Chapter 62
Late at night, beneath the mana lamp.
The princess consort's fountain pen scratched over the notebook.
=================
<Maternity Notebook>
[To the Nameless You]
[Preface]
Right after I became pregnant.
Sir Nihirit recommended a notebook to me.
He said it was a maternity notebook.
He told me to record the changes in my body every day,
and not to leave out even the smallest thing,
to write down everything—the things I ate that day, when I went to sleep, when I woke up, whether my body felt heavy, whether I felt nauseous.
He said it was best to fill it in as densely as a court historian recording national affairs.
That way, at the next checkup, he wouldn't miss anything happening in my body.
I was a little worried.
What if I missed something?
What if something happened to our baby because of me?
I was afraid, but His Highness said he would help me.
So I was able to gather my courage.
=========================
[ 1st Regular Checkup ]
Date: Imperial Year 1047, October 14
Gestational age: 4 weeks, 2 days
Mother's blood pressure / weight: 108/66 // 52 kg
Proteinuria / edema: (-) / (-)
Fetal heartbeat: Not audible (4th week, normal)
Fundal height: Not measurable (4th week)
Blood spots: No change
Medications: Aspirin 100 mg, once daily (continue), Heparin 5000 IU, twice daily (start today)
Clotting time: 62 seconds (within target range)
───
Attending physician's notes:
Pregnancy confirmed. Start heparin from today. Mother's condition is good.
───
[ Maternity Diary ]
[6:12 a.m. ]
Wake up.
The moment I opened my eyes, I felt as if my body temperature was slightly higher than usual.
I immediately ordered the head maid to take my temperature. It is 0.2 degrees higher than normal.
Could it be the sign of a fever?
(Must ask Sir Nihirit at the next checkup.)
[ 10:15 a.m. ]
Walk in the greenhouse.
The lower left side of my abdomen tugged ever so faintly, like ants crawling.
I stopped walking immediately and took three deep breaths. The pain vanished a minute later.
(Must ask Sir Nihirit at the next checkup.)
[ 12:37 p.m. ]
…
========================
[ 2nd Regular Checkup ]
Date: Imperial Year 1047, October 28
Gestational age: 6 weeks, 2 days
Mother's blood pressure / weight: 110/68 // 52.3 kg
Proteinuria / edema: (-) / (-)
Fetal heartbeat: Not audible (6th week, normal)
Fundal height: Not measurable (6th week)
Blood spots: No change
Medications: Aspirin 100 mg, once daily (continue), Heparin 5000 IU, twice daily (continue)
Clotting time: 58 seconds (within target range)
───
Attending physician's notes:
Morning sickness has begun. Course is normal. Maintain the heparin dose. Drink plenty of water. Instructed her on how to record in the maternity notebook.
Recommended against excessive record-keeping obsession by the mother, as it may cause stress.
───
[ Maternity Diary ]
I got thoroughly scolded by Sir Nihirit.
He flipped through the notebook I had filled minute by minute over the past two weeks and let out a sigh.
He said too much information could make one miss the truly important signs.
He sternly warned that such obsessive recording only causes fatigue for the mother.
Even His Highness was overpowered by his presence and didn't dare take my side.
After that, he carefully organized which parts should actually be recorded in the notebook.
He also taught me a few things about morning sickness.
Avoid milk for the time being.
Drink ginger tea.
Avoid warm soup and eat cold fruit instead.
The strangest thing was that he told me to eat dry bread in bed as soon as I woke up in the morning.
But amazingly, all of it worked.
From that day on, my stomach felt much better.
After that, I told the head maid to keep dry bread by my bedside every morning.
========================
[ 3rd Regular Checkup ]
Date: Imperial Year 1047, November 11
Gestational age: 8 weeks, 2 days
Mother's blood pressure / weight: 112/70 // 52.1 kg
Proteinuria / edema: (-) / (-)
Fetal heartbeat: Not audible (8th week)
Fundal height: Not measurable (8th week)
Blood spots: Slightly fading.
Medications: Aspirin——, once daily (continue), Heparin ——, twice daily (continue)
Clotting time: 60 seconds (within target range)
───
Attending physician's notes:
Morning sickness continues, but the course is normal. The slight weight loss is judged to be due to morning sickness and is not cause for concern.
Check folic acid and iron intake status
Strengthen dietary guidance. Strongly recommend daily intake of liver, spinach, and egg yolks.
To help stabilize the mother's emotions, recommended choosing a fetal nickname.
───
[ Maternity Diary ]
Sir Nihirit was especially strict today.
He's meticulous as usual, but today he was even more meticulous than normal.
He asked me one by one what I had eaten over the past two weeks.
He asked about bread, meat, vegetables, liver, spinach, egg yolks, and so on.
