The Heir Apparent - a historical why choose, rh, poly, MMF, spicy romance ✅

Chapter Six

Casimir

It was of the highest honor to be called upon to serve as the personal physician to someone of the court.

Indeed, it was always an honor bestowed upon the older, more experienced doctors in any given kingdom.

This was why I was struggling to understand why it was I who was chosen.

I was of a perfectly respectable age, of course, at one-and-thirty.

But that was young for the honor.

I may not have understood the decision, but I hastened to pack as much of my things as possible, and readied myself for my new life in the castle, at the personal beck and call of the new leader of our land.

You simply did not turn down the honor of being chosen, no matter your reservations.

If for no other reason than the living that you were offered made for a very comfortable life.

Indeed, my quarters were finer than anything I may have been able to find on my own, no matter how many patients I looked after.

I was situated in the king's private wing, needing to be available at all times, day or night, should I be needed.

My room was large and regally decorated with a large fireplace to hold off the chill of the cold stone walls and floors.

My exam room was on a lower level of the castle and outfitted with everything I might need to attend to just about any ailment.

I found myself inside of said room when I heard footsteps moving closer, then a loud rap at the door.

"Is something—" I started, opening wide the door.

To find one of the court's guards standing there, holding up a small, frail woman with pale skin marred with red streaks from tears.

"You are Casimir?" the guard asked.

"I am."

"You must attend to her," the guard informed me, taking a step forward.

"I am afraid you are mistaken, sir. I am the king's personal physician," I told him, feeling my shoulders pulling back at those words.

Pride was never becoming.

I would need to remind myself to be more humble about my position moving forward.

"Sir, surely you mean your queen," the guard said, his words sending me back a step.

"Queen?" I repeated.

"Were you not informed? You are to attend to our new queen. This new queen," he said, looking down at the woman he was holding onto her feet.

"Queen," I repeated, finding myself in shock for entirely too long before recovering. "Yes, yes, of course. Lady, please come in," I invited, moving aside to make room for the two of them to pass.

Queen.

It was a queen, not a king.

Suddenly, I understood why I was chosen, why it was an honor bestowed upon me.

As my specialty had been the female body and its various conditions.

In our profession, feminine care was often left up to midwives and local wise women. Only those from noble families attended physicians. And more oftentimes than not, said physicians were ill-equipped to handle a woman's unique concerns with regard to her body.