Please Don’t Die, My Lady

Chapter 34

The maid cautiously opened the door.

It was the room of a young lady whose presence had become burdensome to her ever since the previous incident.

A maid of humble origins, with no remarkable background or connections, she hailed from a simple rural area.

It was only natural that she felt threatened after being cornered by the count’s daughter.

She had often seen aristocrats, full of malice, extend their influence even to the families of servants.

Reflecting on her once overly meddlesome behavior, the maid now took extra care with her actions.

“What if I run into her…?”

Mumbling with a troubled expression, she chewed on her lip.

Normally, this would be the time the young lady would have left for school, so the worry seemed unwarranted. However, her frequent absences made it less certain.

The vivid memories of narrowly avoiding encounters with her or actually meeting her and fleeing filled her mind.

The maid sighed deeply.

If I do see her, I’ll just greet her and run away.

Resolving herself, she pushed the half-open door fully open and entered the room.

The sight that greeted her was far from clean.

There were clear signs of vomit, bloodstains scattered across the room, and pills spilled from a toppled medicine bottle.

Though the room’s untidiness wasn’t unusual, today it was far worse than usual.

Yet the maid couldn’t focus on the mess.

The young lady she had hoped to avoid was collapsed on the floor right in front of the bed.

She lay sprawled as though she had fallen forward upon standing up, and a pool of blood had formed beneath her face, as though she had hit it hard.

The maid froze, covering her mouth.

“Ah.”

But as soon as she processed the situation, she began to move urgently.

The resolve to flee vanished entirely, and her steps were steady as she approached the fallen girl.

She knelt and placed her fingers near the girl’s nose, relieved to feel the faint, irregular flow of air.

At least she wasn’t dead.

Was it fainting from head trauma? Or maybe some sudden illness?

First, she turned the young lady’s face to the side to make her breathing easier.

That’s when she got a clearer look at her condition.

Blood was flowing from a broken nose, and her lips were split.

It was evident she had fallen face-first.

As the maid supported her head, she felt a searing heat that had been masked by the visible injuries.

A fever. A faint caused by illness, worsened by trauma. The scattered pills hinted at her desperate attempt to medicate herself.

The pieces came together in the maid’s mind.

She must have been in pain.

If she was suffering so much, she could have rung the bell and called for me.

Why did she stubbornly endure until things got this bad?

Even if she couldn’t afford treatment at the infirmary, I could’ve at least provided basic care.

She wouldn’t have ended up unconscious like this.

Knowing the young lady’s personality, the maid could guess why she hadn’t asked for help. Even so, she couldn’t help but feel sympathy.

“If it’s come to this, there’s nothing I can do…”

The maid frowned.

In this state, her basic knowledge of home remedies and first aid wouldn’t suffice.

She needed to get the young lady to the infirmary or find someone capable of using healing magic. Neither was an easy option.

“…No, there’s one person.”

A name came to her mind.

The girl who had been desperately searching for the young lady last time.

She’d even asked around extensively, and the maid had struck up a conversation with her back then.

If it was Sena, someone who deeply cared for the young lady and was also a skilled mage, she would undoubtedly use healing magic.

“But… ugh.”

The problem was that, at this time, Sena was surely in class.

A maid barging into a classroom full of nobles was unthinkable.

The maid agonized for a moment before standing up.

She couldn’t just sit idly by while the girl continued to bleed.

If it came to it, she was willing to risk punishment and find Sena.

After wandering aimlessly for a few minutes, she saw a man polishing his monocle with a handkerchief in the corridor leading to the classrooms.

Before she could call out to him for help, the man spoke first.

“Is something the matter? There’s blood on your hands.”

His gaze fell on her bloodstained hands.

Blood had splattered on her hands and clothes as she supported the young lady, making her look suspicious to anyone unaware of the circumstances.

She opened her mouth to explain but hesitated, realizing she didn’t even know who the man was.

“Um, may I ask who you are…?”

“…You’re an academy maid, yet you don’t recognize a professor’s face? I teach Magic Studies.”

Her mind lit up like a lightning bolt.

The Magic Studies professor. He was one of the most esteemed individuals here.

If she upset him, she might be dragged off for insolence.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry…! I didn’t mean to offend….”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Mistakes happen. Anyway, the blood—are you injured?”

