Chapter 5

The next morning, Fiona woke up to the sound of a knock.

"Can I come in?"

At Matthias's call, she sat up abruptly. Wearing a long one-piece nightgown that reached her calves, she dragged the long chain and walked to the door.

"Good morning... Matthias"

She opened the door and rubbed her eyes while greeting him. She still seemed half-asleep.

"Did you just wake up? Breakfast was early, I thought you would already be up, so I brought it. Should I wait a bit longer?"

"...I want to eat..."

Fiona, still dazed, conveyed her wish.

"Alright, I'll prepare it. You should wash your face and wake up a bit."

"...Okay..."

Matthias pushed the cart into the room, took a key out of his pocket, and unlocked the chain from her shackles. She wobbled but headed to the bathroom as instructed. After washing her face several times with cold water, she felt refreshed and tied her hair into a bun.

When she returned to the room, breakfast was laid out on the table. There were bread, omelets, soup, sausages, salad, yogurt, and fruits. During dinner the previous night, she had been asked about her favorite foods, and the table was filled with dishes made from the ingredients she had mentioned.

"Hey, there's a lot here. Are you going to eat with me?"

"I intended to."

Matthias answered while quickly setting up the plates.

"Thank you."

She expressed her gratitude, and he slightly softened his expression.

They sat across from each other and started their breakfast. She took only what she could eat onto her plate.

When Matthias cut into the large omelet with a knife, melted cheese oozed out. What a luxurious sight for breakfast.

"Wow..."

Fiona's eyes sparkled. She had said she liked melted cheese, but she didn't expect it for breakfast. While she was moved, her portion was placed in front of her.

"Thank you, Matthias. I'm really happy."

"Good to hear. I'm glad you like it."

Just seeing her happy face in the morning was enough to satisfy him.

After finishing the food on her plate, she placed the yogurt, which she had saved for last, in front of her. She picked up a small bottle of honey to pour over it.

Seeing this, Matthias took a small bowl from nearby.

"There's also berry sauce here... Oh, it's too late now."

By the time he offered it, the yogurt was already generously covered with honey. However, she smiled and held out her hand.

"Can I have it?"

He placed the bowl on her hand. She immediately poured the berry sauce over the honey-covered yogurt.

Matthias, who didn't particularly like sweet things, frowned.

"...You said you like sweet things, but you really do, don't you?"

"Yeah, I love them."

She scooped up the yogurt, now drenched in honey and berry sauce, with a spoon and popped it into her mouth. Her blissful expression made it clear how delicious it was.

Matthias decided to add more sweets to her meals.

"Since the weather is nice today, shall we go for a walk? We can only walk around the garden here, though."

"Can we go outside?"

"Of course. I'll be with you for supervision, of course."

"Yay. Thank you, Matthias."

She had thought she wasn't allowed to leave the room, so this unexpected offer made her heart leap.

After breakfast and changing clothes, she followed Matthias, who was pushing the cart with the dishes.

"Hey, Matthias, you have to supervise me, right? Do I have to walk in front?"

"No problem. I can handle anything from behind."

"Okay... I see."

She remembered that he was the kind of person who could slash through any attack from any direction.

Of course, she had no intention of doing anything now.

They took the cart down in the elevator and descended to the first floor via the stairs.

On the first floor was a dining hall used by magicians and knights. They didn't go through the dining hall but entered the kitchen through a back door.

"Thank you for the meal."

When returning the dishes, she thanked an elderly woman who was there.

"Oh, you must be the girl everyone's talking about. What a lovely young lady."

The woman smiled meaningfully and glanced at Matthias, who frowned.

"My name is Fiona. The meal was really delicious."

"That's good to hear. Here, have this later."

The woman took a candy from her pocket and handed it to Fiona, who gratefully accepted it and thanked her again.

While chatting with Matthias, they strolled through the garden. She bowed politely to the magicians and knights they passed.

She savored the candy she had received, feeling a warm happiness in the pleasant weather. Despite only being in the country for two days, she was already starting to like it.

* * *

The next day, Fiona developed a fever. The doctor said it was probably due to accumulated fatigue.

Healers could heal physical injuries, but they couldn't cure illnesses or fevers, so the only option was to take medicine and rest.

She lay in bed with a high fever, her face flushed red. She was breathing heavily and her eyes were unfocused and vacant.

Matthias removed the chain and stayed by her side, nursing her. He cooled her forehead with a cold, damp towel, and immediately prepared a new cold one whenever it warmed up.

He also maintained the perfect coolness of the water pillow under her head, replacing it regularly.

