“Should I discreetly inform the doctor, Your Highness?” Ivetsa’s hushed voice interrupted Elise’s thoughts. Stirring the water with her hand, Elise asked, “Tell him what?”
“About a contraceptive potion, preventing pregnancy within safe limits for the body,” Elise replied. As the magic circle slowly dissolved into the water, Ivetsa lowered her voice, continuing while Elise remained momentarily silent.
“Herbs like mugwort or goldenrod work well when brewed lightly as tea. They provide a brief contraceptive effect.”
“Contraception…” Elise murmured.
“After the young lady becomes pregnant, it’s too late. It’s easy to fill a hungry stomach, but how will you journey south with a child? So, if you’re concerned, you can discreetly consult Lady Freya. Although you underwent a checkup yesterday, given your clandestine activities, the doctor will return today. You can inquire about safe herbs, taking into account the possibility that the doctor might report to the Grand Duke. I’ll smuggle them in for you.”
“…What if he discovers it?” Elise asked apprehensively.
“Well, Your Highness, then you’ll have to rescue me.” Ivetsa chuckled, scrunching her nose.
Elise could only nod without an immediate response. It was only then that she realized something she hadn’t known before.
“I had a checkup yesterday?” she inquired.
“Yes,” nodded Ivetsa, “in the morning.”
It was something Elise had no memory of. Ivetsa explained that, during the brief moment she lost consciousness, Freya had examined her, determining there were no significant injuries and that she had merely fallen asleep due to exhaustion.
“Ah, so after I woke up again…” Elise sighed softly, covering her forehead with her hand. Somehow, the excuse that she was in pain didn’t seem to carry much weight.
She once again realized that Rezette Kyrstan had truly made up his mind. Elise couldn’t exactly pinpoint why someone who hadn’t budged for nearly three months suddenly decided to approach the line he had drawn. What change of heart had occurred in him?
Elise recalled the man who couldn’t contain his excitement at the prospect of having a child. He had emphasized multiple times that the life conceived would be ‘their’ child. Was he sincere?
Feeling a strange sensation, Elise absentmindedly touched her abdomen. Even after pouring out his warmth once, she remembered him not withdrawing from her body. Rezette, relentless, wouldn’t yield even when she begged, and whenever her trembling subsided, he would once again press his lips against her skin as if nothing had happened. How suffocating his persistence was.
After this month, continued intimacy with Rezette could expedite the conception of a child sooner than she anticipated. No, it was virtually inevitable. Spending the remaining three months in a manner similar to the past few days, it seemed more pragmatic not to become pregnant unless there was a significant issue with her body.
Until a few days ago, that was Elise’s only path. But she wasn’t so sure now.
Contraception…
At least until she comprehensively grasped the situation in the southern part of Grandel, it might not be a bad idea to opt for a mild herbal tea as a form of contraception.
However, in the very next moment, a familiar presence sounded from behind the partition covering the bathtub. The deliberate footsteps were unmistakable, belonging to someone familiar.
Before she could locate the towel, a hand extended from behind and grasped the edge of the bathtub.
“Elise.”
For a rugged man, his voice held an unexpectedly gentle tone. Rezette tilted his head and pressed his lips against the white nape of Elise’s neck. The light sound of his lips and the sensation proved to be ticklish.
“Rezette.”
“How’s your body?” Rezette inquired.
“Oh, I’m fine!” Elise responded, an immediate answer escaping her mind. The voice was louder than she anticipated.
Rezette raised an eyebrow curiously. Elise, fearing he might touch her again, hastily uttered whatever came to her mind.
“Ivetsa mentioned that it seems like I have a skin disease. I—”
“What?”
With a furrowed face, Rezette turned to look at the door where Ivetsa had been eavesdropping.
“What did you say to the Princess?” he inquired of Ivetsa. Realizing the mistake, Elise swiftly redirected attention by playfully tugging his cheek toward her. “It’s nothing serious. You’ve left marks from here to here, so…”
“It’s beautiful,” Rezette interjected.
Elise blushed once more. “That’s beside the point. How can you be so nonchalant? Even if I wear clothes, it’ll still be noticeable.”
“In my eyes, it’s beautiful. No one would dare criticize you,” Rezette asserted.
“There’s no way that’s true!”
“If someone does, should I pluck out their eyes for you?”
“What?”
It was terrifyingly absurd. Observing her astonishment, Rezette added with a deadpan expression, “I’m joking.”
It didn’t come across as a jest. Thanks to that disconcerting comment, Elise’s already scattered thoughts were further disrupted, and Rezette casually enveloped her with a blanket.