Seed germination.

No, not cursing, I’m talking about germinating seeds.

I sat staring at the Hosan fruits laid out in front of me.

“…How should I germinate these?”

It should be similar to other plants, right?

Even if consuming them is tricky, the germination method might be ordinary.

It would take several years for the trees to grow even if I planted them now.

Still, having multiple trees would be better than just one.

If I plant them in advance, wouldn’t Flora be able to use the Hosan fruits freely later?

I don’t know how to consume Hosan fruits right now, but if things go according to the original story, Flora will learn how to eat them.

With more fruits, I could feed more to Dante.

Then maybe we could treat Dante’s cold hands and feet more easily.

“…His cold extremities are really severe.”

No. I was starting to question if it could even be called cold extremities anymore.

From constantly linking arms with Dante while dealing with the royal family, I noticed his body temperature was much lower than normal people’s.

Since it wasn’t this bad before, I worried it might be getting lower and lower, as described in the original story.

If it gets any lower than this…

Yes. I understand why Flora was particularly concerned.

When a person’s body temperature is too low, it’s a sign that their health is in danger.

Moreover, as I worried about his health, I suddenly remembered Dante’s “curse” that I had been living without thinking about.

Had I forgotten about it unknowingly, or had I been trying to forget on purpose?

I had been living without thinking about Dante’s curse.

But recently, I couldn’t help but think about it.

Was it because I had more frequent physical contact with Dante?

Once I became aware of the curse, I desperately wanted to know the latter part of the novel that I couldn’t remember.

Whether Dante would safely recover his health. Whether the curse would disappear by the female lead Flora, like in other novels.

Things like that.

It’s too sad when good people die young.

“…I hope he stays healthy.”

But there’s probably nothing I can do to help, not being the female lead.

I should at least do this.

‘Plant a few more Hosan trees.’

Things like that.

I wracked my childhood memories to recall my grandmother’s teachings. Then I clumsily moved my hands.

Just in case, I also referred to a few related books I had placed nearby.

First, separate the seed from the pulp, then remove the hard shell of the seed…

“Ah. I’m done.”

Working with the seeds of such small fruits took quite a bit of effort.

Sweat trickled down my forehead despite the cool weather.

In the end, I managed to get quite decent results. I wonder how many of these will successfully sprout.

I hope more than half of them succeed.

After checking the lined-up seeds with hopeful eyes, I turned my attention to the processed pulp.

About a dozen red fruits, stripped of their seeds, lay limp and ragged.

Really. How on earth are you supposed to eat these?

After pondering with my arms crossed, I decided to try peeling the skin at least.

The skin was so thin you’d wonder if it even existed, so I had been eating them without peeling until now, but this time I decided to try something different.

As I was gently peeling the fruit’s skin using my fingernails…

“Ah, achoo!”

The tangy fruit scent tickled my nose, and I ended up sneezing.

Oh. Goodness.

And the result was disastrous.

The recoil from the sneeze caused me to disturb the fruits lined up on the cloth.

The fruits all tumbled noisily to the floor.

Ah. I’m really hopeless.

It was only a few days ago that I nearly made things awkward with Siena by turning the room into a mess.

I hurriedly picked up the fruits and vigorously wiped the floor with a handkerchief before it could stain.

“…Now I can’t even eat these.”

I had enough human dignity not to eat food that had fallen on a floor where people walk with shoes on.

Regrettably, I wrapped the precious fruits in paper and threw them in the trash.

This counts as quite a good accident cleanup, right?

While Serpina was confident that it was quite a good accident cleanup, sadly, it wasn’t.

Her cleanup had many sloppy aspects.

The stains on the floor weren’t completely erased, and the fruit juice that had seeped through the paper left mottled marks on other trash in the wastebasket.

The most critical issue was the clothes she had been wearing.

“Siena, about this.”

While moving laundry into a basket, Mari noticed something strange and stopped Siena.

“Doesn’t this look like a stain?”

The garment Mari held out with her question was the indigo dress that the lady often wore.

