1-6 - One Or The Other

About a week had passed since we made the pudding. I was sitting on the sofa in the sitting room, enjoying a peaceful evening with Milly after dinner.

“Thanks for everything, Milly.”

“What’s brought this on all of a sudden?”

“Oh, I just thought I should put my gratitude into words every once in a while.”

Milly had been by my side ever since I was born, and to me, she was practically a mother. She was family. Without her, I would have spent most of these eight years completely alone.

“Lord Leon… Hehe, I wonder if it’ll rain tomorrow.”

“Hey, that’s mean. I appreciate you all the time, you know?”

“I know. I was only joking.”

These peaceful days weren’t quite the same as living freely, but they were pleasant nonetheless. Just as I found myself wishing that every day could continue like this forever, something happened.

The door suddenly flew open without so much as a knock, and Claire-nee rushed into the room.

“Who’s there…? Wait, Claire-nee? What’s wro—”

“Help me, little brother! Michelle… Michelle’s going to be killed if we don’t do something!”

Claire-nee practically threw herself against my chest.

“Killed…? Calm down. Tell me what happened, right from the beginning.”

“How can I calm down?! Michelle might be killed!”

“Claire-nee!”

Her eyes were unfocused, and her platinum-blonde hair was in complete disarray. Realizing she was in a full-blown panic, I called her name sharply and grabbed her trembling shoulders.

“Little… brother?”

“It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay, Claire-nee. No matter what’s happened, I’ll find a way to handle it. So calm down and tell me what’s going on.”

“Really? You’ll really save Michelle?”

“Yeah. It’ll be okay.”

I had absolutely no grounds for making that promise. But I couldn’t bear to see Claire-nee so terrified, so I assured her everything would be all right.

Perhaps my words had the intended effect, because her eyes gradually regained their focus.

“…Sorry, I…”

“It’s okay. Something terrible must have happened to upset you this much, right? Take your time and explain.”

“…Okay. Remember how I told you there was a cold going around the territory? Well, it seems it might not be a cold after all. People have been collapsing with high fevers. Everyone’s panicking, saying it must be divine punishment, and now they’re arguing about what to do with the people who’ve fallen ill.”

“What to do? You mean whether to isolate them?”

“No, they’ve already been isolated. They’re discussing whether they should kill them before the disease spreads any further.”

“—What?!”

They weren’t chickens infected with avian influenza! Surely nobody would seriously suggest killing people over something like that—wait, considering how primitive medicine was in this world, could that actually be considered a reasonable response?

…Perhaps it could.

There were historical examples like the Spanish flu, after all. Modern Earth had measures to combat infectious diseases, but in this world, it wasn’t inconceivable that people would decide to take such drastic action the moment an epidemic broke out.

Whether I could accept that decision was… an entirely different matter.

“When you said Michelle might be killed, don’t tell me she’s…”

“Yes. She suddenly developed a high fever yesterday and collapsed.”

“I see… What are her symptoms?”

“She said she had no appetite and felt exhausted all over. Then she suddenly collapsed with a high fever, and they isolated her.”

…Isolated, huh? Considering what isolation had been like on Earth at a similar level of civilization, I didn’t have a particularly good feeling about that.

“Let me ask you something. Are they keeping her in a warm room with plenty of humidity?”

“No. They’ve locked everyone inside a large warehouse outside the mansion.”

…Just as I thought. If that was how they treated servants working for nobles, ordinary citizens probably had it even worse.

“What about other symptoms? Has her skin turned black, or has she developed a rash or severe diarrhea?”

“Um… I haven’t heard anything like that. I don’t think anyone in the territory has shown those symptoms, either.”

Hmm. At least it didn’t sound like something utterly disastrous, such as the Black Death. That left the question of what illness it actually was…

“Then—”

I continued asking as many questions as I could think of.

From her answers, I learned that most patients developed symptoms after an incubation period of around two days, followed by a sudden high fever. The symptoms also persisted for a long time, with continuous coughing and runny noses.

They also suffered from exhaustion affecting their entire bodies.

