Fertility Blessing
“Yes… it must have been so hard. But I’m glad you both survived... So, what do you want to do from here?”
“… I don’t know what to do.”
Bass said this, while Toto kept her gaze lowered.
Just as I finished listening to them, there was a knock at the isolation room door.
Knock knock knock knock
“Joan, it’s Gray.”
I reassured the two who flinched at the sound, “It’s okay, they’re my family,” and opened the door to find Gray, Sarah, and Zack standing there.
“Come in... I’ll introduce you: these are the catkin siblings Bass and Toto. And this is my family—Gray, Sarah, and Zack.”
“Nice to meet you. I serve as steward at the lord’s mansion here. My name is Gray.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Joan’s maid, Sarah.”
“Nice to meet you. I serve as a valet at the lord’s mansion. My name is Zack.”
“Bass….”
“… Toto.”
“Joan, this is from Master.”
Gray handed me a letter stating that the two would be taken in and protected at our home.
“Let’s go to my house together.”
“Then, let’s get you two changed.”
The suggestion surprised them, but before they knew it, a folding screen was set up between the beds. Bass was helped by Zack, and Toto by Sarah, to change clothes.
Once they finished changing, the injuries on their wrists and ankles were fully visible.
“Toto, may I take a look at your hands?”
I held her hands.
“First Aid.”
Her painful wrist and ankle wounds vanished cleanly.
“‘!!’”
“Next is Bass. First Aid.”
“Th-the wounds… they’re gone….”
Bass stared in amazement at his wrists and ankles. Toto had the same stunned expression, watching her hands after they were healed.
Afterward, I thanked the director and gave the ingredients from my storage, then returned home from the orphanage.
The first thing we did at home was bathe.
Bass was taken care of by Zack, Toto by Sarah, and I used the teleportation door to go to the royal capital in the meantime.
＊＊＊＊＊
I arrived at the academy’s general dormitory.
It was Saturday, so classes were off, but students who didn’t return to their territories stayed in the dorms. I had already sent a letter confirming that my friend Miu would remain this week.
I came to the general dorm and asked for Miu.
“Joan, what’s up? Oh, congrats on your debut!”
“Thanks. I need a favor from you, Miu.”
“A favor?”
“Yes. I need your help as a hairdresser. Come to General now!”
“Ha—!? Right now!?”
“Yes. Actually….”
I explained that it was easy to get from the royal capital mansion to General, and that there was someone I wanted her to cut hair for.
“Of course, you’ll be compensated.”
“Eh, but… I don’t really know proper etiquette…”
“It’s okay. I got permission from both my father and mother. Please!”
“Hmm… okay, if you insist, Joan. I’ll bring scissors—just wait a moment.”
“Thanks. I’ll inform the dorm mother while you prepare.”
While Miu prepared, I went to the dorm mother’s office. Normally, for curfew violations or overnight absences, a request form must be submitted the day before, but exceptions happen, so I had to explain directly to the dorm mother in those cases.
Knock knock knock
“Please come in.”
Clack
“Good to see you, Lady Deneb.”
Lady Deneb had become the dorm mother after her husband, Viscount Deneb, passed away and their son inherited the title. She wanted to avoid troubling her son and daughter-in-law.
“Oh my, Young Lady Lampail. What brings you here?”
“Well….”
Since Miu was doing the haircut on the dorm terrace, explaining was easy.
“… So, suddenly, I need to go out. We’ll have dinner at our house, so I wanted to report that curfew will be exceeded and apologize, and I brought this…”
From my storage, I took out Mirange and a pound cake with tea.
“Oh my, is this the famous…?”
“Famous?”
“Yes, I’ve heard Young Lady Lampail’s cakes are exquisite. And the rare dried fruit? I hear it’s treasured by ladies because it can ‘make things vanish’ in a way, though it’s hard to obtain.”
“Ah… yes, that’s true.”
My special dried fruits are only sold to a select few, and my mother decides who can get them. So I wasn’t sure if I should give them. But the Deneb territory is quite rich in crops…
“By the way, Lady Deneb, may I ask—your territory is abundant in crops, right? Does that include beans?”
“Beans? You mean daazu (soybeans)?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, of course. Our territory is small, and even the young lord helps with morning farm work.”
“Then, may I speak with the lord sometime? In exchange….”
I pulled out my special dried fruits from storage.
“Eh? Is… is this… really for me?”
“Yes. So, I’d like to contact the lord—”
“Yes! Of course! If it’s to contact that fool of a son, I can go immediately! I also want to share half with my daughters-in-law.”
Lady Deneb’s intensity is impressive… I wouldn’t have guessed she cared about her weight. But giving some to the daughters-in-law shows what a kind stepmother she is.
“Then, this too.”
She handed over another portion of dried fruits.
“Oh my, is this alright? This is said to bless one with children.”
“Blessed with children?”
“Yes, I’ve heard that after Lady Lampail lost weight, the Margrave fell in love with her all over again, and they were able to conceive again.”
Mother… selling with that kind of pitch… even making it self-deprecating—her business acumen is incredible. Truly admirable.
What do you think about this chapter?
