Chapter — 49
An Uneasy Gamble
Whose voice was that?
“Why are you here, miss?”
Adeline opened her closed eyes. Thick silver hair sparkled in the sunlight. Francis, dressed in a light shirt, was looking down at her. He chuckled and gently touched her forehead.
“What did you smear all over your face?”
The ink on his sleeve, not fully dry, had mixed with the sweat on her forehead. Francis wiped the stain away with his sleeve.
“At least greet me properly. It’s rude not to.”
“I’m really tired right now. Talk to me later.”
“That hurts my feelings.”
“Pick a fight later too.”
“Hey, that’s not picking a fight. I’m seriously getting hurt here.”
“Okay.”
“Since we met like this, let’s greet each other first. I’ll teach you a greeting I learned in the Kingdom of Sellion today.”
Francis helped the lying Adeline up and pulled her into a tight hug. Adeline, looking annoyed and clearly lacking the strength to resist, just stayed still and breathed quietly.
“I thought you’d get angry, but I guess you didn’t hate it. Well, I am charming.”
“I don’t even have the energy to hate it, so can you let go now? You can just lay me back on the bench.”
“You really look unwell. You’re sweating a lot.”
“I’ll be fine if I rest a bit.”
“There’s a doctor I know here. Wait just a moment.”
Francis ran off, faster than anyone else. In the Kingdom of Sellion, light hugs were a form of greeting—but doing that in the Audensian Empire? He was truly a free-spirited and unpredictable man.
I’m exhausted to death…
Adeline was resting in the shade of a tree when a sudden loud cry rang out.
“Help!!”
Are the kids playing again?
During games of tag, children often ran around shouting for help. But as the crying grew louder, she felt something was wrong.
“Waaah!”
Turning her head, she saw a child dangling high up from a large tree. Other children stood below, crying and stamping their feet.
There’s no time to call for help.
There was only one option. Adeline steadied her breathing and gathered mana. In an instant, she was beneath the tree. Just as she looked up, the child fell like a leaf.
I have to hold on.
She had already used magic once, and just keeping the child floating made her legs shake. The constant crying of the children forced her to endure. She had to see the child reach the ground safely somehow…
Adeline collapsed to the ground, her arms still stretched forward, but it was too much. The child was still floating in the air.
The time she endured alone felt endless. Just as her breathing became ragged, she saw the child almost reach the ground. Her consciousness faded, and she closed her eyes.
Darkness.
When Adeline regained consciousness, the orange glow of sunset had already filled the sky. The first voice she heard was Gilbert’s.
“You’re awake? Adeline, I told you not to overdo it! You should have thought about your condition!”
Adeline nodded weakly, when another voice joined in.
“She saved a life and didn’t die herself. Isn’t that enough? Nagging the moment she wakes up is a bit much.”
“Francis, leave the room.”
“Why? I know her too. Miss, we know each other, right?”
“You immature brat! Don’t be so noisy in front of a patient!”
Francis grumbled and sat down on a nearby chair. Seeing how firmly he refused to leave, Gilbert let out a sharp sigh.
“Adeline, if you’re still weak, you don’t have to answer.”
“I’m feeling better now. What about the child?”
“He’s safe. It seems they were playing and climbed too high. Thanks to you, he wasn’t hurt.”
“That’s a relief.”
“The child is fine, but you aren’t.”
“I’m fine too.”
Gilbert sighed and took out a chart. Only then did Adeline slowly sit up in bed. Francis stared at her with a sulky expression.
“Francis, leave.”
“I said I won’t. I saw the chart earlier too.”
“You’re not allowed to look at a patient’s chart.”
“Well, she and I have a special relationship.”
While the two argued, Adeline took a sip of water from the bedside table. Then she glanced at the chart Gilbert had placed on the bed.
“Doctor, what does this red mark mean?”
“…….”
Gilbert fell silent, and Francis scratched the back of his head.
“Miss, didn’t you feel something strange about your body?”
“I did, that’s why I was resting on the bench.”
“No, not that. I mean, didn’t you notice anything odd in your daily actions?”
“I’ve just been tired a lot…”
Adeline kept her eyes on the chart. She lacked proper medical knowledge, but she had read many medical books while observing Winston’s condition for a long time.
“Doctor Gilbert… am I very sick?”
She wasn’t sure if she was reading the chart correctly.
“Francis, leave.”
“Fine. Fine.”
Francis scratched his head irritably and left. After he was gone, Gilbert held Adeline’s hand.
“I told you about my sister before, didn’t I?”
“Yes.”
“Francis is my sister’s son.”
“The nephew who’s helping find the person I requested?”
“Yes. He’s very unruly, so I only met him properly yesterday. He said he knows you.”
“We met by chance at the auction house.”
“He didn’t cause you any trouble, did he?”
Before Gilbert could finish, the door burst open. Francis stood there, still sulking.
“I didn’t cause trouble. I just thought she was pretty.”
Bang!
Francis slammed the door shut again, and Gilbert sighed deeply.
“He’s my nephew, but he has a seriously foolish side. That part doesn’t resemble my sister at all.”
Gilbert looked at Adeline with effort and continued.
“Adeline… putting that aside, I think we need to monitor your condition more closely.”
“Is it serious?”
No matter how many different choices she had made in her life, she had never once fallen ill. She believed she would never suffer because of sickness.
Am I going to die young in this life?
It was serious, yet it didn’t feel real. Sitting in her study, she recalled Gilbert crying quietly when he closed his eyes.
“I don’t know for sure yet. But if it’s Phinium, it’s truly dangerous.”
Phinium was a strange disease. It only affected people with mana flowing through their bodies, appearing without clear symptoms and quietly taking their lives. It was rare and not easy to contract—but deadly.
If I die again, will I regress once more?
Or would it be the end forever? Adeline didn’t know why she kept regressing. That was why she didn’t want to take such an uncertain gamble.
She began checking the medical books stacked on her desk one by one. This wasn’t like dying suddenly as before. She knew about the illness in advance—so she just needed to find a way to live.
After reading for a long while, Kyla knocked on the door.
“Sister Adeline.”
“Kyla, I told you not to disturb me.”
“There’s a guest. Some old man.”
Kyla left the room with an annoyed look, and soon Gilbert entered. They sat facing each other at the table.
“Adeline, how are you feeling today?”
“Same as usual. Nothing hurts.”
“That’s good.”
Gilbert smiled more brightly than usual and continued.
“About the books you were looking for—some of them are extremely hard to obtain.”
“No one is selling them secondhand?”
Gilbert shook his head.
“They’re very rare.”
“I see.”
“But fortunately, I found someone who owns them. You can’t take them outside, but you’re allowed to read them inside the house.”
“That’s a relief. Where do I need to go?”
Gilbert took out a document from his bag. As soon as Adeline received it, her eyes widened.
“This place is…”
“The Grand Duchy of Blackwood.”
“…?!”
“I met His Grace the Grand Duke yesterday. He gladly allowed you to read the books.”
“……”
“I explained your situation as well. He said you’re welcome to visit Blackwood anytime.”
“Is there really no other place?”
“The imperial family does have an institution that collects such books, but access there would be even more difficult.”
“Are these books that hard to get?”
“Most of them are related to the Old Faith.”
Currently, both the Holy Nation and the Empire followed the New Faith. The teachings of the Old Faith had faded into history. After past riots caused by Old Faith believers, the imperial family strictly controlled anything related to it.
“As you know, it can be dangerous for an individual to read books related to the Old Faith.”
Ha… should I just give up?
