Chapter 59
‘CPR—quick, I have to start CPR!’
There was no time to hesitate. I quickly began pulling off the marquis’s jacket.
“What are you doing, young lady!”
“This is an emergency. If you won’t help, then step aside!”
I shouted urgently, then called out to Verdick.
“Verdick, hurry—help me!”
‘Four minutes. Within four minutes, I must get his heart beating again—no matter what.’
As I started chest compressions, I kept track of the time.
“What should I do?” Verdick asked nervously.
“Watch carefully and follow exactly what I do. It has to be 100–120 compressions per minute. The most important thing is to shock the heart enough to circulate blood through the body!”
While pressing down without pause, I explained to Verdick.
I regretted not teaching him this earlier, but there was no helping it now. The situation had already happened.
‘This body is really weak…!’
Since this wasn’t my original body, pain jolted through my slender wrists each time I pressed down. But I couldn’t stop just because it hurt.
If I didn’t restart his heartbeat quickly, he would die here and now.
‘Please…!’
I pressed down again and again, checking the seconds as they passed, pouring all my strength into his chest.
Just when I thought my entire body would give out—
“Lia, I’ll take over.”
Verdick had rolled up his sleeves and knelt beside me.
“Haa… just ten more, then I’ll switch!”
I gasped for breath, every push crushing against his ribs, until I could barely speak. Finally, after one last desperate push, I let myself fall back and switched places with Verdick.
I immediately checked the clock.
‘1 minute 30 seconds… Still at least 2 minutes 30 seconds to go.’
I bit my lip hard and watched him.
‘Wow!’
Even though I had only given quick instructions, since he had studied medicine, he instinctively knew how to perform CPR properly. His form was flawless.
For a moment, I felt relieved.
‘That’s good… but…’
The problem was that even the most skilled doctor couldn’t continue CPR for more than two minutes without exhausting themselves.
That’s why, in hospitals, whenever a cardiac patient came in, multiple doctors had to rotate in and out.
But here, the only medically trained people were Verdick and me.
And there was no guarantee the marquis would wake up within the golden four-minute window.
‘What if the golden time runs out? After four minutes, the body will suffer irreversible damage. And we don’t even have medicine here to help…’
Verdick was already tiring quickly.
“Verdick! Press harder—you need more strength!”
If he didn’t push deeply enough, it would be useless.
‘I want to switch with him, but…’
After my first round, my arms had no strength left.
As I frantically looked around for help, a familiar scent reached me.
“Adelia, I’ll do it.”
“Chade?”
Chade had knelt beside me before I realized it. He and Verdick exchanged a glance, then smoothly switched roles at the right moment.
‘…Now it’s all in Chade’s hands.’
My fingers trembled weakly as I looked down, biting my lips in anxious silence.
The golden time left was just 1 minute 30 seconds.
As cold dread crept through my veins, I stared at the marquis with desperate hope.
“Cough—!”
With a violent gasp, he coughed and regained consciousness.
I quickly checked the clock.
3 minutes 55 seconds.
He had awakened with only five seconds to spare.
Leopold, who had watched everything, stood in a daze.
‘How on earth…?’
From years on the battlefield, he could tell at a glance—when Heres Graven had clutched his chest and collapsed, he had been as good as dead.
He found himself staring at the rose-haired girl.
‘She’s the daughter of Baron Limone, wasn’t it?’
At first, when she stripped the marquis’s clothes and pressed his bare chest with both hands, he couldn’t understand what she was doing. Could that really save a dying man?
But the gravity of the moment stopped him from interfering.
‘And yet—she really brought him back to life…’
Gathering his astonished thoughts, the duke finally spoke.
“Take the marquis to the guest room.”
At his order, servants of both houses carried Graven away.
Then Leopold turned to his knights.
“Lock Roman in the underground prison. Do not even give him a drop of water. When the time is right, I will interrogate him myself.”
“Yes, my lord.”
After issuing his commands one by one, the duke’s gaze fell again on Adelia.
Her breath was still quick and uneven, but her face glowed with a strange pride.
‘She’s clearly no ordinary child.’
Leopold nodded slightly and strode toward her.
Adelia slowly lifted her gaze upward.
“G-greetings, my lord duke.”
Her pale pink eyes looked clear and intelligent.
Leopold studied her quietly, then bowed his head slightly.
“Thank you. Truly.”
“……!”
“You have gone through much trouble for us today. I wish to express my gratitude properly—so please, do not leave yet. Stay a while.”
Her eyes widened like a startled rabbit. A moment ago, she had worked like a seasoned doctor, but now she looked shy and flustered, which amused him.
She nodded quickly.
“Y-yes, my lord.”
When the office was finally emptied, only Duke Blaine and his son Chade remained.
The chaos had ended, and the sun was already setting outside.
The duke stood by the window in silence before speaking slowly.
“…You must have suffered greatly while I was gone.”
“No, Father.”
“It looked like the situation had been very difficult.”
“But everything was resolved once you arrived at the right time. I am truly fine.”
In the half-year he had been away, his son had changed.
Chade had grown taller, his features sharper from hardship. Most of all, his entire presence was more mature than before.
The duke spoke with a faint bitterness.
“You’ve grown so much in my absence. Both you, and Lily…”
“….”
“Did you foresee this, and go with the young lady to her home on purpose?”
“Not on purpose… At first, I only wished to help Adelia.”
Chade spoke calmly, recounting what had happened.
“But I did suspect something might happen if I left as well. I had received word that Mabel had visited Uncle Heres.”
“I see.”
“Because of that, Lily ended up suffering, and I feel guilty.”
“No. If anything, I am the one who owes much.”
The duke lowered his head, recalling the past.
When first dispatched to the barrier, he had been lost in grief over Rubian’s death. His mind was consumed only with slaying the beasts that swarmed there.
It wasn’t until he heard Lily was ill that he remembered the children he had left behind in the duchy.
From then, he secretly sent spies to watch over the household. That was how he learned so much had happened while he was away.
‘Something had been festering beneath the surface… but which rats were behind it, I didn’t yet know.’
Then one day, Chade had sent word:
That the head maid Mabel’s behavior was suspicious, along with evidence he had gathered.
The betrayal had shattered him, but he managed to hold himself together—for the children waiting for him.
‘I must return. Return to the duchy.’
Just as the beast hunts were nearing their end, he received another message from Chade:
[It seems something will happen in the duchy while I am away. Perhaps it is best to wait a little longer.]
And by following that advice, everything had been revealed.
Once Chade was absent as well, the traitors had shown their true colors—lured in by Marquis Heres.
The duke finished his recollection and quietly shifted the subject.
