The next day, Lysia ate breakfast and after receiving her gift, she returned to Torvequista.

　Lysia was happy to receive the gift and had a big smile on her face.
　It was a very natural smile and I couldn't believe it was an act, but since it was Lysia, she probably tried to be innocent and happy.

　A few days passed after Lysia returned.
　Then I receive a letter from Lysia.

　It thanked her for her hospitality and reported that she was growing the flowers she had received properly.
　As a courtesy, I wrote a letter in reply and sent it to Lysia.

　Since then, the letters have been arriving at a very fast pace. The content of the letters range from trivial updates to complaining. I can't afford not to reply, so I reply to all the letters, but since there isn't that much content to write in the first place, I'm pretty worried about writing a letter every time.

　I wonder what Lycia is trying to do with all these letters. Is she trying to test my vocabulary or something?
　Or is it for a surprisingly simple reason: they genuinely enjoy correspondence?
　No, I don't think so.

　There's nothing unusual about it, except that I've started correspondence with Lycia. I haven't found any particularly great people. There's a limit to the number of people he can hire since the territory is weak to begin with. The number of vassals had already increased to the limit, just barely, that Lowbent could hire, and the number of vassals had increased to the limit.

　Then one day, a year and a half passed without any major events happening.

　My father fell ill.


Fat.


　It was the fourth of March, an autumn day.
　I was eleven years old when it happened.

　In fact, for a few months, my father had gotten well, and he was no longer coughing. I thought the illness was a complete cure.

　So when I heard that my father had suddenly fallen ill, I was surprised.

　In the morning, he was training the soldiers at the military camp when he collapsed. He didn't seem to be dead, but he seemed to have lost consciousness.

　The cause was unknown. My father was immediately rushed to the house and a doctor was called to treat him in Ramberg.

'Is my father alright?　Will you survive?

　I asked the doctor about my father's condition.

　In front of me was my father lying in bed.

''He's not in a life-threatening condition at the moment but he seems to have quite a high fever. ...Apparently this is...

　The doctor mutters a little darkly.

'Wasn't my father cured of his illness?'
'Yes, perhaps Raven-sama is suffering from a slightly rare disease called Glei's disease. It's a mysterious disease that is not known to be caused by anything. It can't be passed on to others. However, after a while, he may suddenly develop a high fever, a sudden decline in appetite, vomiting and diarrhea, and a tendency to get other diseases. And eventually, it can lead to death.

　It is a disease with a name I have never heard of.
　I've never heard of a disease with similar symptoms in a previous life. Well, I wasn't familiar with the disease, so maybe there was a similar disease that I just didn't know about.

'Is there a cure for that disease?'
'There is no cure. We can only wait for it to heal naturally, but most of the time it doesn't heal and will die within a year. Master Raven is stronger than an ordinary person, so I think he has a better chance of surviving than most people, but...
....

　Dying.
　Is my father going to die?

　I was intensely upset.

　I knew the time would come eventually, but I wondered if it would be too soon, no matter how soon.

'At any rate, if you stay absolutely at rest, as you do when you cure an ordinary cold, there is a chance that you will still recover. Mr. Raven is a hard worker, but if he tries to work, please make sure that people stop him and let him sleep. If you do so, perhaps you will be cured and not die.

　The doctor told me what food to eat and decocted some medicinal herbs, and then he left.

　Maybe if I rested, I could get better, I thought.

　I'm sure he'll get better.

　My father has the strongest body of anyone I know. He would not be defeated by sickness.

　Lately, there have been surprisingly few battles.
　This is because Governor Mythian, who was expected to die, has miraculously revived and stopped the brothers from fighting each other.
　Incidentally, it seems to be true that he named his brother as his successor.
　However, he thought it was going to be rough by naming his brother as his successor in this matter, and once he changed it back to a clean slate.
　It seems that he concluded that he would make a new decision after having a longer discussion with his vassals and himself.

　Anyway, thanks to that, there are currently fewer battles.

　If there were no battles, my father would be able to rest in peace.

　That's what I thought....

　That night, we received the most ill-timed report of the assassination of Governor Meesian.