I thought I might get scolded again.
Fortunately, he wasn't scolding me.
He said that this was the most important time for the child's head and spine to form.
He said he was checking this thoroughly because specific nutrients are absolutely necessary.
— Iron / folic acid
I was told to note this down and make sure I take it well.
And today, there was one more thing.
We decided on a fetal nickname.
After His Highness and I discussed it, we settled on the name.
Stelle.
My star.
When I told him, he nodded and wrote it in the notebook.
He said it was a good name.
========================
[ 6th Regular Checkup ]
Date: Imperial Year 1047, December 23
Gestational age: 14 weeks, 2 days
Mother's blood pressure / weight: 114/72 // 54.0 kg
Proteinuria / edema: (-) / (-)
Fetal heartbeat: Not audible (14th week)
Fundal height: 12 cm
Blood spots: Almost gone
Medications: Aspirin ——, once daily (continue), Heparin ——, twice daily (continue)
Clotting time: 61 seconds (within target range)
───
Attending physician's notes:
Progress is good. Fundal height is within normal range. Blood spots are almost gone.
Signs of anxiety observed in the mother. Emotional stabilization guidance needed.
───
[ Maternity Diary ]
In two weeks, it will be 16 weeks.
Around this time, there used to be bleeding below.
And I had to let the babies go.
I place my hand on my belly. It's too quiet.
I was anxious, so I kept pressing my lower abdomen with my fingers.
No response.
In the daytime, Sir Nihirit scolded me, saying not to poke my belly carelessly and that irregular movement was perfectly normal, but I couldn't stop.
If only it would tap me just once, just once, I'd ask for nothing more.
December 25
Stelle isn't responding.
Could it be because the clotting time increased by one second this time?
December 27
I'm
so
scared
.
Please
just
one
more
time
—
move
for
me.
December 28
In the end, last night we finally did it.
My husband, who was even paler than I was, sent the knights from the detached palace in the middle of the night and brought Sir Nihirit here almost as if he'd been kidnapped.
Sir Nihirit, summoned in nothing but a coat hastily thrown over his pajamas, checked my belly first.
Then after confirming the heartbeat with a stethoscope, he seated the two of us side by side on the sofa and scolded us harshly.
He said that if the mother is this anxious, the child will become anxious too.
The mother's body is the child's home, and if that home shakes, the child inside shakes too.
His Highness got scolded too.
He was told that since his wife was this anxious, instead of comforting her, why was he getting anxious too?
If even the husband is shaken in front of his wife, where is the mother supposed to rely on?
In the end, the two of us got scolded for an hour.
But strangely enough.
After being scolded by him that day, I wasn't anxious anymore.
Come to think of it, the feeling of being scolded by Sir Nihirit was oddly familiar.
It was similar to the feeling I got when I was scolded by the venerable elders back when I lived at my family home.
I know Sir Nihirit isn't even twenty yet.
But for some reason.
It felt like being reprimanded by an elder over fifty.
========================
[ 9th Regular Checkup ]
Date: Imperial Year 1048, January 20
Gestational age: 20 weeks, 2 days
Mother's blood pressure / weight: 112/70 // 56.8 kg
Proteinuria / edema: (-) / (-)
Fetal heartbeat: 152 beats per minute (normal)
Fundal height: 18 cm (normal)
Blood spots: Gone
Medications: Aspirin ——, once daily (continue), Heparin ——, twice daily (continue)
Clotting time: 58 seconds (within target range)
───
Attending physician's notes:
20 weeks pregnant.
Both mother and fetus are very healthy.
Fetal heartbeat audible with a regular stethoscope.
First fetal movement confirmed. A small celebratory party is permitted to relieve the mother's stress.
However, overeating is prohibited.
───
[ Maternity Diary ]
A miracle happened.
The 16 to 20 weeks that had plagued me so terribly passed without incident.
There was no bleeding, and my belly never went cold.
My belly is swelling rounder by the day.
And a few days ago, while I was lying down reading a book,
I felt a strange wriggling sensation inside my belly, like a little fish swimming.
Stelle had greeted me for the first time.
Today, a very small party was held at the detached palace.
========================
[ 15th Regular Checkup ]
Date: Imperial Year 1048, March 17
Gestational age: 32 weeks, 2 days
Mother's blood pressure / weight: 116/74 // 62.5 kg
Proteinuria / edema: (-) / slight (+)
Fetal heartbeat: 144 beats per minute (normal)
Fundal height: 30 cm (normal)
Blood spots: Gone (maintained)
Medications: Aspirin —— once daily (continue), Heparin —— twice daily (continue)
Clotting time: 57 seconds (within target range)
───
Attending physician's notes:
Progress is good. Slight ankle swelling is within normal range. Fetal activity is vigorous. From this checkup on, notebook entries are left to the mother's discretion.
