Damn it.
No, I’m not cursing; I’m talking about germinating seeds.
I sat staring at the row of Hosan fruits laid out in front of me.
“...How should I germinate this?”
It should be similar to other things, right?
Even if the method of consumption is complicated, the germination process might be ordinary.
After all, even if I plant it now, it will take several years for the tree to grow.
Still, having several trees is better than just one.
If I plant them in advance, won’t Flora be able to use the Hosan fruits freely later on?
I don’t know the method of consuming Hosan fruits right now, but according to the original story, Flora will eventually learn how to eat them.
If there are more fruits, I can feed Dante more.
Then, I might be able to treat Dante’s cold extremities more easily.
“...His cold extremities are really severe.”
No, I was starting to question whether it was appropriate to call it cold extremities.
While dealing with the royals, I noticed that Dante’s body temperature was much lower than that of ordinary people.
Seeing that it wasn’t this bad before, I worried that, as described in the original work, his body temperature was gradually decreasing.
If I think it could go even lower from here...
Yeah. I can understand why Flora is particularly worried.
If a person’s body temperature is too low, it means there’s a health warning.
Moreover, while worrying about health, I suddenly recalled Dante’s ‘curse,’ which I had been unconsciously forgetting.
Whether I had forgotten it without realizing or had been trying to forget it on purpose.
I had been living without thinking about Dante’s curse.
But recently, I couldn’t help but think about it.
Could it be because I’ve been in close contact with Dante more often?
Once I became aware of the curse, the parts of the story I couldn’t remember became so urgent.
Had Dante safely recovered his health? Had the curse been lifted by the heroine Flora like in other stories?
You know, things like that.
It’s so sad when a good person dies young.
“...I hope he’s healthy.”
But, as someone who isn’t the heroine, there’s probably nothing I can do to help.
I should at least do something like this.
‘Plant a few more Hosan trees.’
Something like that.
I squeezed my childhood memories to recall my grandmother’s teachings. Then, I awkwardly moved my hands.
Just in case, I also kept a few related books nearby for reference.
First, I separated the seeds from the pulp, then removed the hard shell of the seeds...
“Ah. I’m done.”
Working with the seeds of the small fruits took quite a bit of effort.
Even though it was a cool day, sweat dripped from my forehead.
In the end, I managed to produce a fairly decent result. I wondered how many of these would successfully sprout.
I hoped that at least more than half would succeed.
With hopeful eyes, I checked the lined-up seeds and then turned my gaze to the prepared pulp.
About a dozen red fruits, stripped of their seeds, lay limply.
Really. How on earth am I supposed to eat these?
After pondering with my arms crossed, I thought I might as well try peeling the skin.
The skin was so thin that I had been eating them without peeling, but this time I decided to try something different.
As I was gently peeling the skin off the fruit with my nails...
“Ah, achoo!”
The sour scent of the fruit tickled my nose, and I ended up sneezing.
Oh my god.
And the result was disastrous.
The force of the sneeze knocked the fruits I had lined up on the cloth.
The fruits all fell to the ground with a loud thud.
Ah. I can’t live like this.
Just a few days ago, I almost became awkward with Siena after making a mess of the room.
I hurriedly picked up the fruits and wiped the floor with a handkerchief before it got stained.
“...Now I can’t even eat them.”
I had my dignity as a human being, so I couldn’t eat food that had fallen on the floor where I walked in shoes.
Reluctantly, I rolled up the precious fruits in paper and threw them in the trash.
Still, this was quite a decent cleanup, right?
* * *
Serpina was confident that it was a decent cleanup, but sadly, it wasn’t.
Her cleanup had many sloppy parts.
The stains on the floor weren’t completely erased, and the juice from the fruits had left splotchy traces on the other trash in the bin.
The most critical issue was the clothes she had worn.
“Siena, about this.”
While moving the laundry to the basket, Marie noticed something strange and grabbed Siena.
“Doesn’t it look like a stain?”
