“Please excuse us now,” Lord Pearlman said.

The duchess was tremendously busy, and we had to get out of her way. She let us leave without a word, but her expression remained displeased. Lord Pearlman, Erwan, and I hastily retreated from the room.

Lord Pearlman bid Erwan farewell, nodded at me, and disappeared around the corner. I was also about to say goodbye and go back to my room, but Erwan looked at me and smiled.

“You were right. You said that Lord Pearlman likes you,” he said.

“Of course I was right,” I replied.

When I’d seen Erwan at nineteen, he had been absolutely pitiful to look at. But I couldn’t deny that his thirteen-year-old self was adorable. In fact, he was actually quite a handsome boy. The contrast between his pearly skin and his thick, dark hair and eyes was very becoming.

“Just as I told you before, I never lie.” Before I knew what I was doing, I reached out a hand to tousle his hair. “Jenny told me there’s a bell that connects my room to your and Her Grace’s rooms. If you’re uncomfortable in any way, don’t hesitate to ring and send for me.”

“Okay,” he said with a sigh. “My mother doesn’t trust people easily. And she’s kind of cold... Even to me. It’s been hard for her since my father died. I hope she didn’t hurt your feelings.”

“No, it’s better this way,” I told him easily. It really wasn’t a big deal to me. “I’d rather she take her time to trust me. Don’t worry, I’m fine. In the end, she’ll recognize how good I am.”

Erwan stared at me and slowly nodded his head. “Okay… You’ve been right so far. I believe you.”

I cocked my head, pleasantly surprised. Next to Wedrick, he had seemed childlike and unsure, but he had a certain air of nobility in the way he spoke with me now. I smiled as I watched him walk back to his room.

“Lord Erwan, don’t forget to eat all of your dinner today! I promise, no one’s going to laugh at you. Trust me,” I called.

He turned and inclined his head in acknowledgment. I smiled back at him. Now that he was in my care, I wanted to help him to the best of my ability.

* * *

I thought long and hard about the next part of my plan. It was already a huge accomplishment that I’d gotten Lord Pearlman to hire me and give me full care of Erwan in only three days, but getting free access to his laboratory would be another matter altogether. But from the conversation I’d heard earlier, I knew the one thing the viscount really needed.

An easier way to test for paternity, I thought. That’s what I need to work on.

At this point in time, around ten separate tests were needed to be taken by both parties to pinpoint any genetic similarities. They were also quite difficult to administer and took a long time to evaluate.

I knew, however, that a better method would be devised six years in the future. It reduced the number of tests from ten to seven and took four days off of the procedure. It wasn’t great, but it was progress.

If I remember correctly, it involved mixing ephron leaves with sirika roots.

I’d only read articles about the process but had never tried it myself. But I was confident that I could come up with something promising if I worked on it.

If I’m able to create a more effective testing method within ten days, then he might let me use his laboratory, I thought. And it’s also what would help him the most right now.

I asked Jenny to bring me some simple lab equipment and samples of the two plants. For the rest of the afternoon, I barred myself in my room and conducted experiment after experiment. It was a simple task of mixing the two plants, but the ratio needed to be exactly right. I would need to do multiple trials and tests. I barely paused for dinner. Knowing that I only had ten days to come up with a solution, I worked feverishly at my task.

Hours later, I became aware that I had worked through the evening into the middle of the night.

“Ah... I think I almost got it,” I murmured in exhaustion.

The whole castle was dark and silent. The bell in my room suddenly rang, startling me. I had learned earlier from a servant that the bell used magic. If it was green while it rang, it meant that Lord Pearlman was calling for me. If it was blue, it was Erwan, and if it was red, it would be the duchess. I stood up with a grim expression.

The bell was red.

The duchess... at this time of night?

I recalled her icy expression. I wasn’t looking forward to facing her alone at this late hour, but I had no choice. It was my duty.

* * *

“My head hurts,” said the duchess, with her fingers splayed on her temple. Her face was pale and sickly. She spoke casually, as if it were an everyday occurrence for her. “Do you have something for the pain?” she asked.

“Is it focused on the right side of your head, as usual? Or is it a throbbing sort of pain?” I questioned.

The duchess peered at me.

“It was in Lord Pearlman’s records,” I said, shrugging. She had frequent headaches during the night, so I’d known that was probably why she’d called me. “I can give you better treatment if you’re more specific about your symptoms.”

She let out a long breath. “It hurts and throbs all over.”

“I see,” I replied.

I held out one of the potions that I’d brought. The duchess quickly drained it and lay back down. I perched on the side of her bed and I reached to take her hand.

The duchess looked at me in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“This will help you get some rest,” I said, squeezing her hand. “I’m channeling a little bit of mana through you. It helps patients fall asleep when they have a headache.”

She looked a little taken aback.

“I thought it wouldn’t be presumptuous, since I’m a girl,” I said carefully. “Lord Pearlman was probably more cautious of being too forward with you, Your Grace.”

The duchess kept staring at me but didn’t let go of my hand. Slowly, her eyelids began to droop.

“Aren’t you afraid of me?” she murmured.

“No, I’m not.”

Although she ruled well, she was known for her harsh punishments if the slightest thing went wrong. With her cold expression and perpetual frown, people usually went out of their way to avoid her. But as for me...

“I’m confident in my abilities, so why would I fear you, Your Grace?” I had no reason to be afraid. She looked a little taken aback. “You’ll come to trust me,” I said. I stroked her hand softly, lulling her to sleep.

As doctors were not practicing mages, we could not use actual magic to heal our patients. However, a skilled doctor was able to subtly manipulate the flow of mana inside a patient’s body to ease certain symptoms. Using a bit of our own mana to help with the process could be extremely helpful, but had to be done with caution. Only the most skilled doctors could pull it off.

Someone like me.

“It’s been a while since...” murmured the duchess sleepily.

“Pardon me?”

“I haven’t held anyone’s hand in such a long time.”

I let a slow stream of mana trickle into her and kept my voice low. “It’s actually a first for me.”

“What is?”

“Holding someone’s hand, staying with them in their room.” She looked a little taken aback. “I grew up in an orphanage,” I explained.

Even while I had been apprenticed to Doctor Zietvan, I’d never made a house call for a patient before. This was the first time I was helping someone fall asleep.

At the orphanage, we’d often go to sleep in a big pile together, exhausted after a long day of work.

In the back of my mind, I wondered again about my parents. I knew they must have been intelligent people. Otherwise, how could I be so talented?

But how did such intelligent people lose me...?

Then again, I didn’t know if I had been lost, or if my parents had died early. I was fine by myself, but I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have parents.

I really want to try to find them in this life, I thought.

I didn’t need anything from them. I would be satisfied to know they were alive and well, and perhaps I could even be the one to take care of them. If I couldn’t find them, maybe I could become a parent myself and raise my own children.

“Rita,” murmured the duchess sleepily. I was startled, as this was the first time she’d called me by name. This afternoon, I’d noticed that she hadn’t even addressed her own son directly.

“Yes?”

“Do you not know your parents at all?” she asked.

“I don’t,” I replied. “I wish I had a family.”

She was silent for a while, and her eyes started slowly drifting shut. “Thank you... I’m about to fall asleep,” she whispered.

“Of course,” I said, tapping the bottle. “This helps you to rest and takes care of the headache.”

“I haven’t been so comfortable in a long time...”

At that, the duchess finally nodded off. Her hand was holding tightly onto mine. I knew that she’d wake up tomorrow with a clear head, feeling refreshed and ready for the day.