Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3. Plump cheeks and a large mole on the cheek.

When I first heard only Frug's name, I was unsure, but seeing the face, the description in the novel came to mind and I became certain.

Frug Rempel.

He was a villain who appears in the early part of the original, secretly embezzling the already scarce family assets, and even laying hands on the inheritance left by the male lead's father.

When the male lead found out late, he tried to kill him, but he fled quickly sensing the situation.

The male lead in the original only waited for an opportunity to kill the Frug who betrayed him, and kills him in the early part of the novel.

“Then if there's only money, we can call a doctor, right?”

“Of course. My heart thinking of the young master is also sincere, so if there's only money, I want to call one right away.”

“Is that so? Got it.”

I took Bella and left the office.

“Madam. Now, huk, now what do we do.”

“What do we do. We have to go get money.”

“Yes?”

Bella looked at me with a dazed face.

“For now, you go check the Duke's condition.”

“Madam? Madam!”

I recalled the content I had seen in the book and moved my steps without hesitation.Frug's room located at the very end of the 2nd floor.

A lock that wasn't even on my room was attached to Frug's room.

Others wouldn't care, but I know why Frug locked the room.

Because he gathered all the money he secretly embezzled in his own room!

As I saw in the book, when I lifted the nearby flower pot, a sparkling key was visible.

It was the key to Frug's room.

The careless Frug, after almost losing the key several times, stored the key in a place only he knew.

“Storing the key under the flower pot is common in that world or this world.”

I opened the door with the key, and when I entered inside, a bed cluttered with all sorts of things and books piled high on the floor were visible.

“Ugh. A strange smell.”

I covered my nose with my hand and frowned.

And carefully moved my steps so as not to disturb the things in the room.

“How do I find it here.”

In the original, there was only a scene where the male lead enters the room and finds the hidden space at once, it didn't explain how to find it.

I pointlessly stood on tiptoe and tapped the floor with my heel.

The sound of the shoe heel hitting the wooden floor made a tapping sound.

I stuck close to the wall and tapped the wall once each, and also pulled the clothes hanger attached to the wall, but it didn't budge.

“What the hell is it?”

If I had found it right after entering, it wouldn't be such a complicated trick, but I couldn't figure it out at all.

“This won't do...”

My heart became anxious.

If I don't find the hidden money here, there's no place for money to come out right away.

No, there are more places for money to come out, but nothing that would come out in a short time.

I don't know what will happen to the male lead if I don't bring a doctor tomorrow right away.

“Uwaaaak!”

While screaming and messing up my hair, the dust on the floor caught my eye for a moment.

Strangely, only a specific area had less dust piled up.

As if something had been in that spot.

My gaze turned to the carpet laid on the floor.

If I move the carpet, it seemed exactly that much dust would disappear.

A light flashed in my head.

Matching the shape of the dust, I moved the carpet and lifted the wooden board, and a small wooden box hidden in the empty space under the floor was visible.

When I opened the box, a pile of jewels was visible.

“Hiya...”

Firewood cost, medicine cost, employees' clothes cost, and even the male lead's inheritance.

He embezzled so thriftily.

“How much did he have to embezzle to gather this much.”

Along with joy, a bitter emotion also arose.

I examined the jewels here and there, but they didn't seem to have astronomical value.

Right now, because the ducal house is so poor, it feels like a large amount, but this level of jewels wouldn't even be the price of one dress the male lead gifted to the female lead.

The amount other nobles would use for one night's entertainment was all that the current Duke Valfruga could leave for his successor.

And there was a ring engraved with the seal of the Valfruga ducal house.

It was a ring passed down generation to generation to the Duke Valfruga.

According to the original, it seemed Frug, who obtained the relic of the Duke who had an accident, just swallowed it.

The male lead, as his father passed away in an accident, knew that the ring was also lost at that time, but by chance he noticed Frug embezzling and while investigating, discovered the ring as well.

At that time, the male lead's anger was really tremendous.

“Serves him right, though.”

I pondered for a moment, then took only the smallest emerald that wouldn't stand out, and closed the box with a clack sound.‘For now, take only the money to call a doctor and come find the rest later. There's no place to hide it secretly, and now I'm at a disadvantage.’Currently, my status was an orphan commoner girl who had just married into the family.

In this situation, even if I say that Frug who had been in charge of the household has been secretly embezzling the assets, it will only sound like a false accusation.

If the male lead said it, no one would doubt and accept it, but my situation is different.‘I should handle this later when I get closer to the male lead.’Having decided, I left the box in the empty space under the wooden board, and put the carpet back as it was.

Finally, I checked if there was anything different from before I entered, returned the key to its place, and headed back to the male lead's room.

Bella, who was nursing him beside the male lead's bed, welcomed me.

“Madam! Where did you go and come back now?”

“Umm. Just a short walk. That... how is the Duke?”

“The fever isn't going down at all. What should we do...”

