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Upon his arrival, even the lord accompanied him for tea, clearly showing a great deal of respect.
Hedy was called over and performed a greeting before listening in on their conversation.
The discussion, however, went from the weather to business, then back again, so dull that it almost made her fall asleep.
After about thirty or forty minutes of pleasantries, the elderly gentleman hesitated before finally revealing his true reason for visiting.
“You know, how can one confirm if a child is truly theirs?”
The question sounded both humiliating and complicated, clearly hiding some deeper story.
Hedy snapped back to attention, shaking off her drowsiness and began listening closely as he shared some of his past secrets.
Duke Enzo was over fifty years old and had four wives in total. His new wife was only in her twenties, still in the bloom of youth.
The issue was that their child, despite inheriting both hair and eye color from his parents, always seemed somewhat unwell.
Hedy began to sense something here. It was no wonder that they had asked Mr. Medici to come listen in on this matter—it seemed like a precautionary measure against her.
"So..." the old duke nervously rubbed his hands, "Is there anything that can be done?"
"Hmm..." She turned her gaze toward Medici, silently seeking his opinion.
Some tasks, even if they are simple to do, might not be worth helping with. Helping could bring more trouble than a mere thank you.
The duke seemed to sense her unspoken question and subtly nodded.
Building a relationship with Duke Enzo would be very beneficial for developing the banking industry in the south.
In a split second, Hedy confirmed the information with Medici, then nodded toward the elderly gentleman.
"It should be possible," she said, pausing before adding cautiously, "It will likely take about half a month, and I may need some things, such as blood—but I assure you, it will not be used for any form of witchcraft. The specific methods will be explained to you later."
When the old duke heard that there was hope, he visibly relaxed, nodding eagerly. "A child is the father's flesh and blood, so of course, it requires blood—there's no need to be so tense!"
Lorenzo gestured for her to step back, then smiled as he engaged the duke in further conversation, discussing rumors from the south. They talked for quite a while.
Although Hedy wasn’t a doctor, she was well aware of her own blood type and some related stories.
She was well-connected and had been married to husbands from different professions, through which she had met people from various circles.
Because of this, she once heard a fascinating story from a scientist.
In this world, there are generally four main blood types: A, B, O, and AB.
These four blood types symbolize many things.
Type O blood is believed to be the earliest dominant blood type in history, often called the "hunter blood type." People with this blood type lived on a high-protein diet and were in the primitive stage of human history.
As agriculture developed, many people began to rely on farming, gradually evolving a digestive system better suited for grains, with lower stomach acid. These were the first immigrants and farmers, the pioneers of new history.
Type B blood is common in the Eurasian steppes, carrying the characteristics of nomadic people and also having antibodies that counteract Type A blood.
As for Type AB blood... Hedy had heard from her friend that it represented modern times. It was a blood type that emerged gradually as various later groups mixed and evolved.
These four blood types help doctors classify blood for transfusions, ensuring that, in emergencies and surgeries, patients can be kept alive as safely as possible.
Hedy thought for a moment but didn’t come up with a direct method for confirming blood types. However, she knew of a simple method called exclusion.
