That was not all.
When Duchess Kreuz said she would stay by his side because she was worried-
"……Please go. You need to think of people who are worse off than I am."
"Ruperi……."
"Uncle is probably waiting for you."
Ruperi made his refusal clear.
He was the same with his brother, Praten, who came to the bedroom in their parents' stead.
"Brother, you should go. You have work to do……."
"How can I work while you're sick?"
"Paul and Anchina are here. Don't worry."
He even refused me when I worried because his fever rose again while Anchina was away.
"Paul, are you worried about me? I like it because Paul is here."
'Are you an idiot? Pull the bell cord already and call Anchina!'
"It's fine. A cold like this, cough! I can shake it off by myself."
At first, I thought he was refusing everyone's care because he had been so hurt.
But even after his cold got better, Ruperi did not act spoiled as he had before.
He did not feel hurt even when his parents did not come to the bedroom.
He acted composed even when he ate alone in the dining room.
At night, he neither hoped nor spoke of seeing his parents or brother the next day.
His clearly changed attitude frightened me.
'You said you were happy whenever you were with family! Why are you acting like this?'
I was not the only one fretting. Anchina, who had just come out after helping Ruperi bathe, confided in me.
"I think I should not have told the young master."
She was getting awfully used to speaking while holding a doll.
"I only told him because I wanted the young master to spend time with the Master and Madam. I never thought he would get so sick."
Anchina grew gloomy. Then she went on.
"I have raised a younger sibling, so I know. When someone is hurt that deeply, they do not talk about it afterward. But I never thought our young master would be like that……."
Anchina lowered her head.
I thought I heard her curse Miten, but I pretended not to.
"So, Paul."
As though something had occurred to her, Anchina raised her head and looked at me.
"I plan to use you from now on. You're okay with that, right?"
What?
"When you're around, the young master seems to smile a little more. Please help me comfort him."
Help you?
"When I'm holding you, wear the cutest expression you can. I don't know what this strange expression the young master talked about is, but you can do that, right?"
Whether I could believe my ears or not, Anchina kept talking as she pleased.
She even seized my arm and pressed my hand against hers to seal the promise.
"Then it's a promise, right? I'm counting on you, Paul!"
Hey, when did I agree……? Come back here right now?!
I called desperately to Anchina in alarm, but she went back into the bathroom without looking back.
***
I had to stop Anchina somehow.
Even if I were branded an evil object and burned, I had to grab the hem of her clothes and revoke that promise.
"Look, Young Master! Our Paul is stacking blocks!"
Heave, ho.
Hey, Anchina. You don't need to make the sound "Heave, ho."
More importantly, why am I stacking blocks?
Yes. This was the cooperation Anchina had meant.
She wanted me to take part in playing doll!
'Let go of me! Who said I'd cooperate?'
Even though I struggled in my mind, Anchina did not release her hand.
Ruperi, who saw my body move according to her hand, was holding back a laugh.
He even handed me a block.
"Try stacking this one too."
I wanted to tell him to put it away, but unfortunately, my body did not follow my will.
"Paul, you should say thank you. Thank yooou!"
What is that nasal voice now?
As I built blocks in a daze, a mountain of blocks gradually took shape.
Then Anchina said something even more dreadful.
"We made a mountain! Then Paul has to climb it now, right?"
What?
"Step, step, climb the blocks…… You reached the top! Paul, you're amazing!"
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP!
Can I faint now?
But despite my sacrifice, Ruperi did not smile brightly.
Was he still too hurt to feel like smiling?
'Why isn't his mood improving……? Huh?'
But there was something strange about Ruperi's complexion.
His cold had clearly passed, yet his complexion was still poor.
His skin had roughened, the circles beneath his eyes had darkened, and his body drooped without energy.
I looked at Anchina.
'Ah, his complexion wasn't getting better either, so she had no choice but to ask for my cooperation.'
But Ruperi's complexion was the same even after several days.
No, as his face grew increasingly gaunt, Anchina finally had no choice but to ask Ruperi quietly,
"Young Master, are you all right? Nothing hurts, does it?"
"I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping well."
Just because he had not been sleeping well?
Praten, who came to the bedroom several times a day after Ruperi's severe illness, was also worried about his younger brother.
"He doesn't seem to have a fever. That's why I'm even more worried. His cold is completely gone."
"I will examine him again. Excuse me, Young Master."
After examining him, the doctor said there was no particular problem other than weakened vitality.
"Only his vitality is weakened?"
"He was very sick with a cold, was he not? He is still young, so the effects must be lingering."
"True, Ruperi is still young."
"If you are very concerned, you may replenish the young master's vitality with your own power. Divine power will ease your worries faster than medicine."
Following the advice, Praten restored Ruperi's vitality.
But that was all. Ruperi's complexion did not improve.
'Something's strange.'
By this point, I was beginning to wonder.
Ruperi said he could not sleep.
His complexion did not improve even though time had passed since his cold.
The treatment had not worked even after divine power was used as advised.
'This feels familiar somehow…….'
I cocked my head, but kept watching Ruperi.
Soft, steady breaths.
Ruperi had said he could not sleep. But when I checked on him at night, he slept just fine.
'What does he mean he can't sleep? He's sleeping perfectly well.'
After looking Ruperi over coldly, I slipped out of his arms.
It was to create a mana core. Now that Duke Kreuz was away, I was about to do what I had failed to do for lack of courage.
'I should increase the amount of mana I manipulate while I have the chance.'
Mana was an intangible force that caused change.
It was always around us, and mages wielded it to cast spells.
Thus, they had to draw ambient mana into their bodies, accumulate it, and use it.
'That's right. If you come in quietly and take shape…….'
If its resistance became too fierce, I had to soothe it as best I could and manipulate it.
I carefully manipulated the ambient mana so it would not register to anyone's mana sense.
I easily formed the shape of a mana core and increased the amount of ambient mana.
The flowing mana touched the mana core-
In an instant, I snapped my eyes open in surprise.
'Dikidia?'
The energy I had felt while I was at House Teneris was here in the Kreuz manor.
The curse house, one of the Five Great Houses of Miten.
Then I heard a groan beside me.
"……Mother."
I turned my head to look at Ruperi.
'No way.'
Unlike before, Ruperi was sweating cold sweat and groaning in pain.
He was curled up, clutching his blanket in pain, unable even to breathe.
The symptoms were much clearer than before, and I could grasp the situation.
'Is Dikidia's curse…… taking hold in House Kreuz?'
***
Why had I only noticed now?
Why had I not thought deeply about it when I felt something familiar?
How could I, a Grade 2 necromancer, fail to recognize the familiar energy of Miten!
'It's all because of that brat.'
I glared at Ruperi.
Ruperi, who had been listlessly reading a book, cocked his head, but I answered by looking away.
Ruperi had been looking forward to an outing with his parents.
Through my conversations with him, I had come to understand how enjoyable that outing would be, and I struggled to suppress feelings that flared up on their own.
But Ruperi could not go on the outing because of the Miten Kingdom.
'He's so sick he looks as though he'll die, so I can't even run away in case something goes wrong.'
He had despaired and closed the door to his heart.
How could I not worry about Ruperi in this situation?
That was why I had stayed silent even when Anchina made that promise on her own.
'Is he an idiot? I can feel it this clearly.'