I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend - Chapter 66

Shortly after the soldier’s death, the number of soldiers with similar symptoms began to increase rapidly.

The Commanders noticed that the epidemic was spreading and isolated the sick soldiers in one place.

But it couldn’t stop the epidemic from spreading. The disease spread out of control and the number of deaths increased day by day.

The Crown Prince came up late and tried to fix it, but there was no way to prevent it. It was because he could not even find a suitable treatment for the Imperial Family members.

‘I’ve never seen this disease before. So far, there is no cure.’

“There’s nothing I can do.”

‘Even now, we need to research the disease and find a cure, but we don’t know how long it will take, and there’s a high probability that the epidemic will spread before that…’

Members’ response to the treatment was largely negative. It had been the worst-case scenario. At this rate, illness would almost completely destroy the war rather than end it.

Rohandell had already locked their gates tightly, and the Imperial Army could not move until the disease had been treated.

‘What am I supposed to do with this?’

The darkness over the Duke of Averine’s face grew darker. He needs to write a letter to his family who may be worried about him, but he has not been able to send a letter to his family for a while since he has only bad news to share.

However, unless there’s a proper countermeasure against the epidemic, the news will soon spread throughout the Empire.

But Adelio thought that he should write a letter first before hearing the vague rumors and causing his wife and daughter’s worries to grow.

‘Yes, I should tell them the truth.’

When the Duke’s hand that has stiffened picked up the pen, he started writing the introduction of the letter, the knight entered the barracks.

“Sir, the Princess’ letter has arrived.” said the knight.

The Duke took something from the knight puzzled, “From Dahlia?”

It was a simple letter enclosed with a small bottle. Adelio glanced at the letter with a slight nod.

It’s been a while since he didn’t reply to her letters, so he thought she wouldn’t write again, but they arrived just in time for him to write her.

Has the news of the epidemic already spread to the Empire?

He quickly opened his daughter’s letter with a strange sense of uneasiness

“…?”

The more I read it, the more I became confused. Clearly, Dahlia knew that the infectious disease had already spread on the battlefield. Because it was literally written in the letter.

I don’t know if it’s because the rumor spread to the Empire or if Dahlia recognized it separately beforehand.

As she asked about my well-being, she was also deeply worried, and for a moment the contents felt vague.

However, the moment I saw the strange request written below, that sentiment flew away.

[If there is anything to negotiate about the epidemic, please come forward. Please…]

“Negotiation?”

What negotiation?

If it’s about negotiating the epidemic. Will something like that really happen? No, where did Dahlia get this information in the first place?

Thousands of questions flashed through his mind in an instant, and Adelio wanted to grab Dahlia and ask her right away.

However, the person who sent the letter was nowhere near his reach, so he just sighed.

Still, it’s not like it’s normal for his daughter to ask for something like this. Thinking that he should believe it, as usual, he read the bottom line.

[P.S. I hope you stay healthy, but just in case you’re not feeling well, I’m sending you nutritional supplements, so try them. Especially if you have a frequent dry cough or itchy throat. please!]

Adelio smiled softly as the exclamation mark seemed to represent her daughter’s feelings.

So, how did Dahlia find out about the epidemic, and it doesn’t matter what she says. That my daughter is only worried about whether her father is okay or not.

Fortunately, since he heard about the epidemic, he didn’t meet people very often, and he only coughed to himself.

‘Still, she gave a good nutritional supplement for the body.’

Is it similar to a fatigue reliever? I had previously heard that Dahlia was sponsoring a pharmacist. It may be a medicine they developed this time.

Anyway, it was true that he was feeling very tired these days, so Adelio drank the medicine at once without any doubt.

I frowned thinking that the medicine tasted stronger than I thought.

And… “What?”

For a moment, his eyes darkened.

The sight that had flickered for a moment came back with a ‘twinge’ and the sound of something colliding. He suddenly fell to the floor.

His face was pressing against the cold floor, but strangely he felt nothing.

Rather, his whole body felt hot. The heat, burning from where the medicine was taken, soon became a hot lump and burst out through his neck.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Adelio stared blankly ahead. On the floor, dark red blood was dripping.

Something is wrong… What the hell was the medicine he drank…?

But he couldn’t carry on thinking anymore. This is because, in an instant, his body lost strength and his consciousness began to sink so quickly that it felt scary.

He closed his heavy eyelids and thought for the last time. It was as if he saw a pair of feet rushing towards him in a hazy view.

“Who is it?”

Thus, Adelio lost consciousness.

✿

Adelio was at a loss fighting for his life. At first, he really thought he was going to die.

His body, which constantly sweated, suddenly became hot, and cold, rising up, and being stuck in his throat again.

Sometimes it stings as if his hands and feet are electrified, and then sometimes he feels like floating, so he thought that this might be what a dying person experiences.

Thinking that the end was coming, old memories passed.

Starting from childhood when he was practicing swordsmanship in the midst of difficulty, he was appointed a knight, to when he was scolded by his father, and then he applied to the Imperial Knights…

And until he met his first love, Claire. The memories move quickly and they get married, in his memories show the scene of their wedding ceremony, Claire’s pregnancy, and the birth of a beautiful daughter with brown hair.

The fact that his daughter, who has grown suddenly, was looking at him, he remembered her words.

‘You have to come back safely.’

Only then did Adelio think he couldn’t die here now. There was still a lot of work to be done.

After winning the war, I had to go back proudly and hug my wife and daughter, and I had to say that I had worked hard.

Also, I should always say how much I love them.

Adelio struggled in the abyss that pulled him endlessly. He couldn’t die here, so he struggled with the desire to see his family…

At some point, his vision brightened. It was a really strange thing. Until a while ago, the pain that was weighing on him had disappeared without a trace.

As if he had acquired a new body, his mind was refreshed.

Adelio suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the person sitting in front of him.

There was Rudrick.

Rudrick, with a frighteningly stiff face, was just holding a small bottle of medicine in one hand that he had taken.

Then he noticed that Adelio had woken up and asked, “Who gave you this?”

✿

“Is the Duke of Averine okay?”

Rudrick looked at the man in front of him and answered, “Yes, the doctor said that he had a fever for a while due to overwork and physical exhaustion.”

“…Isn’t it contagious?” (Crown Prince)

“He’s recovering safely.”

The Crown Prince, a man who briefly doubted Rudrick’s determined voice, soon turned to his indifferent expression.

As soon as he stood still, he heard the Prince’s words, “Have you heard the rumors?”

Rudrick reflected on what he had said. Surely he has also heard of the rumors spreading these days.

Obviously, the chief medical officer of the Imperial Family had also said that there’s no proper treatment when an epidemic is just beginning to spread.

However, as time passed, rumors began to come out that the epidemic had been cured in villages around the Imperial Army.

At first, I thought it was just a rumor. I thought it was just a story floating around among anxious soldiers, a rumor that would soon fade away.

However, the rumors did not fade, but rather only swelled.

—’The epidemic has already spread, so there’s an empty village with only patients left. Someone gave them a cure and left, and all the people there were cured.’

—’ What are you talking about? What about the person who said that he tried the medicine from that town and it didn’t work?’

—’Isn’t that the village next door? The children there caught an infectious disease as a group and quarantined them, but one day they became distant.’

—‘It’s not just there. The village we went through last time…’

Even as the days went by, the rumors were cleverly mixed with lies and truth. As if someone was deliberately trying to drive a wedge.