Chapitre 227: It turns out, that was never the case

"Yes, yes, I'm coming."

After someone knocked on the door to her private room, the retired but still best healer in the Emeraldios Empire, Lady Seth, called out as she approached the entrance.

The elderly woman was keeping herself upright and with vitality hardly expected out of someone with her looks.

"...I'm sorry to bother you…"

As she opened the door, she was shocked by the slouching gold-haired girl with a downcast expression, muttering apologetically while holding her stomach.

The girl seemed so fragile that despite the most characteristic part of her being on full display, Seth needed a minute to comprehend who was visiting her.

"Young Lady Fenrioette?! Sweetie, come on in, please, what's bothering you?"

After the initial bewilderment, the elderly woman approached the girl, gently grabbing one of her arms and leading her inside, greatly worried about the displayed behavior.

"What happened, sweetie?"

Seth closed and locked the door before seating the girl on the edge of her bed and then sitting right beside her with a greatly worried expression.

"...because… Lady Seth, you know about Lidia En'vegio, don't you?"

"The young lady who will be taking time off because of a pregnancy. Yes, of course, I was the one to advise her to spend the next couple of months in the relaxing atmosphere of her own home instead of the Academy."

Melinda Fenrioette asked and Lady Seth nodded attentively, adding some context that she expected the gold-haired girl not to be fully familiar with.

"What about her?"

The elderly woman added, wondering whether the health of her classmate would be enough of a reason for the gold-haired girl to act in that peculiar way.

"You see… her stomach grew…"

"..."

Melinda spoke up awkwardly, making Seth blink a few times trying to figure out what sort of scenario was playing out in front of her.

"That's how… pregnancy works… You know that, don't you…?"

"Ah…! No, no…! Sorry, that's not what I…!"

The gray-haired woman pointed out slowly, making the gold-haired girl flinch and blush while hurriedly waving her hands in exasperation.

"You see… The thing is that when Lidi only suspected that she was pregnant, my period was already late… and I didn't have a period since… And since I have a lover and we… you know… do act like a married couple wanting children… you know… What I'm bothered about is that Lidia's stomach grew… but mine is…"

Melinda's face turned crimson red from embarrassment and she squirmed in her spot, as if expecting the elderly woman to scold her for her actions and the results she expected of it, getting more and more anxious as she spoke.

By the last words, Melinda's usually sharp eyes were already full of tears.

"Lady Seth… could it be that… that because of my strength… could it be that my muscles… harmed… our baby…?"

The gold-haired girl leaned down, protectively holding her stomach, trembling at the mere thought that the terrible hunch he had was actually correct.

"Oh, sweetie…"

"...!"

Lady Seth let out a soft sigh and reached out, ending up hugging the girl and gently caressing her back, making her flinch as she clearly didn't expect any reassurance.

Then the elderly woman leaned away, moving her hands alongside the gold-haired girl's arms until she ended up grabbing her hands reassuringly.

"First of all, relax. Don't worry, and do not assume the worst. I must ask you, though, have you used any other methods to confirm a pregnancy other than tracking your periods?"

"...I… I didn't…"

Lady Seth asked calmly, keeping eye contact with the troubled Melinda, who opened and closed her mouth before admitting in an embarrassed voice.

"B-but I mean… I was feeling bad in the morning… I had rather emotional mood swings… I was more needy than usual… a lot more… and the periods… isn't it weird that I wouldn't have them for a couple of months if it wasn't pregnancy?"

Melinda fidgeted and muttered, putting up her shoulders and almost whimpering defensively.

"It's okay, sweetie. I'm not scolding you or trying to tell you off."

"..."

Lady Seth smiled and assured Melinda, gently holding up her hands and lowering her head so that the broken eye contact would be restored.

"You are a very strong girl, and I'm not just talking about physical strength. I've also noticed that you are quite good at bottling up your feelings and braving through tough situations. You are under a lot of pressure, even more so since a couple of months ago, aren't you?"

The elderly woman asked, making an encouraging expression.

"...yes… but please, don't tell Adi or Zane about it…! It's better if they think I'm just always doing things my own way without being bothered about anything…!"

"Oh, sweetie..."

Melinda's chin trembled and she nodded defenselessly before crying out barely able to hold back tears, making Seth smile gently with understanding.

"You see, pregnancy isn't the only reason for late or irregular periods. A lot of stress can very well mess up your cycle as well. Yes, even for months in some cases. So, is it okay for me to use a spell to make sure whether you are pregnant? Nothing unusual, something only a bit higher level than the regular check-up we had so many times before. I will not see your stats, if it still even bothers you."

"...okay…"

Lady Seth explained patiently, and Melinda nodded sheepishly, agreeing with her in a hoarse voice.

"Medical Analysis."

After receiving the permission, Lady Seth cast her spell, and her expression turned serious as the information flowed into her head.

"...h-how does it look…?"

After a couple of terribly long moments, Melinda squirmed in unease and asked timidly.

"Sweetie. You aren't pregnant. You are very, VERY stressed instead, and your body barely knows how to handle it, hence the symptoms you've experienced so far."

"Oh...!"

Lady Seth announced, causing Melidna to let out a breath of relief…

"...o-oh…"

…only for her to then let out a confused and dispirited voice as her shoulders dropped.

"Wait… but… but Zane and I were…. d-doing it a lot… and neither of us was using any… c-contraception… How could I not get pregnant yet? Is it because I'm so stressed and my body is messed up, so I can't even conceive?!"

The gold-haired girl flinched and let go of the elderly woman's hands to hide how much she was blushing from embarrassment, but still not only said everything but also found something new to worry about.