Chapter 8
Lea was bedridden for several days with a high fever. Grace Vizak might have been beautiful, but her body was painfully fragile.
As she drifted in and out of sleep, one memory kept returning to her. She remembered walking across the endless meadow.
After leaving the injured Terran in the cabin, she had gone out in search of a village. She needed to do something, whether it was finding a horse or sending a letter to the duke’s estate.
“Why can’t I see any village?”
No matter how far she walked, it was just meadow after meadow. She kept wandering with no end in sight.
“Grace.”
A voice echoed softly through the air. Lea had become so used to the name that she responded to it without hesitation.
“Lord Courtois?”
She reached toward the sound of his voice, moving her hand through the air. Then suddenly, someone grabbed her hand. Her eyes snapped open.
“Are you alright?”
It was no longer an echo. Her blurry vision slowly cleared, and she could see Terran sitting beside her, holding her hand.
“Lord Courtois”
Lea sat up, still shaky, and stared at him. For a while, they simply looked at each other without speaking, hands still joined.
“I’m sorry. I tried to go to the village and get help, or at least send a letter to the estate, but I couldn’t do anything. I ended up like this.”
She was still caught in the haze of her fever, speaking in a broken voice. Then the tears came, heavy and uncontrollable.
“You must have been in so much pain. I’m so useless. I couldn’t do anything.”
Lea covered her face with both hands and cried. She felt ashamed for not being able to finish what she had started.
“Shh, don’t cry, Grace.”
A large, gentle hand stroked her hair. That was when Lea finally realized she wasn’t dreaming.
“We made it back safely.”
Lea looked up at Terran. He was cleaned up now, but his right shoulder was still wrapped in bandages.
She couldn’t remember how they got back to the estate.
“How did we get here?”
“You went to the village and brought back a horse.”
She blinked, confused. She had no memory of that.
Terran still remembered the panic he had felt when he woke up in the cabin and found her missing.
She had wrapped him up tightly in blankets and disappeared. He thought she had been taken by the bandits.
He had thrown on his clothes and rushed outside. In the distance, he saw her struggling up the hill with a brown horse.
For a moment, the world stopped. The only thing that moved was the pounding of his heart. The memory was still clear.
“Lord Courtois, I brought a horse.”
Her face had been red with fever, her breath short and labored, but she had smiled as she waved at him.
She didn’t even realize how sick she was. All she felt was joy at bringing help. To him, she looked like something out of another world.
“Is that what happened? Did I really do it?”
Was wandering the meadow only a dream?
Lea looked up at him with wide eyes. Terran nodded.
“I’m glad.”
She gave him a weak smile of relief and then collapsed again.
Terran shouted for the doctor, and Pauline came running in with tears streaming down her face. Their voices echoed faintly in Lea’s ears.
Terran, Luke, and James waited anxiously in the study. They had been waiting for a long time with no updates, and the silence only made them more uneasy.
“It’s between Bern and Basel. That area is full of forests. Escaped slaves are known to hide there.”
Luke had already reported the bandits to the Lubeck City Police.
“Whether they’re bandits or escaped slaves, we need to get rid of them as soon as possible. You both could have died.”
James, the head butler, couldn’t hide his frustration. He scolded them for going without guards and warned them never to travel unprotected again.
“But honestly, Miss Grace surprised me. Maybe you never really know someone until you go through something with them.”
Luke had heard about what happened and still found it hard to believe.
“I judged her too quickly. I thought she was just spoiled and childish. I should apologize.”
“And what’s taking Doctor Wilson so long? I’ll go check on him myself.”
Just as James was about to leave the room, someone knocked. The door opened, and Doctor Wilson finally returned from treating Grace.
Terran’s eyes immediately focused on him.
“How is Grace?”
“She has pneumonia.”
Everyone stared at Wilson in shock. His face looked grim.
“Her body is already weak, and she pushed herself too hard. Being soaked in the rain only made things worse. Tonight, will be critical.”
“Critical?”
Terran shot up from his seat. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, his face filled with worry. Luke and James both looked shaken.
“Do whatever it takes, Wilson. You have to save her.”
“I’ll do everything I can, Your Grace.”
“First Baron Aiden, and now Miss Grace? This is a nightmare.”
Luke spoke with a stunned expression. If things went wrong, Terran would be burdened with another loss he might not be able to bear.
At that moment, James noticed Wilson opening his mouth slightly, as if he had something to say.
“Doctor Wilson, is there something we should know?”
“I’m not sure if I should say this, but it may be the only option left.”
