The unpleasant visits that had plagued Maxi since she turned seventeen seemed to have caught up with her once again.
Not wanting to ruin the beautiful satin dress that had taken two weeks to make, she quickly stood up.
Maxi discreetly asked Ludis for help, and the servant promptly brought her a basin of hot water, clean linen, and a new dress.
Frowning in disgust, Maxi used the hot towel to clean the blood between her legs.
Then she put on cotton underwear lined with thick layers of linen and checked in the mirror to make sure there were no leaks.
The linen made her hips look duck-like, a look she didn't particularly like.
His lower belly seemed to be filled with cold pebbles.
The idea that she would have to endure this discomfort for at least five days made her sigh.
“Don’t be too disappointed, my lady.”
Maxi looked at Ludis confused by the maid's strange choice of words.
Ludis continued cautiously, "I was told that some couples take more than three years to welcome their first child.
If you wait patiently with a light heart, then God will certainly send you the most beautiful child when the time comes."
Maxi blinked blankly.
She realized that the discomfort she was experiencing was confirmation that she was not carrying Riftan's offspring.
Suddenly overcome with anxiety, Maxi asked in a weak voice, “I-Isn’t it… strange, then… that I’m not pregnant yet?”
“It’s just that it’s not the right time, my lady,” Ludis replied with a reassuring smile.
“You must have been anticipating good news since your monthly visit was delayed… but there is no need for you to feel impatient, my lady.”
Despite her calmness, it was Ludis who seemed more disappointed than Maxi.
Maxi hadn't even realized her monthly visit was late.
The truth was that his cycle had become more frequent since he had been in Anatol.
Before that, she had her period once every two or three months, and it wasn't always like that.
She had already gone five months without a visitor.
Maxi bit her lip in confusion.
Did other women bleed more often?
She tried to remember what it had been like for Rosetta, but she couldn't remember anything.
The truth was that the two were never close enough to discuss such intimate matters with each other.
The possibility that Maxi would be unable to conceive a child because she might have some major defect made her break out in a cold sweat.
His mother's worn, lifeless face briefly flashed through his mind.
Maxi turned away from Ludis to hide her agitation and said calmly, "I-I would like something warm.
Could you prepare...
some herbal tea for me?"
"Of course, my lady.
I will prepare it immediately."
As soon as the servant left the room, Maxi huddled at her desk and buried her face in her hands.
She wanted to be honest with Ludis and ask for advice, but she was afraid that the servant would reveal the truth to Riftan.
How would he react if he found out there was something wrong with his wife?
There was nothing more important to a man than an heir, and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Riftan would want a son who would one day inherit this castle and lands.
Would her affections remain unchanged even if she shared the same fate as her mother?
His throat felt like it had become tangled with a thorn.
Maxi nervously flipped through the parchments, but the growing pain in his stomach made it impossible to concentrate.
After staring at the blank words, Maxi threw the quill away.
Ink splattered on the table.
She stood still, staring at the stains, before bending over the table and listening to the rain hitting the window.
Why was it that worry and distress seemed to follow her throughout her life?
The fear that she might have some critical defect in addition to the dozens she already had made her feel completely desperate.
Don't think too much.
As Ludis said, it's just not the right time.
Maxi clung to that hope.
It had always been her habit to imagine the most terrible and darkest future.
She always assumed that adversity was imminent.
But wasn't his life slowly getting better?She now had the perfect husband, who was more than she deserved, as well as people she could talk to.
She had a safe and warm home; her impediment was improving, albeit slowly, and she had even learned to use magic.
Maxi desperately pushed away the fear that was beginning to curl inside her like smoke.
If God was merciful, He would bless her with a healthy heir someday.
Riftan was soaked from the rain when he returned.
His cloak stuck to him like seaweed, perfectly revealing the contours of his armor, and his boots were covered in mud.
Maxi got up from the bed and threw a towel over his head.
His cheeks were wet and cold as ice.
“You… f-stood in the rain all this time?”
"I had to avoid landslides that could bury the construction site.
I couldn't let two months of effort go in vain."
As if not wanting to dirty the carpet, Riftan closed the door with his back.
After taking off his shoes and his soaked cloak, he threw them into a basket.
“D-Do you think… it’s going to rain a lot?” Maxi asked, a little surprised.
"I don't think it will be that bad, but it is troublesome since the ground has been weakened because of the monsters.
