Lucia - Chapter 17

t/n: trilobate sage: This is not a real plant!!!! It's a make believe plant. The literal Korean is 'Sam-yeop-sook'. Sook is a korean word for mugwort. However, mugwort can be taken to treat irregular periods which goes against the basic plot. As for garden sage, it is an herb used to lighten heavy menstrual bleeding. Mugwort and Sage is also in the same plant family: Artemisia. Thus, I will use trilobata (three leaf) sage to translate this particular plant!

Lucia ch17 The Ducal couple (5)
translated by: iseuli

A few days had passed since Jerome had been stalking after Lucia.

"Please madam, we must confirm whether you're pregnant or not."

In the end, Lucia gave up and let Anna take a look at her body.

"When was your last menstruation?"

Jerome and Lucia had made a promise to inform the Duke on all matters regarding her pregnancy. The mysteries surrounding the reasons of her amenorrhea would be handled at a later date. For now, the core problem to be dealt with was the status of her pregnancy. Lucia briefly glanced toward Jerome and then answered.

"…Last month."

Anna asked a series of questions to confirm whether Lucia was experiencing any symptoms that were common to pregnant woman.

"It's highly unlikely that Her Grace is pregnant."

Anna shook her head, while Lucia accepted this calmly; Jerome on the other hand expressed slight disappointment. However, before his madam could see through his feelings, he quickly put on an expression of peace and tranquility. He was afraid his actions would hurt Lucia's feelings.

"If you had menstruated last month, it's too early to diagnose a pregnancy. Have you experienced any symptoms that make you suspect a pregnancy?"

"That's not it, Anna. It's just madam had been very fatigued these days so I was worried."

"I shall prepare some tonic for her health."

Anna paused for a moment and started speaking as if she was trying to figure something out.

"As a doctor, I feel Madam's fatigue is caused by something different. Jerome, a woman's body is not made of steel. Please deliver these words to His Grace in my stead. 'Everything must be done in moderation.' She is drinking tonics to remedy her fatigue although she should be full of energy at her youthful age. Don't you need rest after a hard day of work? This should be handled in a similar way."

Anna shared her observations as a doctor but the more she spoke the more uncomfortable the atmosphere became. Jerome became very interested in the ceiling designs while Lucia's face gradually fell lower and lower.

"Madam, aren't you tired? You should tell His Grace."

It had not felt so tiring to the extent of Anna's words. Lucia's face flushed and at this moment, she couldn't work up her courage to speak her true feelings. She couldn't say 'I like that he visits my bed chambers every night.'

"Jerome, if it's difficult for you, shall I be the one to convey this message to His Grace?"

"Ah… no. I shall… deliver your messages. And so… about how often is…"

"Five days. Then, at least one day of rest."

"…yes."

Everyone was so embarrassed but Anna spoke without shame. If a doctor was too shy to discuss about certain topics, then the patient will never be able to receive a proper diagnosis.

As soon as everyone left, Lucia walked to her bedroom and opened the balcony window. A gentle breeze blew past. When Anna spoke that she was not pregnant, Jerome's voice had been a little weaker than usual. She wondered if that was the reason for her current mood. Lucia felt a little pang of hurt in her heart.

When she had been fifteen during her dream…

Lucia had begun menstruation. Nobody had taught her that this was a normal phenomenon of a woman's body. A princess was usually educated by the palace maids. Lucia had nobody serving her, nor did her labor maids that frequented her place bother sticking their noses into her business.

The young princess had been no different than an orphan who didn't know the ways of the world. The palace maids thought serving this princess wasn't an honor but a waste of time. When they had found her bed sheets all bloodied, they made annoyed expressions because they had more laundry to do that day.

After Lucia had entered the palace, she had long lost her liveliness. She had become a coward and rarely talked at all. At that time, she had not even known how to order around her maids.

'I'm going to die soon.'

This young princess felt pure horror finding blood flow out from her body. She felt nothing but dread day by day.

'I must stop the blood. Medicine… I must consume medicine….'

Medicine that will stop bleeding. Lucia clearly remembered one medicine. The three leaf sage***.

The trilobate sage had been a common three leafed weed found everywhere. One could walk down the street and look left and right and find it in every possible corner. She had seen them in the palace gardens growing in heaps. Its medicinal properties were very weak so rather than medicine, it was considered a weed. In reality, doctors did not use this herb as medicine at all.

