After it turned out that Rachel was seriously ill, I had to stay at her estate all night.

I was almost constantly at the girl's bedside, constantly running for water and rags, and in general everything that could somehow help in this situation.

As it turned out, there were no medicines in the house, and even the most common medicinal herbs. Therefore, I had to use random improvised means.

Remembering how my mother knocked down my fever as a child, I boiled a whole pot of hot water and forced Rachel to breathe over it. Although she tried to push me away, she was so weak that she could not resist and eventually accepted my presence.

When I provided all the necessary first aid, then I had to rely only on Rachel's own strength. Such a high temperature for any normal person could be fatal. And I could only hope that Rachel could hold out until tomorrow morning.

I sighed when I sat down by her bed, completely exhausted. I had to work half the night caring for Rachel, and even now I couldn't close my eyes. In case of another attack, I had to be on duty continuously and monitor her condition.

I couldn't understand how she managed to get so sick.

Rachel has always seemed to me like a person who cannot be broken even by an atomic war or a natural disaster. And then, she got so seriously ill because of a common cold.

But is it really just a cold...?

However, I was so exhausted that I was unable to think about it. If she wants to, Rachel will tell me everything herself when she regains consciousness. Unless, of course, she throws me out right away, as soon as she gets her strength back.

Now the girl was sleeping peacefully and looked completely harmless. The first wave of heat subsided, and she finally began to breathe normally. Just in case, I decided to check her temperature again by putting my hand to her forehead.

But as soon as I pushed the dark bangs off my face, Rachel suddenly stirred. Before that, despite her more or less stable condition, she lay motionless, as if in a coffin.

Still not waking up, Rachel clung to my arm with a surprisingly iron grip. So much so that I couldn't even unclench her fingers.

— Mom... — a completely unrecognizable crying voice burst out of her mouth, — Mom...!

Obviously, Rachel was now under the influence of a delusional dream as one of the symptoms of the disease. And it turned out to be so heavy that she even began to cry in her sleep.

It's the first time I've seen her like this.

Rachel had never shown me her real emotions before. And I thought she didn't have any.

— Mom ... — the girl continued to mumble this incoherent word, sobbing every now and then.

Since my hand was still in "captivity", I decided to give up and also took her hand. Sighing, I looked at her with a thoughtful expression on my face.

While delirious, Rachel was calling for her mom. A woman I've never heard of before.

Come to think of it, I didn't know anything about Rachel's family except that her father was Duke Cassius. Despite the fact that she was the mother of the main male character, Rachel herself was almost never revealed.

Apart from memories directly related to Robert himself, nothing was mentioned about her former life. Similarly, no one would have thought of telling in detail about the life of a minor character who dies before the plot begins.

Rachel's father never appeared in the novella, nor did her mother. Therefore, I had no idea what had become of them. And what kind of relationship does she have with them at all...?

Due to the fact that the author did not bother to add these details to the novel, I will have to find out everything myself. However, in such a short period of time, I learned much more about Rachel herself than was indicated in those insignificant flashbacks from the past.

So, I'll gradually get to everything else.

While I was thinking about all this, my head touched the bed quite imperceptibly. Despite the fact that I struggled with sleep in every possible way, my body eventually could not stand it.

Closing my eyes, I fell into a deep sleep.

***

The next morning, I clearly felt that someone had been staring at the back of my head for a long time.

Waking up, and realizing with horror that I had fallen asleep, I raised my head and met Rachel's gaze.

The girl was sitting in bed and boring me with her scarlet pupils. At the same time, her expression remained absolutely unperturbed.

Apparently, she woke up a long time ago.

—R-Rachel...?" — I was surprised, — Didn't you have a fever?

Despite the fact that Rachel was on the verge of life and death last night, now her situation has improved significantly. The state of delirium passed, and she looked at me with a clear look.

— It's okay.

But this short answer was not enough for me.

Having driven away the last remnants of drowsiness, I rushed to check her temperature, but the girl stopped me.

— I told you. Everything's fine with me," she frowned, "There's nothing to check. Go already.

Despite the fact that I sat with her all night, Rachel did not even think to thank me. Instead, she immediately started to chase me away.

Although, with my experience of communicating with her, I have long been used to the fact that I could not count on a warm welcome.

Instead, I indignantly told her:

"What do you mean, 'fine'?" Do you even know that when I came, you almost went to the next world?!

Rachel glanced at me irritably.

"I could have done it without you." Do you think I'm that weak?

— Yes, what does this have to do with it. No man could stand such heat!

— This is a feature of my body, I've been used to it for a long time, — the girl waved off, — It happens several times a year. And without your help, I still haven't died.

I was involuntarily taken aback.

— So it's a chronic disease?

Rachel didn't like the way I was staring at her. In order to get rid of me, she even lavished explanations on me so that I would finally fall behind.

"It's a childhood thing," she said with displeasure, "my father said that it should pass when I grow up. So anyway, I'm not going to die.

I fell silent.

Such information turned out to be extremely unexpected for me. I had no idea that Rachel was suffering from a chronic illness. And, even more surprisingly, she managed to hide it while studying at the academy. Although… At the same moment, excerpts from the original novel slipped into my head.

In "Bloody Camellia", Robert Cassius suffered from exactly the same syndrome. When Brisney and the main male character met, she found out that from time to time he fell into a state during which he was on the verge of life and death. Looking for ways to cure his illness, it eventually passed by itself. Whether it was a piano in the bushes, or the author simply did not attach importance to this storyline, but Robert became completely healthy after he and Brisney fell in love with each other.

However, in the main plot, the place was given to this so scanty that most readers did not pay attention to this moment. And I'm one of them.

I thought that such symptoms were exclusively a feature of Robert. But I didn't know that besides him, Rachel also suffered from this. Is it really some kind of family illness...?

While I was lost in thoughts about this mysterious illness, Rachel tried to kick me out again.

"How much longer are you going to be here?" Leave. This is my house, and I didn't let you come here.

Rachel's usual mood increased proportionally with the return of her strength. Now, she could very well fight back if she wanted to.

However, I decided not to give in to my initial fears and insist on my own. After all, who else besides me will take care of her?

— I'll be back soon, — I announced, — I'll tell the professor that you won't be in class, and I'll bring the medicine.

— Why? I told you that everything has already passed!

I was probably like an annoying fly to her right now, but I didn't care. Rachel has been my shield for these three years, so how could I let anything happen to her?

"Behave yourself and wait for me," I said, despite all her indignation, "You can send me away as much as you want, but I'll stay anyway.

Rachel exhaled heavily.

— What are you like…

Although she did not finish, but the further context was quite clear. Most likely, there was some indecent insult behind it.

— ...Keep in mind that if you bring some nasty stuff, I won't drink it.

Muttering this, she got back into bed and turned away to the wall. In Rachel's language, this meant that she had accepted her situation.

I grinned.

— You see, sometimes we can still agree.