Her Graceful War Song

Abigail nearly collapsed to the ground. She looked pleadingly at the midwife, but the midwife was also at a loss. In her lifetime, she had witnessed the dangers of childbirth many times, but when it became that perilous, there was no saving either the mother or the child. "What do we do? What can we do?" Abigail cried, tears streaming down her face as she wiped the sweat from Leona's brow. "You're suffering so much, Leona. I'm so sorry."NôvelDrama.Org © content.

"It hurts..." Leona could only repeat those two words, her gaze pleading for help from one person after another, but no one could offer her relief.

Outside, hurried footsteps echoed-Heather had arrived.

She rushed into the delivery room, pushed Carissa aside, and took Leona's hand in her own.

"Leona, I'm here. How are you feeling?"

"Hurts..." Leona looked at her mother with no trace of joy. In fact, she looked fearful and wanted to pull away from Heather's grasp as she searched for her cousin.

"Just endure a little longer. Giving birth is painful. When I had you, it was agony, too, but I made it through. You can do this." Heather squatted down beside her and spoke softly. "Take slow, deep breaths in and out. It will help with the pain."

Ivy interjected, "Your Grace, she took a blow to the abdomen. The baby is likely in danger, and it could endanger the duchess' life as well. This pain is beyond mere endurance."

Heather snapped back, "Enough with your nonsense! Prince Harvey has already gone to fetch the royal physician. He will be here shortly."

Ivy thought to herself that the royal physician's skills were on par with her own. Only Sebastian could truly help, but she refrained from saying so. It wouldn't do to undermine the royal physician's reputation, as it would bring trouble for the Arcane Sanctum.

The royal physician arrived soon after, but he couldn't enter the room. Instead, he stood on the other side of the partition screen, asking about the situation before preparing more labor-inducing medicine. They had already given Leona a dose, and now they could only increase the amount.

At this point, Leona could hardly swallow anything. The excruciating pain made her nauseous. She managed to sip the concoction a couple of times before retching it back up.

With no other option, they hung a curtain at the foot of the bed and called the royal physician in to check her pulse. However, the physician hesitated, citing that men should not enter the birthing room, especially considering Leona's status. He was unwilling to risk offending anyone, and only instructed Ivy to take her pulse.

Ivy moved forward to do so. The royal physician frowned as he looked at the results. "Is her cervix not fully dilated yet?"

"It has opened a little," the midwife replied.

"How can this be? Is there a lot of bleeding?"

"It's not excessive, but her waters broke. It's been over two hours."

The royal physician asked, "What about using acupuncture to induce labor?"

Ivy said, "We've tried, but there's been no effect."

The royal physician frowned, and stayed silent for a while. Heather urgently urged, "You have to come up with something!" Hearing Leona's cries growing increasingly desperate, the royal physician felt a wave of helplessness wash over him. He sighed.

"I don't know what else to do. Please forgive me, Your Grace."

Heather turned pale, "You're a royal physician! I-If you don't know what to do, what are we to do?"

She suddenly looked at Carissa, her eyes wide with urgency. "Carissa, think of something to help your cousin. You know Sebastian, right? You must send someone to fetch him!"

"Alana has already gone to get him,"

Carissa replied. She turned to Hazel and Kate and said, "Bring more hot water and apply a warm compress to her belly. Let's see if we can help things along."

Abigail left Hazel and Kate with Leona while she stepped out to give orders. At this moment, the people from Graeehold Estate needed to take action. Even if it seemed futile, they needed to do something

Meanwhile, Harvey was in the side hall, and servants were bringing him updates. Initially, he thought the arrival of the royal physician would be enough, but when he learned that the royal physician had no solution, a wave of anxiety gripped him.