If one grinds the trilobate sage and let it completely dry, it could be applied to cuts to effectively stop the bleeding. Often times, the lower class and poverty stricken citizens always had this at hand for emergency treatment.

Lucia had learned firsthand that the trilobate sage had properties to effectively stop bleeding. She had been running around with the other kids of the town digging up the trilobate sage when she fell down and scraped her knees. They had applied the dried up sage powder to her knees and her bleeding stopped almost instantly.

Lucia dug up the trilobate sage from the palace garden and took regular doses of it. She was unsure of the proper ways to consume it, so she ate it raw. She was a simple minded girl; her body was bleeding so she must consume this medicine.

Surprisingly, her methods had been effective. Her menstruation had stopped. So, when her menstruation had begun again the following month, she continued to do the same thing. After eating the trilobate sage for half a year, her menstruation stopped completely.

'What a relief.'

This had been her first thought. It felt like she had been walking along the edge all this time. After knowing she couldn't bear Count Martin's children, her heart finally felt at peace.

She started to look after herself seriously only after finding her freedom following the end of her marriage. Other than the fact that her menstruation cycle was nonexistent, she had no pain or setbacks. However, as a woman this particular problem was hard to completely let go of.

Lucia then begun to look for a method to cure her condition. All the doctors she found shook their heads. Everyone informed her that the trilobate sage was poisonous to consume.

"You ate it? Why would you do that…?"

Most doctors didn't understand Lucia's body condition at all. Rather, they found Lucia's case interesting and talked to her like they were learning something new.

There were only a few doctors that could name similar situations that Lucia faced.

"I've heard of cases where the trilobate sage would be used to temporarily stop menstruation, but I've never heard of someone consuming it long term to permanently stop menstruation….. But while on this topic, have you married yet? Amenorrhea, an absence of menstruation, means you cannot become pregnant. However,infertility is not definite just yet."

It's not that her menstruation was irregular, she didn't menstruate at all. However, she had never put in any effort to have a child so she never knew the definite answer to her condition.

Doctors who had more knowledge on this topic had always shared their knowledge with her.

"Very long ago, women who were captured as war slaves would consume these plants because they didn't want to become pregnant with their enemy's child."

The doctor's words had always been very vague. Lucia had never given up and traveled far and wide to all the brilliant doctors of the time to solve her problem. All the while, time continued to flow.

When she had grown considerably older, she was nearing the point of giving up. She was pretty comfortable with her current life. Her passing thoughts went by something like 'I don't care anymore,' at this point. One day, a random traveling doctor passed by the town she decided to settle down in.

At first, the towns people did not trust this beggar looking doctor's words at all. However, the doctor remained in the town and gradually treated one person after another. Soon, people naturally gathered to this doctor.

Lucia who had nothing to lose, looked for the doctor. The doctor dwelled in an empty room that someone offered all this time, and to this day he sported the homeless beggar look. However, upon conversing he spoke very differently than how he dressed. His gestures and speech patterns were prim and proper, his movements had great depth to them.

"Did Madam truly consume the trilobate sage? Your menstruation had stopped?"

Usually, doctors would look at her like a strange animal. Then they would become perplexed. However, this doctor was different. Although he was shocked, he looked amused.

"Why? When? How long had you consumed it?"

When Lucia saw a different response from this doctor, she felt a flicker of hope and answered all his questions with her greatest honesty and effort.

"Ever since your first menstruation…"

The doctor's eyes glimmered.

"Could it be, that you're a virgin?"

"No. I had married once before. I'm not a virgin."

Honestly, she was no different from actually being a virgin, but she did not wish to share this type of information with the doctor.

The doctor looked a bit disappointed and chuckled bitterly.

"In my eyes, you look like a young virgin to me."

"Am I infertile?"

"Yes."

Up until now, this doctor had given her the most hope, but at the same time she felt more despair than ever.

"Can my condition be fixed?"

The doctor roared with laughter and surprisingly, confirmed she could make a total recovery.

"Madam, you are lucky. This treatment method is only passed down by my family."

He passed a prescription paper that had directions of mixtures of various medicinal plants. He didn't write this down personally, he fished out a book and ripped a single page out of it.

"I thought this was a precious treatment method passed down to only your family? Is it alright to give it to me like this?"

"Anyway, it's useless to me now."

The doctor's expression looked glum.

"Can… I really recover? Everyone had told me the trilobate sage was a poisonous plant."

