Chapter 84

Something caught Aristine's eye at the edge of her vision.

A field trip she had gone on as a child, at school.

In her previous life, she had been talking with a friend about what they had packed for lunch, completely uninterested in the museum exhibits. They walked in line, holding hands tightly, without even glancing at the descriptions.

But now, Aristine could pause the scene and read the description that had caught her eye.

‘Found it!’

Aristine's pupils narrowed.

She read the description several times at a rapid pace.

‘Good, this will do...’

Just then, a loud noise came from outside the bathroom.

Aristine fogged up the bathroom mirror and looked at the bathroom door.

‘What is it?’

“Open the door.”

It was Tarqan’s voice, low and sharp.

‘Why is Tarqan here...?’

It was hard to think.

Was it because she had been so focused? Her head felt a bit dazed.

“Ah, but Your Highness!”

“You should not let anyone in...”

“What if something happens to the Princess? Will you take responsibility?”

The voices of the palace attendants trying to block him, and Tarqan’s growling voice.

‘Whatever it is, I need to stop it...’

She tried to get up, but her limbs felt weak.

‘Ah, it’s a bit cold.’

A chill ran through her body, making her shiver.

Goosebumps appeared on her exposed arms.

“Your Highness, may I come in?”

At the raised voice, Aristine opened her mouth to respond.

“Yes, come...”

Her lips trembled, making her speech unclear.

“Your Highness?”

The voice asked again, and Aristine frowned.

She thought she had answered properly, but did they not hear her?

She couldn’t tell if her voice was loud or soft.

Aristine tried to get up again, this time with a louder voice.

“Come, huff...”

As she exerted effort, a dizzying sensation hit the top of her head.

Cold sweat poured out, and her head felt as if it had been filled with ice.

‘I can’t get up.’

Looking at her trembling body, Aristine took a deep breath.

‘No, this is strange.’

It was definitely strange that she found it so hard to get up.

She had just been taking a bath, and the water had gotten a bit cold, but why was she like this...

“Move.”

Tarqan’s voice cut through her dazed mind.

Aristine struggled to lift her head, which was more difficult than before.

When she finally managed to look at the door, it was already open.

Someone seemed to be standing there, but her vision was blurry, and she couldn’t see clearly.

“Aristine!”

With the urgent call, Aristine couldn’t hold on any longer and closed her eyes.

‘I need to answer.’

The palace attendants’ calls from outside the bathroom went unanswered.

At least, that’s how it seemed to the attendants.

But Tarqan heard Aristine’s faint voice clearly.

It was a weak, almost fading voice.

Anxious, Tarqan pushed past the attendants and hurriedly opened the bathroom door.

Aristine was lying face down in the bathtub, her arms stretched out over the edge.

Struggling to keep her body steady, she tried to lift her head several times.

The moment her face slightly lifted, Tarqan felt his heart sink.

Aristine was so pale, almost as if she had no blood in her body.

Her lips and cheeks were devoid of any color.

“Aristine!”

Rushing to her side, just as he reached her, Aristine’s eyes closed, and her violet irises disappeared.

Her body went limp.

If she hit the hard bathtub, it could be dangerous.

In that moment, Tarqan already had Aristine in his arms.

His body reacted before his mind could think, moving protectively like a guardian.

Her frail body was incredibly light, even in its limp state.

At the same time, she felt as cold as ice.

The color drained from Tarqan’s face.

Can a human body be this cold?

Tarqan knew when a human body could be this cold.

It was the temperature he had endured while protecting and losing many people on the battlefield.

“Your Highness!”

The attendants, shocked, quickly approached.

Seeing Aristine’s condition, they moved in unison.

They covered her body with large towels and ran outside to prepare a brazier.

“Your Highness, we will accept our punishment later. Please, bring Your Highness here.”

The attendants bowed deeply to Tarqan.

Without even glancing at them, Tarqan headed towards the brazier.

Several bronze braziers were prepared in front of the windows, where the hot summer sunlight streamed in.

The magical flames in the braziers quickly heated the room.

Tarqan sat on a chair, tightly holding Aristine.

Even in her unconscious state, Aristine’s body was shivering, and he couldn’t leave her alone.

The attendants rushed to dry Aristine’s hair.

“Call the palace physician, no, Umiru.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The attendant quickly left the room, and another brought a thick bathrobe.

The towel wrapped around Aristine’s body was already damp and almost useless.

“Your Highness, for a moment.”

Although Tarqan was reluctant to let Aristine out of his arms, he finally handed her to the attendant.

The attendants carefully dressed Aristine in the bathrobe and laid her on the chair.

They brought out thick winter blankets and covered her, then massaged her limbs to improve blood circulation.

Tarqan watched anxiously.

Despite the warm room, Aristine’s complexion showed no signs of improvement.

“Is Umiru still not here?”

At that moment, the door burst open.

“Your Highness!”

Umiru rushed into the room with a loud call.

Seeing Aristine, pale and lying on the chair, she gasped.

“My, my, Your Highness...”

Tarqan’s brow twitched.

Although the words were extremely irritating, treatment was the priority.

“She collapsed while taking a bath.”

“Yes, I heard from the attendants on my way here.”

Umiru quickly approached, feeling Aristine’s forehead and cheeks, and checking her pulse.

Despite being a surgeon, her skills were better than most internists.

“You don’t need to worry. There are no signs of poisoning.”

Hearing this, the tension in Tarqan’s shoulders eased.

