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Chapter 17
My feet hurt so much that even moving alone was difficult.
I sat on the bed and wiggled my toes, which had ointment spread over them.
“If you’re uncomfortable, please call me. Don’t try to move around on your own.”
Olivia scolded me sharply.
Just a little while ago, I had tried to move on my own because I wanted some water, and the wound on my toe, which had just stopped bleeding, reopened.
“Understood?”
When I didn’t answer, Olivia glared at me with fierce eyes and urged me again.
“Ah, fine. I got it.”
I replied in an awkward tone.
It was strange.
Olivia and I had grown closer while sharing meals, but we weren’t that close.
Yet now, she was looking after me as if she were my older sister.
Hmm, maybe something changed in her heart while she was seeing the doctor out?
Well… not that I disliked how Olivia was treating me kindly.
Honestly, I preferred it this way.
“Then please rest well.”
“Yes, I will.”
Olivia closed the door after telling me to rest.
I leaned my upper body toward the bedside table she had left for me.
Olivia had also prepared plenty of paper and pens.
“Alright, let’s make a plan.”
What I had to do now was nothing else but plan for revenge.
Namely, “How can I give Jeril the biggest screw-you ever?”
Even while receiving treatment, I had thought about it from time to time.
But no matter how much I thought, nothing sharp came to mind.
Jeril was indeed the villain representing Calib’s unfortunate childhood.
But in the end, she was just an extra.
“Haa, in other romance-fantasy novels, the heroine uses knowledge of the original story to deliver satisfying justice.”
The problem was that Jeril was never really important in the original.
Her role could simply be summed up as: ‘Because of Jeril, Calib’s life was made a bit harder.’
“How am I supposed to take revenge on someone like that? Beating her up is the only answer.”
In fact, if Jeril so much as raised a hand against Calib, I was planning to break that hand immediately.
‘I slipped—oops—and accidentally shattered her wrist.’
I even had excuses prepared in advance.
No one here knew I used to be an athlete, so it should be fine, right?
Besides, the opponent was an abuser of children.
“But right now, Jeril’s target is me…”
I propped my chin on my hand and tapped my forehead, muttering.
“If I beat her up without reason, it’ll only cause a lot of trouble.”
At worst, people might say that an insolent commoner, who should’ve been grateful just for being taught, dared to lay hands on a noble.
“Still, it’s not like I can master high heels overnight…”
Jeril had thrown high heels at me as a weapon, just to humiliate me.
So what I wanted was to take that weapon, make it mine, and strike back at her.
For example, completely mastering the high heels she gave me so I’d look ridiculous!
I looked down at my stinging, ointment-covered feet and muttered.
“But with my feet in this state, how could I possibly walk perfectly in heels?”
Forget breaking them in—I’d have trouble walking at all for a while.
In this world’s logic, the female lead Daphne was still young but had no trouble wearing shoes.
“There wasn’t any episode where she cried because shoes hurt her.”
Though there was an episode where her foot necrotized because of Calib, which made the male lead, Runoir, unlock his healing powers…
“…Huh?”
Wait a second… necrotized?
In that instant, I gasped involuntarily.
A flash of inspiration struck me like lightning down my neck.
I quickly整理ed my thoughts.
“Hold on, why was I… trying to handle this all by myself?”
The very premise was wrong.
Yes, it was true I wanted to fight Jeril, who bullied Calib.
“But that doesn’t mean I need to ruin my feet just to get back at her!”
Just because Jeril mocked me by walking gracefully in high heels, I didn’t have to repay her the same way.
“To everyone else, Elia is just a commoner.”
A commoner personally brought by both Calib, the heir, and Cedric, the next duke!
And since I was a commoner, everyone expected me to be unfamiliar with noble etiquette.
Besides, noble etiquette couldn’t be mastered overnight.
“No matter how much I try, true nobles won’t find me satisfactory.”
In short, no matter how hard I trained, I couldn’t surpass Jeril in a short time.
