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“Hmmm...”
The doctor, who had his hand on my wrist, furrowed his brows.
Just like last time, he tilted his head repeatedly while examining me.
Yeah, I guess so.
If there’s nothing particularly different from last time, it’s understandable that the doctor would be puzzled as to why he’s being called in again.
Moreover...
“Is there no problem?”
The Duke asked coldly with his arms crossed.
“How is Lady Serpina’s condition?”
Barhan asked politely.
“Lady...”
“Our Lady, she’s alright, isn’t she?”
Mari and Sienna, who were uncharacteristically restless.
Given all the attention and scrutiny, it would be understandable if the doctor felt a bit uncomfortable while examining someone who seemed perfectly fine.
The doctor tilted his head a few more times, frowned, and then sighed as if he couldn’t bear it any longer.
“...She’s perfectly fine.”
“Really?”
At the Duke’s question, the doctor straightened up and nodded.
“Yes, really. Why would I lie? She’s perfectly fine except for being a bit weaker than others!”
“See? I told you I’m fine!”
Seeing the doctor looking so distressed was a bit pitiful, so I joined in to support him.
But why does everyone look so uneasy?
It’s strange that everyone has such a suspicious expression.
No, the doctor and I are saying I’m fine...
I shot a pleading glance at Dante.
“Don’t you believe me?”
Oh my. He can’t answer.
It seems my trust has hit rock bottom...
When my lips started to droop in disappointment...
“I believe you. If you’re fine, then it’s good. I’m relieved.”
Although it felt like I was bowing down and being thanked, I was simple-minded.
As long as someone is bowing down first, it’s fine by me.
Yeah, I’m fine, so they say.
I shrugged my shoulders in satisfaction.
After the doctor left, Barhan, Mari, and Sienna huddled together and whispered.
“...What could this mean, Barhan?”
“Indeed. The doctor says Lady Serpina is fine...”
“But it’s strange. That day, I clearly saw with my own eyes. Lady Serpina was vomiting blood. And Barhan, you saw blood on the end of Lady Serpina’s sleeve, didn’t you?”
The three of them fell silent.
It was truly puzzling.
A lady who was thin and pale, and even vomiting blood, was said to have no ailments.
Of course, it’s good to hear she’s fine, but...
“Could it be that the doctor is a quack?”
Sienna’s cautious question was met with silence from the other two.
“Or maybe we were mistaken. Sienna might have seen something wrong.”
Even in silence, Sienna steadfastly offered a second opinion.
Mari, after a moment of silence, slowly nodded and spoke.
“...Yeah. I guess so. It seems that way. The doctor examined her twice and both times said she was fine. It seems we might have seen things that weren’t there due to our excessive worry. Sorry, Barhan. Sorry, Sienna.”
Mari’s smile was awkward.
Thus, the matter was concluded as Mari’s mistake.
There were many strange points, but no one added anything further.
It was a kind of wishful thinking.
Hoping that it was indeed just Mari’s mistake.
But, a few days later.
“That doctor is a quack.”
The three of them gathered again.
The incident began the day after the doctor left.
“...Ugh.”
Serpina, who was having breakfast, retched.
“L-Lady?”
Mari, who was serving the meal, was in shock.
Unlike the Duke, who skipped breakfast, Lady Serpina had always eaten her breakfast without fail.
Not only that.
From breakfast to dinner, she meticulously ate three meals a day and even had morning, lunch, and evening desserts.
It was astonishing how so much food could fit into her small body, but for her to be retching during breakfast was unheard of.
“I didn’t sleep well... I can’t handle breakfast. Sorry, can you clean this up?”
Eventually, Serpina had to push the breakfast aside.
This was the first time since she became obsessed with herbs.
But that was just a prelude to a more ominous sign.
“I think I’ll go back and rest early today.”
Serpina said she would return to her room shortly after coming to the herb garden.
She didn’t do any work in the herb garden or even make desserts.
She handled only the hostess’s duties roughly and went straight to bed even though the sun was still up.
She then read books endlessly, skipped dinner, and fell asleep.
Due to her strange behavior, Barhan, Mari, Sienna, as well as the gardener Markops and the chef Ena, all began to worry about Serpina.
“Oh my. She left food again today. What is going on with the world...”
“Don’t mention it. She even said she’d pull the weeds tomorrow, though normally she’d be determined to get rid of even the weeds’ grandfather with her eyes wide open.”
