Chapter 3

Chubby cheeks and a big mole on his face. At first, when I only heard Prugg’s name, I wasn’t sure.

But after seeing his face, I remembered the description from the novel and was convinced.

Prugg Rempel.

In the original story, he was an early villain who secretly stole what little money the family had, even touching the inheritance left by the male lead’s father.

When the male lead later found out, he tried to kill Prugg, but Prugg quickly ran away. In the novel, the male lead eventually killed him early on for his betrayal.

“So if we just had money, you’d agree to call a doctor?”

“Of course. I truly care about the young master too, so if we had money, I’d call a doctor immediately.”

“Really? Got it.”

I left the office with Bella.

“Madam… sniff… what do we do now?”

“What else? We go get money.”

“Huh?”

Bella looked at me blankly.

“For now, you go and check on the young duke’s condition.”

“Madam? Madam!”

I strode off, recalling what I had read in the book. Prugg’s room was at the far end of the second floor. Unlike my room, his had a lock.

Others might not notice, but I knew exactly why he locked it. Because all the money he secretly stole was hidden inside!

Just like in the novel, I lifted the flowerpot nearby and found a shiny key. It was Prugg’s room key.

Careless Prugg had nearly lost it a few times before, so he kept it hidden in a place only he knew.

“Hah. Hiding a key under a flowerpot—same trick in that world and this one.”

I unlocked the door and stepped inside. The bed was cluttered with junk, and books were piled all over the floor.

“Ugh. What’s that smell?”

I pinched my nose in disgust. Careful not to disturb anything, I stepped inside cautiously.

“How am I supposed to find it here?”

In the novel, the male lead had walked in and immediately found the hidden stash, but it never explained how.

I stood on tiptoe and tapped the floor with my heel. The wooden boards gave dull thuds.

I knocked along the walls and tugged at the coat rack, but nothing moved.

“What the heck…”

If the male lead found it instantly, then it couldn’t be that complicated. But I couldn’t figure it out.

“This isn’t good…”

I grew anxious.

If I couldn’t find the hidden money, there was no way to get cash quickly.

Sure, there might be other ways later, but nothing in the short term.

If we didn’t call a doctor tomorrow, who knew what would happen to the male lead?

“Arghhh!”

I ruffled my hair and shouted. That’s when I noticed the dust on the floor.

Strangely, one area had less dust than the rest.

Like something had been sitting there.

My eyes turned toward the carpet.

If I moved it, the dust would match perfectly.

A lightbulb went off in my head.

I pulled the carpet aside and lifted the wooden board, revealing a small wooden box hidden underneath.

When I opened it, it was full of jewels.

“Wow…”

Firewood money, medicine money, servant clothes money—and even part of the young duke’s inheritance.

Prugg had secretly hoarded them all.

“How much did you have to steal to gather this much?”

I felt both happy and bitter.

The jewels weren’t extremely valuable.

Right now, with the duchy so poor, they looked huge. But in reality, this amount wasn’t even worth one dress the male lead would later buy for the heroine.

For other nobles, this was the kind of money they’d blow in one night of entertainment. But for this family, it was all they had left.

Among the jewels was a ring engraved with the Valfruga family crest.

A ring passed down from duke to duke.

In the novel, Prugg had stolen it after the duke’s accident.

The male lead thought it was lost when his father died. Later, when he suspected Prugg of embezzlement and investigated, he found the ring too.

And his fury back then had been enormous.

“Well, he deserved it.”

After a moment of thought, I only took the smallest emerald so it wouldn’t be noticeable, then snapped the box shut.

‘I’ll just take enough to hire a doctor. The rest, I’ll come back for later. I have nowhere to hide them right now, and the situation isn’t in my favor.’

After all, I was just a poor orphan girl who had married into the family.

If I accused Prugg of stealing, people would think I was making it up.

If the male lead said it, no one would doubt it, but I wasn’t him.

‘I’ll deal with this later, once I’ve grown closer to the male lead.’

Decision made, I put the box back, replaced the carpet, and checked that nothing looked disturbed.

I returned the key to its spot and went back to the young duke’s room.

Bella greeted me as she cared for him by the bed.

“Madam! Where have you been?”

“Mm, just a little walk. So… how’s the duke?”

“His fever hasn’t gone down at all. What do we do…”

The boy still lay unconscious, breathing weakly.

Bella looked sincerely worried about him.