───
[ Maternity Diary ]
Stelle's kicks grow harsher by the day.
This morning too, she kicked my right ribs so hard that I gasped.
Stelle seems to take after His Highness.
His Highness also seemed pleased, saying Stelle would make a fine knight.
But I think I'd like Stelle to become a mage.
+
Today at the checkup, Sir Nihirit said there would truly be nothing left to write in the notebook now.
But since I've written this much already, I intend to fill this diary all the way to the end.
When our Stelle learns to read someday, I want to show you just how hard your mother struggled to protect you.
There is one more thing to write down.
Lately, a strange rumor has been circulating in social circles.
The rumor was that the reason His Highness and I had a child wasn't purely due to Sir Nihirit's treatment, but because we borrowed the power of medicine.
The culprit was His Highness.
It seems he drank a little too much at the 20-week celebration last time.
Apparently he was in high spirits in front of his subordinates and said all sorts of things.
Without anyone forcing him, in his own words, all of it.
A bizarre rumor spread through social circles that His Highness had procured an "incredible night elixir."
We worried that Sir Nihirit's great accomplishments and efforts would be buried under such vulgar rumors.
So whenever we went to social gatherings, we grabbed people and explained.
But no one believed us.
In fact, the more we explained, the more ridiculous details were added to the rumor.
Maybe that's why.
Lately, carriages and cars have supposedly been lingering around the Mercure Trading headquarters.
I must sincerely apologize to him.
========================
[ 19th Regular Checkup — Final ]
Date: Imperial Year 1048, May 12
Gestational age: 40 weeks, 1 day
Mother's blood pressure / weight: 118/76 // 66.2 kg
Proteinuria / edema: (-) / (+)
Fetal heartbeat: 140 beats per minute (normal)
Fundal height: 34 cm
Blood spots: Gone
Medications: Aspirin — stopped two weeks before delivery, Heparin — stopped 48 hours before delivery
Clotting time: 48 seconds (returned to normal range)
───
Attending physician's notes:/———/
───
[ Maternity Diary ]
This is the last page of this notebook.
Since dawn, my belly had been tightening regularly.
At first, I thought it was Stelle kicking again.
But this time, it was different.
A wave-like pain, tightening, releasing, then tightening again.
It was the kind of pain Sir Nihirit had warned me about.
The head maid immediately called for him.
He arrived within 30 minutes.
This time, he was in a suit, not pajamas.
It seemed he had been waiting nearby because the due date was close.
After finishing the examination, he nodded.
I was moved to the room immediately.
The maids moved busily according to his instructions, but after that the pain became too severe for me to remember much.
And then.
I heard a cry.
Sir Nihirit told me it was a boy.
Stelle.
It seems I won't be able to use that name after all.
Fortunately, I had another name prepared.
Your name is—
===================================
“It's Aster, then. That's a good name.”
Thud.
By the bedside of the princess consort, sleeping soundly.
I murmured as I set down her maternity notebook.
It seemed she'd written the diary immediately after giving birth.
That was incredible mental fortitude.
I wanted to read more.
But from that point on, it wasn't a medical consultation anymore, so I put it away.
I only opened the maternity notebook now because the princess consort wanted me to.
She asked me to fill in the final doctor's note, so I simply filled in yesterday's delivery record from memory.
I closed the notebook and stood up.
The princess consort was sleeping deeply with the baby in her arms.
As I was quietly leaving the room, Edmund was waiting in the hallway.
His eyes were swollen red.
It seemed he had cried that much yesterday.
The tears apparently hadn't gone away yet.
“Sir Julian.”
Edmund stood before me.
Then he held both of my hands tightly.
“Thank you.”
“I only did what had to be done.”
“Even so, I truly thank you. If it weren't for you, I would have had to part with my consort without even holding that child.”
Come to think of it.
This pregnancy also had a very important meaning for the couple.
There had even been rumors that the imperial family was trying to cast out the princess consort because of four miscarriages.
With a healthy child born in such a situation, they could finally breathe a little easier.
“Is there anything I can do to help? Name it.”
“Then, please keep the promise you made at last year's Founding Festival.”
“If it's lending my name for the medicine, that's fine. But will that be enough?”
I nodded.
There was an amusing rumor circulating in social circles lately.
Namely, that sildenafil had played the decisive role in the prince and princess consort having a child.
And in reality, that was half correct.
My treatment was to prevent miscarriage from happening again after the baby had already been conceived.
Therefore, the credit for the child being conceived belongs to sildenafil.
And in this situation, the prince was going to endorse this sildenafil?
When would I ever sell the imperial family's name?
