Chapter 33

No apothecary or physician could cure Amelia.

He left the room immediately, leaving Amelia writhing on the floor behind him.

It wasn't a matter of examining her or not.

The Baron and his wife already knew.

That Amelia was in this state.

That she had been suffering in an abnormal state for a long time.

A servant standing next to the door looked at him with an expression that said, "As expected."

This servant would have seen numerous visitors fail to treat Amelia and run away.

"Could I see the Baron?"

"The Baron?"

"It's to treat Lady Arnold."

But just because they had given up didn't mean he had to.

He also had information to find out from Amelia.

The servant shrugged as if surprised by his words, then guided him to where the Baron and his wife were waiting.

The Baron and his wife were waiting in the reception room.

Until he entered, disappointment was clearly evident on their faces.

They seemed to think he had come with news of his failure.

But they were also puzzled by his first words.

"There is something I'd like to request for the Lady's treatment."

"For treatment... you can treat her?"

"Yes. I believe you are aware that what the Lady is suffering from is not a disease."

"Y-yes. But other physicians and apothecaries said that madness cannot be cured with medicine."

"It might appear that way."

Amelia wasn't mad, most likely.

Usually, in this world, madness included more paranoid aspects.

Abnormal behaviors and language.

But Amelia was clearly expressing her will.

She was even conversing properly, albeit one-sidedly.

"In my opinion, it's not the issue you're concerned about. I need time."

"You mean she's not mad! Not insane, then what's the reason she's like this?"

"That's something I need to investigate slowly. However, in her current state, the Lady's safety seems to be at risk."

The scene of her scratching herself came to mind.

She had no hesitation in harming her own body.

It would be troublesome if she bit her tongue later.

"Please have your servants ensure the Lady can rest, even if it requires force. Also, provide digestible meals and pay attention to the hygiene of the room."

"Of course, of course! I'll do that right away. Is there anything else? I'll just tie her to the bed."

What?

"By tying, you mean..."

"If we tie her hands and feet, she won't be able to go into a frenzy. Isn't that what you meant?"

I didn't say it like that!

Given the era, he hadn't considered that inhumane suggestions would come up.

But even so, that was going too far.

After racking his brain for a while, he suggested.

"How about this method?"

And shortly after,

Amelia's room was neatly organized by servants who suddenly rushed in.

Despite her frenzy, Amelia was dragged away by six strong maids and bathed.

In the meantime, servants cleaned up broken decorations and torn carpets.

Along with anything else that could break.

Maids in charge of bedding changed the sheets on Amelia's large bed.

Afterward, as Amelia staggered out, servants and maids joined forces to wrap her in a blanket.

And with a thick, plush new blanket at that.

After rolling Amelia into the blanket, they tied it with another sheet.

Amelia, now a giant blanket roll, struggled but couldn't scratch herself at least.

After seating Amelia on the bed and ventilating the room, the servants left as abruptly as they had come.

He pulled a chair to the bedside and sat down.

"Hello, Lady. Now I can properly greet you."

"Crazy bastard."

"Call me whatever you like. I'm here to treat you, Lady. If you need anything, please let me know."

"Untie this! Who do you think you are, who!"

"If you need assistance, please tell me or call a maid."

"Crazy bastard."

Even after several days passed, Amelia's condition did not improve.

Despite being able to speak, she showed no will to communicate.

Just words like untie me, save me.

At this rate, it seemed like he wouldn't be able to hear any story from Amelia.

So he decided to broaden his investigation to people around her.

The first target was the dedicated maid who had served Amelia since long ago.

"It's truly sad that the Lady has become like this. Actually, when the Lady returned from the ducal residence, it felt like she had survived. It was right after the punishment of the Hartmann direct line was discussed at the royal palace."

"I see. I wasn't at Hartmann then, so I didn't know well."

"I couldn't even imagine how much mental suffering the Lady endured in that situation. She really fell ill gradually."

"When you say fell ill...?"

"Ah, it was before she became like she is now. Her health deteriorated, she became depressed. She even stopped reading, which she used to enjoy."

She vigorously wrung out a wet towel and wiped the face of Amelia, who had finally fallen asleep.

"We comforted the Lady saying she would be safe since it was proven that she had no connection with Hartmann."

"What did the Lady say to that?"

"She didn't say anything. She just said she wanted to be alone."

"Did the Baron and Baroness take any measures?"

"Of course they did! They bought and gifted everything the Lady might like. They also procured nutritious items for her meals. They even reassigned employees to show how much they cared."

"Why the employees?"

"Naturally for the Lady. But thinking about it now, it doesn't seem to have been of much use. Eventually, from some point on, she became sensitive, and later... you know?"

