Zade drank the soup eagerly. But as the liquid settled into his empty stomach, the ingredients began to work their magic.

At first, Zade just felt a nice, comfortable warmth spreading through his chest. It felt good on his bruised ribs. But very quickly, the warmth turned into a deep, intense heat. It rushed downward, completely leaving his brain and heading straight for his lower half.

Zade stopped chewing a piece of soft mushroom. His eyes widened behind his white bandages. He felt a sudden, massive, and entirely uncontrollable pressure building up below his waist.

Because he was covered only by a thin, white silk sheet, the sudden physical change was not easy to hide.

In fact, it was completely impossible to hide.

Underneath the thin white silk, a very distinct, very obvious shape began to form. The fabric lifted slowly, creating a small, highly noticeable tent right in the middle of the bed.

Camilla was holding the silver spoon, ready to offer him another bite. She paused. Her eyes naturally followed the movement of the white silk sheet.

She stared at the growing tent. She blinked once. She blinked twice.

Zade, feeling the cool air of the room hit his suddenly exposed condition, slowly lowered his gaze. He looked down at his own lap. He saw the fabric rising.

A heavy, incredibly awkward, mind-shattering silence completely filled the room. The ticking of the large grandfather clock in the corner suddenly sounded as loud as a booming drum.

Very, very slowly, Zade and Camilla raised their heads. They looked directly at each other.

Zade’s face, underneath the bandages, flushed a color so red he looked like a ripe tomato. Pure, absolute panic exploded in his chest. This was his older sister!

Zade swallowed hard. His voice cracked with sheer terror.

"It is not what you think, sister!" Zade practically squeaked, raising his hands in a desperate gesture of innocence.

Camilla stared at him. The sweet, caring smile completely vanished from her face. Her eyes turned into narrow, freezing slits.

"How dare you?" Camilla asked. Her voice was not loud, but it was deadly quiet and incredibly threatening. She gripped the silver spoon so tightly her knuckles turned white. "I come here to feed you, to care for you, and you... you do this?"

"I don’t know what is happening!" Zade shouted frantically, his voice muffled by the bandages. He tried to pull his knees up to hide the evidence, but the sharp pain in his broken ribs restricted his movements.

As they were talking, the fertility tonic hit the young lord’s system with full force.

The tent under the thin silk sheet gave a sudden, noticeable twitch. And then, it became even bigger.

Camilla’s eyes went wide with horror. She dropped the spoon directly into the soup bowl with a loud clank. She jumped up from the edge of the bed as if the mattress had suddenly caught fire.

"Zade!!!!" Camilla shouted at the top of her lungs, pointing an accusing finger at his lap. Her face was a mixture of absolute disgust and deep shock. "Control yourself! You are a sick person!"

"I am trying!" Zade screamed back, his voice full of genuine frustration and deep humiliation. "I don’t know why it’s getting bigger! I am not doing this on purpose! What do you take me for? I am your brother! I feel deeply insulted that you think I would do this!"

Camilla crossed her arms over her chest. She glared down at him, totally unamused.

"You feel insulted?" Camilla replied, her voice dripping with dark sarcasm. She narrowed her eyes dangerously. "You are about to be deeply beaten. If you do not make that go down right now, I will use my shoe to fix the problem."

Zade squeezed his eyes tightly shut. He was sweating profusely. The heat in his body was completely overwhelming. His face felt like it was on fire.

"I think..." Zade panted heavily, his breath quick and shallow. "I think I’m having a massive fever. I feel so hot. My blood is boiling. Something is wrong."

Camilla looked at his red face and his sweating forehead. She realized he was not faking it. He actually looked sick. The soup must have been too strong for his empty stomach.

"Don’t move," Camilla ordered strictly. She turned on her heel and rushed toward the bedroom door. "I will be right back."

She ran out into the hallway. "Maids!" Camilla yelled loudly. "Bring cold water! Right now! Buckets of cold water and ice! Hurry!"

The maids, hearing the panic in the Lady’s voice, dropped their dusters and ran quickly to the kitchens.

Two minutes later, Camilla rushed back into Zade’s bedroom. She was carrying a large bucket filled to the top with freezing cold well water.

Zade was breathing heavily, completely unable to lower the silk tent.

Camilla did not hesitate. She lifted the bucket high into the air.

SPLASH!

She dumped the entire bucket of freezing cold water directly onto Zade’s face and his upper chest.

The shock of the icy water hitting his hot skin was absolute.

"Camilla!!!!" Zade shrieked at the very top of his lungs.

The freezing water soaked his white bandages and plastered his silk shirt to his bruised chest. He gasped wildly for air, his teeth instantly chattering.

Camilla stood next to the bed, holding the empty bucket. She looked down at his lap.

The freezing water had worked perfectly. The shock had completely killed th effects of the tonic. The white silk sheet was completely flat again.

Camilla nodded her head in deep satisfaction. She placed the empty bucket on the floor.

"It is for your own good," Camilla replied calmly, patting her hands together as if she had just finished a hard day’s work. She pulled a wool blanket from the bottom of the bed and threw it over his shivering body.

It took a full hour for the chaos to finally settle down.

Zade had to endure the painful process of having his wet bandages removed and his bruises re-wrapped by the doctor. He was changed into dry clothes and tucked securely back into a dry bed.

The small table with the remaining soup was quickly removed from the room.

Finally, they were alone again. Zade lay in the bed, shivering slightly under the thick blankets. His face was still pale from the shock.

He looked over at his older sister, who was sitting quietly in a soft chair near the window.

The memory of the awkward incident hung heavily in the air between them. Zade felt his cheeks start to burn from embarrassment.

"Let’s never speak of this," Zade spoke softly, his voice full of deep, profound embarrassment. "In the future."

Camilla looked at him. She crossed her arms and nodded her head firmly.

"Agreed," Camilla replied quickly. She never wanted to think about that moment for the rest of her life.