On the second day of Christmas, Albert got up very late. His original plan to rise early and get something done had been snuffed out by the aftermath of overexertion. All he felt now was soreness throughout his body, like the symptoms after a severe fever.
"Still not getting up?"
Isobel swept back her long hair, bent down, and kissed Albert on the forehead.
"My whole body aches. I don't want to get up. I'm planning to stay in bed all day," Albert said lazily. "How about you stay in bed with me? There shouldn't be anything to do today, right?"
"Weren't you planning to go back today?" Isobel seemed to be in a good mood.
"I can go back tomorrow," Albert replied without hesitation.
Watching Albert stubbornly stay in bed like a child, Isobel found it rather amusing. In the tone one might use to coax a child, she said, "All right, if you want to lie down, you still need to get up and eat something first. Then we can lie down together."
"All right. Being cool always comes at a price," Albert muttered. "And I shouldn't have gone to soak in the hot spring yesterday. I should've used a cold compress first."
"Isn't there any Potions that can deal with this?" Isobel asked. "Should we try a spell and see if it can treat it?"
She fetched the Healing Handbook from beside the fireplace in the hall and quickly flipped through it in search of a treatment, but... unsurprisingly, she found nothing.
"Forget it. At least none of the healing Charms I know are effective against these symptoms." Albert gestured for Isobel to stop fussing. If there had been a solution, he would have used it on himself long ago.
"Maybe it's like nearsightedness—there simply hasn't been