'A carriage...?'
As Yuriel was readying herself for work, she heard the sound of a carriage amidst the rain.
'He...shouldn't have lectures today.'
Brushing her doubts away, Yuriel made sure her appearance was as perfect as possible.
Knock.
Knock.
"...?"
But when she heard the knocking on the door, Yuriel was sure that this person couldn't be Ferzen.
Because he would never knock.
But if it wasn't Ferzen, then who could it be...?
'Geralt...?'
No, it wasn't him either.
Since he shouldn't be able to leave the dorms this early.
As her curiosity got the best of her, Yuriel walked towards the door and opened it.
"Ah..."
And before her, stood an elderly man holding an intricate umbrella.
Yuriel stumbled as she greeted her grandfather — The elder of the Alfred family, Corleone.
"Gra-Grandfather..."
The old snake folded his umbrella, pushed Yuriel aside, as he entered the house.
"On June 9th. You will return to the manor."
"..."
"Your answer Yuriel."
"I-I don't understand..."
Yuriel didn't look at him, as her voice wavered.
But...
"And what Yuriel, would be those marks on your neck?"
"Oh..."
Because of his words, Yuriel unconsciously raised her hands and touched her fair nape, realizing she wasn't wearing a scarf to hide the marks.
"Take your hands off, Yuriel."
"..."
At the old snake's annoyed tone, Yuriel meekly lowered her hands, exposing the traces Ferzen left on her nape.
"Who did this?"
"..."
"Geralt? Or..."
"Ferzen did it..."
"Ha....hahahahahahaha!"
The old snake crackled maniacally at Yuriel's confession.
"Ugh!"
Using his cane, Corleone pulled down Yuriel's collar.
And naturally, she didn't offer any resistance to his abuse.
Because Corleone already engraved such behavior on her soul.
Pluck!
As the buttons were forcefully opened, the marks on her collarbone and sternum became visible.
And as Corleone saw this, the corners of his mouth curled in an amused smirk.
"You've done something useful for a change, Yuriel."
"..."
"When a man leaves such marks on a woman, he simply claims ownership over her."
After saying this, Corleone turned away.
"I'll see you in four days, my dear granddaughter."
"...Goodbye grandfather."
With one hand over her heart, Yuriel made a polite bow, as Corleone left the house.
Creak!
As soon as the door closed, Yuriel sat down on her bed and fixed her attire.
"June 9th..."
It wasn't a special day by any means.
But...
Yuriel lowered her hand.
And stroked her navel.
In her mind, a furious calculation happened. And from it, she realized that on June 9th, her fertile period would begin.
'This...'
A coincidence?
Creaaak!
With a feeling of dread surging from her depts, Yuriel got off the bed and went to work.
When she entered her office, she sat down on her chair and brewed a cup of black tea.
"..."
Then, she brought the teacup to her lips.
Black Tea.
Her favorite.
After that fateful day, 13 years ago, she had forgotten something crucial, but now it's becoming more and more noticeable.
Her hobbies, her likes, her dislikes, her taste in food, music, arts, and literature.
All of them are the same as Ferzen's.
"Had I not been raised for you...Would I still be 'me'?"
Would she feel the same things she is feeling now?
Closing her eyes, Yuriel tried to control her conflicted emotions. As both her love and her hate were overwhelming.
'He said he would come for me soon...'
You said you were coming.
But until now, no such thing happened.
Don't you know? If a flower is watered beyond its limits...the roots will rot.
But if you don't water them enough, they will wilt.
Such a strange thing no?
This is called compromise.
'But you...'
I wonder if you want me to wither too...
Tack!
Tack!
Tack!
The rain never ceased.
A long, and unforgiven rainy season.
But even amidst all of this rain, Yuriel still felt thirsty.
* * * * *
After her morning lectures, Yuriel left the classroom.
Lizzy wished for them to have lunch together...But she refused.
"Ah..."
As she walked toward the Administrative Building, and her office, Yuriel could see Geralt leaning against the wall in silence.
He must have noticed her as well since he looked at her in a shy manner.
"I apologize."
"..."
"I admit that my conduct was unbecoming of a gentleman."
"I realized."
"However, the blame cannot be placed solely on me. I tried to be considerate towards you. And you reassured me that there was no need to rush things...I wouldn't have felt betrayed if you told had me the truth. I hope you're not that immature to mistake the goodwill I have shown to you."
Yuriel brushed her hair at Geralt's words.
Because he wasn't entirely wrong.
He hadn't meant to, but he still tried to manipulate her.
But how many men would be completely sincere, and go with a selfless approach to an arranged marriage?
Truthfully, it was hard to fault Geralt's behavior, even though he may have overreacted.
