Maxi’s face clouded with worry as it rained for hours over the lush greenery of the garden below. The flowers began drooping under the constant downpour, their colorful petals and dark green leaves looking terribly dull in the gloom. Her anxiety grew each time the window rattled in the cold wind. She felt sorry for the knights who had to ride through this dreadful weather on the harsh mountain path the first day of their journey.
Even Ludis, who had been quietly sewing by the window, lamented, “I do not think the rain will be stopping anytime soon. To think it had to rain today of all days.”
“Indeed…”
Ludis rubbed her cheek before setting down her sewing and rising to light the fire. Maxi continued to gaze out thewindow as she listened to the rain tap against the glass. She wondered if Riftan was all right, though since he had told her that monsters were less likely to appear when it rained, she did not have to worry about the site being attacked, at least.
With some effort, she pulled her gaze away from the garden. Now was not the time for needless worrying. She needed to hone her abilities so that she could fill Ruth’s shoes as soon as possible.
Maxi took out the stack of parchment the sorcerer had given her and began to carefully sort through each page. As to be expected from someone so shockingly terrible at organization, Ruth had not bothered to arrange them in any particular order before handing everything to her, and the lengthy ramblings on herbs, magic, and remedies were all jumbled together. Maxi even noticed sections with unfinished sentences. She had apparently failed to bring all the pages from the tower.
I really cannot tell if he is meticulous or negligent.
Maxi decided that she would visit the tower later to find the missing pages. For now, she would study what she could. She took out a blank parchment to begin copying runes onto it in a more orderly fashion.
Ruth had prepared two spells for her. One was meant to increase the strength of her magic by accelerating the flow of her mana, while the other doubled the range of her magic.
Her shoulders sagged. She had secretly hoped to see powerful runes similar to Princess Agnes’s pyromancy. Then again, even if Ruth had outlined exactly how to achieve such a thing, she would only be able to summon a tiny flame no bigger than a candle’s with her current skills. The only magic she was capable of at present was healing, detoxification, andrestoration. She had not made any significant progress with anything else.
Evidently, Ruth thought that learning new things would not be of much use to her, and that it would be better for her to focus on enhancing the power of the spells she could already do. Begrudgingly agreeing with his logic, she began to study the pattern of the runes. Fortunately, it was not difficult for her to understand how the runes worked thanks to the sorcerer’s detailed explanations.
The problem is actually casting them….
Though she was worried that she would not be able to master a new rune without Ruth generating mana for her, she had no choice other than to try. Concentrating anew on the parchment, Maxi began to memorize the intricate patterns.
She was engrossed in her studies for a while when she suddenly felt a heavy pang in her lower abdomen. She nearly dropped her quill when she felt something flowing between her legs.
—
The unpleasant visits thathad plagued Maxi since she had turned seventeen were upon her once more. Not wanting to ruin the beautiful satin dress that had taken two weeks to make, she quickly rose to her feet and discreetly asked Ludis for help. The maidservant promptly brought her a basin of hot water, clean linen, and a new dress.
Scowling in disgust, Maxi used the hot towel to wipe the blood between her legs. She then pulled on cotton undergarments lined with thick layers of linen and checked in the mirror to make sure there were no leaks. The linen made her hips appear duck-like, a look she was not particularly fondof.
Her lower abdomen felt as if it had been stuffed with cold gravel. The thought that she would have to endure this discomfort for at least five days made her heave a sigh.
“Do not be too disappointed, my lady.”
She looked at Ludis in confusion, and the maidservant continued cautiously, “I am told that it can take more than three years for some couples to welcome their first child. If you wait patiently with a light heart, then God will surely send you the most beautiful child when the time is right.”
Maxi blinked vacantly. Ludis’s reassurances made her realize that her discomfort meant that she was not carrying Riftan’s offspring. Suddenly filled with anxiety, Maxi asked in a weak voice, “It is not strange, then…th-that I am not yet with child?”
“It is merely that it is not the right time,” Ludis replied with a gentle smile. “You must have been anticipating good news since your monthly visitor was unusually late…but there is no need for you to feel impatient, my lady.”
Despite her words, Ludis seemed more disappointed than Maxi herself. Maxi had not even realized that her bleeding was late.
Truth be told, her cycle had become more frequent since she had been in Anatol. Prior to that, she had bled once every two or three months, and even that had not always been the case. She had once gone five months without a visit.
She bit her lip in confusion. Did other women bleed more frequently? She tried to remember how it had been for Rosetta, but she was unable to recall anything. The two of them had never been close enough to discuss such intimate matters with each other.
The possibility that Maxi was unable to conceive becauseshe might have some defect made her break out in a cold sweat. Her mother’s haggard, lifeless face briefly flashed in her mind. She turned away from Ludis to hide her agitation and said calmly, “I would like something w-warm. Could you prepare…some herbal tea for me?”
“Of course, my lady, right away.”
Once the maidservant left the room, Maxi slumped at her desk and buried her face in her hands. She wanted to be honest with Ludis and ask for advice, but she was scared that the maidservant would disclose her concerns to Riftan. How would he react if he found out that there was something wrong with his wife?
There was nothing more important to a man than an heir, and she knew without a doubt that Riftan would want a son who would one day inherit his castle and land. Would his affections remain unchanged even if she shared the same fate as her mother? Her throat felt as if a thorn had lodged init.
Maxi nervously leafed through the parchment, but the worsening pain in her stomach made it impossible to concentrate. After staring blankly at the words, Maxi flung her quill away. Ink splattered across the desk. She sat motionless, staring at the stains, before slumping over the desk and listening to the rain drumming against the window.
