“Katon…?”
The doctor looked puzzled by the unexpected question. But Evelin was very serious.
“Yes, is there anywhere nearby where it grows?”
* * *
The still confused doctor replied that Caton could be found all over the nearby hill.
Evelin checked with the doctor again what the Caton Grass looked like and left the palace.
When she arrived at the hill, she looked for Caton herf. The driver was shocked to see a noble woman roaming the mountain like a gardener, but when she handed him her necklace, he closed his mouth and began to help her search for the herb.
Although she asked for detailed descriptions, all the plants looked similar, making them difficult to find.
'After all, it seems that I have to play the role of an herbalist.'
Finally, she found Caton and triple-checked the herb to make sure it matched the description the doctor had given. Then she returned to the palace.
In the kitchen, she made soup with katun leaves and different vegetables.
It would probably taste terrible.
She silently apologized to Rikaal's grandmother and prepared the soup mixed with katun herb.
Evelin brought the prepared soup into the room and looked at Mrs. Merkel.
She still didn't respond, and there were only her sparkling eyelashes.
Evelyn blew on the soup to cool it and slowly fed it to Mrs. Merkel.
At first, the soup spilled out of her mouth, but after several attempts, she was finally able to swallow some of it.
“You succeeded...!”
Evelin diligently fed the soup to Mrs. Merkel, stirring the spoon vigorously.
After about an hour, traces of Caton's leaves began to appear. Mrs. Merkel's fever has subsided significantly, and now her breathing is completely steady.
Finally, Evelin could breathe in relief.
At that moment, her gaze fell on the dark landscape outside the window.
Time has passed quickly.
“I must hurry back.”
It was time for Defrin to go home.
He won't look for her, because she's not someone important to him, but if she returns late, Devrin might find out about her trip to take care of Rykal's grandmother.
When Evelin arrived at the palace, she saw the shadows of two men in the first floor hall through the window.
“…Diffrin must have already returned.”
The shadow that was assumed to be Devrin was running his hand through his hair. His movements seemed disturbed, as if he was angry about something.
And the man who seemed to be bowing his head was Rykal.
In a seemingly serious attitude, Evelin carefully opened the door and entered through the main gate.
The air was cold.
When I entered, I heard Rikaal's voice, tinged with guilt.
“I'm sorry, Lord Dyffryn. It's my fault. I'll go get Lady Evelyn immediately.”
“Bring me?”
Evelyn called out to the gloomy-faced Rykal.
“Rekal?”
“Lady Evelyn...!”
Rykal raised a disappointed face. Devrin, who was also staring at Rykal, suddenly averted his gaze.
When he saw Evelin, Dyffrin's eyes widened for a moment, and then he spoke loudly.
“Evelyn!”
Devrin came forward and stood in front of her. His huge body looked even more impressive.
“I heard you went to the Rekal estate. Why the hell did you go there when you knew there was someone sick with the plague?”
From a distance, Devrin looked angrier than she thought.
She wondered if Dyffryn was worried about the possibility of her contracting the plague. Because then she could transmit the disease to him since she lives with him.
If that was why he was so angry, she could understand, but raising that upset over something that had been done to Rykal, who was practically like Dyffryn's brother, seemed excessive.
Although Evelin was annoyed by Devrin's sudden anger, she felt that she needed to explain the situation calmly.
“Rikal had an important appointment with you this afternoon. Since there was no one to take care of his sick grandmother right away, I offered to go in his place.”
“This is not something you should worry about!”
Dyffrin shouted loudly.
Evelyn blinked in surprise.
Only then did Devrin seem to realize this and gently removed his hand from Evelyn's shoulder, which he was holding.
“Don't get involved in such matters again.”
Devrin spat out the words coldly and walked beside Evelin. He heard his footsteps echo unpleasantly as he ascended the stairs.
Evelyn stood there in confusion, as Rykal approached her.
“I'm sorry, Lady Evelyn.”
She didn't know how many times he apologized to her today.
“Rekal...is Devrin angry with me because I went to take care of your grandmother?”
Rykal smiled bitterly.
"He had every right to be angry. Lord Dyffryn must have been worried that you might be infected with the plague, since you are rather weak."
Evelyn did not find this reason very convincing.
'Differin is worried about me? The way he shouted didn't make him sound like he was worried at all.'
Evelyn furrowed her eyebrows and tried to change the subject to calm the guilt-ridden Rykal.
“Your grandmother is fine. Her temperature went down after she ate. She is much better now.”
Evelyn did not go into details about what happened today.
Rykal actually seemed quite annoyed by Dyffrin's reprimand.
In fact, Mrs. Merkel's condition has improved to the point where there is no longer any cause for concern.
In a few days, they might hear news of her full recovery.
After thanking Rykal, Evelyn went upstairs.
After doing things like picking herbs in the mountains and cooking, her entire body felt stiff.
She was about to enter her room, tapping her hand on the shoulder, when she noticed the tightly closed door to the next room.
‘Hmm…’
The cold expression Devrin was wearing when he disappeared earlier was disturbing her.
In the end, instead of going to her room, Evelin turned her body and stood in front of Devrin's bedroom door.
Knock, knock.
I knocked, but there was no answer.
“Differin.”
She called out his name, but still, there was no response from inside.
'He must be inside, though.'
She thought she should just say what she wanted to say and leave.
“Thank you for worrying about me today.”
Even if it was because he was worried that she might pass the plague on to him.
It's best not to make him angry too much.
As Evelin was staring at the door and was about to turn around and leave, the door suddenly opened.
Defrin was standing there with an expressionless face.
He was listening quietly inside, as she had expected.
“Come in for a moment.”
Defrin seemed to have something he wanted to say. When he stepped aside, Evelin entered his room.
After closing the door behind her, Devrin turned around and looked at Evelin silently.
"You."
"I…?"
Evelin waited for Devrin's next words.
“Why did you go to Rykal’s house?”
Even though she had already answered this question, she couldn't understand why he asked it again.
“As I said before, Rikal had an important appointment with you in the afternoon, so I thought he wouldn’t be able to take care of his grandmother.”
“How did you know that Rikaal had an important appointment with me?”
Evelyn hesitated for a moment. She didn't expect him to ask such a question.
“I've been talking to Rykal a lot, so...”
A faint crack seemed to appear on Dyffryn's smooth forehead.
Evelin briefly reconsidered her answer, but no matter how she thought about it, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it.
“That's why, since I'm close to Rekal, I couldn't ignore his problem.”
“...Close to him?”
Evelyn felt a shiver at Devrin's gaze.
“Yes. Since Raekal is close to you, it would be good for me to be close to him as well.”
She said it casually, but she could sense his tense mood.
Evelyn Differin observed indifferently,
“Are you maybe...jealous?”
Devrin, who was clenching his eyes tightly, opened them wide as if he had heard something incredible. Then his expression hardened.
"prattle."
Evelyn nodded.
"That's good, then. I was surprised that you would be jealous of Rykal of all people."
“You seem worried that I might transmit the plague, but I've been very careful, so don't worry.”
Devrin remained silent, but since he was not angry, he seemed to have calmed down somewhat.
Evelyn blinked.
“If I finish, I will go now because I am tired.”
Just as Evelin was about to open the door and leave, she suddenly turned her head to look at Devrin.
"And just a reminder, I will not give you a massage while Rikaal is there. It would be embarrassing to wander into your room when you have guests over."
Evelyn assumed he would agree and opened the door.
“Goodnight, Devrin.”
Without any response, Evelin left, leaving Devrin standing there in silence.