It would probably have even greater effects than anything anyone could imagine.
Especially among imperial nobles who are sensitive about heirs.
But Edmund, the earnest soldier, didn't notice even this wicked plan of mine and kept wanting to do more for me.
“This alone isn't enough to show my gratitude. Ah, I hear the head of the Nihirit house is up for a promotion these days. I'll lend my name.”
“My father wouldn't want his abilities recognized that way, Your Highness.”
“Is that so? Hmm.... That's difficult. Friends who are too free of greed make rewarding them a chore.”
“This is enough for me, Your Highness.”
Prince Edmund laughed heartily and patted my shoulder.
“Good. I'll happily lend my name. I don't know whether this will be enough to repay you, but if that's what you say, I can't help it. Still, if there's ever anything I need from you someday, let me know.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness.”
As I was about to release the handshake and turn away, Edmund grabbed my sleeve.
And whispered,
“Ah, and Sir Julian. Just in case... could you set aside some stock before release?”
“…How much do you need?”
“About a month's worth, if you please.”
*
A few days later.
Mercure Trading decided on the official release of sildenafil.
The product name was Viagra.
Before the drug was even released, we began advertising it through newspapers.
The full-page advertisement that ran in major newspapers across the empire read as follows.
===================
There are many forms of courage.
The courage to step onto the battlefield.
The courage to fight disease.
And the courage to break the silence.
'ED (erectile dysfunction)' is never a stigma.
Consult your healer.
— Mercure Trading
====================
No drug name was written on the advertisement.
It was a format closer to a public service announcement than a commercial ad.
I was the one who pushed for this kind of ad.
The board and the guild master expressed concern about this ad.
[Director Shun, are you really going to advertise it like this? Isn't there another way?]
Inside the communication crystal, the guild master wrung his hands and looked restless.
I said to our chairman, who still couldn't shake his nouveau riche air,
“The name Viagra has already spread widely in secret. Right now, rather than making the name known, it will be more effective to break down the barriers to entry.”
By then, rumors about the prince had already been piled on top of it.
We could no longer expect any advertising effect from name recognition alone.
So, despite the board's lukewarm objections, I forced the ad through.
And the public response was explosive.
— “Did you see the Viagra ad?”
— “Viagra? Oh, that medicine?”
Citizens and nobles immediately recognized what medicine that polite sentence referred to.
The prevailing opinion was that the understated, patient-conscious advertising style made it feel even more mature and trustworthy.
— “The ad was pretty good.”
— “After seeing that, I'm thinking of visiting a healer myself. Healing magic might be one thing, but medicine isn't that expensive.”
— “Maybe I should go too....”
Above all, the term ED (Erectile Dysfunction) broke down people's mental barriers.
In this era, male dysfunction was referred to as impotence.
But once the dry term ED took root in the public's mind, men no longer feared the stigma.
Even if they weren't proud of it, their perceptions improved enough that they would secretly seek out healers.
And although it wasn't intentional, the first ad changed the drug's image as well.
It could have become a 'drug that encourages promiscuous sex,' but in the public mind it settled in as 'the last refuge of suffering men.'
In the end, even the board, which had looked at my ad with suspicion, had nothing left to say.
“See?”
[If you know the trade this well, then why am I even here....]
“I was just lucky this time. You run the company better than I do, Guild Master, don't you? Come to think of it, how much stock do we have?”
[If it's that, we've prepared plenty.]
“That won't be enough.”
[?]
There was a minor problem in the middle.
The guild was still estimating the demand for this drug far too low.
On the front, a discreet newspaper ad.
On the back, rumors about the prince.
Our board had underestimated the power created when these two were combined.
‘Well, even if we ran every factory we have, it still looks like demand will outstrip supply.’
In my previous life, I heard that prescriptions in the first week after this drug was released in the U.S. topped 300,000.
There was no reason demand in this world would be any less; if anything, it would be greater.
But this was not something I could fix just by explaining it, so I left it alone.
[If we have 100,000 tablets, they'll sell out in a week. Heh heh heh....]
I also left the guild master alone, still unable to foresee the chaos to come.
A few days later.
At last, Viagra (sildenafil) was released to the public.
And it sold out in a single day.
[What? How is that? Huh?]
The board got busy in many ways, but that was none of my concern.
I'm the one who develops medicines.
Production infrastructure is outside my area.
That's for those guys to handle.
And the next morning, carriages lined up in front of the guild headquarters so long they wrapped around three times,
and the following day, it began trading on the black market at five times the official price,
and the day after that, a sweeping crackdown on the black market and hoarding began.
The ensuing 'sildenafil frenzy' was recorded as the most chaotic week in imperial commercial history,
but that had nothing to do with me.