Chapter 137
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 137
Benjamin pulled more documents from his bag and spread them out before Cedric.
“I searched the Imperial Health Bureau for this medicine’s approval records, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find a single mention of it. Then, acting on a hunch, I searched the database for rejected drug applications.”
He traced a line on the document with his fingertip as he read aloud.
“‘Application for approval rejected due to insufficient verification regarding serious side effects, including cardiac arrest, respiratory distress, excessive lethargy, and loss of consciousness. Production is prohibited until a reapplication is approved following further supplementation.’”
While Benjamin read the short paragraph, Cedric’s gaze had already swept over the damning details listed below.
“For the elderly Lady Fellon, whose health is already significantly compromised, this drug is extremely dangerous. In the worst-case scenario, she could suffer cardiac arrest—or simply fall asleep and never wake up.”
At Benjamin’s grim assertion, both Cedric and Jeremia’s expressions hardened.
Cedric gathered the documents Benjamin had brought and stood abruptly. He turned to Jeremia.
“It seems I must go. I’m afraid our tea time with Mother must end here.”
Before Jeremia could even respond, he turned and strode out of the tea room. Benjamin, sensing the gravity of the situation, followed close on his heels.
After the sudden whirlwind of their departure, Jeremia was left alone in the tea room, where a heavy silence now settled.
* * *
“Is Great-aunt Trisha still asleep?” Harriet asked the maid guarding the door.
“Yes. She’s been sleeping for an unusually long time today.”
It had been four hours since she had settled in for her afternoon nap. Normally, she woke after three hours at most. However, since the day before yesterday, her naps had been growing longer—first by ten minutes, then twenty. Today, even after four hours, there was no sign of her waking.
“Should I just wake her? She needs to eat.”
“Last time Lady Roxana woke her for a meal, she couldn't eat a thing. She seemed unable to shake the drowsiness.”
“Sigh... But she needs to eat to keep her strength up...”
Harriet gazed at Trisha’s bedroom door with worried eyes before reluctantly turning away.
Just then, a commotion broke out in the first-floor lobby. It sounded as if someone had arrived, but Harriet hadn't heard of any scheduled visitors. She hurried downstairs, wondering if John had barged in unexpectedly.
However, the man entering the lobby and receiving Andre’s respectful greeting was Cedric.
“Duke Kailas? What brings you here so suddenly...?”
Harriet’s greeting, a mix of welcome and bewilderment, died in her throat when she saw Cedric’s grave expression and Benjamin standing behind him. Her face paled.
Cedric approached the frozen Harriet. His eyes were sharp as he skipped the pleasantries.
“Miss Harriet. Was this medicine prescribed by the new physician?”
In his hand was the brown bottle Harriet had given him not long ago.
“Yes... Why? Is something wrong?”
“Sir Nelson has something to tell you regarding this medicine.”
“Just a moment. Butler! Please fetch Lady Roxana. This isn't something I should hear alone.”
While Andre hurried upstairs, Harriet led Cedric and Benjamin to the first-floor drawing room. Outside the open window, the brilliant colors of late spring turning to early summer stretched across the estate, but inside the room, an anxious, heavy silence took root.
A moment later, Roxana entered. Andre must have given her a hint of the situation, as her expression was just as rigid.
“Duke, this is Lady Roxana. She handles the family’s affairs on Grandmother’s behalf and knows her health condition best.”
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Grace. I am Roxana Valbenus.”
Roxana offered a brief greeting, and once everyone was settled, Cedric nodded toward Benjamin.
Finally given the floor, Benjamin leaned forward and repeated exactly what he had told Cedric. He explained that the medicine was a drug whose production permit had been rejected by the Imperial Health Bureau, meaning it should never have been in circulation. He detailed the severe side effects that made it a death sentence for someone in Trisha’s condition.
“...In short, while it is excellent at relieving pain and suppressing coughs, it carries a high probability of side effects that could claim a life. That is why the new drug was never approved.”