“The only option? What is it?”
Terran narrowed his eyes and stared at Wilson.
“Have you heard of a group called Rapa? They’re well known in the city of Rebon.”
“Aren’t they a gang?”
Luke asked, clearly unsettled.
The group originally came from a community of gypsies, but now they were infamous for doing any kind of work, as long as there was money in it.
“Their leader is said to deal in all kinds of illegal medicines. One of them is a pneumonia treatment smuggled from the Eastern Continent.”
“Is it opium?”
Terran couldn’t hide his doubt. Any drug coming from a group like that was bound to be suspicious.
“No. It’s an herbal tonic from the East. I’ve heard it’s extremely effective against pneumonia.”
As soon as Wilson finished speaking, Terran stood up. If there was medicine, then he had to get it. Still, he already guessed it wouldn’t be that easy.
“The problem is, even if you have money, they don’t just hand it over. Apparently, even the Emperor of Lubeck would have to bow his head to get it.”
“Arrogant little thug.”
Terran’s voice turned cold.
“By what time do I have to bring it?”
He glanced at the clock as he spoke.
“By five this evening at the latest.”
“I’ll bring it back.”
As Terran moved to leave, Luke stepped in front of him.
He was still injured, with a gunshot wound in his shoulder, and he was planning to walk into the heart of Rapa’s territory.
Terran didn’t fully understand what kind of people he was dealing with. The Rapa gang was beyond brutal. Even the city police avoided that area entirely.
“Luke, bring me my sword.”
“Your Grace”
Luke tried to protest, but Terran only returned a cold stare.
“I meant I’ll come with you.”
Luke backed down like a scolded dog.
“What’s happening to His Grace’s life lately?”
After the war, Terran’s days had been quiet, like the surface of a still lake. Lonely, dull, and lifeless.
The change had started the moment Grace became someone else. The most unbelievable part was how Terran now looked at her.
“They’ve both gone mad. Completely.”
Terran and his private soldiers arrived in the Rapa territory on the outskirts of Rebon.
He looked up at a lavish building that stood out among the run-down slums and let out a short laugh.
“Luke, is everything ready?”
“Yes. We’re waiting on your signal.”
“Good.”
Terran kicked open the door to the Rapa base. Instantly, armed men rushed forward.
“I am Duke Terran Courtois. Bring me your boss.”
His voice made some of the men flinch. Nobles had visited Rapa before, but never stormed in like this in broad daylight.
“You have three minutes. Bring me the leader.”
Some of them chuckled and mocked him, but Terran’s voice didn’t waver.
“If you don’t, I’ll make sure your heads are the only things rolling across this floor.”
The room went quiet. The laughter stopped.
A moment later, the crowd parted. An old man with a cane walked slowly toward him.
“Well, well. The war hero of Lubeck honors us with his presence. I’m Rapa.”
So that was his name.
The old man had white hair, a wrinkled face, and a hunched back. He looked ordinary enough, but there was a sharp gleam in his eyes.
Terran could sense immediately that this man was the real leader.
He also noticed an unusual scent coming from him. It was strong, like spices or musk. Maybe it was the scent, or maybe it was his gaze, but the man gave off an unnerving energy.
“You have a medicine that works on pneumonia.”
“You’ve heard of the tonic, I see.”
Rapa smiled calmly, but his eyes were scanning Terran closely.
He had met many powerful people in his lifetime, everyone with influence in this country, except the Emperor and the Courtois family. Now, one of them was standing in front of him.
Just as the rumors said, this one was no ordinary man.
“This young man has an iron will.”
Rapa clicked his tongue.
“I need the medicine.”
“Ah, but it’s not something I can just hand out.”
“I’ll pay any price you name. If that’s not enough, I can take your head. And if even that doesn’t convince you, I’ll erase this district from the map of Rebon.”
Terran’s words made Rapa laugh. A noble’s youthful pride, coming in here and making threats like that.
“That’s not the attitude of someone in need.”
“So you want me to bow and beg?”
“Would you?”
The two men locked eyes. Neither moved. Then Terran gave a cold, faint smile.
Rapa froze.
The chill that ran down his spine was unlike anything he had felt before.
“I’ll ask one last time. Will you give me the medicine, or not?”
“I’m afraid I can’t.”
Rapa shook his head.
Terran raised his left hand.
A second later, a massive explosion shook the ground. The walls trembled as the building itself shook.
“What is happening?”
The men inside shouted in panic.
“I told you. I can erase this place from Rebon’s map.”