“No, it’s not my blood, it’s—oh.”

Realizing she had let something slip, she quickly bowed her head.

The professor waved dismissively with a smile.

He was clearly of a different breed than the typical nobles.

She hesitated for a moment, then thought, What if I asked him for help?

He seemed intelligent and reasonable. If she explained politely, perhaps he would agree.

After deliberating, she slowly began recounting the young lady’s situation.

The haze of unconsciousness began to clear, shaken by a periodic swaying sensation.

Though my body had been at its worst when I fell asleep, it felt unexpectedly fine now.

The pounding headache and fever remained, but the rest of my injuries seemed to have healed.

…Did my sense of pain dull?

That would explain it.

“Ugh…”

Feeling something was off, I cracked my eyes open. My blurry vision revealed a face looking down at me.

My legs weren’t touching the ground, and I felt something supporting my body.

There was no mistaking it—I was being carried.

This was only the second time I’d been carried like this.

The person carrying me seemed much stronger than Ariana, making it far more comfortable this time.

As I stirred, the person spoke.

“You’re awake? Don’t lift your head. I’ve healed all your wounds, but your fever hasn’t subsided yet. Stay still until we reach the infirmary.”

“The infirmary…? I can’t afford that…”

Recently, even my meals had been paid for by Ariana, so there was no way I could afford a place like the infirmary.

Whoever this was, they were unintentionally putting me further in debt.

I swayed my legs in the air to signal that I wanted to stop walking.

The man carrying me chuckled softly at my antics but didn’t stop. Instead, he glanced down.

Only then did I realize who he was.

It was a face I recognized well.

“I’m aware of your situation. Don’t worry, I’ll cover the cost.”

“Professor…? But why?”

“You only recognize me now? That’s a little disappointing.”

The young gentleman with a mild demeanor—it was the Magic Studies professor.

I was momentarily dumbfounded. Outside of lectures, we had no connection at all.

Come to think of it, I had been asleep in my room. Did he unlock the door and come in?

As my confusion grew, I heard a familiar voice from below.

“I… I asked him for help! My lady, please call for me if you’re unwell. Don’t suffer alone….”

It was the maid, Ai.

It had been a while since I’d seen her, and compared to her previously bright demeanor, she now seemed uneasy.

…Of course.

I must’ve fallen asleep without moving until she arrived.

Her face suddenly loomed close, and her eyes brimmed with anger and worry.

I couldn’t muster the nerve to shamelessly retort, so I pressed my lips together in silence.

“Yes, whether it’s me or this child, just call someone. Please. If you were found dead in your room, it would cause chaos across the academy.”

“…Yes. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize.”

“It’s fine, as long as this doesn’t happen a second time. I’m only worried about you, that’s all….”

That’s her way of saying I made her worry.

It means that even someone who preferred to keep their distance felt compelled to step in because of me.

I didn’t want someone as uninvolved as her to get tangled up with someone like me.

And yet, here I was, receiving her help again.

And the professor’s, too.

Well done, Remia. Really.

To calm my pounding head—whether from stress or fever—I closed my half-opened eyes. They didn’t speak to me further.

Their quiet but considerate restraint was a welcome relief.

This delicate, ticklish feeling… I liked it, but at the same time, I hated it.

“Oh, by the way, Miss Adelian. This is just a personal curiosity of mine.”

Half-asleep and nodding off, I heard the professor’s voice, prompting me to open my eyes faintly.

“The pills scattered in your room—who gave them to you? A few of them looked familiar. They’re not the kind of medicine that’s easy to obtain.”

“…Ariana—” I started to answer reflexively, then quickly shut my mouth.

For some reason, it felt like I shouldn’t say anything more.

A bad feeling crept over me, warning me that I shouldn’t answer this question.

What was this feeling?

It was just a minor thing—Ariana helping me get medicine wasn’t anything unusual.

Yet, having said her name already felt like an irreversible mistake.

“…Ah, I see.”

The professor smiled.

It was the same warm expression as before.

Nothing about him seemed out of the ordinary.

…Maybe it was just my imagination.

Too exhausted to think any further, I forced myself to ignore the unease and closed my eyes again.