Despite the strength to lift entire horses. Despite the ability to slay a hundred men. Despite the ability to shape the very earth to his will. Wylis felt very weak. He didn't know if he could ever fall sick, even the worst of poisons had failed.
What he did know was that everyone around him wasn't him. Perhaps his children wouldn't fall sick, with him increasing their vitality. But what about the women? What about his friends? What about poisons? They would kill even Magnus.
After what happened to Rhaella that night, Wylis felt the fragility of the world in a way he'd never experienced personally. And knowing Ashara and Lyanna were merely a month from giving birth, he felt tense all the time.
In the days to come, he shut himself in the dungeon laboratories to work on all the medicines and vaccines he could realistically create. Further, he decided to write down all he knew about medicine and biology. He no longer cared about hoarding it. The more eyes that read it, the more experiments and results there would be. It was simply a matter of greater numbers.
Tetanus was one of the threats that always loomed. Wylis understood that in a society such as Westeros, where knowledge of sanitization and germs didn't exist, not just battlefields but even daily life was risky.
And considering how fatal it was, he chose to work on it right away. It would not only save men in his army, but also his family and Ramsgate's people.
But it wasn't an easy undertaking. The difficulty was far greater than penicillin and blood group finding. To make Tetanus Antitoxin, he had to do experiments, and horses were involved. Not Caliburn, of course, nor the breed related to Caliburn.
It was a gradual process, taking weeks. And eventually, harvesting the serum and testing it was also time-consuming. But the real issue was its scalability since it was so hard to produce. It could be made in his self-made, sterilized lab, but even then, it was only enough for a handful of people.
Still, it was better than nothing, and over time, he believed it could be evolved into long-term active immunization. In a similar way, he worked on Typhoid. And combining his planned city's hygiene standards, it would reduce the risk to begin with.
For medicines, he worked on Aspirin by extracting salicylic acid from willow bark. It was good for pain, fever, inflammation, and even some heart issues. It wasn't the hardest of medicines to make, and it was in the realm of science he had already discovered and taught Qyburn. All it needed was a basic distillation setup.
Nitroglycerin was also an option for heart issues. But Wylis decided to keep it private and never write it anywhere. It was an extremely explosive compound.
Little things mattered, and that was what Wylis focused on. Yet, he knew it wasn't enough, so he added more focus on surgical tools, methods, and types of surgeries. He wrote them down instead of experimenting personally. Qyburn was especially delighted with them.
What else?
Baggy eyes, he sat in the laboratory, thinking about what to build.
Neonatal tools for emergencies.
Quickly, he got to work again. Westeros needed a medical revolution, but that was going to take a long time. So, Wylis had made up his mind to force it on Ramsgate first.
####
Rhaella hadn't left her bedchamber in half a moon now. She had grown tired of resting constantly, but it was an order from the Lord of the castle himself. The Maester said her body was still weak and required nurturing and rest to be ready to breathe outside air again.
She merely smiled and agreed. Seeing Wylis woeful made her miserable as well. The son she had given birth to was unusually active and full of vigor, and his beauty… She remembered Rhaegar when he was born; the women in the court had sung praises of his beauty. But now, holding the newborn.
How many hearts will you break?
She thought and smiled. The boy was ethereally beautiful, something akin to Arthria, but a little more. Looking at him made her feel as if it were magic. Those lilac eyes, dark hair, and his size itself stood out.
The seed is quite strong.
Having seen most of Lord Kaiser's children and having acted as a caregiver of those children in the castle at times, she couldn't help but feel awe at Lord Kaiser's ability to sire strong and beautiful children each time. Be it with a noblewoman or smallfolk like Ros or Anna, the children came out large, beautiful, and wise.
It filled her heart with joy. As strange as life had become for her, she felt content and happier now than ever. She wasn't the wife of the man whose child she gave birth to, yet that did not lessen her love for him. Wylis Kaiser was like a dream that came true, only a little too late.
But it was there now, and she was content.
Yet, there was sadness. The midwives and the Maester had warned her that her next childbirth could be her last. Hearing that after having promised many left her with a suffocating sensation in her chest.
"Give me your other arm, dear."
Rhaella shook herself from her thoughts and warmly smiled. The last person she expected to be this kind to her was Old Nan. Yet, there she was, being cared for by her. It embarrassed her a little, wondering what Old Nan thought about her. Perhaps an evil queen who stole her great-grandson.
"You ought to smile more, Your Grace. I see now why that big ox went chasin' after you. Your smile's kind and warm. Why, even an old woman like me can feel it."
Rhaella softly chuckled. "You are too kind, la–Old Nan."
She let Old Nan use a clean, wet cloth to wipe her arms. This was the usual routine before the night's sleep. Old Nan would even knead her limbs, saying that not doing it would delay her healing.
From her diet to her sleep, everything was as per Wylis' firm orders. What she ate, what she wore, how much she walked, and how much she slept. It was all written down and reported to him.
In a way, it was heartwarming. However, she wished to see him now. She wanted to tell him not to take the matter so harshly. The maids had informed her about Lord Kaiser locking himself in the dungeon to make medicines.
She wanted him to rest. She had been through so many miscarriages, stillbirths, and had lost children as young as months and as old as a year old. She wanted him to know how happy this healthy birth made her.
"Old Nan, I… have a request." She looked at the incredibly old woman. "I wish to see Wylis, yet he has not returned from the dungeons these past seven days. I... hope you might bring him out. I worry he is not caring for himself."
By then, Old Nan was tying her long, ashen-blonde hair into a single, loose braid so she could sleep comfortably.
"Aye, I've heard it all. Lyanna told me the same, and I fear Wylis will suffer if he don't listen to her quicker. I'll fetch the lad by his ear tonight, don't you worry none, Your Grace. He'll be here before you close your eyes."
Oh?
Rhaella's brows hiked, a pinch of worry in her eyes.
Forgive me, Wylis. I couldn't ask anyone else.
####
Wylis arrived in front of Rhaella's bedchamber door while rubbing one side of his face. Thankfully, it wasn't Old Nan who'd come to nag him, and the likelihood of him listening to her was low.
No, it was Lyanna who had run out of patience. She had threatened to barge into the lab and contaminate it if he didn't come out. And once he did, she jumped on him like an angry kitten and smacked her wolfish paws on his cheek.
Thankfully, they were alone. It wasn't good for him to be seen getting cursed and yelled at by a woman who barely reached his shoulder. But again, she was his wife, and the one woman he shared the deepest connection with.
In his defense, he was just working. Of course, he was dejected, but not because Rhaella couldn't have more kids. But by the fact that she almost died, and that he didn't have all the means to save them in the worst case.
Eventually, he calmed the she-wolf down. But instead of dragging him to the bedchamber, she sent him to Rhaella. He'd tried being there for her, and he was there with Rhaella during those initial nights. But until now, they hadn't talked about her reproductive health.
Knock! Knock!
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Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 12 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 45-50 Webnovel chapters.
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