"Ugh... water..."

"Alright, I'll give you some."

While she was delirious with fever, Matthias fed her water from a long-spouted container.

"Ugh... bathroom..."

"Alright, I'll take you."

He carried her to the bathroom door with great dedication. After she used the bathroom and wobbled out, he carried her again and made sure she washed her hands in the bathroom.

Since he couldn't stay in her room to nurse her, he decided to sleep outside her door. He checked on her every hour, cooling her forehead with a cold towel and gently stroking her cheek as she muttered "Mom" in her sleep and shed tears.

When her fever slightly subsided and she could converse, he brought a special ice dessert from the kitchen.

"Delicious... Thank you, Matthias."

He propped her up with cushions and fed her the dessert with a spoon.

"Here, there's more. Open your mouth."

"Mm..."

She opened her mouth as instructed, took a bite, and her face relaxed in pleasure.

Matthias felt an indescribable satisfaction, almost becoming addicted to the feeling of feeding her.

The next day, her fever had dropped to a low-grade one, and she could sit up. He brought a special meal from the kitchen, a soft dish of rice and vegetables cooked in chicken soup.

He scooped some with a spoon, cooled it, and fed it to her.

"Delicious. Thank you so much, Matthias. I can eat on my own now, so it's okay."

She said this while holding out her hands.

"...Alright."

He looked incredibly disappointed as he handed her the tray.

After finishing her meal, Fiona slept a bit more. A few hours later, she woke up and saw Matthias reading a book on the sofa, and her wrist was free of the chain. This simple fact made her incredibly happy.

It had been since childhood that someone had been by her side when she was sick.

Noticing that Fiona was awake, Matthias brought a cool milk pudding.

It was sweet, just as she liked, and he watched her eat with a satisfied smile.

"Make sure to rinse your mouth after eating. You don't want to get cavities."

"Okay, I will."

He was so thorough, even caring about her dental health. She went to the bathroom as instructed and thoroughly rinsed her mouth. When she returned to bed and chatted with him, she started to feel sleepy and slept a bit more.

The next day, her fever was completely gone. Matthias visited her room, removed the chain, and she took a refreshing shower.

"Can you eat anything now? Is there any part of your body that still hurts?"

"My body feels fine, but my throat is a bit sore. I don't want to eat spicy things. Other than that, I can eat anything."

"Understood."

Matthias went to get breakfast. When he returned, they sat at the table together.

After breakfast and changing clothes, he said he had some errands to run and left.

Fiona sat on the sofa in the room, reading a book. After being engrossed in her book for a while, Matthias returned, holding a glass bottle.

"These are candies to soothe your sore throat. Try them."

"Wow...!"

The palm-sized, round glass bottle he handed her contained amber-colored candies.

They were so beautiful that she hesitated to eat them, holding the bottle in both hands and peering inside for a while.

"So beautiful. Thank you, Matthias."

Fiona gratefully accepted it, opened the lid, took one out, and put it in her mouth. The gentle sweetness of honey spread in her mouth, soothing her throat. Her melting expression made it clear how delicious it was.

"You can eat as many as you like. I'll bring more if you run out."

"Thank you."

Matthias said he had a mission in the afternoon. After eating lunch together, he left.

Fiona sat on the sofa in the room, reading a book, when Luke visited.

"I heard your fever went down. Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Thank you."

"That's good to hear."

He smiled brightly, folding his hands behind his head. His eyes fell on the glass bottle on the table next to the sofa, and his smile faded as he stared at it.

"Matthias brought those candies, right?"

"Yeah, he brought them when I said my throat was sore."

"I see..."

Luke's wry smile made her feel uneasy.

"Hey, Luke, are these candies really expensive or something?"

"Huh? No, not at all. They're just ordinary candies. You can easily get them anywhere, so don't hesitate to eat them. Really, eat as many as you want to heal your throat. I'm serious."

Luke was smiling, but he was internally nervous and anxious.

He had lied. These candies were not ordinary.

They were made from rare honey found only in a distant country, incredibly valuable and expensive, and of a quality suitable for presenting to the country.

Matthias had casually obtained them and handed them to her.

If she knew they were expensive and hesitated to eat them, and if Matthias found out it was because of him, he shuddered to think of the consequences. He didn't want to imagine what might happen.

He decided to forget about the candies and whispered to himself.

"...I didn't expect him to be this devoted."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

While he was slightly taken aback by Matthias's dedication, he wanted this pitiful girl to be happy. Luke decided to watch over her from the shadows.