I am alive

"Mmm..."

A groan left my lips. I could hear my own weak voice. My mouth was dry and I was thirsty. That was the first thing I felt after spending an unknown amount of time in endless darkness.

The next thing I felt was... Annoyance.

'Gah! Where is that light coming from? Block it for god's sake!'

A yellowish, warm light was shining right on my face. I twitched my still closed eyes and moved my head a little bit. That was when I felt another thing.

"Ugh-"

Pain.

Pain. Intense pain all over my body. Sharp, piercing pain in my chest and a thunder-like one on the head, as well as throbbings on my limps. I couldn't help but groan, frown, and curse.

"Ian?"

An old voice called out my name. I knew without opening my eyes that it was Ranger, whose voice was coming from just beside me as if he was sitting close by. His voice sounded surprised and worried while having some hints of fatigue in it.

"Ian? Are you awake?"

A wrinkled hand gently touched my forehead before stroking it with its fingers. I slowly cracked my eyes open after sensing the warmth of the hand on my forehead. As soon as I moved my eyelids up, Ranger pulled away his hand and instead moved his head closer.

"Ah, you're really awake!"

The old man hurriedly stood up from his seat. Once he did, the sunlight that was blocked by his back fell on my face, making me frown and close my eyes out of reflex.

"Are you feeling unwell? Ah, I'm going to call the doctor anyway! Don't move and stand still, don't move at all!"

Ranger rushed to the door after pointing at me with his finger and sending me a threatening gaze. He didn't close the door behind himself as he was moving in a rush. Once he was gone, I raised my head and looked around.

I was laying down on my bed in the servants' residence. Unlike the young master's room or any other place inside the mansion, the servants' and maids' residence was not, even a single bit, fancy. It looked like the ordinary houses found in the city, only a little bit better than the old places in the suburbs, yet it was neat and clean, with three meals a day and a proper place to sleep at night.

I was inside my own room, which barely had space for a bed and a few small pieces of furniture. There was a wall on my left with my bed beside it, and there was a small window on the wall on the right side. There was a chair on my right side as well, just beside the bed, and a small table next to it with a bowl and a damp white towel on top of it.

"Huuuu...."

I heaved a deep sigh.

'So I'm still alive...'

It was still bright outside, so I guess I was unconscious for a few hours. The effect of the pill and the tea was intenser than what I'd imagined but seems like I got fine enough to regain my consciousness soon despite that.

Though, my body is not alright at all. The tips of my fingers are numb and my head is spinning, I feel like throwing up and everything is annoying.

Tap Tap Tap Tap

The sounds of hast footsteps could be heard outside the door before two familiar figures rushed into the room. One was old Ranger and the other one was the... young master's doctor?

'What's that bastard doing here?'

I watched as the two of them approached my bed while talking to each other. The doctor sat on the bed before grabbing my wrist, placing two fingers on it, and counting my heartbeat. He then examined my face and my temperature.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like shit."

I answered honestly. The doctor didn't even glance at me after that. He had an expressionless face and his eyes looked kinda hollow.

'Haven't they found out about his crime yet?'

If it has only been a few hours since I fainted, then it was natural for them to still be in search of the person who wanted to kill the young master, and it was also natural that this doctor wasn't caught yet.

However, it was still suspicious that the young master's doctor was here to examine me, a servant. The servants weren't allowed to seek help from the doctors that were responsible for the members of the count's family's health... yet I was being examined by this dude.

I sent a confused side-way glance at Ranger, who gave me a warm smile in response.

'What?'

Warm smile? Aren't you the one who was about to murder me just a few hours ago?

"You have to rest for a little while, though there are no dangers threatening your life anymore. Don't exhaust yourself and don't make any contact with magic, magical devices, or anything related to mana."

The doctor stood up, picked up his suitcase, put on his hat, and left the room. I watched as he exited the door and waited till I made sure he had gotten far enough not to hear our voices, then turned to Ranger.

"What's going on?"

I pointed at the door, my gesture and facial expression clear enough for the old Ranger to understand what I meant.

"The young master ordered him to look after you until you get better."

"Yeah?"

But the answer I got was even more surprising than the fact that this doctor came here to check on me. As if understanding my surprise, Ranger smiled and walked towards the chair beside the bed. Noticing that I was raising my body, he rushed to my help and carefully moved me up. He opened his mouth to explain more at the same time.

"After what happened that day... They researched the cause of the incident. It turns out that it was because you drank that tea after you took young master Alaric's pill... The doctor said he had increased the dosage of the pills due to the young master's condition and that caused a great reaction... They said mixing them led to your mana veins bursting open... They said it was fortunate that you don't have any mana or else you'd end up dead on the spot... And also that the young master didn't get to drink the tea, or else, he would die without a doubt."

The old man pulled up the blanket and covered my body with it, before moving back to sit on the chair. Dude, it's summer don't cover me with a blanket! But wait...

"That day?"

Wasn't it today?

"Yeah. Three days ago when that incident happened."

"Three days ago?"

Wait, I was unconscious for three days? For real? And here I thought I was out for only a few hours! Not minding my bewilderment, the old man kept on explaining.

"The young master ordered us to bring his doctor, Mr. Reeve, to you when you fainted that day, and then asked him to look after you until you regain your health. You are also on sick leave until you fully recover. Young master Alaric asked the Head of The Staff not to cut your salary while you are absent from work and also to give you nutritious food that is good for your health."

"...."

Did the poison affect my hearing? Am I habituating? I raised my hand up and after staring at my palm, which was still a little bit numb, for a few seconds, I raised my pinky like a sharp sword and thrust it into my right ear.

And that hurt.

"Pfft! I know how are you feeling! Don't do that, we can't afford your condition getting worst!"

The old Ranger pulled my hand back while chuckling.

"The young master is still the same... He hasn't regained his memories yet and keeps acting out of character... But I guess that was good for you, at least."

Good for me? I fucking got myself killed for that man! Also, why wasn't the doctor captured when they had already found out that the pills were changed and the dosage had increased?

'Is it because of the young lady's support?'

The doctor had followed that woman's orders, after all, it wouldn't be surprising if she supported him. There was also another problem here. The murder attempt was not successful, and instead of the young master, a mere servant was nearly killed. That would reduce the intensity and the importance of the situation and remove the label "The murder of the count's son" from it. Thus, it was natural that they didn't take the matter seriously and half-assed the investigation.

'Should I do anything about it?'

I didn't feel like getting involved in these matters, but I was feeling a little bit annoyed by the fact that the one who was the cause of my near-death experience was the one who would take care of me until I got better.

"Ian!"

All of a sudden, a warm, old hand touched the top of my hand, making me snap out of my thoughts and turn my head towards the soft and low voice that called my name.

"I'm sorry."