The child still couldn't open his eyes and exhaled ragged breaths.

Bella seemed to genuinely worry about the male lead.

At least Bella seemed a bit trustworthy.

“Bella. Go get a doctor.”

“But Madam, the money...”

I handed over the jewel I just found.

Bella's eyes widened seeing the jewel.

“I found it while walking around the castle. I don't know how much the price will be, but since it's a jewel, it should be enough to call a doctor.”

“Th-this while walking?!”

Bella looked back and forth between me and the jewel with a surprised face.

To have such a reaction to this level of jewel.

She would faint if she saw how much Frug secretly embezzled.

“Yes. Exchange it for money and call a doctor, and if there's any left, bring it to me, not to someone else. If anyone asks where the money came from, say it's my dowry.”

“Yes, yes.”

Honestly, if I wasn't worried, it would be a lie.

There's no law that Bella won't run away like the maid who fled in the night.

But as I proceed with things from now on, I need someone to help me.

There are more jewels, so it would be good to test Bella this time.

I handed the jewel to Bella's trembling hands.

“I-I-I...”

I urged Bella who was still dazed.

“What are you doing? Go quickly! How long are you going to leave the Duke sick!”

Bella gripped the jewel tightly until her hands turned white and ran outside.

There was a loud sound as if she fell once in the middle, but soon the sound of her getting up and running was heard.

I sat on the chair beside the bed, held both hands as if praying, and looked down at the male lead's face.

“Hold on a little more. The doctor will come soon.”

A while later, Bella returned with a doctor wearing a white gown.

The doctor was panting and couldn't catch his breath for a long time even after arriving, as Bella had urged him so much.

“Doctor! Quickly! Quickly! Please look at our Duke!”

Bella still urged the doctor who was half out of his mind.

The doctor hurriedly opened the medical bag and examined the male lead's condition.

Seeing the doctor's serious expression, my face also gradually became serious.

What, why is the expression like that?

Could the condition be very bad?

The doctor flipped the male lead's eyelids to check the condition, listened to the heartbeat with a stethoscope, and checked various parts of the body.

The more he did, the more anxious I became.

In the original, he safely became an adult.

What's going on, really.

Please say something quickly.

The doctor finally checked inside the male lead's ear and said.

“Fortunately, the condition isn't severe. It's like a fever illness that kids of this age commonly get.”

“Phew...”

As soon as I heard the doctor's words, a sigh of relief leaked out.

“There won't be any aftereffects or anything, right?”

“It's not that. It seems like a illness that occurred because the body weakened due to recent lack of nutrition. I'll prescribe medicine, so if you eat well with meals, the fever will drop soon.”

Bella saw the doctor off, and I sat next to the child completely exhausted.

A Duke of a country having malnutrition.

Does that even make sense?

Hearing the doctor's words, my heart ached seeing the cheeks that looked even thinner.

I had Bella call the doctor and buy meat with the remaining money.

As the doctor said, when I fed the medicine, the fever dropped soon.

I stayed by the child's side all night and then fell asleep smoothly.

Then I opened my eyes at the rustling sound.

“Umm...”

The eyes of the child who was tossing and turning slowly opened.

They met with the red pupils looking at me.

Sparkling like stars in the sky, flickering like flames.

It was a beautiful and mysterious color I had never seen before.

“See, I knew they would be pretty.”

As expected, the male lead has pretty eyes too.

I smiled and greeted.

“Hello, husband.”

At my greeting, the male lead looked at me with wary eyes.

“I'm your wife who got married to you. Felia Poldbish. Just call me older sister.”

The child slightly tilted his head.

Uwaak, cute.

I held back wanting to hug him right away and asked.

“What's your name?”

“...

Lucius Valfruga.”

“Good, can I call you Lus?”

The child hesitated then slowly nodded.

The face full of wariness was just like a wounded young beast.

“Lus. How is your body? Doesn't it hurt?”

“...

I'm okay now.”

“You can speak casually. You're the Duke now.”

At my words, Lus shrunk his body as if he was being scolded.

Does he dislike being a Duke?

I hurriedly added words.

“Before that, you're my husband. So we're, uh, like friends. Super close friends. Friends originally speak casually, right!”

But if you want to use honorifics, you can do as you like...

I added timidly.

“Yeah...”

“I should tell Bella that you woke up so she can prepare a meal. The doctor said you have to eat well to get better quickly.”

“You called a doctor? Doctors cost a lot of money...”

Lus's face turned pale.

The appearance of a young child worrying about money more than his own well-being when sick was pitiful.

I met Lus's eyes and spoke gently.

“That much is okay. And your health is more important than money.”

“But...”

“It's okay. I'll take responsibility for everything.”

Still, since I've seen it in the original, older sister will fill your meals with meat side dishes three times a day.

“So you just don't think about other things and eat well and grow up healthily.”

And please let me live.

I don't want to die.