“A stain?”

Siena took the dress and scrutinized it intently.

“Oh? You’re right. It seems something got on it.”

The color was so dark that it wasn’t very noticeable, but upon close inspection, there was a crusty stain as if something had dried after getting on it.

Judging by the color of the edges, the stain was…

“It’s red.”

The two turned their heads to look at each other simultaneously.

Before taking the laundry to the laundry room, the two first went to the bathroom.

Swallowing hard, they held the stained part of the dress under running water, and red liquid streamed out.

“…This looks like blood, doesn’t it, Siena?”

“Y-yes.”

“Sigh. I thought she was getting better. To think she’s still coughing up blood.”

Hearing Mari’s gloomy words as she looked at the red water, Siena burst into tears.

Waaah.

Even as she cried bitterly, Siena covered her mouth and sobbed, while Mari comforted her with a sad face.

“Actually, Mari. *hic* There’s something I haven’t told you. *sniff*”

Encouraged by Mari’s comfort, Siena spoke with a tear-soaked voice.

“Something you haven’t told me?”

“Yes. You see, *sob* it’s…”

Siena, tears falling steadily, confessed the scene she had witnessed earlier.

She had tried to keep quiet for the sake of the lady who was struggling to hide it alone, but it had been too difficult.

She wanted to be honest, at least to Mari.

As the story went on, Mari’s expression also crumpled into one of distress.

“Is that true? Has it gotten that serious?”

“Yes. The lady… seems to want to keep hiding it… *sob* I couldn’t tell anyone…”

“You’ve had a hard time, Siena. Go rest for now.”

“Mari…”

“Go on. Dry your tears before someone sees.”

“Okay.”

Siena returned to her room, sniffling.

Left alone, Mari held her troubled head and finished removing the stain from the dress before taking the laundry basket to the laundry maids.

Then, as she was finishing the remaining cleaning in Serpina’s room…

“…This is.”

Mari’s face turned pale at the sight of red stains dotting the floor like drops and traces of forceful scrubbing.

What should I do?

What should we do about our lady?

Mari tried hard to hold back her tears as she vigorously scrubbed away the stains on the floor.

After erasing all evidence, the person Mari sought out was Duke Dante.

“Whew.”

Although she knew how good a person the Duke was, the thought of facing him for such a matter made her uncomfortable and afraid.

But.

“I came to report because I thought you should know.”

The Duke already knew about the lady’s condition, and he was the only one who could provide real help to her.

Above all, lately, the two looked like quite an affectionate couple.

Perhaps the Duke was also the person the lady could rely on the most.

“You say you have something to report? Is it about my wife?”

“Yes. It seems that the lady’s condition has worsened further.”

“Worsened, you say?”

The Duke’s eyes flashed coldly.

Ah, could that be the look in his eyes when hunting beasts?

It was such an intimidating presence that her lips dried involuntarily and she couldn’t help but lower her gaze.

But instead of trembling, Mari nodded bravely.

After dismissing Mari, the Duke was left alone with his thoughts.

“…Her health seems to have gotten worse.”

However, despite this.

Serpina still showed no intention of revealing anything about her health.

It was just sad.

Her efforts to maintain a peaceful daily life, and their position of having to pretend not to know anything because they couldn’t ruin it.

If only he had been a more trustworthy husband.

Then, couldn’t he have been a greater support for Serpina?

Couldn’t he have helped her not to shoulder the heavy burden alone?

The right he hadn’t been granted felt bitter and sad.

In the end, there was only one thing he could do now.

To consider how to naturally arrange for Serpina to be examined by a doctor.

But this problem was resolved more easily than expected.

“You want me to call a doctor?”

“Yes. The nutritional supplement that Heterson made for me last time seemed good. I’d like to ask for more prescriptions.”

There was no need for schemes, as Serpina herself asked for a doctor first.

Has her condition really worsened that much? For Serpina, who used to avoid doctors, to directly ask for one…

Dante nodded with mixed feelings.