«Holy saints!»

I covered my mouth with my hands in shock when I realized that I had just stumbled upon someone's body.

In the darkness of the forest, I could make out a girl about my age or a little older, whom I almost stepped on. Realizing this, I hurriedly jumped aside.

She had a beautiful face with chiseled features, pale skin and dark brown hair. Deep down, I thought she was very beautiful for a commoner. At first glance, it was not difficult for me to guess her origin.

Despite her attractive, upper-class face, her clothes were very poor. If you count it, it was clearly worth no more than a pair of silver ones.

However, she was covered in blood now.

I actually found a corpse in the woods, not far from my estate!

Considering that this was my «first time», I was shaking with fear for a while. Then she took a deep breath and tried to bring herself to her senses.

After all, this is an R-19 rated novel. Death and violence should be taken for granted here, just like elves and dragons in fantasy. No wonder sooner or later I discovered someone's lifeless body.

But most of all, of course, I was shocked that it happened very close to my house! Moreover, I almost tripped over her…

How could this commoner be here in such a terrible state? There was only one possible scenario spinning in my head.

The poor girl must have had the misfortune to run into bandits. A Dark Army was constantly combing the area nearby. Of course, these criminals didn't care about human lives.

I looked at this girl with pity. So young and beautiful, and she left this world so early… I have to be especially vigilant so that the same thing doesn't happen to me.

After mentally praying for the repose of her soul, I was about to step over her body and move on. But… The next moment, I almost had a second heart attack.

A cold hand, as if from the depths of hell, suddenly grabbed my leg.

I turned around in shock.

Just as I was about to step over her, the girl I thought was a corpse suddenly grabbed me. She was still unconscious. Apparently, it was her internal reflexes that triggered it.

I was discouraged by this turn of events.

«This can't be happening! Is she still alive…?!»

Despite the fact that she wasn't even breathing a second ago, her icy fingers held me surprisingly tightly. With difficulty, but I managed to free myself. As soon as I did, her last strength ran out and her arm went limp.

Forgetting about the purpose for which I originally went to this forest, I rushed to her.

Despite the fact that I care about my own skin more than anything else in the world, I am still not a heartless creature.

— Hey, how are you?!

It's a strange question, considering she's covered in blood. Oh well.

After the expected lack of response, I leaned my head against her chest. And how else can you check if a person is alive or not? Through her clothes, I could see her heart beating very faintly. And her breathing was as absent as a dead man's.

I realized that even if she wasn't dead yet, it was about to happen.

As it turned out, I was screaming quite loudly. Less than five minutes later, Elisha caught up with me, worried that I was facing some kind of danger.

— M-my lady! What happened…

The maid froze when she saw me bending over someone's body. At the same moment, her pupils dilated.

— Uh-that…

For a few seconds, I was tormented by remorse. I thought if I just left her here, I'd feel guilty for the rest of my life. After all, even if it was unfamiliar, it was a human life.

I believed that one day my action today would come back to me like a boomerang.

— Hurry up!

I threw one of her arms over me, but it turned out that I could not do without help. Surprisingly, despite her slim build, she turned out to be quite heavy. The maid was stunned, not quite understanding what I was going to do.

I looked at her expectantly.

— Elisha, hurry up! Take her other hand.

She froze in a daze.

— B-but… My Lady… Who is this anyway? What do you want to do?

— I'll explain everything later!

My tone of defiance finally brought her out of her stupor. As a result, the girl had to obey and drag this «burden» with me to the estate. Fortunately, there weren't many servants outside, as most of them were preparing for the Duke's arrival.

Almost imperceptibly, we carried the commoner through the back door directly to my room. I asked Elisha to call our family doctor, Xavier.

My request did not take long to wait, and after fifteen minutes the right person appeared. All this time I was nervously glancing at my watch, because every second counted.

The commoner was lying serenely on my bed and showed no signs of life. I was afraid that eventually she would die right here in my room.

