In Sickness and In Health

*Ring Ring*

Andrey rang the doorbell a couple of times and waited for a response. A few seconds passed but there was still no response from the other side. Andrey was about to press the doorbell again but it was then that he noticed that the door looked like it was slightly opened already.

'Ok, that's very careless of her,' He thought to himself as he made his way inside. Lisa might still be resting because of the headache so he felt that it would be better to go and check on her himself rather than making her come all the way to the door.

A few moments later he was standing outside Lisa's room and knocked on the door a couple of times to get a response out of her.

"Lisa! It's Andrey. I've come to check up on you," Andrey's voice travelled inside the room.

A couple of seconds passed and finally, a weak response came from the other side of the door, "C-Come inside,"

Hearing Lisa's weak voice Andrey immediately made his way in and a frown soon formed on his face as his eyes observed the state in which Lisa was currently in. She was currently lying in her bed with a bedsheet over her. Her face had a red hue and beads of sweat could clearly be seen all over her forehead

"Hey A-ndrey," Lisa said with a weak smile.

"Hey my arse," Andrey rebuked as he rushed towards her and placed the back of his right hand over Lisa's forehead to feel her temperature.

His frown intensified as he did so.

"Your temperature seems normal," he says so as he retreats his hand.

"I already know," Lisa said with a defeated smile

"Your head still hurts?" Andrey asked.

"It's much better compared to an hour ago," Lisa replied weakly.

"Have you eaten anything?" Andrey couldn't help but ask.

*GRUMBLE~*

As if Lisa's stomach was awakened by Andrey's words a loud grumble soon made its way towards his ears.

With a sigh, Andrey replied, "Give me around 30 mins, I'll prepare something light for you,"

"Let me help y-you," Lisa said as she tried to pick herself up from the bed but before she could do so Andrey gently pushed her back down by her shoulders as he said, "You just stay here and rest. That's your task,"

Lisa could only nod her head seeing how Andrey's eyes conveyed that he would not be taking no for an answer.

"Good," Andrey nodded his head and left for the Kitchen to prepare a meal for Lisa.

To be honest, Lisa was not expecting Andrey to give her a visit at all. So, his little action of just coming to visit her had filled her with gratefulness.

She looked at the door from which Andrey had just exited in a daze as the scene of Andrey pushing her back onto the bed flashed in her mind and a blush appeared on her already red face.

She immediately shook her head to get those thoughts out of her mind only to be met with a fresh pang of headache. She massaged that area with her hand as a sigh escaped from her lips for her silliness.

It took a couple of minutes for Andrey to identify the location of all the things that he would be needing and once he was done with the task the cooking began.

 Sounds of chopping spread all over the kitchen as Andrey started chopping one vegetable after another on the chopping board into smaller pieces before busying him with creating a mixture of cornstarch and water.

When he was done with that, he placed a medium-sized stockpot over the stove and poured oil over it before adding chopped garlic and onion and frying them for a couple of minutes.

This was followed by adding all the chopped vegetables (Carrot, cabbage, beans) along with salt inside the stockpot. Andrey stirred and cooked the veggies for another three minutes before adding two and a half cups of water.

After stirring the mixture till it was boiling, he added some more salt as per requirement which was followed by black pepper and the cornstarch-water mixture which he had prepared earlier.

Andrey then stirred the mixture continuously for the next 7-8 minutes until the mixture thickened before adding a bit of vinegar to enhance the flavours.

With a small teaspoon Andrey tasted it "Just as mother used to prepare," He smiled with satisfaction written on his face.

He poured the soup into a bowl and it was all done. He looked at the time and noticed that only 25 minutes had passed.

'Quicker than I expected,' Andrey thought to himself as he placed the bowl on a serving plate and carefully brought it towards Lisa.

"A warm bowl of vegetable soup coming in!" Andrey said as he entered Lisa's room.

'Finally!' Lisa thought to herself as the aroma that had been coming in from the kitchen all this while was making it too hard to control her hunger.

After Lisa had adjusted herself on her bed Andrey placed the platter over her legs before sitting beside her legs on the bed.

"You can wipe that saliva off your face, that soup is running nowhere," Andrey chuckled as he looked at Lisa's drooling appearance.

Cough Cough

Lisa coughed a couple of times to hide her embarrassment as she said, "That's not a very nice way to talk to a lady,"

"This knight deeply apologizes milady," Andrey apologized exaggeratedly with his arms thereby inviting a chuckle from Lisa.

"You're forgiven," Lisa says as she reaches for the spoon.

Andrey watches her as she takes the first sip of the spoon and can't help but ask, "So, how's the taste?"

"It's delicious," Lisa says as she takes another sip from the spoon.

"Is it?" Andrey asks with happiness written over his face.

"Indeed, If I could I'll have you prepare this for me every day," Lisa jokes as she savours the soup.

"You'll have to marry me if you want such a VIP treatment," Andrey said jokingly.

"I don't mind," Lisa says as she proceeds to take another sip of the soup before suddenly stopping. She immediately realizes the gravity of her words as she raises her head only to be met with a surprised expression from Andrey.

"I-I didn't mean it like that," She fumbled as her hands moved in different directions showcasing her confusion.

Andrey immediately bent forward and held the bowl which was on the verge of falling, "I understand…so can you grab your bowl please because I'm not experienced with treating burn injuries,"

"Y-yes," Lisa said in an embarrassed manner as she took the bowl from his hands.

After that silence ensued between the two as Lisa was too embarrassed to say anything while Andrey was just enjoying Lisa's flustered state.

"Thank you for the meal," Lisa said as she passed the bowl back to Andrey.

"You're welcome," Andrey said as he took the bowl back to the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later and said, "I've kept the remaining soup in the refrigerator so you can have it later if you feel like it,"

"Got it, thanks Andrey," Lisa said with gratefulness.

"I'm only doing what I should be doing, besides that how are you feeling now?" Andrey couldn't help but ask after noticing that Lisa was much more talkative than earlier.

"I feel a lot better now," Lisa said as she stood up from her bed to show that she was truly in a much better state than before.

"That's good," Andrey was suddenly reminded of how Lisa had kept her front door open so he asked her about it. " why had you left your main door open? Anyone could have easily entered the house without your knowledge" Andrey suddenly remembered about the door.

"That?... well, when I was about to close the door, I was suddenly hit with an immense pang of headache so that must be why I forgot to do it," Lisa said in a confused manner.

Before Andrey could say anything she further continued, "Not only that…I also heard a strange voice in my head,"

"Strange voice?" Andrey asked.

"Indeed, it was something like 'Dormant skill…. activated," Lisa said as she tried to recollect the event that transpired before.

Andrey's eyes widened as he heard Lisa's words which were very familiar to him. While Andrey was trying to adjust his shocked state of mind Lisa's following words soon entered his ears.

"I remembered!" Lisa exclaimed as she looked towards Andrey and continued, "It was 'Dormant skill 'Future Sight' Activated…" The moment Lisa finished her words her pupils expanded and a series of images appeared in her mind.

The whole process lasted for a couple of seconds and before Andrey could even get an idea of what had transpired Lisa fell on her knees while making a hissing sound because of the immense pain she was feeling in her head.

"Lisa!" Andrey exclaimed as he sat on his knees to check on Lisa's state. Seeing her sweat-filled appearance and unresponsive state he couldn't help but feel worried so he started patting her cheeks to make her come out of her delirious state.