On their way back, Alric was too excited, relieved, and happy to walk calmly. He hopped and skipped all the way to their mansion while constantly urging Vesper to walk faster.
He couldn't wait to give his aunt Selene the medicine and make her better.
Vesper, exasperated by his constant nagging, had no choice but to hurry. Inwardly, he sighed seeing Alric not ask about what occurred inside Ryder's house despite being curious.
He knew why he did not. He most likely assumed that Ryder had embarrassed him. So, he didn't want to make him uncomfortable by inquiring about it.
'He is too sensible for someone his age.' Vesper sighed again, his expression turning cold. If their father hadn't forsaken them, he would have had a normal childhood and wouldn't have had to mature so fast.
…
A short while later, they arrived at their mansion and directly went to Selene's room.
At the center of the room, on the wooden bed, lay a shriveled figure. The brothers' expression turned downcast when they saw her. Alric almost cried.
This shriveled figure was none other than Selene.
In her early thirties, she was still in the prime of her life. While their harsh living conditions and constant worries about the future had left her looking a little haggard, she was still beautiful, always appeared energetic, and a vibrant smile was ever present on her face that illuminated their house and uplifted their mood.
But after suffering this month-long, mysterious sickness, she was reduced to her current state.
If not for the occasional rise and fall of her chest, anyone who saw her would have thought she was a corpse.
Alric clenched his fists, took a deep breath to calm down, and walked over with light steps. In her current condition, the slightest noise caused her discomfort, so the brothers always made sure they didn't make any noise unless necessary.
In the initial days of her sickness, she didn't have this problem. She could talk to them and eat her meal on her own, but as days passed and she weakened, she started having difficulty speaking, and they had to feed her.
Even then, it was still alright.
However, a few days later, she started falling unconscious randomly.
When it happened for the first time, Alric shook her, and she regained consciousness as if she was just sleeping. But a week ago, when she fell unconscious, she didn't wake up no matter how hard they tried. The brothers were distraught, not knowing what to do. Fortunately, she woke up on her own a few hours later.
Then the duration she stayed unconscious became longer and longer.
Now, for the past three days, she had been unconscious, and one could tell she was not of this world for too long provided she didn't get any help.
Fortunately…
'I have Yellow Beard Roots…' Vesper thought, taking out the stack of roots from his system inventory.
He looked at them with narrowed eyes.
He suspected, no, believed that Vincent had most likely tampered with them. Despite that, however, he planned to feed them to Selene.
Why?
First and most obvious, Selene needed immediate treatment; otherwise, she would die.
Second, whatever Vincent was planning to do, he firmly believed he didn't want to kill him or the recipient of the herb, at least not immediately.
This meant even if he had poisoned the roots, it would be a slow-acting poison. By the time Vincent revealed his plan and this poison became fatal, he would've become stronger and could find its cure.
'I hope I'm wrong about you, Vincent. Otherwise you would wish you hadn't messed with me.' He thought, a murderous glim flashing in his brown pupils.
"...Big Brother?"
Right then, Alric's hushed voice brought him out of his reverie.
"Wait for a while." He said in a low voice before walking out of the room and hurrying over to the kitchen.
Ten minutes later, he returned holding a bowl of yellowed water.
Yellow Beard Roots could be eaten directly, but since Selene was unconscious, she couldn't chew and gulp it down, so he ground it into powder and mixed it in water for easy intake.
Alric was kneeling on the floor beside the bed, wiping her face with a wet cloth. When he saw Vesper walk in carrying the bowl, he stopped and stood up, giving him the way.
Vesper nodded, sat on the bed, and gently opened her mouth by squeezing her jaws, making sure to not cause her too much discomfort.
Then he scooped a spoonful of water and gently tipped it in her mouth before lifting her head slightly so it would slide down her throat.
After that, he slowly and carefully repeated the same process until the bowl was emptied out.
"She will get better now, right?" Alric asked,
"She should," Vesper nodded, and before Alric could get worried, he added, "I didn't mix all the roots in the water just now. So, she may not recover fully. But after I feed her the rest, she will get better. So, don't worry too much, alright?"
Alric sighed in relief and nodded.
Vesper ruffled his hair and stood up. "Let's go and eat something. You're hungry, right?"
"No, I'm not hungry. I will stay here."
Rumble~!
As if in protest, his stomach rumbled.
Vesper stared down at him, causing him to blush in embarrassment.
"I can eat later, Big Brother. I want to stay with her." He said,
Vesper sighed, "I know you are worried; I am too. But staying here wouldn't change anything. So, let's just go and eat something. Then we can come back and accompany her."
Alric reluctantly agreed and left the room with him.
Vesper quickly fixed a meal for the two of them. It was nothing luxurious—just some leftover vegetable soup, which he made before leaving yesterday, and bread. The brothers, hungry, quickly devoured everything, and although they weren't full, their hunger was sated.
After taking his dirty dishes to the kitchen, Alric rushed back to Selene's room. "I'm going now, Big Brother."
Vesper watched him disappear before he let out a deep sigh and murmured, "She better recover soon."
Just as he stood up to clean the dishes, he saw Alric rush out, a panicked look on his face.
"Big Brother, Aunt Selene…"
Vesper's heart fell. Without bothering to hear what had happened, he sprinted toward her room.