It wasn't that she thought he was lying, but she had suffered so long that the treatment method seemed so simple. She had a hard time believing this situation.

"A poisonous plant…. It is known in that way. I shall let you in a little secret. The trilobate sage has a surprising healing property. When this is consumed, it purifies the body. The reason your menstruation had ceased is due to this reason. A normal human's bodies are a collection of impurities. Nothing good can be obtained from forcibly purifying a human's body to such an extreme point. The trilobate sage had become too potent and resulted in this adverse effect. However, that's not to say it is harmful to the body in any sort of way. Madam, had you ever suffered in anyway because you couldn't menstruate?"

"I had never."

"Also, to stop menstruation altogether, one must consume the trilobate sage from their first menstruation and continue to do so for a long time. Such as yourself. Other than pausing a menstruation for a short time, nothing else happens to the body. You're not infertile at all. However, many people consider the trilobate sage a poison due to the single fact that it could cause amenorrhea. Anyway, it's not a poison. As long as you weaken the trilobate sage's effect on your body, everything should return to normal. If you follow the prescription, you will definitely be cured. I hope you give birth to a lovely child and become a happy parent."

A few days later, the doctor continued his journey and left the town. The towns people who had been skeptical about the strange doctor earnestly felt pity for his departure. Lucia followed the doctor's prescription and bought all the necessary ingredients from the apothecary.

"Why are you purchasing these particular ingredients? You're not thinking to mix these all together, are you? You'll get sick consuming these at the same time."

It seems the prescription the doctor left for her had not been a commonly found medicine. However, Lucia felt she had nothing to lose and continued to take regular dosages.

She had been directed to continue taking the prescriptions until she menstruated more than one month at a time. She was to take regular doses until her menstruation started.

The method and interval was simple. She felt skeptical whether this would actually work, but she went ahead and followed the prescription anyway.

After a long while had passed, Lucia started menstruation once again.

After Lucia had awakened from her dream, she started menstruating at 15 just like she had done before. The only changes being, she felt no fear or shock. She understood she wasn't sick nor would she die.

However, Lucia was feeling just as much mental stress, though for a different reason than before. She originally thought she could change her future, but as a princess who had nothing, there really was nothing she could do.

She could only count down to the coming unstoppable future. She felt nothing but terror knowing she would need to marry that man again at 21. The amount of horror she felt had peaked during the days of her first menstruation.

'I don't want to give birth to that man's child.'

She understood it wasn't an easy thing to become pregnant with his child. There were many couples who were healthy but had trouble making a child of their own. Taking into account that Count Martin's was impotent, that probability was near zero. However, she did not want to leave even a sliver of chance of it happening.

She chose to make herself infertile once again on her own accord. The strange doctor of her dream had told her that the trilobate sage was not a poison. She remembered the prescription that he had given to her as well. If she wanted to cure herself, all she had to do was consume that medicine once again. It didn't matter that she couldn't give birth right at this instant.

Currently, as long as Lucia wished for it, she would be able to become fertile once again. However, it had been him that explained that they would not have a child together.

'I thought… we would eventually divorce….'

She originally thought after a few years he would request a divorce. Or after a considerable amount of time, it would be alright if she requested for a divorce. However.

'A divorce… is probably not possible.'

If he had not mentioned family traditions, he would not divorce because such a thing was too troublesome to do. Maybe if would be different if he found a different women he loved very much, but such a situation does not seem likely.

'I decided not to regret my decision…. I already decided I would endure everything…'

In her life, she would not have a child. She had already decided this when she signed the contract.

'I hope you give birth to a lovely child and become a happy parent.'

It seems even after awakening from the dream, she would not be able to follow through with this wish. That doctor's name was probably…
Lucia was lost in thought.

"Phillip."

That's right. His name was as such.

That afternoon, Jerome quietly brought tea as per usual to the duke's study. Hugo continued to read some documents without bothering to look up because it could only be one person. However, Jerome continued to stand there quietly without leaving. The Duke looked up and only then did Jerome start talking.

"Your Grace, Madam is planning to open a tea party tomorrow."

"Yes. I am aware."

"What do you think of delivering a present for her first official tea party?"

"Present?"

He thoughtfully wondered to himself letting his pen down and leaning back on his chair.

"A present…"

"Yes. Madam will be very happy."

Now that he thought of it, he had not gifted her anything yet. He was never one to go out of his way to gift females on his own. He had always bought what girls requested of him, however she never made one, thus he was at a loss for what to do. The only thing he had done was cut her a generous monetary budget for herself.

