Chapter 100 - North Korean rabbit

Chapter 100

Aaron Muzan was beside himself.

It was only natural, as his mother, who had been happily saying she had enjoyed her shopping, had suddenly clutched her throat and collapsed.

Her entire body was swelling, and she couldn't breathe properly.

Even at a glance, her condition looked critical.

And then, as if in jest, a woman intervened.

A woman who peeked her head out from a vine of flowers with an unusually strong fragrance.

She reacted as if she had been waiting for him.

Aaron felt this was strange.

But his suspicion was trivial compared to his worry for his mother's safety.

Though Aaron did not know it, this was the same first impression he had before the regression as well.

Of course, that impression was reversed when Evangeline saved the Duchess's life, but still.

To the extent he had initially doubted, Aaron became all the more devoted to Evangeline.

Ignoring the woman, Aaron commanded his attendants.

"Summon a physician from the nearest place! No, just confirm the location. I will take her there myself!"

It would be several times faster for him to carry his mother and run than to use a carriage.

For he was a knight, close to a Sword Master, capable of handling aura.

That was when it happened. The woman who had been looking down from the terrace of the adjacent building came lightly stepping down the stairs.

With a peculiar smile, she said to Aaron.

"The lady's condition looks very poor. I can help."

Aaron did not take her words seriously.

She clearly looked like a noble young lady raised in privilege.

She did not appear to have any deep knowledge of medicine.

Just then, the Duchess in Aaron's arms began to make a sound as if she were about to stop breathing.

"Huh! Gack!"

Aaron's face turned deathly pale.

Evangeline's soft voice pierced the heart of the panicked young man.

"Please let me help for a moment. My mother once showed similar symptoms."

Meanwhile, the blonde woman had approached close to the carriage.

Finally, in a state of clutching at straws, Aaron moved his mother outside the carriage.

She examined the Duchess's condition briefly, then pulled a potion from her bosom.

And then she tried to give the potion to the Duchess.

Aaron asked in surprise.

"What kind of medicine is that?!"

"It's a medicine that alleviates these symptoms. As I mentioned earlier, my mother once showed such symptoms, so I carry it as an emergency medicine."

It was hard to believe.

Carrying medicine as if she knew this would happen?

She smiled brightly and said.

"If she takes this medicine, the symptoms should subside in about an hour. If any problem befalls the lady, I will take responsibility, pledging the name of the Marquis Ruth family."

For a noble to pledge their family name was no light matter.

Though suspicious, Aaron ultimately had no choice but to allow her to give the medicine to his mother.

That was when it happened.

"Wait a moment."

The door of a carriage that had stopped nearby opened, and a woman stepped down.

With a voice that peculiarly resonated in his head, Aaron thought, turning his head.

There stood a woman like a spring cherry blossom in full, extravagant bloom, as if it had forgotten time.

Unknowingly, Aaron found his gaze stolen by her.

This was a different reaction from before the regression. Back then, Hilia, overshadowed by Evangeline, had seemed lacking in confidence and faded.

Now, she was shining like the sun.

* * *

Even before the regression, Evangeline had saved the Duchess with a potion.

I hadn't known then, but now I knew what that medicine was.

'It's an allergy treatment.'

The sudden swelling of the entire body and collapse from breathing difficulty were due to severe allergic symptoms.

I slightly raised my head and looked at the terrace from which Evangeline had revealed herself moments ago.

A place where red flower vines naturally entwined the white marble railing.

'That's... a Lupis flower.'

A flower not commonly cultivated in the south or near the capital.

A plant that grows mainly in the west.

Before the regression, the location and time of the Duchess's collapse were different all three times.

But the incident itself always occurred.

Whether I witnessed it or not.

The elements that caused the incident to happen were three.

The Duchess and the Lupis flower.

'And Evangeline.'

This couldn't be a coincidence.

The Duchess Muzan had a life-threatening allergy to the Lupis flower, rare in the capital.

I had guessed that this time too, Evangeline would recreate the same incident to make the Muzan Ducal family her allies.

Official movements of a family as important as the Muzan Ducal family were secured by Arpad.

So, I deliberately leaked the Muzan family's movements to Evangeline through a bribed servant.

As expected, Evangeline acted as I predicted.

It seemed neither the Duchess nor her son knew they were allergic to that flower.

In Korea, it could be treated immediately with pills or an inhaler, but here it's different.

Only by refining very expensive and rare medicinal herbs with special magic could one obtain an allergy-suppressing effect.

It was the very moment Evangeline was about to feed that precious potion into the Duchess's mouth.

I opened the carriage door, stepped down, and said.

"Wait a moment."

"...!"

Evangeline's face turned pale.

Her lips twitched. Though she made no sound, I could tell she wanted to say, 'Why are you here?'

It seemed her last shred of reason stopped her from voicing it.

Ignoring Evangeline, I approached the Duchess.

"Let me see her condition."

Then, before Aaron could intervene, Evangeline cried out in a sharp voice.

"I was here first!"

At that, Aaron asked Evangeline incredulously.

"Do you think being here first gives you some kind of right?"

The Duchess's condition was worsening by the moment.

Evangeline, clinging to the side, glared at me, then tried to force open the Duchess's mouth and feed her the medicine.

"Guh!"

The Duchess let out a painful scream.

But Evangeline paid no heed. Unable to bear it, Aaron moved faster than the wind.

