Chapter 283
"Umm."
As if coming up to the surface from the bottom of the water, I came to my senses little by little.
The first thing I saw was Caitlin, who became contemplated.
"Are you getting a hold of yourself?"
"I think it"s okay..."
I was lying long on the sofa in the office.
Apparently I felt the floor when I collapsed.
"What happened, Caitlin?"
"You stood up from the chair and suddenly fell down..."
"Oh, I did."
I remember what happened just before I fell.
I suddenly lost my balance due to dizziness.
"Ugh."
My wrist felt numb as if I had grabbed something reflexively.
I couldn"t get up now.
"How much time has pa.s.sed?"
"Ah, about ten minutes. Are you really okay?"
I nodded.
But seeing my head dizzy again even with that small movement, it didn"t seem that good.
I sighed once and asked.
"Caitlin, did you move me to the sofa alone?"
"Yes, that"s right."
"Who else knows about this?"
"There"s none, Matriarch."
I glanced away from the line where I didn"t move my head as much as possible.
The office door was still closed as tightly as before I collapsed.
"It was the right thing to do, Caitlin."
It meant not telling anyone.
I looked up at the office ceiling with a little relief.
The health of the Lombardi family should not leak out.
When my father collapsed from Tlenbrew disease, my grandfather immediately kept it silent.
There are businesses that each person is in charge of, and even if it is not, all the people of the empire listen to Lombardi"s big and small moves and react sensitively, so it was inevitable.
So, information about the health of the head of Lombardi family is scarce.
If rumors spread that I collapsed.
Just imagining it made me dizzy.
Just with Perez right now.
For a moment, the thought of "Should I tell him?" crossed my mind.
But if I did, he would have thrown away all the important things and ran to this place.
"First of all, it would be better to confirm the arrangement of the guest seats tomorrow. and."
I bit my lower lip for a moment, then said to Caitlin.
"Only tell Clarivan, the twins, and Craney about my condition."
When Lombardi shakes, the empire shakes.
So, I chose the minimum number of personnel to be prepared for any unexpected events.
"And I would appreciate it if you tell and bring Dr. Estira through the butler."
The construction of the Lombardi Hospital was also nearing its end.
Thanks to this, it has been having a hard time seeing Estira"s face these days.
At this time, she will be at the construction site, so it will take quite a while to get to the office.
"Are you okay by yourself, Matriarch?"
"Now that I"m lying down, I feel better. Hurry up, Caitlin."
"All right."
Caitlin nodded with a still worried face and left the office at a quick pace.
As I was left alone in the office, a deep sigh came out again.
The world tree engraved on the ceiling of the office seemed to be getting bigger today.
I raised one arm and covered my eyes.
"I"ve been feeling a bit strange all this time."
My stamina dropped like never before, and I often felt dizzy.
My appet.i.te was also gradually disappearing
So my body can"t stand it.
"I"m still young, so it might not be a serious illness."
Still, if I have a disease that requires immediate medical treatment or long-term treatment, I will have a headache.
"Perez must be very worried."
I really didn"t want to see his dark face.
I closed my eyes and tiredness came again while various thoughts clung to my head.
Before Estira arrived, I didn"t even have time to ponder whether to close my eyes for a moment, then I fell asleep again.
***
The conference room where the meetings of Florentia and Lombardi"s va.s.sals are usually held.
Five people sat together there.
"What did you say?"
"The Matriarch has collapsed... What does that mean?"
Gillieu jumped, and Clarivan hardened his face and asked back.
Mairon had a distorted face as if he was about to leave his seat at any moment.
"Now she is regaining consciousness and resting."
"But she even collapsed."
Mairon washed his face dry nervously with both hands.
Caitlin looked at the four people in shock and explained in a calm tone as much as possible.
"...That"s why I"m telling you the condition of the Matriarch."
The gloomy air weighed heavily on the conference room.
"It may be because of me." (TN: No, it"s not you, but someone at the imperial palace.)
Craney said in a crying voice.
"Because I can"t learn things quickly..."
