CHAPTER 294: THE FEVER AND THE FAIRY FLOWER

Curtis, whom Camilla had worried was "not a very good person," was very polite to Carl.

It may have been due to the difference in status and power, but aside from that, it was thanks to this that Curtis developed respect for the man named Carl.

"I’ve kept you waiting for too long. It’s hard for me to find the time."

"No."

Curtis waved his hand at Carl’s words as he took off his helmet.

Judging by the large gestures, he was indeed from the southern part of the empire.

Carl took off the hat he wore under his helmet and shook out his hair.

Curtis waited quietly, then cautiously opened his mouth when Carl looked at him again.

"I have come to see you like this because I have something to ask Your Highness the Grand Duke."

"I know. Because it’s the letter I sent," Carl said, his hat tucked inside his helmet and placed at his side.

"Are you suffering from a fever?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. The potion makes me feel better, but the next day my fever rises again and I have difficulty moving," Curtis spoke urgently.

Curtis had made many mistakes due to his hasty and easily excited personality, but he had not yet been able to fix it.

Because he had never made a mistake so big that he couldn’t really handle the consequences.

"I didn’t think it was the same illness that Your Majesty had suffered from in the past. It must have been because the severity of the illness was so different. However, after receiving Your Majesty’s letter and thinking about it carefully, I think it is indeed true," Curtis muttered somewhat cheekily.

Although Southerners were naturally a bit laid-back and cheerful, that was definitely not the way they should treat the Grand Duke.

All Carl had asked was whether the rumors that he was suffering from a fever were true.

But Curtis not only brought up the Archduke’s past struggles with illness, he also said to Carl in front of him, "I’ve thought about it carefully after hearing what you said, and I think it’s right."

If the Grand Duke says so, then so be it. How can a mere knight with nothing to his name have the arrogance to express his own opinion?

It’s not like he had a long-term friendship with Catherine or Billford.

Clank.

Catherine and Billford, who had been sitting on that cheeky horse to recover their strength, suddenly stood up, lowered their visors, and approached Curtis.

"Sir Curtis, I know you are here as His Royal Highness the Duke’s guest, but you had better be careful where you draw the line."

"...I apologize, Your Majesty."

At Catherine’s calm but heavy warning, Curtis came to his senses and took a step back, bowing his head with a slightly pale face as he apologized.

"So, you came to me because you wanted to cure it. Is that right?"

Carl waved his hand to Catherine and Billford and spoke leisurely.

That leisure made the tense Curtis feel the real difference in strength, so he answered politely.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I am not in a position to ask you a favor, but..."

Curtis chose his words carefully, then trailed off, thinking it would be better not to ramble on any longer.

Although it would be rude to trail off when speaking to the Grand Duke, it would be better than talking nonsense.

Curtis was really trying his best.

"Don’t be so nervous. I was the one who called you in the first place. I was also interested in the person suffering from that fever. It was a disease that even the royal physician had no choice but to leave alone."

Curtis sighed in relief at Carl’s relaxed voice.

Just a few years ago, Carl, who was on the verge of death, had now become a great warrior and Archduke. Surely someone like Curtis could cure him.

Since Carl was interested in it, it might be possible to cure the disease without much difficulty.

"Sir Curtis, let me get straight to the point: the flower used to treat that disease is a fairy flower from the legends of the northern Balturan people."

"...Balturan... the legendary... fairy flower... you mean?"

Curtis’s bewildered voice echoed in vain.

His dark brown eyes wandered.

First of all, it would not be easy for Levin, a knightly family from the southern part of the empire, to set foot on the land of the Balturan people in the north.

And what legendary fairy flower...

’Are you kidding me?’

Curtis really thought so.

Because it was a world where information was difficult to convey, it was not known whether Ias had actually met the Balturan people and brought back the Frostwind Corpse Flower.

"It may be absurd. But I desperately wanted something so absurd that I had no choice but to risk my life for it, and that’s why I’m alive now."

"...Yes, Your Majesty."

As Carl spoke powerfully, Curtis could sense, to his surprise, that it was not a joke, but the truth.

"Of course I know that Kyung doesn’t have the ability to save it."

Curtis’s lips twitched at Carl’s words.

That’s right. Even if he died and came back to life, he wouldn’t be able to do that.

It’s one thing to go to the North, another thing to survive the attacks of the Balturan people, and another thing to find the fairy flower there.

First of all, he had already wasted three months here, and he couldn’t afford to waste any more time on this hopeless search.

He was a knight, and he had to return and fulfill his mission.

...Also, he didn’t have enough money to buy potions, so he was penniless, and there was a high chance of dying along the way...

"I’m also interested in the legends about the fever, the Balturan people, and the fairy flower, so I think I’ll take this opportunity to go north. There’s nothing to do when it snows in the winter anyway. What do you think? Will you come with me?"

Carl didn’t bother to come up with a detailed plan to make up an excuse.

He just used Curtis as an excuse.

So, it was basically like saying, "I’m going to go out and play this winter using Curtis as an excuse."