CHAPTER 21

“Oh, I’m not teasing you anymore, why are you leaving already?”

“I told you. A friend is very sick.”

I lied… sorry…

“What’s the deal?”

“I don’t know, I won’t know until I get there.”

She had no choice but to lie about her unplanned trip to the capital. 

A friend in the capital is very sick.

“Dad, I’ll make sure my friend is okay then come right back.”

“Be careful.”

She hugged her dad, waved to Yan, and climbed into the carriage. Really, she had come for ten days of travel just for Yan’s birthday party and was now going back.

She thought about exchanging letters with Herta, but she wanted to talk to her in person. Since it was related to her body, she thought she would have to go to get some tests, prescriptions, and healing. It wasn’t easy to manage the milk secretly in their mansion without anyone knowing. She was nervous about being discovered, so she hastened her departure.

She alternated between riding and resting the horse as much as possible. She shortened the trip and arrived at their family’s mansion in the capital in a week. When she entered her familiar dark bedroom, she collapsed.

“I’m so tired….”

Her joints ached from the long ride. Now, with Dian’s mansion nearby, she hesitated on what to do next.

She had come all the way to the capital just to see Herta. After all, she was the expert on magic potions.

But if she went to the Duke’s mansion, she would inevitably meet Dian, and she would have to tell him about the continuous milk… 

As much as she knew she had to share this situation, she was hesitant. She was nervous about just meeting him and having to talk about her br*asts.

On the last day, it bothered her that it came out so bluntly. The night, her inner conflict exploded. She wanted to do something intimate with Dian because of the surge of desire, but it was impossible due to their friendship and his reaction.

Looking back, she felt like she was hurt by Dian’s lukewarm attitude. She felt she’d made her intentions known the hard way, only to be rejected.

“…….”

As time passed and she distanced herself, the events of that time became somewhat faded. Still, she didn’t know how to handle meeting Dian again.

Should I act as if nothing happened?

“But, is he still in the capital?”

Hopefully, he hadn’t already left for their estate.

If Dian leaves, Angela and Herta could go with him!

“Darn it, I should have written a letter while coming up.”

She hadn’t thought about it because of the rush to get here. If she had made a wrong move on the way…

She pushed herself up tiredly and sat down at her desk. It was time to send a letter.

Herta,

I have just arrived in the capital.

If you’re still here, would you come find me?

I can’t understand it, but the secretion hasn’t stopped.

She wrote a short letter and asked Ralph to send it immediately.

If Herta is in the capital and checks the letter, she will come find me soon.

It was too late at night to visit another person’s mansion without notice. It would be a problem whether Dian was there or not. She decided to wait until tomorrow and lay down in bed. Soon, she fell into a deep sleep.

***

Going back and forth between the capital and their estate without rest for several days must have taken its toll on her body. She woke up as if from the dead, drifted off again, and repeated the cycle. Even though she felt the surroundings getting brighter, she couldn’t lift her heavy body.

Then a knock on the door jolted her awake.

“Miss, a guest has arrived.”

“Who?!”

“Herta, the personal physician of Duke Hidesen.”

Herta!

“Please tell her to wait a moment!”

“Yes, I will escort the guest to the reception room.”

She jumped out of bed.

“Ah…!”

Her chest ached as if it had been hit hard in a stiff area.

“Ugh…”

She had excreted so long in her sleep that her br*asts were dripping with milk. The gauze and underwear were soaked through.

In her eagerness to see Herta as soon as possible, she rushed to get ready. After quickly squeezing out the milk in the bathroom and taking a quick shower, she changed into fresh clothes and headed to the reception room.

“Herta!”

Herta stood up from the chair.

“Miss Rienn.”

“Please, sit down.”

Rienn gestured for Herta to sit and took a seat opposite her. Herta, who usually had an expressionless face, looked serious.

“Herta, you’ve seen the letter, right?”

“Yes. It says you’re still getting milk.”

“Yes, that’s right. Although the milk supply has significantly decreased after I stopped taking the potion, it still continues to come out. Why is this happening?”

“First of all, I must apologize.”

Herta bowed her head deeply.

“What? No, please don’t be so ominous. Just explain the situation as you know it.”

Her stomach clenched with a bad feeling.

“The potion you took, the one that promotes milk secretion, was not formulated by me. I ordered it from mages who specialize in preparing such potions, picked it up, and delivered it to you. I checked with them about the possible side effects of taking it, and they assured me that, aside from fatigue and drowsiness while taking it, there were no other side effects. I’ve informed you about this before.”

“Right.”

I was very tired and sleepy.

“However, after checking the letter last night, I went straight to the mages this morning to inquire about it. They said that the potion is normally completely out of the body within 3 or 4 days of the last dose and that the milk secretion should stop, but in a very rare side effect, the ingredients of the potion may remain in the body and continue to cause the milk secretion.”

“I see… So the potion’s ingredient is still in my body, causing this. What should I do then? Is there a solution?”

“Yes, you could take another magical potion to flush out the previous potion’s residue.”

I have to take another potion.

But hey, if it makes me feel better, I guess it’s good. 

Phew, Rienn breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m grateful that there’s a way to improve. I’ll take whatever is necessary.”

“However, it seems that it will take about five days for the potion to be prepared.”

It seemed like waiting would be all I would be doing.

“That’s unavoidable. It’s okay, I’ll wait.”

“Yes. And there’s one more thing I must mention.”

“I’m scared, please tell me quickly.”

“This is even rarer, but there’s a possibility that the new potion may not work.”

“……?”

Wait a minute.

“What should I do then……?”

“In the past, there has been only one reported case in another kingdom where the potion had no effect. It’s a very low possibility, so please don’t worry too much.”

“I’m extremely worried though.”

“If the potion doesn’t work, we will develop another potion or seek alternative methods.”

But I don’t know how long that would take…

“For now, we’ll just have to cross our fingers and hope that the new potion they are currently formulating will be effective.”

“I hope so too.”

Herta bowed her head again.

“I must apologize once again. I should have conducted a more thorough investigation into the potential side effects beforehand and informed you accordingly. It was entirely my oversight.”

“No, it’s not your fault. It seems like they didn’t properly inform you on their end.”

“They claimed it was an extremely rare side effect that they didn’t disclose anymore. But naturally, they should have informed me.”

Herta’s static expression held a hint of anger.

“Even if they did, the situation was so dire at the time…… Oh, right! Dian is still in the capital, isn’t he?”

Since Herta was here.

“Yes. The young lord was planning to depart for the estate with the Duke, but when he heard that you were coming to the capital, he decided to stay behind while the Duke left.”

“Huh? How did he know I was coming to the capital? I didn’t even send him a letter.”

“I’m not sure.”

How on earth did he know?

She couldn’t figure it out, so she just shrugged.

“He doesn’t know that I’m still getting milk, does he?!”

“He doesn’t know. I haven’t told anyone what you wrote to me. The mages don’t know who the recipient of the potion is.”

Indeed, Herta was tight-lipped.

“Thank you for not telling anyone else.”

“It’s only natural. But perhaps you should consider informing the young lord directly?”

“I suppose so…….”

“It was something that happened while you were helping him. I think he should know about it.”

“That makes sense…”

She stared blankly into space. 

What should I do…….

“Miss, is your chest condition okay?”

“Huh? Why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“If the milk isn’t expelled properly, it can lead to mastitis or inflammation of the mammary glands. It might be good to tell the young lord and address this matter, like during the healing ritual.”

“Together?”

“Like during the healing ritual.”

“Ah…….”

I see Herta is thinking along similar lines.