Furthermore, while some people had already died, others had recovered. Most of the survivors apparently belonged to wealthy households, though that was probably due to differences in their living conditions.

After hearing all this, the first illness that came to mind was influenza.

For example, the illness most commonly confused with influenza was the common cold, but their initial symptoms, fevers, full-body exhaustion, and the duration of the illness were different.

Besides, an ordinary cold didn’t seem sufficient to explain an outbreak of this severity. And even if it was a cold spreading through the territory, it would generally be less dangerous than influenza, so I could set that possibility aside for now.

What worried me more was the illness said to be the next easiest to mistake for influenza: SARS.

Considering the average incubation period and the symptoms, I didn’t think that was the answer… But the similarities meant I couldn’t rule it out completely.

And if it really was SARS, that presented a serious problem.

Even on Earth, there had been outbreaks in which approximately ten percent of infected patients died. I couldn’t begin to imagine how many people might die from it in this world.

Of course, that was when considering the symptoms of a single patient. Back in Japan, I’d encountered information claiming that a diagnosis based on symptoms alone could be accurate roughly seventy percent of the time.

I had my doubts about that figure, but the remaining thirty percent included possibilities like the common cold. And with dozens of patients displaying similar symptoms, the probability of making the correct diagnosis should increase considerably.

So I didn’t think my assessment was entirely unreasonable.

However, the most important question still remained: Were diseases in this world the same as those on Earth?

That was… something I genuinely couldn’t answer.

Considering how similar the ecosystems were, there was a good chance viruses existed here. And if I made further assumptions about the nature of viruses, it was possible that an illness producing these symptoms was influenza, or at least a similar viral disease.

But even if the symptoms currently resembled influenza, there was no guarantee the illness wouldn’t suddenly change. And if someone told me it was caused by magical energy in the atmosphere or something equally bizarre, I’d be completely out of my depth.

That meant there was only one thing that truly mattered now.

Would I accept the decision to slaughter every infected person because they posed a danger, or would I risk a pandemic and gamble on the possibility of saving countless lives?

“…Little brother?”

“…From what you’ve told me, it sounds like influenza. If there have hardly been any cases here before, perhaps a traveling merchant or someone else arrived while infected.”

“So you really do know what this disease is, little brother?!”

“Yeah. Considering the time of year, I think it’s influenza.”

—In the end, I chose the latter option.

And I didn’t tell Claire-nee about the choice I’d made.

If my actions ended up triggering a pandemic, I would become a criminal responsible for countless deaths. There was no reason to burden Claire-nee with that responsibility. It was enough for me to bear it alone.

That said, I wasn’t intending to make a reckless gamble.

Even setting aside whether it was influenza, the fact that wealthy patients had survived suggested this might be an illness from which people could recover if they were isolated in an environment where they could rest properly.

“Then Michelle and the people in the territory can be saved?!”

“Hmm… People who are already weak might still die. But if they’re kept in warm, humid rooms, given proper nutrition, and allowed to rest, I think most of them will recover.”

“Really? They can really be saved?!”

“Yeah. Someone young and healthy like Michelle will probably pull through.”

“Thank you, little brother! You’re a lifesaver!”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Claire-nee threw her arms around me.

“Hey, don’t start celebrating just yet. They’re still planning to kill the patients, aren’t they? You’ll have to convince them not to.”

“Ah, you’re right. I need to hurry and speak to Father. You’ll come with me, won’t you, little brother?”

“…No. You’ll have to convince him on your own, Claire-nee.”

“Huh? W-Why? You’re not coming with me?”

“Believe me, I’d love to… But officially, I’m supposed to have received no education whatsoever. If they discover how much I know, there’s no telling what kind of punishment Milly might receive.”

“Ah, y-yes, of course… But I don’t think I can do it alone…”

She was clearly frightened. Claire-nee lowered her head anxiously. I took hold of her shoulders and leaned forward to look into her face.