She had never asked for anything and so it would be awkward to gift her something. However, this would be her debut to high society so it made sense to congratulate her with a gift. A surprise gift would surely make her happy. His eyes gleamed with passion. He wondered how she would show her gratitude in response and felt satisfied already.

What would be good? Jewels? Or maybe jewels? If not, how about jewels? That was the limit to his creativity. It was a fact that females loved jewels, but he couldn't be sure of himself that it would make her happy.

His thoughts grew deeper as Jerome waited on his decision with patience. A quiet knock resounded in Jerome's ears. Jerome didn't wish to interrupt his master's thoughts so he quietly left the room and returned after a short while.

"Your Grace, Lord Phillip had arrived. He had just arrived to Roam and wished to greet Your Highness."

Doctor Phillip, whose generations of family had been loyal to the Taran family had not remained while Hugo was away from Roam. Nobody had the faintest idea where he had gone to.

He left Roam for a journey and no word had been heard of him for the passing years. He had no friends nor family therefore his absence didn't affect the kingdom at all.

The Duke had always been healthy and he had never suffered from even one cough. Although of noble birth, he didn't receive a single health exam either. Ever since Hugo had been pronounced the Duke, the family doctor didn't have a single job to do.

Other than the few times Jerome and Phillip shared pleasantries and greetings, they shared no deep conversations either. It had been said that he was also the family doctor of the past duke, but even so, he was nothing more than a simple family doctor.

A rather particular fact of this doctor was that he was a baron. He had been serving the generations of dukes so it couldn't be help that he would be honored with a reward of great contributions, but past this point there was no need to pay much attention to this man.

However, the moment Phillip's name was mentioned Hugo's relaxed expression became stone cold. Jerome thought strangely to Hugo's glaring red eyes.

'Had he not been a simple family doctor?'

He shuffled through his memories for any connections between Phillip and his master but there was nothing he could remember. Now that he thought of it, it had been the first time Phillip had come to meet His Grace.

"…Let him enter. After today, don't let him even get near to the second floor until he is called for."

His voice was chilling with killing intent. It seemed a single push would set the Duke off into a rampage and therefore, he decided to heed these words to the best of his ability.

"…Yes, Your Grace."

A moment after Jerome left, an old man with grizzled gray hair entered the room. The man quietly approached Hugo who had been sitting behind his desk and respectfully made a deep bow. Hugo momentarily silently glared on then proceeded to speak with a dry voice.

"It's been a long time, old man."

His words didn't have an ounce of respect, yet Phillip didn't seem to care continued to show off his pale smile.

"Yes, it had been long. It seems you have matured into a great man."

He seemed to hold onto a grand amount of confidence in his posture for a mere family doctor. It was as if the doctor wasn't confronted with anyone important or noble. The doctor's voice had been quiet, yet held equal weight to Hugo's. It was almost as if he was standing in front of his own grandchild. However, Hugo's chilling eyes did not warm up the slightest.

"I heard you went off on vacation."

"I've returned."

"That's a pity. It would have been nice if you died while wandering around. If that's all you've to say then get lost. From now on, don't think to come greet me at all. Don't let me see that mug of yours in front of my sight."

His voice sounded like he was reading a book. Hugo's voice sounded dry but his words seemed to contain bitter anger. Phillips expression did not change to these repeated angry remarks. Rather, he looked pleased.

"You had not changed."

"The nature of people do not change."

"Young master's nature is great. Seeing that you did not take this old man's life."

Hugo slightly snorted in contempt.

"Don't misunderstand, I just didn't want to be indebted to you. That dimwit had been the one to tell me to keep the savior of our life alive."

Phillip seemed to yearn something for a moment and then his expression returned to normal.

"Young Master Hugo had been a good person. That is why he had not been suitable to be the Lord of the Taran family."

Upon the name, 'Young Master Hugo,' his eyes had softened for a short moment.

"That's right. I'm the devil's incarnate so here I am protecting this place."

"Young Master Hue."

"Let me hear you call me like that one more time. I'll tear your mouth into two."

Hugo growled toward Phillip menacingly. He had been compressing his murderous urges to snap the old man's neck into two. Phillip on the other hand, looked on with pity.

"He had sacrificed himself for young master's sake."

"I had never wished for such."