The color drained from Harriet’s and Roxana’s faces.
Roxana, who had been relieved that the medicine seemed to be working, and Harriet, who had felt a lingering unease about Joseph, both found their minds going blank.
Suddenly, Harriet jumped to her feet and called for the butler.
“Butler! Check if Grandmother is awake yet!”
Roxana, also concerned by the length of Trisha’s nap, stood up to follow Andre upstairs.
But she didn't need to reach the second floor. The maid who had been guarding Trisha’s bedroom came rushing down the stairs in a panic.
“Miss! Her Ladyship won’t wake up!”
“What? What are you saying!”
“She had been sleeping for so long that I tried to wake her, but no matter how much I shook her, she wouldn't open her eyes!”
Harriet felt her world go numb.
Roxana, however, did not lose her composure. She grabbed the maid’s arm, her voice sharp. “Her breathing? Is she breathing?”
“Yes, yes! She’s breathing... but it seems so weak...”
Cedric rose and placed a steadying hand on Harriet’s trembling shoulder.
“Don’t panic. I brought Sir Nelson with me for a reason.”
Only then did Harriet remember that one of the empire's finest physicians was standing right there.
“Sir Nelson! Please, I beg you, look at Grandmother!”
“Of course. Lady Roxana, was it? Please, lead the way to Lady Fellon’s bedroom.”
“Yes! This way.”
Roxana quickly led him up to the second floor.
Even as they moved, Harriet couldn't process what was happening. Trisha had seemed perfectly fine that morning. They had exchanged their usual affectionate greetings; Trisha had even nagged her gently. She had kissed Harriet’s cheek before her nap.
Was that our last kiss?
The thought that she might never see the only person she truly considered family again made her hands shake uncontrollably. Her fading focus was pulled back to reality by a firm hand covering her own.
“Harriet.”
At the low, steady voice calling her name, Harriet turned. Cedric was looking down at her, holding her shoulder and hand.
“Oh, what should we do? If Grandmother doesn't wake up because we kept giving her that medicine...!”
“That won’t happen. And this is not your fault.”
“But...!”
“There are things we must do right now, rather than dwelling on a desperate future.” He squeezed her hand a little tighter. “Summon that new physician. We need to interrogate him on how he obtained an unapproved drug and whether he was aware of the side effects.”
“R-right. We need to call Lord Alden.”
With a clear task before her, Harriet collected herself and immediately called for her maid, Esther.
“Did you call, Miss?”
“Esther! Go at once and bring Lord Alden here. Do not mention that the Duke or Sir Nelson are here. Just tell him that Great-aunt Trisha won’t wake up and that it’s an emergency.”
“What? Oh, understood!”
“Take one of my guards with you, just in case.”
“Yes, Miss!”
Esther, realizing the gravity of the situation, turned pale and rushed out.
Cedric gave Harriet no time to sink back into her anxiety.
“Now, you and I are going to the Imperial Health Bureau. We need to find a replacement for the medicine Lady Fellon was taking.”
“Shouldn't Sir Nelson come with us?”
“He needs to stay here and watch over Lady Fellon. With my status as the Emperor’s nephew, we can easily secure help from the Imperial Physicians. You just gather Lady Fellon’s nursing logs.”
“Understood!”
Harriet started toward the stairs, then paused and turned back.
“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”
“Save the thanks for when Lady Fellon opens her eyes. Hurry.”
Harriet nodded and quickened her pace. The air in the Fellon Estate, which had been peaceful only thirty minutes prior, now rippled with a cold, sharp unease.
* * *
At two in the afternoon, a time when most were enjoying a leisurely cup of tea, a hired carriage sped down Astaire Street, a road lined with luxurious townhouses.
The carriage came to a halt in front of an expensive-looking mansion. A man in neat attire, carrying a medical bag, stepped out.
With an urgent expression, he rang the bell. After a polite welcome from a servant, he was ushered inside. The lady of the house, having been informed of his arrival, descended to the drawing room with a look of deep concern.