The dress Marie held out was a deep blue dress that the lady often wore.
“A stain?”
Siena took the dress and examined it closely.
“Ah? It really does. Something must have gotten on it.”
It was such a dark color that it was hard to notice, but upon closer inspection, there was a rough stain that looked like something had been smeared and dried.
Judging by the color of the edges, the stain was...
“It’s red.”
At the same time, the two turned their heads to look at each other.
Before moving the laundry to the laundry room, they first stopped by the bathroom.
As they held the stained clothes under running water, red liquid flowed out.
“...This looks like blood, doesn’t it, Siena?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Haah. I thought she was getting better. She’s still throwing up blood.”
Hearing Marie’s gloomy murmurs as she looked at the red water, Siena couldn’t help but burst into tears.
Wahh.
As she sobbed, trying to cover her mouth, Marie sadly comforted her.
“Actually, Marie. Sniff. There’s something I haven’t told you. Sniff.”
Siena opened her tear-soaked voice in response to Marie’s comfort.
“You haven’t told me?”
“Yeah. Well, sniff. There’s something...”
Siena, with tears streaming down her face, revealed what she had witnessed before.
She had tried to keep quiet for the sake of the lady, who was struggling to hide it alone, but it was too hard.
She felt the urge to be honest with Marie, at least.
As the story went on, Marie’s expression also twisted into a frown.
“Is that really true? Has it gotten that serious?”
“Yeah. It seems like the lady... wants to keep it hidden... sniff. She can’t tell anyone...”
“You’ve been through a lot, Siena. Just go and rest for a bit.”
“Marie...”
“Go on. Stop crying before someone sees you.”
“Okay.”
Siena sniffled and returned to her room.
Left alone, Marie held her head in confusion, finished removing the stains from the clothes, and then took the laundry basket to the laundry room maids.
Then, when she went to Serpina’s room to finish the remaining cleaning...
“...What is this?”
Marie’s face turned pale at the sight of the red stains that dripped and splattered on the floor, as well as the traces that looked like they had been scrubbed away.
What on earth should I do?
What should I do about our lady?
Marie held back her tears and scrubbed the stains on the floor vigorously.
After erasing all the evidence, the person Marie sought out was Duke Dante.
“Phew.”
She knew how good of a person the duke was, but the thought of facing him over this matter made her uncomfortable and fearful.
But.
“I thought you should know, so I came to report.”
The duke already knew about the lady’s condition, and he was the only one who could provide her with practical help.
Above all, the two of them seemed quite affectionate like a loving couple these days.
Perhaps the person the lady could rely on the most was the duke.
“Do you have something to report? Is it about your wife?”
“Yes. It seems that the lady’s condition has worsened.”
“Worsened?”
The duke’s eyes gleamed coldly.
Ah, isn’t that the look he gets when hunting beasts?
The pressure was such that I couldn’t help but dry my lips and lower my gaze.
But instead of trembling, Marie nodded firmly.
After sending Marie away, the duke fell into deep thought.
“...So, her health has worsened.”
Yet, even so.
Serpina still seemed unwilling to inform anyone about her health.
It was just sad.
Her efforts to maintain a peaceful daily life, and the situation of those who had to pretend not to know because they couldn’t ruin it.
If only he had been a more trustworthy husband.
If so, wouldn’t he have been able to provide Serpina with greater strength?
Wouldn’t he have been able to help her carry the heavy burden instead of letting her bear it alone?
The ungranted rights were bitter and sorrowful.
In the end, the only thing he could do now was one thing.
To think about how to naturally call a doctor so that Serpina could receive a check-up.
But this problem was resolved more easily than expected.
“Call a doctor?”
“Yes. I think the nutritional supplement that Hetherson made last time was good. I’d like to ask for more prescriptions.”
There was no need for tricks; Serpina had asked for the doctor herself.
Has her condition really worsened that much? For Serpina, who had been reluctant to call a doctor, to ask for one herself...
Dante nodded with a troubled heart.