At least, Bella seemed trustworthy enough.

“Bella. Go fetch a doctor.”

“But Madam, we don’t have money…”

I handed her the jewel I had just taken.

Her eyes widened.

“I found it while walking around the castle. I don’t know how much it’s worth, but it should be enough to bring a doctor.”

“Y-you found this while walking?!”

Bella stared between me and the jewel, stunned.

If she saw the whole stash Prugg had hidden, she’d probably faint.

“Yep. Sell it for money, bring a doctor, and if there’s any left, bring it to me—not anyone else. If someone asks where the money came from, just say it was my dowry.”

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

Of course, I worried a bit.

There was nothing stopping Bella from running away like the maid who deserted earlier.

But I needed someone I could trust to help me in the future.

And there were more jewels anyway—this was also a good chance to test her.

I placed the jewel in Bella’s trembling hands.

“U-uh…”

I urged her on.

“What are you doing? Hurry! How long are you going to let the duke stay sick?”

Bella clenched the jewel so hard her hand turned white, then ran out.

I heard a loud thud halfway down the hall—she must’ve fallen—but then she kept running.

I sat down beside the bed, clasped my hands like in prayer, and looked at the boy’s face.

“Hold on a little longer. The doctor will be here soon.”

Not long after, Bella returned with a doctor in a white coat.

He was so out of breath, still panting heavily, that Bella must have dragged him here nonstop.

“Doctor! Hurry, hurry! Please look at our duke!”

Bella kept urging him, half-crazed.

The doctor quickly opened his bag and examined the boy.

His serious expression made me tense up too.

What’s with that face?

Don’t tell me it’s really bad?

He checked the boy’s eyes, listened to his heartbeat with a stethoscope, and examined different parts of his body.

The more he checked, the more anxious I became.

In the novel, the male lead had survived just fine.

So what was happening?

Say something already!

Finally, after looking into his ears, the doctor spoke.

“Fortunately, it’s not serious. It’s just a common fever that children of this age often get.”

“Phew…”

I let out a huge sigh of relief.

“There won’t be any aftereffects, right?”

“No, nothing like that. It just happened because his body weakened from poor nutrition. I’ll prescribe medicine. If he eats properly, his fever will drop quickly.”

Bella saw the doctor out, while I sat by the boy, exhausted.

A duke with malnutrition.

Unbelievable.

Looking at his thin cheeks made my heart ache even more.

I sent Bella to buy meat with the leftover money after paying the doctor.

Just as the doctor said, after taking medicine, his fever soon dropped.

I stayed by his side through the night, but eventually drifted off to sleep.

Then I woke up to the sound of rustling.

“Mmm…”

The boy stirred and slowly opened his eyes.

His red eyes met mine.

They sparkled like stars, flickered like flames.

A beautiful, mysterious color I had never seen before.

“See? I knew they’d be pretty.”

Even his eyes were stunning.

I smiled and greeted him.

“Hello, husband.”

At my words, the boy looked at me with guarded eyes.

“I’m the woman you married—Pelia Foldbish. Just call me ‘noona’ (big sister).”

The boy tilted his head slightly.

Ahh, so cute.

I barely held back the urge to hug him and asked,

“What’s your name?”

“…Lucius Valfruga.”

“Alright, can I call you ‘Lus’?”

He hesitated, then slowly nodded.

His wary expression made him look like a wounded little animal.

“Lus, how’s your body? Does it hurt?”

“…I’m fine now.”

“You can speak comfortably. You’re the duke now, after all.”

At my words, Lus shrank as if scolded.

Did he hate being duke?

I quickly added,

“But before that, you’re my husband. So we’re kind of like… friends. Really close friends. Friends talk comfortably with each other!”

But… if you still want to be formal, that’s fine too…

I mumbled weakly.

“…Okay.”

“I should tell Bella you’re awake, so she can bring you food. The doctor said you need to eat well to recover fast.”

“You… called a doctor? Doctors cost a lot…”

His face turned pale.

How pitiful, that even as a sick child he worried more about money than himself.

I looked him in the eyes and spoke gently,

“It’s fine. Your health matters more than money.”

“But…”

“It’s fine. I’ll take care of everything.”

Besides, I know how this story goes—your noona will feed you three meat dishes a day.

“So don’t think about anything else. Just eat well and grow healthy.”

And then… please, let me live.

I really don’t want to die.