*Slap!*

He snatched the medicine bottle from Evangeline's hand.

"What are you doing?!"

"I'm trying to save your mother!"

"By acting so roughly?!"

It seemed Evangeline became impatient when I appeared. Unlike before the regression, she acted rashly and earned Aaron's antipathy.

Meanwhile, I approached Aaron and the Duchess.

And I held out a bottle to Aaron.

"Try using this."

A bottle containing a transparent liquid that looked like a perfume bottle. Seeing it, Aaron made a bewildered expression.

Seeing Aaron's bewilderment and wariness, I opened my mouth without hesitation and sprayed the medicine inside.

*Pshh*, the liquid, in fine particles like perfume, was sprayed into my mouth.

This was an instant-effect medicine that immediately soothed the airways swollen from an allergic reaction.

I had it prepared in advance to be sprayable like perfume, commissioned from the creator of the recording magical artifact.

After showing that spraying it directly into my mouth caused no harm, I placed the medicine bottle on Aaron's hand.

And I explained simply.

"You saw me do it just now, so you know it's non-toxic. Open the lady's mouth and spray it toward the inside of her throat, just as I did."

"...?"

"This will take effect immediately. If it doesn't work, find another doctor or......"

I moved only my eyes to look at Evangeline.

"...!"

Evangeline's face turned as pale as if she had seen a ghost.

"...try feeding her that medicine, or do as you wish."

Aaron looked confused. And not without reason.

'My mother collapses, and suddenly two unfamiliar women appear, causing a commotion, each insisting on using their own medicine.'

It was bound to be absurd.

But he did not throw away the medicine bottle I handed him.

Without adding another word, I turned around and headed back to my carriage.

Receiving the escort of Lord Beltain, who had been guarding me all along, I boarded the carriage and glanced across the street.

I saw Evangeline, looking utterly dazed.

The maid who had been clinging to the Duchess's side screamed.

"M-My lady has stopped breathing!"

"!"

Shocked, Aaron finally used the medicine I had given on his mother.

I knew it would come to this.

Because a similar situation had occurred when saving the Duchess before the regression.

Back then too, the Duchess's condition had been more severe than expected, and she stopped breathing just like that.

The medicine Evangeline had prepared required time to take effect.

Panicked, Evangeline had improvised and performed artificial respiration on the Duchess.

Seeing that, I was surprised.

'Does this world have artificial respiration too?'

When I asked her later, Evangeline had brushed it off, saying it was a method she learned from a doctor.

'But that wasn't it. She utilized knowledge she had as a transmigrator.'

A little late, I heard Evangeline regaining her senses and shouting.

"I, I can perform emergency treatment! Step aside!"

Unlike back then, Evangeline now had no opportunity to utilize her knowledge as a transmigrator.

"Haa......!"

Because the Duchess's breathing quickly stabilized.

I showed a brief sneer toward Evangeline and then boarded the carriage.

* * *

Evangeline couldn't comprehend the situation.

'What? How did this happen?'

Why was Hilia appearing here and now?

Moreover, she gave them medicine to alleviate the Duchess's allergic symptoms and left, as if she had been waiting for it.

Evangeline's medicine was for oral ingestion.

Naturally, it would take time to be absorbed and show effect.

But what Hilia gave to Aaron and left was a form to be sprayed directly into the mouth and throat.

If the effect was certain, the medicinal effect would be immediate.

Before Evangeline could even attempt artificial respiration, Aaron used the medicine Hilia had given and left.

The effect appeared immediately. The Duchess began to breathe easily right away.

"Mother! Are you conscious?"

"A, Aaron?"

Even her voice calling her son was stable. There was no wheezing.

While Evangeline stood frozen before this unbelievable situation.

Aaron asked her.

"Do you happen to know the name of our benefactor, my lady?"

"...!"

Evangeline's shoulders flinched.

This was wrong. This was not the situation she had anticipated and planned.

Aaron, with a grateful and moved expression, should have been asking for *her* name.

She felt like a supporting character providing information about the protagonist.

A crushing sense of humiliation pressed down on Evangeline's entire body.

'This is absurd. Why did this happen? It's as if, as if... Hilia knew all about this in advance.'

Just like she, who had read the 'original work'.

A chill ran down her spine.

* * *

When I returned after finishing my outing, an unexpected piece of news awaited me.

Yulken, covering his mouth, came and personally delivered Arpad's message.

"His Highness says he must leave the Crown Prince's Palace for a while due to an unavoidable, important matter."

"An unavoidable, important matter? What is it?"

"If I told you, His Highness would kill me."

"...?"

"Anyway, His Highness said that while he is temporarily absent from the palace, he trusts Your Highness will hold the fort well."

Yulken was covering his mouth with his hand, but the corners of his mouth were raised so high it was utterly useless.

He spoke with a strange, giggling laugh.

"Anyway, it's absolutely nothing bad for Your Highness, so please don't worry."

Tilting my head in confusion, I realized one fact and asked.

"Wait! So he's dumping all his work on me and leaving, isn't he?"

Yulken shook his head.

"Don't worry. He has taken care of everything to the extent there will be no problems for a week."

"...?"

I was even more baffled.

* * *

Arpad, who had left his post, was standing before ruins discovered deep in the eastern mountain range of the imperial capital.

The monster guarding the ruins let out a monstrous roar, "Kaaack!"

Arpad indifferently drew his sword.