The dedicated maid sighed deeply.

Listening to the maid's words, there was something strangely off.

If she had simply colluded with Yurik, there would be no reason for her to be so depressed.

Would Lee Wan-yong have been sad when he sold the country?

Would Quisling have gone to the Norwegian national broadcasting station with tears to announce as Prime Minister?

It seemed clear that Amelia's symptoms were related to Hartmann, but when was that "some point"?

"Was there anyone in this mansion with whom the Lady frequently interacted?"

"The Baron and Baroness were always busy. And the Young Lord was preparing for his studies in the capital. When she was alone in her room, it was either me or the Head Maid?"

Amelia did not seem to have an outgoing personality.

That seemed natural, especially given that the maid didn't even mention friends.

He talked with a few more employees in this manner, but there was no significant harvest of information.

After going downstairs and wandering around the corridor, he saw someone approaching from the other side.

"Ah, Apothecary."

It was a servant with black hair and a fairly handsome face.

His skin was strangely pale, making his impression rather faint.

Who was he again? Ah, right.

"You're the juice servant, aren't you?"

"...I'm not exclusively dedicated to the Lady's juice, but. What brings you here?"

"I was thinking about whether I could make a medicinal drink. I thought it might help Lady Arnold's health."

As he made up this excuse, the servant smiled freshly.

"It seems the Lady has improved a lot since you arrived, Apothecary."

At least she had stopped self-harming, so it might appear that way outwardly.

When he nodded, the servant, as if just remembering, took something out of his pocket and handed it to him.

It was dried herbs wrapped in thin paper.

"What's this?"

"The Lady's dedicated maid told me. That both the Apothecary and the Lady have trouble sleeping. These are sleep-inducing herbs; if you burn a pinch, you can sleep soundly."

"Ah, thank you for your consideration."

He really didn't need to go this far.

He carefully stored the herbs without much thought.

Indeed, Amelia had been wailing day and night, and he was concerned about his patience.

The servant left with a fresh smile, saying he had busy matters to attend to.

With nothing more to investigate, he also had to go to Amelia's room.

As soon as he entered Amelia's room, a shout greeted him.

The maid by her side was at a loss due to a more severe outburst than usual.

"Untie! I told you to untie me, you damned woman! If I just get this untied, you're dead. You know? Don't you, you insolent woman!"

"Lady, please calm down... Sir! Please help the Lady!"

Upon discovering him, the maid rushed over as if she had found a savior.

As the maid's face was also tearful, he soothed her well and sent her out of the room.

Looking at Amelia huffing on the bed, she was like a living demon.

"Untie! Untieee!"

"No, not until the effect of the medicine wears off."

"Who do you think you are, you crazy bastard!"

Even cursing that was hard to utter from a baronial lady.

Soon, he would need to find herbs that could alleviate addiction symptoms.

On the table next to the bed, there was a small sand incense burner for burning incense.

He sprinkled some of the scent he had received from the servant earlier into it and lit it.

This way, as the sand heated up, it would gradually burn what was inside.

Let's use this to put her to sleep.

"I'll come back in the evening, Lady. Calm down a bit and sleep; you'll feel better."

"Untieeee!"

It seemed best to leave Amelia alone for a while.

After the fragrance had spread a little, he left the room again.

This lady needed to detoxify a bit.

* * *

That night, in the dawn when a light rain was falling.

In front of the bedroom of the baronial lady, with no guards.

Normally, screams or shouts would have been faintly heard, but today it was exceptionally quiet.

Perhaps that's why no one guarded it.

Because all the people in the mansion had long suffered from the Lady's abusive language and seizures when she was not in her right mind.

A shadow fell across the bedroom door.

As the door opened without making a sound, the scent of burning herbs wafted out from the room.

A heavy, stuffy, but sweet fragrance.

A sleep scent said to make a person's consciousness hazy and lead them to unconsciousness.

The intruder approached the bedside as smoothly as a snake.

There lay Amelia, tightly wrapped in a huge bundle, with her eyes closed.

Her eyelids, gaunt to the point of being unsightly, didn't even twitch.

The shadow looked down at her and picked up a spare pillow from the bed.

If Amelia were to open her eyes now, she could easily call for someone.

But she couldn't open her eyes,

And even if she screamed, it would be blocked by the pillow.

The scene of a silent murder without any noise.

How much time had passed?

A hand reached into Amelia's bosom, which was no different from before.

The hand, which was feeling for her thin neck, grasped something as soon as it was found.

Snap.

The shadow, tightly holding the string that had broken without resistance, turned to leave the room.

But before that could happen, a chilling voice came flying.

"...What are you doing?"

The apothecary with a wet hood stood in front of the open door.