"Good heavens!"
I covered my mouth with my hands in shock when I realized I had just stumbled upon someone's body.
In the darkness of the forest, I could make out a girl about my age or slightly older, whom I had nearly stepped on. Realizing this, I hastily jumped aside.
She had a beautiful face with delicate features, pale skin, and dark brown hair. Deep down, I thought she was very beautiful for a commoner. At first glance, it wasn't difficult for me to guess her origin.
Despite the attractive face, characteristic of a member of high society, her clothes were very poor. If I were to estimate, they were clearly worth no more than a couple of silver coins.
But now, she was covered in blood.
I had actually discovered a corpse in the forest, not far from my estate!
Considering this was my "first time," I trembled with fear for a while. Then I took a deep breath and tried to pull myself together.
After all, this is an R-19 rated novel. Death and violence here should be taken for granted, like elves and dragons in fantasy. It's no wonder that sooner or later I would discover someone's lifeless body.
But most of all, of course, I was shocked that it happened so close to my home! Moreover, I almost tripped over her...
How could this commoner have ended up here in such a terrible state? Only one possible scenario kept running through my mind.
The poor thing must have had the misfortune of running into bandits. The Dark Army was constantly patrolling the area nearby. Of course, these criminals didn't care about human lives.
I looked at this girl with pity. So young and beautiful, yet she left this world so early... I must be especially vigilant so that the same thing doesn't happen to me.
Mentally praying for the repose of her soul, I was about to step over the body and move on. But... The next moment, I nearly had a second heart attack.
A cold hand, as if from the very depths of the underworld, suddenly grabbed my leg.
I turned around in shock.
At the moment I was about to step over her, the girl I had thought was a corpse suddenly grabbed me. She was still unconscious. Apparently, it was her internal reflexes kicking in.
I was taken aback by this turn of events.
"It can't be! Is she still alive...?!"
Despite the fact that a second ago she hadn't even been breathing, her icy fingers held onto me surprisingly tightly. With difficulty, I managed to free myself. As soon as I did, her last strength gave out, and her hand went limp.
Forgetting the purpose for which I had originally set out into this forest, I rushed to her.
Despite the fact that above all else I care about my own skin, I'm still not a heartless creature.
"Hey, how are you?!"
A strange question, considering she's covered in blood. Oh well.
After the expected lack of response, I pressed my head to her chest. How else can you check if a person is alive or not? Through her clothes, I could make out her heart beating very faintly. And her breathing was as absent as that of a dead person.
I realized that even if she wasn't dead yet, it would happen very soon.
As it turned out, I had screamed loudly enough. Within five minutes, Elisha caught up with me, worried that I had encountered some danger.
"M-my Lady! What happ..."
The maid froze upon seeing me bent over someone's body. At that same moment, her pupils dilated.
"Wh-who is this...?"
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For a few seconds, I was tormented by pangs of conscience. I thought that if I just left her here, I would feel guilty for the rest of my days. After all, even if she was a stranger, this was a human life.
I believed that one day my action today would come back to me like a boomerang.
"Quickly!"
I draped one of her arms over myself, but it turned out I couldn't manage without help. Surprisingly, despite her slender build, she was quite heavy. The maid was stunned, not quite understanding what I was about to do.
I looked at her expectantly.
"Elisha, quickly! Take her other arm."
She stood frozen in a daze.
"B-but... My Lady... Who is this anyway? What are you trying to do?"
"I'll explain everything later!"
My tone, brooking no objection, finally snapped her out of her stupor. In the end, the girl had to obey and drag this "burden" with me into the estate. Fortunately, there weren't many servants outside, as most of them were preparing for the Duke's arrival.
Almost unnoticed, we carried the commoner through the back door straight into my room. I asked Elisha to summon our family physician, Xavier.
My request didn't take long, and within fifteen minutes the necessary person arrived. All this time, I nervously glanced at the clock, as every second counted.
The commoner lay serenely on my bed, showing no signs of life. I was afraid that in the end, she might die right here, in my room.
