The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became Obsessive

I had to calm myself before explaining to him. “Young Master, the content of this brown bottle is not poison but a fever reducer.”

Ardion turned around and laid down. As he did so, the handkerchief on his forehead slid off. I stared at him seriously, knowing it wouldn’t be good to force him to eat, but at the same time, he would get worse if he didn’t obey me…

After thinking for a moment, I said, “Will you drink it after I drink it?”

“…” Ardion didn’t say anything. He even had his back to me, so I couldn’t guess what kind of exprssion he had.

I could only lift the brown bottle. “Young Master, I’m drinking it.”

Ardion slowly turned towards me.

He watched me warily. It was obvious that he assumed there was poison inside the bottle. I drank a bit from the brown bottle while looking at him confidently.

“…”

“…”

A few seconds of silence passed.

I smiled like nothing happened and said with a shrug, “Look, I’m perfectly fine, aren’t I?”

Ardion’s eyebrows furrowed even more. “Your hands are shaking.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I have hand tremors. So, are you going to take the medicine?” I held out the brown bottle.

Ardion’s face was still full of caution. “Why are you taking care of me like this?”

“I told you yesterday. I want something from you, Young Master.”

He sharply examined me.

“I have confirmed it’s not poison, have I not?” I held out the brown bottle to him once more. “Your fever must reduce before anything else, Young Master.”

He glanced at my trembling hands for a moment, looked into my eyes, and carefully grabbed the bottle with a helpless expression. Ardion was wise enough not to drink it right away. After contemplating, he exhaled and drank the medicine, as he had no choice.

After he finished drinking, Ardion frowned. “It’s bitter.”

“All medicine is like that,” I replied lightly.

He checked the bottle all over and frowned with a shake of his head.  “This is the first time I’ve taken medicine like this. I haven’t taken much medicine before, so…”

His trailing words seemed to linger in the air, and I noticed how uneasy he looked. As I stood there simply watching, Ardion seemed to grow uncomfortable and let his hand drop.

I quickly reached out to him.  “I’ll take care of the bottle. Please hand it to me.”

Ardion handed the bottle over to me with his still stern face. As he did, his eyes turned to my apron. As soon as he saw Derol, he moved back in shock.

“Why do you still keep that mouse with you?”

“For information, Young Master. His name is Derol, not that mouse. Additionally, he is not like other mice. He is much cleaner than them. You should be familiar with him since he helped me clean this room for you…”

I was going to mention the cockroaches, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. Since Ardion saw Derol with me at the time, I could only explain it.

“But carrying around a mouse like that…” Ardion didn’t seem pleased that I brought Derol with me. 

Derol glared at Ardion while squeaking.

“Why does that mouse look like it’s glaring at me?” Ardion opened his mouth in surprise.

Derol went deeper into my pocket, and I patted his head. “Young Master, Derol is a timid mouse to the point that he runs away when people come. In fact, he only looked at you. He never glared at you.”

“He definitely glared at me.” Ardion raised his voice as if he felt wronged.

I lowered my head and looked at Derol. He was in the corner of my pocket, looking at me with his hands clasped together politely.

At that moment, Derol waved his small hand. When I moved my hand to him, he came up and squeaked. It seemed he had something to say to me.

I put him next to my ear.

“Young Master, that person doesn’t understand your grace, so I don’t think you need to be so kind to him.”

Derol spoke quite firmly, but his breath tickled my ears. I tried to hold back my laughter and nodded. Then I whispered into Derol’s small ear, “Don’t worry, Derol. I’m doing this solely for my sake. You should know that much.”

Ardion didn’t say much anyway. Rather, I should praise him for being honest.

Of course, it was for my own benefit to cool Ardion down, but I was also doing it for his own good. Anyway, if Ardion and I were on good terms, it would be for the best.

Suddenly, I felt someone looking at me.

“I just heard what you talked about though?”

Startled, I looked at Ardion. “You understood me and Derol?”

“Do you think I am stupid?”

“But Derol said that if you don’t have the same mana as me…”

I stopped talking and looked at Ardion. His hair was still disheveled, but his well-defined face still stood out. An imperial family member with the blood of the emperor…

So, you understood everything Derol and I said up until now?