“Claire-nee. Michelle means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”

“Of… of course she does. Mother’s always so busy, and Michelle’s the one who raised me with so much love in her place. I could never abandon her.”

“Then be brave. Tell Father about the measures I just explained, and convince him to isolate the infected people and care for them properly. …You can do that, can’t you?”

“That’s—! Yes… All right. I’ll try. If that’s what it takes to save Michelle, then I absolutely refuse to give up!”

A little while later, after reviewing the measures for dealing with influenza with Claire-nee, I sent her on her way and turned toward Milly, who had remained silent throughout our conversation.

“Hey, Milly. Do you think Claire-nee can convince Father?”

“…I imagine it’ll be difficult.”

“Even though she knows the proper precautions and how to treat influenza?”

“Lady Claire’s knowledge is only superficial. A few probing questions would quickly expose the gaps in her understanding. More importantly, she won’t reveal where she obtained that information… You already realize that, don’t you, Lord Leon?”

“…Yeah. I do.”

She would be asking them not to kill Michelle, claiming the patients would recover if allowed to rest, while relying on uncertain information she couldn’t explain when or where she’d learned.

To anyone watching, it would look like a desperate fabrication made by a girl who couldn’t bear the thought of Michelle being killed. That was why Claire-nee’s attempt at persuasion would most likely fail.

But if I went there myself and explained everything, perhaps I could convince them.

The problem was that if I succeeded, everyone would discover that I wasn’t an ordinary child. And if that happened, Milly, who had been entrusted with caring for me on the condition that she wouldn’t educate me, would undoubtedly be punished.

Knowing that, there was no way I could simply barge into the discussion.

“Lord Leon. Have you forgotten what I told you before?”

“What you told me?”

“I will always be on your side, Lord Leon. So if I’m punished because you’ve done the right thing, I will gladly accept that punishment.”

For a moment, I couldn’t understand what she was saying. But then I realized she was telling me to go and help Claire-nee, and my breath caught in my throat.

“…Are you serious? Do you really mean that?”

“Lord Leon, what are you hesitating for? If you don’t reach out to help Lady Claire now, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

“I know that!”

Over the past few years, Claire-nee had become an irreplaceable member of my family. If someone precious to her was about to be killed, then of course I wanted to save them with all my heart.

If I abandoned her now, I knew I’d never forgive myself when I saw her grieving.

“But the same goes for you! If something happens to you, Milly, I’ll regret that just as much!”

“Lord Leon, it’s all right. I might no longer be able to stay by your side, but I doubt they’ll actually kill me.”

“And you expect me to accept that as a reason…?”

Of course I knew being dismissed was better than dying. But that didn’t change the fact that she’d disappear from my life. Was I really supposed to accept that simply because it was better than death?

“You already know what you must do, Lord Leon. Please go to Lady Claire.”

Her unwavering, deep-violet eyes looked straight into mine. Whether I wanted to or not, I was made painfully aware of just how much resolve lay behind her words.

Milly was serious. That meant I had to make a choice too. Either let Claire-nee suffer or lose Milly. I had to choose one or the other…

“Milly… For so long, you were the only person I knew in this world. You’ve always been by my side since the day I was born, so I’ve come to think of you as my real mother.”

“…Lord Leon?”

I’d only heard my father’s voice on a single occasion. I didn’t even know where the mother who’d given birth to me was. Until I met Claire-nee, Milly had been my only family.

And that was why—

“So if you say it’s okay, Milly, I’m going to take you at your word! I’m going to rely on you, be selfish, and go help Claire-nee! Even knowing that, are you absolutely sure you’re okay with it?!”

I gritted my teeth and desperately forced the words out, struggling to keep my voice from trembling. Milly listened to me… and smiled with a serene expression.

“Lord Leon, those words are more than enough. Please, go to Lady Claire.”

“…Thank you, Milly. Then—I’m going!”

Leaving her with all the gratitude I could express, I turned on my heel and rushed out of the room.

And just before I closed the door behind me,

“…You’ve grown into such a wonderful boy. Leon, my precious—”

I thought I heard Milly whisper those words.