Chapter 27

Infertility.

I fell silent when I heard the word.

For nobles, securing an heir was essential.

Passing down immense wealth and influence and ensuring the family name remained honored forever was considered their greatest duty.

‘But if I, the duchess, become infertile.’

Divorce was forbidden by doctrine and illegitimate children could not be acknowledged as true heirs.

For Lombard, this was a crisis on the level of risking the entire future of the family.

And my own position as the duchess would collapse beyond comparison.

“If it does not threaten my life but makes me infertile…”

Naturally, my thoughts reached one conclusion.

The person who poisoned the cup wanted one outcome.

‘The downfall of Elicia.’

To a noble who cherished honor and authority more than life itself, downfall was complete exile from society, an irreversible stain and a punishment worse than death.

‘The hostility is so intense they might as well have gone for my life.’

Gilbert must have thought the same, because he suggested bringing in Thomson’s daughter as my maid sooner.

But I shook my head.

I could not waste someone who would be extremely useful later on such a trivial matter.

“Sorry, but you will have to put in a bit more work for now.”

“It is nothing worth mentioning. Being able to work for Madam is more pride and honor than I deserve.”

Speaking quietly, Gilbert carefully checked my condition and went through several questions.

His expression eased slightly once he saw the situation was not as bad as expected.

“What was in Madam’s wine is a drug called hemocaran, used to prevent excessive bleeding after childbirth. The culprit mixed toxic herbs into it to magnify the effect and induce infertility.”

“But my cycle did not stop.”

“That is exactly the strange part. Hemocaran is usually very fast acting. Madam has been drinking it for a long time, yet nothing has happened. Even I cannot believe what I am seeing.”

Gilbert double checked the notes, unable to hide his amazement.

He seemed to be searching for an explanation.

“I heard highborn nobles consume all kinds of substances from childhood to build resistance to poison. Did Madam do so as well?”

“Haa…”

I gave an ambiguous smile.

How would I know if Elicia gargled poison or bathed in it as a child.

He must have taken my smile as confirmation, since he nodded to himself and continued.

“Even if Madam has resistance, you must not relax. I will obtain an antidote as soon as possible. Then there will be no serious problem.”

My heart, which had been pounding nonstop, finally began to settle when he said there would be no problem.

But after the tension faded, my head throbbed and I pressed my temples.

Gilbert continued.

“I will report this to the duke.”

“No. Do not let this leak outside. That includes His Grace.”

“Then you intend to keep the poisoning a secret. Forgive me, but that is not wise. Madam was fortunate this time. There is no guarantee the next attempt will be the same…”

At first, living as royalty had felt like a dream.

Everyone bowed their heads before me. My study overflowed with priceless books. My wealth multiplied on its own simply because I existed, so much that spending it all in one lifetime was impossible.

But now I realized that being royalty was not entirely happiness.

Of course it was better than being dirt poor and powerless, but back then no one hated me enough to secretly slip poison into my drink.

At that time, I did not have to question anyone’s goodwill.

I had nothing, but I was free.

“I suspect Lady Olden.”

“What?! But Lady Olden is one of Madam’s closest attendants…”

“Exactly. In a situation where everyone believes that, what would happen if we tell His Grace? They will suspect me of staging an act. You know the duke does not trust me.”

Gilbert could not refute that.

He looked completely caught off guard.

Everyone in Lombard knew the duke had tried everything to prevent this marriage. That was why Thomson dared behave the way he did.

I had already decided to remove Lady Olden. But this was not the method I wanted.

First, I needed to separate the people from the Capital away from me.

But Gilbert misunderstood my intention and added carefully.

“But I cannot accept letting Lady Olden go unpunished.”

“Unpunished? Who said anything about forgiveness.”

“Was that not Madam’s intention?”

“I have an excellent memory. Anything I receive, whether grace or hatred, I carve into my soul and never forget. Waiting can become a stronger weapon than immediate revenge.”

Even hearing my smile, Gilbert still looked lost.

Whatever. I held out my hand.

“I just remembered. Treat my palm.”

I pulled my hand out from under the blanket.

Gilbert’s eyes flew wide when he saw my swollen, dark blue palm.

He exploded with scolding and immediately applied cold compresses, plaster, and wrapped it carefully in bandages.

“I do not know how you injured yourself this badly, but please be careful. Madam’s body is precious.”

“Still, you are the only one who sincerely cares for me.”

“That cannot be entirely true.”

“Oh, I forgot Thomson. Add one more.”

“…”

Gilbert parted his lips as if he wanted to say something, then sighed deeply.

He only said I would understand later when I experienced it myself.

How anticlimactic.

After finishing the treatment, he gathered his tools. I spoke to his back.

“Whatever Lady Olden says on your way out, let it go in one ear and out the other.”

“I already heard her.”

Gilbert turned around after closing his bag.

Thinking of Lady Olden must have soured his mood, because his expression was twisted with disgust.

“Seems the conversation was not pleasant. I apologize on her behalf.”

“What could a lowborn Lombard bumpkin like me do. Lady Olden is a noble lady of the Capital after all.”

I could tell what kind of remarks she had made without hearing them.

Before leaving, Gilbert added one last thing.

“If I had not known Madam, I would have surely misunderstood you. A lady-in-waiting reflects her master. For Madam’s own sake, I urge you to handle your surroundings quickly.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

It was too blunt and informal for a mere commoner physician to say to a duchess, but I felt no displeasure.

People who grovel before power were harder to trust.

And more importantly, I knew he was advising me for my own good.

So I nodded.

* * *

Time flew by.

After all the effort and trouble, the construction of the sacred temple was finally nearing completion.

“Greetings to the duchess.”

“It has been a while, Archbishop.”

Seeing my carriage, the archbishop and his attending priests bowed politely.

Today was the day of the grand consecration ceremony.

The event was held at the main cathedral of the Lombard Archdiocese, representing every sacred temple in the territory.

To celebrate the consecration, the cathedral was opened to every resident for today only.

Inner wall nobles and even outer wall commoners had washed up and dressed neatly to wander freely inside the building.

I stopped walking for a moment.

A small child was staring in awe at the column supporting the corridor.

‘It feels a little eerie in here.’
‘Are you cold?’
‘No. It is not that. It is just… the atmosphere does not feel like this world. I am probably imagining things, right?’
‘No, you are exactly right. The ceiling is high so people can be closer to where God dwells. It was designed that way from the start. So it feels like stepping into another world.’

An old memory surfaced.

The ceiling so high and rounded that you could not see the end. The golden murals painted above felt strange, almost unreal.

Not only the ceiling.

The statues on the roof, the angels above, even the saints drawn in the stained glass windows all felt like they were watching me.

Awe and fear.

That was what I felt that day when I entered the cathedral for the first time with Edwin.

Pulling myself from the memory, I spoke.

“This is Lady Olden. She has stayed by my side since childhood and now is as close and dependable as family.”

“Lady Olden! I have long heard Madam cherishes you dearly. It is a pleasure.”

“You honor me, Archbishop. It is my privilege to meet you.”

Lady Olden bent her knee and kissed the back of his hand.

As we stepped inside, I shared one regretful piece of news.