#8.
What I handed to Becky was a jewelry box. I planned to discuss with the Duke and Duchess later how to handle her punishment after helping her with her situation.
“First, take this and go get the surgery done. It’s urgent, right?”
“H-Hic…”
Becky looked at me with a tear-streaked face. I smiled at her wide-eyed expression of surprise.
“Becky. It was definitely wrong of you to touch my things. You should feel sorry for that for a long time.”
“I’m sorry…”
“And I’m a little hurt, too. If things were that hard at home, you could’ve come to me for help. Did I look so poor that I couldn’t even cover hospital bills?”
“…What?”
Becky blinked dumbly. She was older than Roni but still only seventeen — a child who needed protection from adults.
I gave her a warm, gentle smile, trying to look like a grown-up, even though I was technically still a child. Then I firmly placed the jewelry box into her hands.
“First, take this and pay for your mother’s medical bills. Of course, you’ll still be punished. Come back and face it.”
“Sniff! Miss, thank you! Thank you so much!”
Becky bowed repeatedly in gratitude, tears flowing again. I wiped her tears with my sleeve and told her to stop crying and hurry along.
Even as she left the estate, Becky kept bowing toward me. I waved at her from the window, gesturing for her to go quickly.
But just as Becky disappeared from view, I turned to Bibi to plan how to deal with the real mastermind—only to be shocked. Bibi’s eyes were sparkling too brightly.
Startled by her intense gaze, I scratched my head.
“W-Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Miss, that was really touching.”
“Huh? W-What was?”
I backed away slightly, flustered. She looked like she was about to say something terribly cheesy.
Despite my awkward reaction, Bibi began to praise me, saying she didn’t know I cared so much about the servants.
I quickly waved my hands, feeling uncomfortable with the compliments.
“Anyway, make sure the culprits don’t run. We’ll talk with Father as soon as he returns.”
“Yes, Miss!”
Bibi, excited, ran off to the butler. It had been such a beautiful morning… So how did it end up like this?
I stared in disbelief as Becky, now bound, was dragged into the Sharligan estate by guards. Gail was yelling at her furiously, clearly having heard something from the guards.
It was terrible timing — our parents were away, and the situation was rapidly spiraling. Thankfully, we had already apprehended the actual culprit.
Servants began whispering around Becky. Even Allen was watching from a distance.
“What’s going on?”
“Sis! Just in time. This girl was caught stealing your jewelry box while you weren’t looking.”
Gail shouted while pointing at Becky, who mumbled behind the gag in her mouth, clearly trying to explain herself.
Seeing her bound and gagged like that was shocking.
Even if they were guards, how could they treat a girl like that? Did commoners have no rights here? Why were they treating her so harshly?
I was deeply unsettled by the guards’ excessive behavior. What kind of world was this, where people were treated so carelessly?
Just then, a man in a white coat—clearly a doctor—stepped up beside me with a stern face.
“Are you Lady Roni Sharligan?”
“Yes, I am.”
“I’m here to report a crime.”
“A crime?”
The doctor held out the jewelry box—the same one I had given to Becky. Only then did I realize what had happened.
“This girl tried to pay with this, claiming it was given by you, my lady. But these jewels are far too valuable for you to have simply given them away, don’t you think? Obviously, she stole them. So I quickly reported it and brought her here.”
He spoke mockingly, as if Becky’s guilt were a given.
‘So it was you who reported her?’
So that’s who caused this mess. I stepped up to the arrogant doctor and said coldly:
“That’s right.”
“I knew it! She stole it, right?”
“No. I gave it to her.”
“…What? You… you gave it to her?”
The doctor looked between me and the jewelry, flustered.
If I had known the jewels were that expensive, I never would’ve given them away like that. This was a disaster caused by my ignorance of this world’s economy.
Becky must have assumed they were worth just enough for medical bills and rushed straight to the hospital. She probably didn’t even have time to exchange them for cash.
Becky looked at me with pleading eyes. I should have given her cash instead. My careless decision had caused this whole mess.
I walked over to Becky and removed her gag, wiping her tears with my sleeve and soothing her.
“There, there. It’s okay. I’ll take care of this, Becky.”
“Sob… I’m sorry, miss…”
Becky buried her face in my chest, sobbing. I turned to the stiff, stone-like guard and said coldly:
“Untie her right now.”
“Eh? B-But we haven’t confirmed… Are you sure you gave it to her?”
“Are you accusing me of lying right now? The capital’s guards are surprisingly rude.”
“S-Sorry! I’ll untie her immediately!”
Startled, the guard saluted and rushed to release Becky. Her wrists were red and marked from how tightly she’d been bound.
I blinked back tears at the sight and turned my glare on the doctor.
“Isn’t it enough for a patient to simply pay the bill? Why did you judge her so harshly and treat her like a thief based on your own narrow assumptions?”
“T-That is…”
The doctor stammered, sweating. Clearly, it had never crossed his mind that he might’ve been wrong.
Prejudice can make people narrow-minded and lead them to judge others unfairly.
To the doctor, it must have been suspicious for someone who looked as poor as Becky to be carrying such expensive jewels.
Still, to bring the guards despite her insistence that she hadn’t stolen anything was clearly wrong.
If he had doubts, he could’ve sent someone to the Sharligan estate to confirm. But no—he saw the patient as money.
“What about the surgery?”
“Hic!”
Becky shook her head and started crying again. Of course they hadn’t operated. She had been accused of theft.
I scowled and said:
“If anything happens to Becky’s mother, I’ll sue for damages!”
“I-I’ll do my best to save her!”
Terrified at the word “damages,” the doctor shouted and ran off with the guards in tow.
It was obvious what he had been thinking—he hoped to earn a reward for recovering the jewels. If not, he wouldn’t have bothered dragging Becky here.
Just one rotten fish can spoil the pond. Now decent doctors would suffer from people like him.
I resisted the urge to throw salt at their retreating figures and turned to Bibi.
“Take Becky to the infirmary.”
As I watched Becky head off for treatment, Gail came up to me with a confused look.
“Sis, did you really give it to her?”
“What, you don’t believe me either?”
“No, it’s just… isn’t it weird? Honestly, do we really have to care about servant problems like this? They’re paid for their work. It’s their responsibility to manage their own expenses.”
Gail tilted his head, clearly baffled. I let out a long sigh.
Of course. Gail had only ever grown up among nobles. With that upbringing, it was no surprise he thought that way.
A boss’s son sees employees only from the boss’s perspective. They always say, “We’ve already paid them fairly.”
But that “fair” compensation is relative. It often isn’t enough for workers to live comfortably.
Just enough to survive. Especially when something unexpected happens—like Becky’s emergency—their small wages are clearly not enough.
‘If I’d been born as Roni from the beginning, I might’ve thought the same way as Gail.’
But I wasn’t born a noble. I might look like one, but inside I’m just an ordinary Korean. If anything, I was closer to Becky than to Gail.
Gail still had a lot to learn. I gave him a little flick on the head.
“So you’re saying we should just ignore someone in need? Why are you being so mean?”