The summer monsoon is also expected in two or three months, so it would be better for us to make the necessary preparations in advance."
Riftan took off his armor and the rest of his wet clothes.
Maxi took him to the fireplace and handed him a towel big enough for his enormous frame.
While he warmed his frozen body before the fire, the servants brought a bathtub full of hot water to his quarters.
As usual, Riftan began to persuade Maxi to take a shower with him.
Maxi was as stiff as stone for a moment before informing him with an embarrassed look that she was currently in an impure state.
Riftan looked at her confused.
“If you are unclean, that’s all the more reason for you to bathe with me.”
Maxi was slightly surprised that the man who never made mistakes would say something so senseless.
She had only menstruated four times since arriving in Anatol.
The first was when Riftan was away, and the others when he was extremely busy.
There had never been a need to explain such a humiliating thing to him until now.
Looking embarrassed, Maxi stammered: “It’s the w-question… from that day…”
“That day?”
Maxi looked at him, close to tears.
Her husband, whom she considered the best in the world, looked back at her blankly.
It was clear he had no idea what she was referring to.
How could she explain this torment without losing her dignity?
“What I w-mean is… I m-am currently in a state… w-that prevents me from having intercourse w-with you… f-for about a week.”
“What the hell are you saying?” Riftan asked, his face hardening.
"Stop being so cryptic and speak clearly.
Are you rejecting me?"
Maxi could only open his mouth at the accusation.
It really didn't seem like he would understand unless she explained it in the most direct way possible.
Suppressing her tears, Maxi exclaimed, “I-I’m telling you… I’m bleeding!”
Maxi's eyes widened as she saw her husband's pleasant, tanned face turning white as a sheet.
He immediately began to inspect her.
"Are you bleeding?
Where?
How did it happen?
Show me.
We have to treat her right now!"
Terrified that he might actually check where she was bleeding, Maxi tried to move away from him, but Riftan was apparently more scared than she was.
She barely managed to stop him from tearing her dress in his attempt to find the source of her supposed injury.
"Y-You got it wrong!
I-I'm not hurt!
I swear, I'm not!"
“You said you were bleeding!”
Heavens.
He really didn't seem to know anything about the curse women had to endure on a regular basis.
Maxi wasn't sure whether to laugh or scream.
Deciding to calm him down first, she spoke as clearly as she could.
"A-All women...
bleed r-regularly...
when they're of marriageable age.
It's...
perfectly normal.
M-My mistress told me...
that it's proof...
that we're old enough to conceive."
"Are you sure?
Are you sure you're not sick or hurt?"
Maxi nodded firmly.
Clearly still skeptical, Riftan studied her face before frowning.
“But where exactly do you bleed?”Maxi turned red as a tomato.
She never imagined that she would find herself in such a humiliating situation.
Did I really need to explain this to him?
After a long pause, Maxi whispered the answer into his ear, despite them being the only two people in the room.
These visits were destined to happen to her again in the future.
It would be better to explain everything to him clearly so that she would never find herself in such a humiliating situation again.
“Are you… serious?”
Wide-eyed, Riftan stared at her as if he found her words hard to believe.
His face was still pale.
“Are you sure it’s normal for women to bleed… down there?”
"Y-Yes, it's perfectly normal!
It's something every woman g-goes through."
"So this can't be the first time this has happened to you.
Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I-I assumed...
you knew.
I was told...
it wasn't something that anyone needed to explain.
My mistress...
said you would understand...
if I hinted at it."
To Maxi's surprise, Riftan's cheeks turned red.
He began to apologize in an attempt to justify his ignorance.
"Maxi, I grew up in a mercenary group full of men.
After I became a knight, I spent most of my life fighting in campaigns.
What would I know about women?
All I know is that they have breasts, that it's impossible to understand what they're thinking, and that they can have children!"
Maxi looked skeptical.
He spoke as if he had never had a lover to teach him everything there was to know about women.
She took in his perfectly symmetrical masculine face, his intense black eyes, and his chiseled body.
He was simply too handsome to claim he knew nothing about women.
Even though Riftan himself was not a rake who had regular conquests, she was sure that the women around him would not have left him alone.
Maxi remembered the cheeky pair who had tried to seduce him on the day of the festival.
She didn't think a man as insatiable as Riftan would have resisted such shameless seductions all his life.
Feeling a sharp pang of jealousy, Maxi glared at him.