And at the same time, it would be odd if a woman didn't express her displeasure at her fiance if she noticed the marks left by another woman on his body.
"This is truly an unfortunate situation since he already has a wife, but because of his ambition towards the North, and to stop my house's influence, he is trying to claim you as his mistress."
"Yes."
Since this was something that Ferzen himself said to her, she suspected that at least on the matter of feelings, Geralt was clearly more interested in her.
But then again, those feelings were built on the premise of a mutual benefit in the way of an arranged marriage.
And most importantly...
"You are wasting your time arguing with me Geralt, because even if we were to cultivate a relationship...My grandfather..."
"Such an excellent excuse! But allow me to ask you a question. A decade ago, I heard the engagement between Alfred and Brutein was canceled, and since then, both of you didn't have any contact whatsoever. So professor....Do you still have feelings for him?"
Although Geralt tried to appear aloof, Yuriel noticed the way his fists were clenched, so with a sorrowful smile, she opened her mouth.
"When a child grows up shackled....Even if they are removed, the marks will still linger on their body."
"What are you talking about..."
"So much so that if you poured molten iron on their skin, you could forge new shackles using it as a template."
As a last form of goodwill, Yuriel confessed her feelings to Geralt in a crypt manner and walked away leaving a puzzled young man behind.
When she reached her office, Yuriel threw herself on the sofa.
"Sigh..."
She was tired, so very tired.
* * * * *
June 6th.
The rainy season was finally coming to an end.
Ferzen slowly opened his eyes at the dim sunlight coming from the window.
After struggling to contain Laura for the whole night, and sleeping for most of the day before, his vigor was restored.
'It's a little cold.'
Turning his head he was presented with the form of his wife curled like shrimp.
An habit from her times on Loeurg, and an effective way to keep one heated throughout the night.
But Ferzen was currently overwhelmed by the cuteness of this sight before him, so without hesitation, he hugged her back and buried his head in her lustrous hair.
'Is she having a fever...?'
When he touched her forehead, Ferzen noticed that her temperature was higher than normal.
Although it wasn't hot, it was still warmer than usual...
A light fever then.
Since the doctors warned him that such a thing was fairly common during the early stages of pregnancy, Ferzen didn't panic as he gently shook her.
And sure enough, his wife was awakened from her slumber....with some complaints on her part, struggling to even raise her upper body, and barely managing to rest her head on his lap.
"...You should rest today. There's nothing important at the Academy today, so your absence won't mean much."
"Yes..."
Although early, just shy of 7 A.M. if you had the means to, it wasn't hard to find a doctor at this time. So after a couple of minutes, Ferzen managed to summon a female doctor to tend to his wife before heading to work.
"Hm...Since her fever isn't associated with abdominal pain, there shouldn't be any problems. There are some fever-reducing painkillers....But since she's on her fifth week I wouldn't advise taking those unless it's necessary."
"Will it affect the child?"
"The probability is low, but it's not unheard of. Although there are no cases of a miscarriage caused by it, the repetitive use of such medicines can weaken the blood vessels of the child."
Ferzen looked at his wife, as the doctor finished her explanation.
Since there wasn't any risk of a miscarriage, he left the choice to her.
"I don't need it....I'll be fine. I just need to rest for a bit."
"Maybe, but just in case you need something..."
Ferzen ordered the doctor to stay by her side through the day.
Since the doctor was being paid a ridiculous sum, she naturally didn't refuse and began to take care of Euphemia as if she was her personal maid.
Judging from the doctor's extensive experience, the chance of her making a mistake and hurting Euphemia was almost zero, but if such a thing happened....Then the chances of her head mysteriously being relieved from her neck were certain.
Of course, no one could simply dispose of a doctor for a medical mistake, unless it was proved to be made on purpose.
Well...Officially that is.
Therefore if a mistake were to happen when a doctor was operating, or treating an aristocrat — Or anyone in a position of authority — The chance of such a doctor mysteriously dying by unknown causes was very high.
It was for that exact reason that becoming an Imperial Doctor was the dream of all those who walked the path of a healer.
Imperial Doctors were virtually untouchable.
* * * * *
After arriving at the Academy, Ferzen happened to run into Yuriel just as he was getting out of his carriage.
She was still walking towards the academy each day, to work.
But then, why would Yuriel be in the parking lot?
"I was just on my way to see the flower beds. There's no way I would be wasting my time waiting for you....So wipe that look off your face….Pfff."
Yuriel heaved a joyous laugh at Ferzen's confused expression, which hurt his pride a little.
As she walked away, Yuriel couldn't help but look back at him, noticing that a certain green-haired bimbo wasn't accompanying him today.