Not long ago, he remembered a mistake he had made.
Because of that, Florentia had to work through a busier schedule for several days to get things right.
"Did she go to the doctor?"
asked Clarivan.
Then Caitlin shook her head, as if frustrated with that.
"There was an order from the Matriarch to bring Dr. Estira. I sent someone right away, but it will take a while to get to from the hospital construction site."
"But then, wouldn"t it be right to bring another doctor?"
said Craney.
Then instead of Caitlin, Clarivan answered firmly.
"It"s not possible. We can"t let anyone examine the Matriarch. Besides, on the day that the condition of the Matriarch is known to the outside world by mistake..."
"Maybe Tia was worried about that and asked to bring Dr. Estira."
Gillieu agreed.
Then he got up with Mairon.
"I"ll have to tell the captain to increase the security of the mansion."
"Because Tia"s sickness may not be due to an illness."
At the last words, everyone"s faces turned cold.
It was just an a.s.sumption, but if someone poisoned the Matriarch of Lombardi.
"I"ll be guarding the front of the office for now."
Mairon said to Gillieu.
There was no trace of his usual playful appearance.
The twins looked at each other with no smile on their faces.
Even Clarivan couldn"t hide his sorrow and got up from his seat.
"Let"s do our best in our respective pasitions until we have more orders from the Matriarch."
Everyone in the conference room nodded with heavy faces.
***
Knock, knock
The knock rang through the office.
"Come in."
Taking a small breath in response to my answer, Estira immediately opened the door.
She seemed to have walked as fast as possible even if she couldn"t run because she was conscious of the other gazes.
"Matriarch, what the h.e.l.l is this..."
"It"s nothing. I just got dizzy and collapsed for a moment."
But at my words, Estira"s complexion became paler.
"Are you saying you lost consciousness?"
"Yes. It"s only for a short time."
"There were no signs at the check-up last month, why..."
The end of Estira"s words trembled anxiously.
It was clear that the names of all kinds of diseases were floating around in her mind that to the point of losing consciousness in a short period of time.
But that"s also for a while.
Estira quickly regained her composure and said.
"I will start the treatment first, Matriarch."
The examination process was long and careful.
It was because Estira did not call her own students, but went directly to and from the lab of the mansion to check my condition using all kinds of examination tools.
Every time the number of instruments increased one by one, I pretended to be calm on the outside.
I couldn"t help but build up a little bit of anxieties every time Estira frowns like a habit.
Could it be a serious illness?
But I"m still too young.
By the way, my father was still young when Tlenbrew disease developed.
While I was looking up at only the world tree on the ceiling, Estira finally organized her examination tools.
And she opened her mouth, which had been closed for a long time.
"Matriarch, haven"t you been feeling more tired lately?"
How did she know?
"That"s right. It"s not that I lack sleep, but I kept getting sleepy."
"How"s your appet.i.te?"
In the meantime, I opened my eyes to Estira"s question, which picked up the symptoms I felt like tweezers.
"Hmm. I don"t have a good appet.i.te either. Seeing that my clothes are a little looser, I think I"ve lost weight."
At my answer, Estira nodded her head as she looked at the medical record in her hand.
"Perhaps."
I swallowed one dry saliva and asked.
"Am I seriously ill?"
What if Estira says yes?
Now Lombardi, and Perez.
In a very brief moment, all kinds of thoughts came to mind.
"It"s not a disease."
"Sigh."
A brief sigh escaped me, as if the string I was holding on had been undone.
That"s a relief.
It"s not a disease.
"Wait, it"s not a disease?"
"Yes, that"s right. However, we expect a lot of strain on your bodies over the next eight months."
Is it my illusion that there seems to be a light smile around Estira"s lips?
"And after that, you"ll need about a year of light care, Matriarch."
I didn"t understand more and more.
You said it wasn"t a disease.
"What do you mean, Estira?"
"You"re pregnant. Congratulations, Lady Florentia."
TN: Ahh, it seems we need to wait again for the reaction of the Lombardi family.