When an elderly man who looked like a professor entered the room, I immediately locked the door behind him. The healer was somewhat surprised by this turn of events, and soon asked uncertainly:

«My Lady, you summoned me without warning… Is it something urgent? Are you unwell?»

— Not for me.

— what?

«Can you examine her?»

When I stepped aside and the doctor saw the girl lying on my bed, his eyes bulged out of their sockets. Probably because she was really in a terrible state.

— Uh-uh… Let me ask you a question.

Realizing that he was going to ask me the same question as the maid, I interrupted him.

— Please, I'll explain everything later! But do something right now!

Xavier stared at me in surprise for a while, probably because it was the first time he had seen me so determined. As a child, Camilla was a sickly child, and the doctor often had to visit her. He remembered the duke's youngest daughter as a weak and rather insecure lady.

This was the first time Camille had called him to her on her own, and even set some conditions. For obvious reasons, the man was puzzled. But then, overcoming his inner embarrassment, he began to perform his duties directly.

— I'll do my best.

No more than ten minutes had passed while we were waiting outside the door. I was surprised that the healer invited us in so soon. This meant that everything was either very good or very bad.

As it turned out, the latter.

«I'm afraid I can't help you.»

Xavier spread his hands helplessly.

— How so? «Didn't my father hire you because you're one of the best doctors in the empire?»

Xavier shrugged guiltily. There was a note of doom in his voice.:

— I'm afraid that apart from God himself, even the most talented doctors on the planet are not able to help this girl.

— Why?! Is it really that serious?

I was shocked. At first glance, it seemed to me that this was just a knife wound received during some kind of fight. Can't he just be operated on and patched up?

But when I told the doctor about it, he shook his head.

— There is indeed a knife wound, but this is not the worst thing. The fact is, judging by all the symptoms, this girl is poisoned.

I couldn't believe my ears.

Who would want to waste poison, which was considered very valuable in the empire, on some commoner? Is this definitely not a mistake?

But the doctor dispelled my doubts.:

— I assure you, I could not be mistaken in such a question. It is indeed a poison, and a very rare drug. It contains complex and dangerous components. So much so that it is almost impossible to survive after such poisoning.

— …

I couldn't even find the words.

«Since I have never come across such a recipe, I do not know the antidote to it,» he continued, «I'm afraid what I have with me will not help in any way.

I bit my lip nervously.

Is this how it's going to end?

I looked at the commoner who was lying unconscious on my bed and was in the prime of her life. I couldn't believe that her life would end so unfairly and cruelly.

How can anyone deserve such an end for themselves?

With the exception of the main villain, I probably didn't wish this fate on anyone. Even that scumbag, my older brother, wasn't bad enough to deserve such a painful death.

Taking a deep breath, I made a firm and irrevocable decision in my life. Even if I might regret it later.

— Elisha.

I called my maid softly.

The girl immediately appeared next to me and asked me what I needed from her.

— How many frosty mushrooms did you manage to collect?

After Elisha called the doctor, the presence of a second person was unnecessary, and in order not to waste time, I sent her back to the forest. After all, this was indeed a valuable opportunity.

— Uh… The maid hesitated…

— what?

«My Lady, I could only find one frosty mushroom… — the girl admitted, — Everyone else needs at least another ten years to fully mature… I assure you, I have examined everything thoroughly!

Elisha took a mushroom out of the basket and showed it to me. It was very similar to the champignonette, familiar to me from my world.

That's just it… When I tried to touch it with my bare hand, my finger went numb, as if I had touched a block of ice. Well, at least the mushroom lived up to its name.

I smiled mirthlessly.

So, in these fifty years, only one has been able to grow up? Not so much. In any case, I would not be able to build a business with such a small amount of «goods».

Thus, my entrepreneurial career collapsed before it even started.

Well, then, it remains only to apply it for its intended purpose.

I took the basket with a single frosty mushroom from Elisha's hands and turned to the doctor. He watched in surprise what I was going to do.

— Xavier, can you make a decoction of this mushroom? I want to save this girl.