"And you should have spoken up earlier if you were here. The maid I was talking to just now, Daisy, was right here." She rubbed her temple, frowning, "And there goes your chance to meet..."

She stopped in the middle of her sentence and whipped her head to the boy instantly, realizing his presence. She marched up towards him rather clumsily in her heels, almost missing a few steps along the way. "Wait, how did you get in? No one has mentioned anything about having guests."

He smiled innocently after a long pause, "I'm an unofficial guest."

She sighed at his vague reply. Eventually, he dropped his smile and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Word got out that the heir of the House Corbet was sick, so I came by to check."

"A day was more than enough for him to rest. He was able to recover quickly." She answered him, making sure to keep her tone formal and poised. While their first meeting ended on a good note, she couldn't trust him yet; he's still a stranger, without a name to identify him with.

"That's not what I meant," he grumbled, leaning against the tree, "What about you?"

"But I'm not the one-"

"Are you okay?"

Oh.

Maybe she wasn't doing a good job at hiding her emotions, Adelina thought. Thinking back, even her parents did seem anxious whenever she had something to say, checking up on her once in a while before she was ready to sleep. How did she miss their concerns, their actions?

"I just...I don't know. I'm scared of losing him," she replied honestly, not understanding why she was suddenly comfortable with talking to him.

His allergy would have been easier to treat if they had traveled to the future. There would be better facilities, better medical equipment, and he would be getting the help he needs...

Even though she-or rather Emily barely paid attention in her science class, she remembered learning that people with allergies usually carry an EpiPen around, which is an injection containing epinephrine and used in case of an emergency. Considering the current time period, the invention has most likely hasn't come into existence. Even if it did, what are the chances of her finding it soon?

But having an EpiPen would have really made things easier.

"Epipen?"

"Hm?" She tried to smile, but her lips twitched a little. Did she say that out loud?

"I heard you say EpiPen..." he repeated, tilting his head to one side, "Recently, back in the pa-I mean our household has received them as gifts. If having that would solve your problem, I can send someone to deliver some to you."

Well, she wasn't expecting to find the answer right away.

"I can't accept that. It's not polite to take another's gift."

"No, I insist."

"What if I refuse?"

"I'll bring them to you," he said, surprising her with a teasing grin, "personally."

The corners of her lips lifted upwards.

"Are you sure you won't regret this?"

He nodded.

"...Thank you."

There was a moment of brief silence and almost no indication of him responding-except for his tensed form.

She figured his silence meant he was still listening and carried on the conversation, smiling sheepishly, "But I feel bad when I'm the only one on the receiving end, is there any way I can repay you?" She even made a hand gesture to indicate if he wanted money.

"I wasn't looking for a reward," he said flatly.

She pursed her lips. Once an idea ran across her mind, a lightbulb went off in her head and she snapped her fingers, "How about a favor? There is no time limit, so when you decide on what you needed help with, you can ask me. Although there is no guarantee I can do much to help right now, you have my word."

Now that the chance to build connections appeared in front of her, she wasn't planning on letting it slip away. Who knows, maybe she'll gain another supporter.

Plus, it might have been her imagination, but he looked surprised at her suggestion.

"Yes," he murmured, "I'd like that."

-------- [One week later] --------

Just like he had promised, a package addressed to Adelina was delivered to House Corbet.

Excited, Adelina literally bolted down the stairs from her bedroom to the ground floor without taking a rest to collect her breath. She found the maid in charge of sorting the mails and smiled politely as the maid handed her a small package, making sure to thank her while receiving it.

Once she returned to her room, she placed the item on the table and started unraveling the wrapper of the box-shaped package.

She carefully lifted the lid and was greeted by the sight of three identical products sitting elegantly inside.

A gasp escaped her lips as she picked an Epipen up for a closer inspection at her eye level. The products were oddly similar to the ones she'd seen in the textbooks, which makes it all the more easier for her to understand how to use it. When she placed the product back to its place, something else caught her eye. On the back of the lid, there was a note stuck on it.

She pulled the paper out to read the neatly written message.

Dear Lady Corbet,

As promised, I have delivered it.

-Leo

She read the last part again. Leo.

"So that's his name..." she mumbled, setting the paper down on the desk. For some reason, she thought his name was different-not that Leo didn't suit him, she just thought it was missing something.

She flipped the paper to the other side to check if she missed anything. To her surprise, there was another message.

P.S I'll be seeing you soon.