The Three Sisters (3)

A servant burst in urgently. The duke's door swung open without permission. But the servant who had come was drenched in sweat. That alone was enough to guess. Something had happened in the ducal household.

"What is it?"

"Well... it's... Lady Ellensia..."

The name that came from the panting servant's mouth was none other than Ellensia. Just as I had expected.

'This was an unchangeable future.'

No matter how much I advanced the ventilation time, nothing changed. Even if I closed the door and raised the room's temperature while lighting an apple-scented candle, it was the same.

However, if it had followed the past as it was... my reaction at this moment had been one step slower. The one who reacted faster than me was Tia.

"Has something happened to Lady Ellensia?"

"Yes, yes...! She's burning up with fever right now..."

At those words, Tia whipped her head around.

"My apologies, Your Grace. May I go to her later—"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"No need. Attend to Ellensia first."

"Thank you."

Tia gave her thanks and hurriedly left the room toward Ellensia.

"This hasn't changed either."

I remember that face vividly, even if only briefly. The moment she heard something had happened to Ellensia, her expression had paled in horror. There was no acting or falsehood. It was a face filled purely with worry and anxiety—genuine concern.

"That's what a real family is, I suppose."

I had spent every year with the sisters, passing no small amount of time with them. It wasn't just closeness. As the household's sole maid, designated by the sisters themselves, she was someone they trusted enough not to hold back around. For those children who had lost their mother, Tia was one of the few people they could truly rely on. It wasn't just because she was the only maid; that closeness had formed for good reason.

More than someone like me, she was the one who suited those sisters. The word family.

"That's why I truly don't understand. Why did you perform the family head succession ritual on me, Madam...? Why not Tia?"

I really couldn't comprehend it.

"..."

The status window popped up as if there was no time for complaints.

...Right. For now, I just need to focus on surviving. It was about time anyway.

"Oh, Your Grace. The item you ordered has just arrived..."

"Hand it over."

This time it arrived on time... no, it's still too late, isn't it? Holding the arrived item, I headed to the place where angry glares awaited.

"Cough. Cough!"

Coughing echoed through the room. Hot breaths followed in its wake. Either way, it was a bad sign.

—Crunch.

Veronica bit her lip. It felt like only yesterday their mother had collapsed. It hadn't even been a day since then.

And yet. Why was something like this happening again? Enduring such hardships one after another...

──♬

At that moment, the sound of a harmonica filled the air. Ellensia briefly opened her eyes and played a short tune on the harmonica. Her hand gently stroked her youngest sister's cheek.

"Sis... Ellensia sis...!"

"I'm fine, Lucy. So don't cry. Okay?"

"But you suddenly collapsed...!"

──♬

A short harmonica melody. Embedded in that playing was a sliver of Ellensia's magic. Through it, a fixed amount of mana firmly anchored Veronica's mind.

"If you keep crying, it'll make Ellensia suffer more, Lucy."

"Veronica sis..."

"How could my cute little sis crying by her side not weaken her resolve?"

Her heart ached for Ellensia too, but she couldn't break. Her youngest sister was watching. She had to show a bit more maturity, a bit more strength.

"Lucy. Come here."

"...Okay."

"It's alright. Everything's alright. Ellensia will get better soon."

Veronica gently stroked Lucilla's back as she nestled into her embrace, comforting her. Only then did Ellensia close her eyes again with a relieved expression.

...But no matter how she looked at it, it was closer to fainting than sleep. Veronica felt the same as Lucilla.

"..."

Gazing at Ellensia, who was exhaling hot breaths, her body burning with fever and shivering... It was undeniable. She had seemed perfectly fine. Walking the halls with a smile, insisting she was okay. She had mentioned feeling a little tired, but... everyone knew it was because of yesterday's events. There hadn't been any real warning signs.

For Ellensia, who had been fine, to now lie in bed like their mother... It was a terrifying sight for Veronica too.

'What on earth could have caused this...'

As guilt and fear began to grow, Widen arrived.

"Lady Veronica. It's Widen! My apologies for hearing the news so late...!"

"No, it's fine. Come in quickly."

Widen, clutching his medical bag in haste, began the examination swiftly.

"This is..."

Widen removed his stethoscope and sighed. Veronica's chest sank with a thud. It felt like déjà vu from yesterday.

Because of that, she vaguely realized Ellensia's collapse wasn't ordinary.

A few hours earlier, Ellensia had been smiling, insisting she was fine. Then, without any warning, she had collapsed. Truly, no signs at all. No problems whatsoever.

Yet... how could she suddenly collapse like this? There had to be a reason.

"Widen. Ellensia's okay, right? Our Ellensia sis has nothing wrong, right?"

"Well..."

Widen swallowed hard before continuing.

"It's the flu that's been going around this year. It shows symptoms similar to a common cold, but it's a slightly different disease. It even comes with fever and chills like one... but the key difference is the sudden loss of strength, staggering, or dizziness that hits periodically—every two minutes or so. That's the biggest distinction."

"...Yes. That's what happened to Ellensia. I rushed her here after she collapsed."