Hugo gritted his teeth drearily. He had been a savage monster. After Hue had met Hugo, he took on the name Hughe. When Hue had become Hughe, the devil had become a human.

Everyone had been an enemy, he had lived protecting his own life from everyone else. Even though he had lived so desperately Hue had no reason to live this life. After Hue met his brother, he had obtained a reason for living, only then did he realize there were some things in life more important than living. His only brother in this world should have been alive and in the very seat he had been sitting on. This dirty and stained Taran family could only be purified by that brat. Not Hue who had been of demon descent.

"The person who wished you to sit there the most was Young Master Hugo. In any place, the both of you have the Taran bloodline. That seat is as equally yours as it is his."

"The demon had died at the western tower that day. The person who is sitting here is Hugo."

"It belongs to you, young master. When will you fully realize that you are the true Lord?"

"That will not happen, ever. As soon as the brat becomes of age, this seat will belong to him."

Phillip let out a small sigh.

"Young master Damien is still too young."

"That is why I'm waiting. I am waiting in this tiresome place like this."

Hugo spoke through gritted teeth.

"Young master Hugo's blood had been spilled for this seat. This seat is precious."

Hugo glared and then chillingly roared.

"I already know how sneaky you are. If you had said these things back then to me, I would have snapped your neck off. At that time you were like a mute while bowing to my feet. Do you know that I've killed everyone who is aware of this except you, old man?"

Phillips expression turned rigid for the first time.

"…you didn't even leave a trace behind."

"Yes. I couldn't contain myself because I felt nauseous. So, old man. You are the last. Go die. If you disappear at least I won't need to smell this foul odor."

"Young master who had passed on, made that choice for the Taran family……."

"Choice?"

Hugo slammed his two hands onto his desk and stood. He craned his body forward as his eyes burned a glowing crimson toward Phillip, no, he seemed to be glaring furiously to an empty space behind Phillip. His fury seemed to rage past a boiling point like a burning furnace.

"That old man had sold his own son as a slave to the mercenaries, but instead of taking care of the child he chose, he tried to switch the two later in life."

Hugo who had been chosen. Hue who had been thrown away. But as life went on, the duke threw Hugo away and chose Hue instead. Hugo's maturity had been mind bogglingly slow, you see.

He had begged for the first time in his life. Not for his own life but for another.

"I will become your successor as long as you do not touch him in the future."

He had done everything they wished. He received lessons, he even went around as Hugo. He threw away his own rough manner of speaking and turned himself into a noble duke. He had let himself become a domesticated beast and sat by the duke's feet to do his bidding.

But he had not known. For the same reason, Hugo had proceeded in the same way for his brother's sake, and thrown away everything he had built in his own life.

Hugo had been the first to realize the two of them were being handled like toy puppets. He had realized as long as he was living, the longer the duke could continue to toy around with their lives like this, Hue could not live a free life.

On the day Hue left Roam, Hugo slaughtered the duke, the duke's followers, and then himself.

"Hugo, who hadn't been able to kill a single bug, had been driven to that violent state by the old man. It was the only way? His choice? That wasn't his choice but pure evil greed."

"Young master."

"Stop with the young master. I am the Taran's family head and Duke. Are you still stuck in the happenings for 10 years ago?"

The tall and solid wall did not seem to have a single crack. Phillip heaved a sigh. Time had not unraveled the misunderstandings. He had thought as an adult, he would understand. It had been nothing but false hope.

Would the Taran bloodline end like this? Had the noble bloodline descendents met his final end? Was this kharma the duke spoke in his last words? There had never been an instance of twins being born of all of the Taran bloodlines. Maybe the change had been a warning of the future to come.

"I heard you had married."

"So what?"

"You will not be able to birth a child through her."

"That's just perfect for me."

"Does her Grace know of this?"

"Let me give you a warning, don't think to even go near my wife."

Hugo violently growled. At that moment great surprise past Phillips eyes.

"Young Master Damien requires a bride. If not, the Taran bloodline will…."

"SHUT UP! You speak nothing but putrid words."

Nobody knows of the first original Taran bloodline or why they decided to rule over the desolate north. Why they don't use their great power to overthrow the Emperor but decided to quietly and happily remain as a vassal.

The only real goal of the Taran family is to continue the Taran bloodline and this truth had been known to only a few people. It had all been to preserve the Taran bloodline. In order to carry this out, they made a nest in the safest place upon a land nobody would covet nor would anyone else be able to handle. The northern territory was a place prepared for the continuations of the Taran bloodline.

