Chapter 51

"Hmm."

Noein woke up on his bed in his room, trying to understand his situation with a dazed mind.

"Oh, right..."

He immediately remembered that he was running a fever and had been bedridden, judging from his dry throat, hot and flushed body, and sweat-soaked clothes.

"Matilda!"

Since no one was in the room, he called out the name of his beloved slave. He was surprised by how childish and whiny his voice sounded, even to himself.

Matilda was probably nearby, and as a rabbit girl, she had much better hearing than a human, so she would likely hear Noein’s voice.

Sure enough, the sound of footsteps running down the hallway soon approached. The bedroom door opened, and Matilda came in.

"Master Noein, did you call for me?"

"I want some water, and I’d like to change my clothes. Can you help me?"

In response to Noein, Matilda, who had rushed over, nodded and poured water from a pitcher on the bedroom table into a glass, then brought it to Noein’s lips. Noein, still sitting on the bed, let her help him drink.

"I’m sorry for leaving the bedroom. Did you feel lonely when you woke up?"

"It’s okay. You have work to do, after all. Thank you."

After Noein finished drinking, Matilda left the room for a moment and returned with a bucket of warm water and a change of clothes.

Noein let Matilda wipe his body with a wet cloth and help him change into new clothes. He was so exhausted and weak that he had to rely on Matilda for everything.

...

It all started five days ago. When Noein woke up in the morning, he felt something was wrong with his body, and Matilda, who had woken up next to him, immediately noticed her master’s condition.

Seeing her master, who was suffering from a high fever and chills, struggling to get up, Matilda was unusually flustered, which Noein clearly remembered.

After receiving a report from Matilda, the head retainer Yuri quickly made a decision and sent Bart to Retvik to bring a doctor as quickly as possible.

Noein thought it was a bit much to make such a fuss over a fever, but if he were to die, the Arquvist barony, which had no heir, would likely be dissolved.

In other words, Noein’s life or death would determine the fate of the Arquvist barony. The retainers were understandably worried.

Soon, a doctor was called from Retvik. According to the diagnosis of the experienced and skilled elderly doctor, Noein had "Eldor Fever."

"Wow, I never thought I’d get Eldor Fever at my age..."

After rehydrating and changing clothes, Noein lay back on the bed and muttered.

Eldor Fever is a common illness in the southern part of the continent, causing a high fever and fatigue for about a week, similar to a severe cold.

It can be dangerous for young children due to the significant loss of energy, but for those of a certain age, the risk of death is almost non-existent. The risk is even lower if a doctor examines you and prescribes medication.

Another characteristic of Eldor Fever is that it primarily affects minors.

While it’s not unheard of for adults to contract it, it is generally considered a "childhood disease."

Therefore, for Noein, who had just turned 16 last year, getting Eldor Fever was a bit embarrassing.

"This makes me feel like a child."

"But I’m relieved that Master Noein’s condition isn’t serious. It’s just Eldor Fever, which is good."

"That’s... true, but..."

Noein couldn’t argue with Matilda’s sincere and dedicated response.

Since Noein had been bedridden with Eldor Fever, Matilda had been almost constantly by his side, taking care of him. She even tried to do as much of her work as possible in this room because she didn’t want to leave Noein.

Given her age, she was unlikely to catch the disease, and more importantly, Noein also wanted Matilda to be by his side, which gave him peace of mind.

...

"Master Noein, I’ve brought your meal!"

"Thank you, Mary. You’ve worked hard."

Noein had woken up around noon, so lunch was brought to his bedroom.

Mary, a young maid who worked in the mansion, delivered the meal. Incidentally, there were currently three maids in the mansion, the other two being Kimberly and Rosetta.

"Today’s menu is mashed potatoes and chicken and cabbage soup!"

The cheerful and energetic Mary explained brightly, then set a small table on Noein’s bed and arranged the food.

The soft mashed potatoes and warm soup were both easy for the sick Noein to eat.

As he slowly ate, Matilda prepared tea for him when he was almost finished. The tea set had been brought in with the meal by Mary.

"It was delicious, Mary. Thank you."

"Oh, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!"

With a bright smile, Mary cleared the dishes and the table and left the room.

Noein took the cup from Matilda, sipped the tea, and took a moment to rest.

"...Is everything running smoothly in the barony?"

"Don’t worry. Almost all the work is proceeding without any issues."

"Is that so? The word 'almost' makes me think there are some problems, though?"

"Regarding the forest logging, we’ve had to significantly reduce the work because we don’t have the golems. However, the original reclamation plan had a lot of leeway. Even considering the pace of new immigrants, there is still plenty of flat land available for farming for quite some time."

The work of cutting down trees in the forest to expand the flat land still heavily relies on Noein’s ability to handle the strong golems. Expanding the capital area to accommodate the increasing number of immigrants is an important task.

However, thanks to the diligent logging efforts so far, there is still plenty of room for the work to continue.

"That’s good to hear. I’ll try to get back to work as soon as possible and work hard on the logging."

"Please don’t overexert yourself. Your health is the top priority, Master Noein."

"I understand. Thank you."

...

By the fifth day of his Eldor Fever, Noein’s symptoms had significantly improved. Therefore, he decided to receive reports from his retainers while he was resting.

He sat on the bed in the bedroom, wearing a shirt over his pajamas and tidying his hair a bit.

First to enter was Yuri, the head retainer who had been acting as the baron in Noein’s absence.

"You’re looking much better, young master."

"Stop it. I’m an adult who’s come down with a childhood disease."

Noein responded with a pout to Yuri’s teasing.

After exchanging pleasantries, they moved on to the specific reports.

The content covered a wide range of topics, from the security and agricultural conditions within the barony to the mining operations in the Restio Mountains and the situation in the neighboring territory of Retvik. Yuri had compiled reports from the other retainers and was now relaying them to Noein.

"I understand. Thank you for your hard work."

"Yeah... anyway, take it easy. You’ve been working hard on the reclamation since you got here, so it’s okay to take a break for a while."

Yuri said this with a slight embarrassment, but he was clearly concerned for Noein as a subordinate.

"I’ll do that. I do plan to return to work as soon as possible, though."

Noein responded with a small smile to his subordinate’s words of encouragement.