~Chapter 20~
Ain’s shout echoed loudly in the room.
Camilla’s hand was calmly placed on Dane’s thin shirt, his cloak missing. But Camilla didn’t look embarrassed at all—instead, she tilted her head and asked calmly,
“You came at the right time, Doctor. Do you have a stethoscope? I’m curious about Dane’s usual heart rate.”
“What?”
“…Camilla.”
Ain blinked in confusion. Camilla looked between him and Dane and suddenly realized,
Oh, right.
No one else was supposed to know about Dane’s illness, or that she was checking him.
It wasn’t good to talk about such things in front of a new friend, especially for someone like the Grand Duke’s heir.
She realized she’d gotten too comfortable and slipped up.
How careless of me.
She had gotten so focused on checking Dane that she forgot the important part.
“Why did you come in here without knocking, Ain?” Dane asked sharply.
“Oh, uh, I’m sorry, Your Grace! I heard a noise and thought something happened!”
“Are you my bodyguard or something?”
Dane glared at him, and Ain bowed deeply in embarrassment.
“I’m sorry!”
“Whatever. Since you’re here, why don’t you check Camilla?”
Ain nervously examined Camilla and said her condition was fine, advising her to rest and regain her strength.
The doctor seemed much more flustered than before. Maybe he misunderstood the situation, but that was normal.
Well, even Dane was embarrassed when I asked him to take off his shirt, Camilla thought, remembering Dane’s expression from earlier.
‘Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s just for the checkup.’
‘Checkup?’
‘You said you wanted to fight your illness, right?’
At that, Dane had paused.
‘…So you weren’t just saying that?’
‘Of course not.’
That was the first time Camilla wanted to hit the boy in front of her.
‘Even if you check me now, you won’t learn much about my illness.’
‘Huh?’
Dane said slowly,
‘I get attacks every morning at dawn.’
When Camilla’s eyes widened, Dane said, almost teasingly,
‘If you come here at dawn, I’ll show you.’
Camilla didn’t like the idea of being provoked, so she’d just insisted on checking his condition right away, making him take off his outer clothes. And that was exactly when Ain had burst in.
“I’ll send you some herbs that are good for recovery. Take them twice a day after meals, Miss,” Ain said.
“Alright, you can go now,” Dane replied.
But just before leaving, Ain couldn’t hold back his question.
“Excuse me, miss. Why did you mention a stethoscope and normal heart rate…?”
“Ain,” Dane warned.
Camilla replied with a soft smile,
“We were just playing doctor, Doctor.”
“But I thought you were the patient, miss? Playing doctor?”
He’s suspicious.
Camilla had just wanted to see if Dane’s disease was similar to any real illness.
“Why do you keep asking so many questions? Are you trying to bully your patient?” Dane snapped.
“S-sorry!” Ain hurried out the door.
“Wait,” Dane called.
“Y-yes?”
“Leave your stethoscope.”
“…”
“I need it for our doctor game.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“And you know what will happen if you tell the Grand Duchess about this, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
With that, Ain left, feeling strange.
Playing doctor, he muttered as he walked the hall.
“The Grand Duke hates being treated like a patient, but now he’s playing doctor?”
“Playing doctor? I don’t even like games like that,” Dane said.
“Dane.”
Camilla blushed in embarrassment, but Dane only smiled and handed her the stethoscope.
“Here. Try it again.”
Camilla gently opened Dane’s collar and placed the wooden stethoscope on his chest.
Thump, thump, thump.
“It’s really slow. Is it always like this?”
“I told you, it’s worst at dawn. Do you want to see?”
Even now, it’s not normal. But dawn is even worse? Camilla wondered.
Dane leaned in and whispered,
“Tonight, at 1:30 AM. Leave your window open.”
Camilla went back to her room, thinking.
At dawn? He doesn’t mean to invite me. He wants to come himself… by the window? But I’m staying on the second floor.
Camilla found her desk had been disturbed, her papers out of order, and her herbal samples mixed up.
She checked her pen. The tip looks a little worn down.
She turned to Mari, the maid.
“Have you been here the whole time, Mari?”
“Oh! I just did a little cleaning. I was the only one here!” Mari answered, smiling shyly.
She’s a bit sticky-fingered, Camilla thought, but it wasn’t time to confront her.
She hadn’t left anything too important out anyway.
I’ll organize things later. For now, dawn is what matters most.
That night, Camilla left her window slightly open and sat quietly at her desk. The curtains fluttered as a breeze came in.
Tap.
A soft tapping on the window startled her. She looked up.
In the pale dawn light, a shadow appeared outside.
When she opened the curtains, she saw something unbelievable.
Dane’s white hand was grabbing the curtain knot from the window ledge.
Seriously?
Dane nodded at her playfully. Camilla stared at him in disbelief and opened the window wider.
“There are stairs, a front door, and maids, but you really came through the window?”
Dane stepped in through the window, smiling.
“Everyone’s asleep. This way is more fun.”
But as soon as he finished, Dane wobbled.
Camilla quickly caught him.
There’s a sofa behind—
They both fell onto the sofa together.
He came all this way for a checkup in this condition?
He’s so stubborn. I should have insisted on visiting him instead.
“Dane, stay with me.”
“…Don’t waste the chance I gave you.”
Camilla gritted her teeth and helped the weak boy lie down on the sofa. She placed her hand on his chest.
Thump.
She felt his heart beating with pain.
Dane thought,
This awful pain. But today is different…
He still felt some pain, but there was an unfamiliar sense of calmness. The gentle touch on his skin made his cold sweat lessen.
Why is it different today?
The time and place were the same, but today felt special.
No, there is something different.
“Dane, can you hear my voice?” Camilla gently opened Dane’s shirt and placed the stethoscope on his chest.
“It’s even slower than during the day. Does it always get like this at night?”
“At first, I didn’t know. It felt like someone was poking me in my sleep, then my breathing got heavy and the pain started,” Dane explained.
He felt Camilla’s warmth, her hand gently brushing his forehead.
So this is it…
Dane whispered,
“It doesn’t hurt as much tonight.”
Camilla quietly put her hand on top of his.
That little touch made his heartbeat calm down.
Through the stethoscope, she could hear the gentle thumping of his heart, steady and quiet.
