Lilian of Turin

‘She was someone who nearly lost her life a while ago…’

The Madam was a bit scared.

‘What if the Emperor, who noticed the marriage alliance, tried his hand on the lady?’

If the Emperor tried to poison Lilian, that would be the worst.

‘If Lady Lilian is poisoned…’

She didn’t even want to imagine that, but if that happened…it probably wouldn’t end with the inevitable breakup of the alliance.

The matter of the young lady, who needed to be protected, being assassinated was different from the shock of the Lord’s mysterious death.

The aftermath to overcome would be large.

‘Everyone will be even more angry.’

It’s certain that Turin’s wrath would not stop until the beast’s head was decapitated and hung on the wall.

Even if that’s the Emperor of this Empire.

Shaw, the attending physician of Turin Castle, burst in, unaware that his glassess’ string was upside down.

He had fully realized the importance of the Lord’s sister over the past few weeks.

And thankfully.

“It’s not poison.”

Everyone was relieved, but couldn’t relax yet.

Liliane was pale, breathing so slowly that the rise and fall of her chest was barely visible.

Cedric sat at Lilian’s bedside and looked at the child in silence.

His mood was, in a word, terrible.

‘…I keep getting stupid thoughts that I wish this wasn’t real.’

Soon after, he wiped away the denial of reality with a dry swallow and was asked.

“…if it’s not poison, what is it?”

Mrs. Hayworth and the other aides held their breath even more at the voice of the Lord, who had become haggard in a short time.

Shaw was a cold-hearted doctor. However, even he couldn’t easily move his mouth in front of Cedric, who was on the verge of collapsing miserably with the unconscious Lily right in front of him.

‘I think it’d be less shocking to hit the Lord with a mace than to make a diagnosis.’

Still, he couldn’t avoid what he had to do. Sighing, Shaw opened his mouth with difficulty.

“Fortunately, her life is not at stake…not yet.”

Not yet.

There was both hope and despair in those words.

“For now, it’s just that her energy has declined.”

Only then did Cedric breathe heavily, like someone breathing for the first time that day. With his eyes still closed, he meditated on the names of his father and grandfather.

Shaw noticed that the statue-like Lord had returned to life for some time and then continued.

“I’m sorry but this is not the time to be relieved. Declining energy is, in a sense, more difficult than a serious illness. There is no proper treatment, and even a small injury can make the condition serious.”

“Lilian’s body…”

Rubbing his face, Cedric struggled to continue his words.

“…was it so small and fragile?”

No one answered.

None of them knew.

Cedric pondered. Looking back, when Lilian was seriously ill, how indifferent was he to her at that time?

When he first heard the news that Lily was sick, he frowned and said “she’s causing me trouble in many ways.”

The image of himself muttering that came to mind.

How could he say such a terrible thing? He felt out of breath.

The sharp memories pierced his heart.

Cedric swallowed the pain that felt like being hit in the chest with a sledgehammer.

Dumbass. He didn’t even know that there was a treasure in front of him.

“How can she get better?”

“There are no special measures. She just had to eat well, get some rest, and take care of herself. Maybe for the rest of her life.”

In the heavy atmosphere, Shaw hesitated a little more and carefully continued, “but…”

“There’s one thing I want to confirm…by any chance, what was her tier?”

Since long ago, people with strong magical powers have been born in the Empire with extremely rare odds.

People with strong magical powers could dramatically strengthen their bodies through training. So most of them learned swordsmanship.

Only a few of them would reach the stage of releasing their mana to the outside.

According to the literature, some transcendents were able to freely transform their bodies, and it’s also described that even aging came slowly to them.

In an Empire prone to frequent wars, magical power was almost the only means to overcome even the limitations of bloodlines.

Therefore, it’s natural for children from aristocratic families to have magical powers.

The amount was measured and ranked according to value.

Usually, 1 to 3 tera were called tier Nature, 4 to 5 tera was tier Middle, and those with 6 to 7 tera were tier High.

Normally, Nature was regarded as an ordinary person, Middle as a gifted prodigy, and High as a genius or transcendent.

Cedric was a tier high with nearly 7 tera of magical power.

And Lilian…

“Probably Nature, her tera…”

Cedric bit his lips at the guilt that stung his chest once again.

“…I don’t know. Guess I’ll have to look at the records.”

Indeed. He didn’t even know Lily’s tier.

How could she be so kind to such a lousy human being as her brother? Lilian was so pitiful.

Cedric asked in a sharp voice.

“But why suddenly ask?”

“I think the chances are extremely slim, but.”

Shaw shrugged.

“As the Lord knows, vitality and magic form a kind of inseparable relationship.”

When one side was too short of the other, it created an imbalance.

“If vitality is lacking, mana makes up for it, but…”

“What about the other way around?”

“Things get a little tricky. Because of the lack of mana, the vitality starts to run out.”

“What does that have to do with Lily collapsing?”

“I’m not sure yet, but it’s an inference.”

There were cases, Shaw explained, of similar symptoms after suffering a serious illness like Lily’s.

“Her mana is constantly being depleted.”

“Depleted?”

Cedric’s brow furrowed.

“Isn’t the magic power used replenished if you take a proper rest?”

“It’s an illness because that’s impossible.”

Mana circulate through the blood stream, and the human heart function as a mana core.

“Sometimes, among those who recover from a deadly illness, there are rare cases of permanent damage to this core.”

“The core is damaged?”

“Yes, to put it simply, the cup containing mana was broken. As a result, a continuous loss of magical power occurs, and in the end, even the vitality is depleted.”

It’s such a rare disease that the exact cause was not known, Shaw explained.

“What the hell does that have to do with Lilian?”

Cedric tried hard to deny the causal relationship that was about to be revealed.

“My Lord…”

Mrs. Hayworth moaned pitifully. Shaw calmly shook his head.

“The young lady suffered from a severe fever a while ago and barely recovered. So it’s not like there’s no chance of a relapse.”

“That can’t be.”

Cedric curled up his trembling fingertips and squeezed them.

What should he call this emotion?

Anger?

Fear?

What’s certain was that it wasn’t among those.

“This can’t…”

It shouldn’t happen to Lily, just not Lilian.

Only now did he know of this child’s existence. Although belatedly, he was able to give Lily the precious treatment she deserved.

So this shouldn’t have happened.

“Shaw Winston, I need an accurate diagnosis.”

“The method is simple. Would you like to measure the amount of the Lady’s magical power tera?”

Cedric’s delicate mana management was unmatched.

He could get a rough estimate of tera though not as accurately as the instrument.

“If Lady Lily’s tera is significantly less than the result at the measurement ceremony, that will be undeniable proof that the lady is suffering from magical exhaustion.”

“This disease…”

Cedric had to moisten his dry lips.

“Is it serious?”

“…it depends on how quickly the mana is being depleted, but usually all the mana is lost within 10 years. That condition is called Tier Zero, and if that happens, it’s difficult to guarantee life. The cure is…”

Shaw paused for a moment. He wondered whether it was right to convey the objective facts as a doctor or whether he should at least lie a little to save the Lord from deep despair…

Shaw then glanced at Lilian.

‘It’s not a situation that can be covered up with small lies.’

Shaw honestly said it.

“There is currently no cure.”

Cedric gritted his teeth.

“What if Lily wasn’t sick with that?”

“Then, we just have to wait until the lady recovers naturally and wakes up. Rejoicing that the young lady’s weakness is not an incurable punishment from heaven.”