"As expected... Then, one more thing. Did Lady Ellensia ever stagger? Around... when a cold wind came in, or after coughing—when her body got chilled, that is."

"Something like that happened, but... no way, that was it?"

"Yes. That's the trigger for onset after the incubation period. Her mana circulation faltered momentarily, causing the dizziness. Anyway, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this confirms it. If her body temperature had been kept warm then, she might not have caught it..."

Cold wind and thin clothes. Her own coat hadn't been enough, after all. Guilt welled up. Had Ellensia ended up like this because of her?

"Now that I've confirmed, I need to move immediately. This isn't the time."

"What do you mean?"

"This flu is quite nasty and won't resolve naturally. She needs medicine to recover. But the ducal residence had no prior cases showing these signs, and given the circumstances, we didn't stock any. I need to fetch it quickly."

Veronica understood why the family physician Widen was in such a hurry.

"...No way. It's not something easy to obtain?"

"Yes. As it's a recently circulating flu, the recipe is complex. Moreover, production stops completely from noon until night due to its unique nature. If I don't hurry, the symptoms will last until tomorrow."

"Then, then send people out!"

Lucilla cried out desperately.

"Send people to get it...!"

"...No, Lady Lucilla. Unfortunately, there are so many similar counterfeits that only physicians can distinguish it properly. We have no choice but to check each one. That's why it doesn't even have an official name."

"No..."

In other words, there was nothing they could do. Even as Ellensia lay collapsed, as her older sister, Veronica could do absolutely nothing.

"Other patients must have had it too, so some physicians likely prepared in advance. I'll go fetch some right away."

"Dr. Widen. Do you have a map?"

"Ah... Could I have one? I don't know the exact locations of the physicians..."

"Yes. I'll get it for you. See you at the main gate."

With that, Widen left the room with Tia. Of all times, why did things have to turn out like this? She thought the family physician's arrival would resolve it quickly. But there was nothing they could do. All they could do was watch their sister lie there unconscious and suffering.

"If only I'd watched Ellensia more closely, this wouldn't have..."

As Veronica lamented and bowed her head, one of the maids spoke up from right behind her.

"Um, Lady Veronica. That's not it."

"...What?"

"Lady Ellensia wasn't exposed to cold wind only when you were with her, right?"

Veronica turned at those words.

"What do you mean? She wasn't only exposed then?"

"W-well... Early this morning, Lady Ellensia visited the duke's room. I happened to see it..."

"...What."

Ellensia had gone to that man's room? Why? For what reason?

...She couldn't know. But it was a clear fact that Ellensia had visited that room.

"Tell me more. How long did Ellensia stay in that room?"

"Er... um... At least five minutes, I think they talked..."

"..."

"Veronica sis. Then...!"

Five minutes. Widen had said dizziness or staggering hit every two minutes.

"Five minutes... That's at least two times she would have staggered?"

"And he did nothing?"

"We noticed right away. No way he didn't see it..."

"He must have known something was off...? Normally you'd ask what's wrong."

The maids murmured on their own. They weren't wrong. Five minutes meant at least two staggers, and alone in the room, he could have observed it clearly.

That meant... someone who could have acted beforehand had existed.

'It's not confirmed yet.'

There were points to verify.

"Don't jump to conclusions. We haven't confirmed if Ellensia showed symptoms in that room."

"..."

The maids all fell silent.

"Lucy. You too. We can't suspect without evidence."

She did have bad feelings toward that man, it was true. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been annoyed seeing him use their mother's room from day one and take out her clothes. But this was separate.

...Her head knew she had to think that way.

—Click.

Right then, the door opened. Lucilla bolted out immediately.

"Who do you think you are, barging in here!"

The potential culprit had appeared before her eyes.

Everything was the same. Ellensia's breathing filled the room with hot gasps. Servants casting dissatisfied, annoyed glances. Amid them, Lucilla shouting with eyes full of rage, and...

"You've arrived, family head."

Veronica, calling me 'family head' once more, suppressing her sharpest tone as she pulled Lucilla behind her.

The gaze that I was the least fitting person in this room hadn't changed.

"Ellensia has the flu. Similar to a cold, but with dizziness and staggering every two minutes. The precursor is the body chilling from cold wind exposure."

"..."

"So I'd like to ask. I heard from the maids that Ellensia visited your room early this morning. Did you see nothing? Notice nothing?"

It was a question laden with pressure. A roundabout way of saying, Couldn't you have done something beforehand?

But... what should I say?

I had never seen Ellensia stagger. Never seen her shiver from cold. In short, I didn't know.

I could say that. Like in the past.

But this future hadn't changed. Even raising the room temperature and closing the door, it hadn't resolved.

Then or now, Ellensia hadn't shown the staggering precursor in front of me.

However, even if I said I hadn't seen it...

"..."

Would those gazes believe me? No chance. In this already suspicious situation, it'd just paint me as making excuses.

And beyond that, this denial would solidify another fact.

Therefore, I chose the lesser evil over the worst.

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault, my negligence."

—Step.

Step.

"This is..."

"But for now, shouldn't Ellensia's recovery come first?"