He had been most worried that Aristine might have been poisoned, which was why he had called for Umiru instead of the palace physician.

While the palace physician might be more skilled in internal medicine, it was uncertain whether they could be trusted.

“Then why is she like this?”

“Staying in hot water for too long is bad for blood circulation. Given that she was in cold water for a long time while feeling dizzy...”

“Just that much to collapse like this?”

Tarqan frowned.

He had trained by standing under freezing waterfalls in the dead of winter.

Not just him, but everyone around him had done the same.

No one had ever fallen ill from such a minor thing.

“You can’t compare Her Highness to you or the skilled, no, excellent warriors around you.”

Umiru clicked her tongue.

“No matter what, to collapse from cold water...”

The attendants looked unconvinced.

“It’s the middle of summer, not winter.”

To turn so pale and collapse from a bit of cold water?

Anyone would think she had been rescued from being buried in snow.

There must be some other issue, and it was worrying.

“She’s a Silvanus, so she’s naturally weak.”

Umiru dismissed their concerns.

“Plus, she’s accumulated a lot of fatigue.”

Ever since starting to make stainless steel, Aristine had been almost entirely focused on work.

“She’s naturally weak and hasn’t rested properly, so she’s accumulated a lot of fatigue.”

After launching the knives, she was supposed to rest, but the issue of securing iron ingots immediately arose.

“In that state, staying in the bath for a long time after the water had cooled, it’s no wonder she collapsed.”

“Such...”

The attendants looked pale, feeling responsible.

They had called her several times, but she had only replied with “Don’t disturb me” or “I want to be alone.”

Her mumbled responses, as if she was focused on something, made them only pay attention to not disturbing her.

They didn’t want to interrupt her rare moment of rest.

Although they were concerned about the bathwater cooling, it was summer, so they didn’t worry much.

This was the result.

“We knew she was weak, but...”

“We failed to properly assist Your Highness. Please punish us.”

“We will accept any punishment.”

The attendants bowed deeply before Tarqan, begging for forgiveness.

Their complacency had led to this state of Her Highness.

Tarqan’s gaze turned to them.

His golden eyes flickered with anger.

Since seeing Aristine’s pale face, he had not been in his right mind.

A beast within him, craving blood, roared wildly.

And right before him, a perfect sacrifice knelt on the ground.

His pupils narrowed, becoming vertical like a predator’s.

A cruel feeling made his throat dry.

Just as a thick, ferocious aura was about to burst from him, a weak voice was heard.

Instantly, the murderous aura that had been emanating from Tarqan was reined in.

The air in the room was warm and gentle.

Only the goosebumps on people’s necks testified to the intense, bone-chilling aura that had been present.

Tarqan approached the lying Aristine and took her hand.

“Aristine?”

His voice was gentle and filled with desperate hope.

But there was no response.

Aristine was still unconscious.

“Let’s focus on nursing Her Highness back to health and deal with the responsibility later.”

Tarqan nodded at Umiru’s words.

Umiru also addressed the attendants.

“Her Highness needs to rest. Please help.”

“But, we caused this, how can we...”

The attendants shook their heads, feeling guilty.

They were the ones at fault.

“Unfamiliar people coming and going will make it hard for her to rest. Especially after the incident with the Silvanus maids.”

It was better for the attendants Aristine was familiar with to take care of her.

Hearing that it was for Aristine, the attendants nodded with determined faces.

“We understand. We will do our best.”

“Even at the cost of our lives.”

‘No, there’s no need to risk your lives...’

Umiru thought this but didn’t say it aloud.

At least they were motivated.

“And... her hypothermia is severe, so we need to raise her body temperature.”

Umiru nodded at the braziers.

The room was so warm it felt like a sauna with multiple braziers in the middle of summer.

“You did well, but Her Highness’s body temperature is recovering too slowly.”

Despite the heat, Aristine was still pale, and her skin was as cold as ice.

“Should we move the braziers closer?”

“But if they stay too close for too long, she might get cold burns...”

The attendants exchanged opinions, unsure of what to do.

“Giving her a tonic would be good, but she can’t take it if she’s unconscious...”

Umiru clicked her tongue.

‘We could give her an IV, but it’s not ideal to get the attendants to bring it.’

Fortunately, it wasn’t a poisoning attempt, but who knew how things might develop.

Someone might see this as an opportunity to take advantage of her illness.

“At times like this, we need to use folk remedies.”

Umiru looked at Tarqan.

“Folk remedies?”

“Yes.”

Umiru didn’t explain what the folk remedy was.

Tarqan frowned.

“What kind of folk remedy?”

“Don’t you know?”

Umiru asked with a strange smile.

The smile only irritated Tarqan more.

“I’m not a doctor.”

“Even if you’re not a doctor, what’s the best way to raise someone’s body temperature when it’s low?”

Umiru subtly smiled and looked Tarqan up and down.

It was an impolite gaze, but she wasn’t the type to care about such things.

Neither was Tarqan.

No, Tarqan didn’t have the mental space to care.

He had realized what folk remedy Umiru was talking about.

‘Surely not.’

Using body heat to warm another body.

In other words, undressing and embracing each other to share body heat.

Without realizing it, Tarqan took a step back from Aristine.

Umiru shrugged, looking puzzled.

“What are you so surprised about? You’re married. There’s no need to be shy.”

Especially since they had already shared a bed.

“Now that I’m a husband, I need to earn money.”