The only remaining people aware of this fact was Hugo and the old man in front of his eyes. Hugo didn't spare a single person and killed them all. If the old man had not secretly kept the two brothers alive behind the Duke's back, he would have also been killed ruthlessly.

"Do you know? Even the barbarians of the north will not sleep with my sister."

"You cannot judge with a commoner's moral ethics. The Taran bloodline is….."

"Shut up, I said. I do not wish to hear of useless noble bloodline talk. We are unable to impregnate women in any normal method! Noble bloodline? We're nothing but monsters!"

Phillip wore a heavy face while slowly closing his eyes and then opening them again.

"…I see that you are still saying such things. Then… had Young Master Hugo been a monster as well? How about Young Master Damien?"

"It's true the past duke had chose an excessive method to continue the bloodline but-" [Phillip]

Hugo snickered and coldly ridiculed.

"That bastard of a father…. Let's stop. My mouth will only become dirty."

"The Taran bloodline must be continued."

"I'm sick of your obsession. Such dirty methods will end with me! Crazy old man. You must thank the gods that your neck is intact. Though, I'm not sure such a thing exists in the first place. If you make me go crazy one more time, I don't care about any debt of the past. Live as you were, whether that's in Roam or anywhere else, go hole yourself up somewhere I can't see you. There will be no more warnings. Get lost. If you intrude into my wife's business I will squish that heart of yours with my bare hands."

Phillip looked onto Hugo for a long while and silently nodded and turned around to leave. When he heard the door close he laid the book down onto his desk once again and tried to calm his nerves by taking deep breaths. His tightly balled up fists trembled.

Kill him! Kill him now! Crush his heart, severe his neck, rip his body up into shreds, and feed his remaining to the beasts! The Hue inside of himself yelled while jumping madly. It felt as if all the blood in his body was boiling and his crimson eyes glowed as if blood would drip out of them any moment.

In a long while, he was able to calm his breath once again. It would be troublesome if the monster inside of himself was released. He was Hugo. Hugo never exposes such things as hypocritical behavior that would risk the ducal position.

It would be easy to kill the old man. But he could not do so. If it had only been his own life at stake, then he would not even bother with this at all.

When Hugo calmed himself completely, he called Jerome.

"You said you called a female physician from the capital? She was to be my wife's physician."

"Yes, Your Grace. Shall I call her?"

"There is no need. That old man—don't let doctor Phillip get near the Duchess."

There was nothing Phillip could do to her at this moment, but he didn't like the fact of him hanging around where he could easily see her. He would say useless things to hurt her heart. Yes, he did not like such a thing to happen. He would coax her into trying to force her to continue the Taran bloodline and what not. Though, no matter what he does, such a thing would not happen. He did not want her to know of useless things and become hurt. He did not want to see sadness in her pumpkin orange eyes.

"Yes. Shall I post a secret look out on him?"

"As long as he does not come within the castle walls of Roam, all will be fine."

"Shall I warn Her Grace as well?"

Any person would become curious once told not to do something. Hugo did not wish for her to become curious about Phillip at all.

"…No. Just keep them apart without her finding out. Be sure she does not become curious."

"As you wish."

Jerome was unsure of the reasonings, but the western tower incident past his mind. Nobody had remained so long to have personally witnessed the event. Except one person. That person was the family doctor, Phillip. He was not sure why that had came up on his mind but he thought it would be necessary to let his master know.

"Your Grace. There had been a time when Madam had inquired about why the Western tower had been locked."

Hugo's eyes sharply rose.

"And?"

"I had told her what I knew. The past ducal couple had passed and that your twin brother had been the one to…. My apologies. I had judged appropriate for Madam to know of this event. I had been careless."

"…That's fine. She would have found out someway eventually. What did she say after hearing of the fact?"

"She was a little shocked, but rather than shocked… she worried for your Grace."

Hugo stood up from his seat.

"I will be riding the horse around to cool my head, do not prepare my dinner. I don't know how late I will be."

Jerome confirmed and bowed, once the Duke had gone Jerome lifted his head lost for words.

"What shall I do for Madam's present….?"

It had not been the right timing to ask of such things. Outwardly, the Duke looked no different than any other day, but the thorns wrapped around himself had grown sharper after Phillips visit. Jerome remained lost in his thoughts for a while and shook his head. It is not right for a butler to meddle into his master's business.

"For madam's present…flowers should do well…"