When the elderly man, who looked like a professor, entered the room, I immediately locked the door behind him. The physician was somewhat surprised by this turn of events, and soon asked uncertainly:
"My Lady, you summoned me without warning... Is this something urgent? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Not me."
"What?"
"Can you examine her?"
When I stepped aside and the doctor saw the girl lying on my bed, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Probably because she was truly in a terrible state.
"Uh-uh-uh... Allow me to ask you one question."
Realizing he was about to ask me the same question as the maid, I interrupted him. "Please, I'll explain everything later! But do something right now!"
Xavier stared at me in surprise for a while, probably because it was the first time he had seen me so determined. In childhood, Camilla had been a sickly child, and the doctor had often had to visit her. He remembered the duke's youngest daughter as a weak and rather insecure lady.
This was the first time Camilla had summoned him on her own initiative, and even set some conditions. For understandable reasons, the man was puzzled. But then, overcoming his inner confusion, he proceeded directly to carry out his duties.
"I will do everything in my power."
While we waited outside the door, no more than ten minutes passed. I was surprised that the physician invited us to enter so soon. This meant that things were either very good or very bad.
As it turned out, the latter.
"I'm afraid I can't help."
Xavier spread his hands helplessly.
"How so?" I was astonished, "Didn't my father hire you because you're one of the best doctors in the empire?"
Xavier shrugged guiltily. A note of resignation sounded in his voice:
"I'm afraid that apart from God himself, even the most talented doctors on the planet are unable to help this girl."
"Why?! Is it really that serious?"
I was shocked. At first glance, it seemed to me that this was just a knife wound sustained during some fight. Can't it just be operated on and patched up?
But when I said this to the doctor, he shook his head.
"A knife wound is indeed present, but that's not the worst part. The fact is, judging by all the symptoms, this girl has been poisoned."
I couldn't believe my ears.
Who would need to use poison, which was considered quite valuable in the empire, on some commoner? This couldn't be a mistake, could it?
But the doctor dispelled my doubts:
"I assure you, I couldn't be mistaken on such a matter. This is indeed poison, and a very rare concoction at that. Its composition includes complex and dangerous components. So much so that surviving such poisoning is practically impossible."
"..."
I was at a loss for words.
"Since I have never encountered such a recipe, I don't know the antidote for it," he continued, "I'm afraid what I have with me won't help at all."
I nervously bit my lip.
Was this really how it would end?
I looked at the commoner, who lay unconscious on my bed and was in the prime of her life. I couldn't believe that her life would end so unfairly and cruelly.
Does anyone deserve such an end?
Except for the main villainess, I probably wouldn't wish such a fate on anyone. Even that bastard, my older brother, wasn't bad enough to deserve such a painful death.
Taking a deep breath, I made a firm and irrevocable decision in my life. Even if I might regret it later.
"Elisha."
I quietly called my maid.
The girl immediately appeared beside me and asked what I needed.
"How many frost mushrooms did you manage to collect?"
After Elisha had called the doctor, the presence of a second person was unnecessary, and so as not to waste time, I sent her back to the forest. After all, this truly was a valuable opportunity.
"Uh..." the maid hesitated, "One..."
"What?"
"My Lady, I was only able to find one frost mushroom..." the girl admitted, "All the others need at least another ten years to fully mature... I assure you, I thoroughly examined everything!"
Elisha took a mushroom from the basket and showed it to me. It looked very much like a champignon, well known to me from my world.
Only... When I tried to touch it with my bare hand, my finger went numb, as if I had touched a block of ice. Well, at least the mushroom lived up to its name.
I smiled ruefully.
So, in these fifty years, only one had managed to grow? Not so many. In any case, I couldn't build a business with such a small amount of "goods."
Thus, my entrepreneurial career collapsed before it even began.
Well, then, there was only one thing left — to use it for its intended purpose.
I took the basket with the single frost mushroom from Elisha's hands and turned to the doctor. He watched with surprise what I was about to do.
"Xavier, can you prepare a decoction from this mushroom? I want to save this girl."