In a way, there was nothing he couldn’t overhear. After all, Ardion possessed mana that responded to every kind of attribute.

“Young Master, I didn’t mean to mock you. I was just speaking honestly with Derol…”

“Enough, don’t make excuses. Just take that filthy mouse outside.”

Ardion raised his thorns again. Yesterday was better, but today, it seemed worse because he was sick.

I calmed my mind and spoke. “Young Master, as I said earlier, Derol is a clean mouse, and he won’t have any negative effect on you. Above all…”

I was about to say that Derol was cleaner than him, but I instantly stopped. Now that I thought about it, he had yet to wash himself after coming here…

His black hair was sticking out here and there, and his clothes were shabby. But strangely, he didn’t look dirty at all.

“I told you to leave, did I not?” Ardion sharply repeated. His hair really looked like a kitten with its fur bristled and baring its teeth.

I thought he was just being wary and saying he didn’t need me, so I smiled and said, “Anyway, I’m glad your fever has gone down. Earlier, you couldn’t even speak properly.”

“Fever?” Ardion was barely breathing until a moment ago. He blinked, then lowered his head to examine his body.

“I told you it wasn’t poison. Maybe it took effect quickly because you have a lot of mana.”

In the original story, Ardion had taken medicine, and the effects were obvious in a matter of seconds. Anyway, it was a relief that he overcame this crisis. 

“Alright, make sure to eat breakfast, or rather, I’ll prepare it for you.”  

I rummaged through the sack next to Ardion’s bed. But for some reason, it felt empty. There was barely anything inside. There were only a few apples and other fruits.

I looked at Ardion with surprise. “Young Master, did you eat everything in here?”

Seeing the surprise on my face, he hesitated. “… You didn’t tell me how much to eat.”

“But even so, all of it…”

“It’s okay. I only need to eat one meal anyway.”

Ardion grabbed his blanket, wrapped it around himself, and covered his face with it. When I took a look at him, his face was red.

Did I worry about him for nothing?

When I thought about it, I realized Ardion was still a child. He was at an age where he needed a lot of food, and since he had eaten so much, it seemed he hadn’t eaten his fill before.

Thinking about it, I felt sorry for what I said.

I smiled at Ardion. “Young Master, if you’re hungry, eat as much as you like, especially since you’re still growing. I was just surprised. Please don’t mind.”

I put the remaining fruit on the table. Now, there was nothing left in the bag.

“If you want more, I can get it for you.”

Ardion glanced at me, then avoided my gaze and muttered, “… The cheese and bread you gave me were delicious.”

Still, his attitude had softened.

“Of course. Then I’ll bring a lot of cheese and bread. But you’ll have to eat this for breakfast today. If you don’t have enough, let me know. Or should I go right now…”

I stopped talking and looked at Ardion. I had been concerned about his hair and clothes for a while now. His clothes were dirty when he came here…

Before that, shouldn’t he wash up before eating?

Maybe that would be a better order. With a clean body, he wouldn’t get sick.

“Young Master, you should wash up first.”

“… Wash up?”

“Yes, now that I think about it, I should have gotten you to wash up yesterday, but I forgot about it.”

When I tried to approach him, he wrapped himself in the blanket even more. “No. I don’t want to. I like it this way.”

“Young Master, at least change your clothes.”

I looked around and spotted the luggage bag Ardion had brought when he came. There should be clothes inside. I walked over. “Young Master, can I open this bag?”

“…”

Ardion didn’t answer. I lifted the bag in front of him, but he only gave a passing glance.

“I’m opening it!” I deliberately raised my voice.

When I opened it, his crumpled clothes came flying out. I stepped back in surprise, causing Derol to take a peek from my pocket.

“I have never seen someone pack their clothes so haphazardly,” Derol said, squeaking.

“I agree. It looks like it was packed carelessly.”

After looking at the clothes scattered around for a moment, I picked them up and put them back in. For some reason, it didn’t seem like Ardion had packed his luggage himself.

After putting his clothes in the bag, I turned to Ardion. He pulled down the blanket and looked at his opened luggage.

“Young Master, did you know in advance you would come here?”

“No.”

“Then…“

His face was stern as he said, “There’s no need for me to tell you.”