"You're leaving?"
Eiran asked the question lightly after they finished breakfast that morning.
Darius, who had just set down his cup, nodded.
"Yes. I need to return to the capital. There's an expedition I must join in preparation for the Mid-Autumn Festival next month.Security and arrangements must be handled early."
His voice was steady, professional as always.
Sion, however, went strangely quiet.
He simply lowered his gaze to his plate, fingers lightly tracing the rim of his cup. The silence stretched longer than usual.
Eiran noticed.
He leaned slightly closer to Sion and whispered, "Are you sad he's leaving?"
Sion shot him an annoyed smile.
"I'm not."
The answer came too quickly.
Eiran only raised his eyebrow, unconvinced.
After breakfast, Eiran disappeared briefly and returned with a neatly wrapped bundle.
"Here," he said, handing it to Darius. "Processed food from our harvest. Dried fruits,jam and some sweets for the twins."
Darius blinked in surprise.
"You didn't have to - "
"We know," Eiran cut him off with a grin. "But we did."
Darius accepted it with both hands, bowing slightly. "Thank you."
They walked together to the entrance gate of the small holding.
The morning breeze of the early autumn carried the scent of earth and trees. Everything felt deceptively peaceful.
Just before Darius stepped beyond the gate, Sion spoke.
"Sir Darius."
He paused.
"…Thank you," Sion said lightly, "for carrying me to bed last night."
Darius froze.
Eiran looked between them in confusion.
Sion's lips curved faintly. "I fell asleep while watching the stars. I remember waking briefly."
There was a subtle glint in his eyes.
"I hope I wasn't too heavy."
Darius straightened immediately.
"You weren't," he said without hesitation.
"Good",Sion replied, clearly amused.
Darius smiled faintly at that.
There was a pause.
A quiet, lingering moment neither seemed eager to end.
Finally, Darius bowed once more and turned to leave.
And then Darius finally turned and walked down the path, gradually disappearing from sight.
Eiran watched until he was nearly out of view before glancing at Sion.
"So," he said casually, "you're really not upset?"
Sion crossed his arms.
"Of course I'm upset."
Eiran blinked.
"I just lost a free laborer."
Eiran stared at him flatly.
"…Right."
They turned to head back toward the house.
Sion had only taken a few steps when suddenly—
His vision blurred.
The world tilted violently.
A sharp wave of cold shot through his limbs and veins like icy water replacing blood.
His breath hitched.
The warmth drained from his limbs in seconds.
Before he could steady himself, his knees buckled.
He collapsed.
"Young master!"
Eiran lunged forward and caught him just before his head struck the ground.
The moment Eiran's hands touched him, his expression changed.
Sion's body was ice cold.
Not merely cool from morning air,cold in a way that felt wrong. His skin had turned pale, almost bluish around the lips and fingertips. A thin sheen of sweat clung to his forehead despite the chill radiating from him.
His breathing was shallow and uneven.
His pulse weak and rapid.
His muscles trembled violently,uncontrolled shivering that racked through his entire body.
His nails looked faintly dusky. His fingers stiff.
"Sir Darius!" Eiran shouted at the top of his lungs.
Darius, already some distance down the path, faintly heard the cry.
He turned immediately.
The urgency in Eiran's voice erased any doubt.
He ran back without thinking.
When he reached the entrance and saw Sion lying limp in Eiran's arms—
His heart stopped.
"Sion!"
He rushed forward, kneeling beside them.
Sion's eyes were half-lidded, unfocused. His lips trembled. His teeth chattered so violently that a faint metallic scent filled the air—his gums had begun to bleed from the force.
"It's the side effect," Eiran said quickly, panic breaking through his usual composure. "of the higher dosage."
Darius didn't waste another second.
He lifted Sion into his arms and carried him inside the house.
They laid him down in front of the hearth—the indoor fireplace where they kept burning logs for warmth. Darius quickly added more wood, flames rising higher.
They wrapped Sion in thick blankets.
One.
Two.
Three layers.
But it did nothing.
His skin remained marble-cold to the touch.
His body continued shaking uncontrollably, joints stiff, breath misting faintly as if he were standing in winter frost.
Darius clenched his jaw.
Darius's first instinct was to ride to the capital and inform Rin,but the journey would take days.
And he could not leave Sion like this.
Eiran stood abruptly.
"I know someone nearby who can fetch a trusted physician quickly," he said. "Stay with him."
Darius nodded.
"I won't leave."
Eiran squeezed Sion's shoulder once before rushing out the door.
Silence fell.
Only the crackle of fire and the violent tremors of Sion's body remained.
Darius knelt beside him, helpless.
"Sion… stay awake."
Sion's lashes fluttered faintly, but he didn't respond coherently.
Darius's hands hovered uselessly over the blankets.
Fire wasn't enough.
Blankets weren't enough.
Then—
An idea struck him.
Body heat.
It might help stabilize him, even slightly.
It was improper.
Inappropriate.
But none of that mattered.
He swallowed hard and worked quickly.
"Forgive me."
He removed Sion's outer layers carefully, then stripped off his own upper garments. Without hesitation, he climbed beneath the blankets and pulled Sion against him, wrapping both arms tightly around his trembling body.
Sion felt like ice in his arms.
Darius pressed him closer, sharing as much warmth as he could.
"It's alright," he murmured, though his voice trembled. "Just endure a little longer."
He adjusted the blankets to trap their combined heat, rubbing Sion's arms and back to stimulate circulation.
His own skin prickled from the cold radiating into him.
But he didn't let go.
"Eiran will be quick," he whispered. "Hold on."
And so Darius stayed there, holding him firmly, silently praying that help would arrive before Sion's trembling body could endure no more.