Leah was not only the Queen of Estia, but the Queen of Kurkan.

The Kurkan had been of great help to Estia, and Leah thought it was only right to reward them. She decided to announce her second pregnancy in the Kurkan desert.

It was only the journey that worried her. Though her body had recovered, she was still weak, and so she sought out Morga for advice. Mura was delighted by the plan; she had always thought Leah’s health would improve if she lived in a quieter place.

“As long as you’re in the palace, you will always have work waiting,” she said. It was sensible advice, and so Leah went to Morga.

Lesha was very excited.

It was the first time in his whole life that he would get to go on a long journey, and he packed a small bag all by himself and carried it on his back every day. His mother burst out laughing when she saw the things he had packed.

Lesha’s adventure bag included several of his favorite toys, including his favorite werewolf doll, a dagger from his father, as well as cookies, candy, some dried dates, and a book of fairy tales. When Leah asked what he needed the knife for, Lesha looked very serious.

“To protect my Mama.”

But then he started rifling through the rest of the bag, pulling out all the snacks.

“And this is for when Mama is hungry, and this is in case you get bored…” He even showed her the book they would use in case they got lost, since the pictures looked like maps. He had said they would light bonfires to call for help, and had plans for every other conceivable disaster that might befall them in the journey across the desert.

Leah’s preparations were a little different.

It was hard to delegate so much work for others. Most of it, she entrusted to Count Valtein and Finance Minister Laurent, but she felt embarrassed to say that she was going to Kurkan to rest.

The Kurkan were also busy, especially sorcerers like Morga. They worked tirelessly to find ways to reduce the fatigue that afflicted their Queen’s weak body, and thanks to Ishakan, they were able to gather all the necessary ingredients.

“This potion is going to turn whoever drinks it into a monster,” said Mura, shaking her head as Morga extended the bottle to Leah.

“It’s a nourishing tonic,” he explained. “It’s not quite finished, we’re still missing one ingredient, but it should help you recover your energy.”

It was surprising to hear that anything was missing. If it pertained to Leah’s health, Ishakan would go to the ends of the earth to find it.

“We couldn’t find the Redblood Fruit,” Morga explained before she could ask. In the east, there was a tree called Blood, because its leaves were always red. Its fruit was called Redblood fruit, but even wealthy people had difficulty acquiring it. “It seems all the trees died from a blight.”

Even if more trees grew, it would be a long time before more fruit was available.

“We have been investigating, but so far nothing has been found. We have been in contact with the people of the Eastern continent, and I hope there will be good news.”

Morga was ashamed that he couldn’t make the perfect potion, but Leah calmly drank it down. It was very bitter. Immediately, she reached for a piece of chocolate to take away the taste.

“It would taste good, if it had the fruit,” Morga said sadly. It would have tasted sweet, and Leah was also missing the taste of a fruit she had never seen, as an alternative to bitterness.

But the potion worked well, and she spent the next few days filled with renewed energy, an improvement so drastic that she wondered how much better the finished product would have been.

Oh, well. It wouldn’t happen, if it was so impossible to get the fruit.