“She seems to be disappointed she’s not eating the herbal cookies she used to have every day... No, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Cancel that.”
Sienna, who had eavesdropped on Markops and Ena’s conversation, sighed heavily as she walked down the hallway.
Then, abruptly.
She stopped and muttered gloomily.
“Is Lady Serpina really ill...?”
Despite her efforts to ignore it, some things are impossible to avoid.
For her, Lady Serpina’s health was one of those things.
And that evening.
While carefully emptying the trash can to avoid waking Serpina, who had gone to bed early.
“...!”
Sienna had to bite her lips to avoid screaming.
She saw a piece of paper stained red inside the trash can.
It was clear evidence that someone had hastily dealt with red liquid.
Sienna stared at the sleeping Serpina with a desolate look.
“Damn it... That quack.”
Sienna left the room and went to find Mari and Barhan.
The three of them had already become like fellow members of the “Lady’s Health Guardians Club.”
In a solemn atmosphere, Sienna spoke up.
“That doctor is a quack.”
When the two others responded with a nod, Sienna spoke more forcefully.
“Just look at Lady Serpina’s complexion these days! Does that look like someone who’s fine? And she’s getting thinner and thinner. I didn’t know a person could become so emaciated.”
“And lately, she grabs her chest and grimaces as soon as she wakes up. She also frequently retches.”
“Most importantly, do you know what I found in the trash today?”
Sienna took out the paper she had secretly pocketed.
The paper stained with dried red liquid was crumpled badly.
Seeing this, Mari and Barhan’s eyes widened in shock.
“Indeed, what I saw that day...”
Mari couldn’t finish her sentence.
“What should we do now, Barhan? Should we call the doctor again? No, we must call him again. Right?”
At Sienna’s urgent question, Barhan groaned and nodded.
The problem was the Duke.
It had been less than ten days since the doctor was last called.
“A doctor? Is the lady ill?”
The Duke had questioned with a stern face when the doctor was first called.
At that time, Barhan had come up with a vague excuse, but calling the doctor again wouldn’t be resolved with a vague excuse.
So, he needed to report on Lady Serpina’s condition...
But, Barhan didn’t have to worry about it.
“We need to call the doctor.”
Dante was the first to instruct Barhan to call the doctor again.
Barhan, who was stunned, had his brows furrowed.
“Did you know?”
His voice trembled with deep disappointment.
Dante gave a slight nod.
“I couldn’t not know. After all, we’re married.”
Yes. We are married.
We share the same room, sleep in the same bed, and eat together.
Dante had long noticed the changes in Serpina. However, since she didn’t bring up the doctor, he had kept silent and observed.
In fact, Dante wanted to call the doctor from the day he saw Serpina’s complexion turn pale, but he was worried it might be bothersome when she didn’t want it.
He occasionally asked if she was okay, but each time, the answer was always the same.
“I’m fine.”
Could she still not trust him properly?
Indeed, it felt like it was just yesterday when she was trembling with fear...
So Dante waited.
He hoped she would tell him that she was unwell first. But, until today, Serpina hadn’t said a word.
His gaze fell on the view outside the window.
The vast and desolate garden.
And the strangely positioned small herb garden.
That small space had, at some point, become the most vibrant place in the Duke’s residence.
But.
Today, as usual, the area in front of the herb garden was empty.
Proof that Serpina had gone back to her room early.
It felt somewhat bittersweet and lonely.
The empty garden landscape felt like his own heart.
So.
“Call the doctor as soon as possible. Before my wife wilts further.”
He wanted to see her lively and active again as soon as possible.
Another day of being lively and strong...
“Ugh.”
And what a start.
As soon as I woke up in the morning, I began the day with retching.
I quickly got up, clutching my aching chest, and leaned back on the bed.
My mumbling voice was very hoarse.
It must be because the stomach acid kept rising.
Is this no joke? My throat is slowly melting.
“Ugh.”
In the midst of this, I started feeling nauseous again.
I barely managed to calm my stomach with the water prepared next to me before I came to my senses.
Oh, this crappy state of my body.
I had been trying to ignore my physical condition because I was always treated as a weak person, but now I had no choice but to admit it.
The nausea and vomiting that came up all the time.
The pounding chest pain and loss of appetite.
Even my stomach ached like crazy every morning.
All of this pointed to one thing.
And that was…
“Wow, shit. I really do have esophagitis.”
It seemed like I had esophagitis.
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