*PREVIOUS CHAPTER*
"Was this really the woman who was found in the woods?"
***
Apparently the woman was the owner of the herb shop and so she gifted me a pound of all the herbs she had in store. She also gave me a signed paper that allowed me to come and get herbs for free. This day downtown was successful!
As I walked back to the fountain, the meeting place, I came across a jewellery store. I decided to take a look and I was quite shocked by the products. There was one product that really caught my eyes, a beautiful blue brooch with a golden finish. "Please pack this product for me" The jeweller quickly packed it and even gave me a gift, a green necklace with a golden finish that matched the colour of my eyes.
I left the store and came across a macaroon store and bought a lot of boxes. I was going to gift them to the knights but I would have a lot of boxes for myself too of course! I finally arrived at the fountain where the duke was already waiting for me.
"You sure bought a lot, duchess" The duke was quite curious at what I bought. "Most things aren't for me, most of them are presents!" When I said that, the duke's look changed a little but I couldn't tell from what. "Anyways, I got this for you. I hope you'll like it" I felt my heart beating like crazy and quickly handed the blue brooch to the duke. He opened the box and smiled, I felt my heart going crazier from his smile. I also handed him a box of macaroons, he had a questionable look on his face.
"What is this?" My eyes widened, 'he doesn't know what macaroons are?!' I grabbed the box from him and fed him a macaroon. I could see his ears turning red and smiled without him knowing.
"Oh my, do you see that couple there? How cute they are!" A young woman pointed to our direction, we looked at each other and immediately looked away. "They both look so familiar, but they're really cute indeed!" The girls fangirled over us while we just turned awkwardly silent.
***
*A week later*
The duke gave me my own study to write and read, so I spend most of my time there. I also finished the fan, so I only read books here nowadays. The 'cursed book' was just laying around, I didn't dare to open it since last time. I gathered some courage and opened it.
Naralia appeared and just sat down on the desk. "Which gem do you need to evolve?" I was quite curious to know since she was a mixed creature. "Mixed creatures need a green gem called 'Juplicore'. It depends on our master's skill level when we evolve" Naralia made a carrot appear and ate it. 'She can only think of food, can't she?' I thought to myself and sighed.
*knock knock*
The duke entered, he looked quite serious. "Did you really manage to catch a thief?" He must be talking about the bag thief. I sighed and nodded. The duke put his hand on his face, it looked like a facepalm. "The guards told me that you even drew your sword" I could feel sweat running down my forehead. I panicked but still had to remain calm. "I'll make sure that your trainings with Qin will improve your skills" my eyes widened, was he serious? The duke let out a small chuckle when he saw the excitement in my eyes.
"DUKE, SIR PERIN IS WOUNDED!" The duke's face quickly changed, he left the room in a rush. 'Is that Perin someone important?'. I left the study and followed the servants who all ran towards the entrance.
"Call a healer! These wounds can be fatal if not handled properly!" The duke was holding a man in his arms, judging from his actions, the man must be someone important. Several healers came, but no one could heal the cuts. "What are you?! You can't even heal!" An older man yelled, the wounded man and the old man looked similar. They must be related.
"We can't call for divine healers, that'll cost too much time" The duke looked at the wounded man several times before sighing. "Prepare for the worst"
"I can help" I said, the duke and the old man both looked over. "How can a woman heal my son?!" The old man yelled, I was really furious on the inside but looked the same way as before on the outside.
"Let the duchess try, I have faith in her" My eyes directly went to the duke, I gave him a nod. The man was brought to a guest room, everyone was looking at me how I would heal this man. "Mary, get my instruments". Everyone was looking in concern for the man, I had to examine him several times since it was dark and the light wasn't that bright.
Mary handed my instruments and some drug plants were prepared. I used a cotton swab to see if there was poison, there was. "Get me some jewel weed!" I had to act quickly and prevent the poison from spreading. After some minutes the poison was removed and I started cleaning the wounds with alcohol. The process was finally over after an hour.
"Sir Perin needs to rest, he can't train for three days" The old man was in shock and had a despising look on his face. "Thank you for not killing him" The duke gave the old man a small elbow push.
"I mean, thank you for saving him" The old man bowed and left. The servants were whispering about me and the duke was deep in thought.
"Duchess, where did you learn this from?" The duke had a concerned look on his face, it looked more scared than happy.