And Jeril would never acknowledge me even if I flew around in heels.
“Ugh, from the start Jeril was never going to accept defeat, and here I was stupidly trying to fight fair and square.”
I smacked my forehead repeatedly in regret.
I had always told Calib that when he faced difficulties, he should definitely ask adults for help.
But in reality, I was the one struggling alone, trying to do everything myself.
“When the opponent plays dirty, that’s exactly when you should look for an adult.”
Adults—people older, people with higher status, or those protecting me.
So for me, the adults were the ones holding real power in the ducal household.
“And what’s Cedric for, if not this?!”
I scolded myself out loud and yanked hard on the bell rope.
Before long, Olivia came in.
“Lady Elia, do you need something?”
Her eyes sparkled with joy at being called.
I gave her a wicked grin.
“Olivia.”
“Yes?”
“Want to do something bad with me?”
“What brings you here?”
Just a while ago, Calib had come by.
Cedric found his unannounced visit odd, but welcomed him warmly.
Then, hearing Calib’s words, Cedric was shocked.
“Please help Elia. Miss Jeril is tormenting her!”
He was accusing his own etiquette teacher!
Even though Calib had been receiving harsh punishments from Jeril, he had never once complained.
In truth, Cedric already knew that Calib was being abused.
He had burned with rage like a volcano and wanted to dismiss Jeril immediately.
But Calib firmly stopped him.
‘It was my fault. Books say appropriate punishment helps education.’
Jeril’s punishments were clearly not appropriate.
Yet Calib, as the heir, stubbornly refused to have Jeril dismissed.
‘She’s the daughter of a first-ranked vassal family. If you suddenly fire her, the vassal faction’s balance could collapse.’
Cedric wanted to say that such things didn’t matter. But Calib was the heir.
‘It… matters.’
Because of that, Cedric, despite having proof that Jeril abused Calib, couldn’t act rashly.
And that wasn’t the only reason he couldn’t fire Jeril.
‘Contradicting Calib would mean disregarding the heir’s words.’
Right now, the vassals wanted Cedric to become the next duke.
‘If I oppose even one of Calib’s decisions, they’ll exploit it to drive a wedge between us.’
Even if it was for Calib’s sake, it would feel insulting to him.
Especially now, when Calib had been thoroughly brainwashed by Jeril.
‘Even if I pre-arranged it with Calib, it’d be the same.’
The vassals were cunning beyond imagination.
Though the current vassals bowed to Cedric’s strength, that wasn’t righteous politics.
Nor did Cedric want Calib to inherit a reign of fear.
‘Once we pass this hurdle, Calib will surely be a good ruler.’
So ironically, to protect him, Cedric had to watch Calib endure abuse.
And thus, Cedric reluctantly withdrew from intervening in Jeril’s teaching methods.
‘But now, to protect Elia, he’s accusing his own etiquette teacher to me.’
Along with joy, Cedric also felt doubt.
‘What on earth did Elia do, that Calib would follow her this much?’
As Cedric’s curiosity deepened, Calib spoke in a solemn voice.
“I couldn’t protect Elia on my own.”
So he came here, ready to be treated as a nuisance, to ask Cedric.
After hesitating a moment, Calib said:
“I want you to take action.”
Cedric’s hydrangea-blue eyes widened.
“Calib, you mean…”
“Yes, Cedric. As the heir, I am ordering you to protect Elia…”
But at that very moment—
“Lord Cedric, Young Duke! Something terrible has happened!”
Olivia pounded on the office door, shouting.
Startled, Edwin rushed to open it.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well…”
Olivia whispered gravely into Edwin’s ear.
After hearing her, Edwin’s face turned deathly pale.
He walked back inside, clearly unsure how to break the news.
“What is it?”
Calib asked suspiciously.
Edwin looked back and forth between the brothers with a terrified expression, then finally spoke.
“L-Lady Elia’s foot… i-it’s necrotized.”
