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Chapter 4
From that day on, Emilia was sick for a long time.
“Cough, cough.”
As she coughed, she blamed herself for being so foolish.
No matter what had happened, she should have changed out of her wet clothes.
She frowned as she struggled to swallow even a sip of water.
I should at least go get some medicine.
She tried to get out of bed, but soon gave up.
In her current condition, even stepping outside for a short while was impossible.
I filled Cedric’s house with all kinds of things that were good for his health.
Yet she didn’t even have a single bottle of medicine in her own home.
It was almost laughable.
I’ll just sleep a little longer.
Just as she was about to fall asleep again—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone knocked on the door loudly.
Who could it be?
“Emilia! Open the door!”
That voice…
Emilia quickly forced her heavy body out of bed.
When she opened the door, she saw Mrs. Anderson standing there with an angry expression.
“How did you— Cough, cough.”
“Oh, goodness! Just look at you!”
Mrs. Anderson slapped her own chest when she saw how pale and weak Emilia looked.
“What am I supposed to do with such a foolish girl? Let me come in.”
She sighed deeply and frowned before gently pushing Emilia into the house while patting her back.
Mrs. Anderson looked around the room once before pointing at a chair.
“Go sit over there first.”
“Huh?”
“It looks like you haven’t even eaten a proper meal. Sit down. I’ll make something right away.”
“I’m fine—”
“Enough! Go.”
Mrs. Anderson glared at her as if scolding a child.
Having no choice, Emilia sat down.
Come to think of it… I never even told her why I couldn’t come to work.
Watching Mrs. Anderson take out the cooking utensils, Emilia quietly spoke.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t come to work without telling you.”
“It’s fine. I figured something must have happened.”
“But… how did you know?”
“How could I not know?”
Mrs. Anderson put a bowl down on the table with a loud clack.
“The whole village already knows that Cedric brought another woman back from the capital!”
She clicked her tongue.
“They’re even walking around proudly together. I heard she’s the daughter of some count’s family.”
Emilia slowly lowered her head.
“Don’t even think about crying! It’s a waste of tears to cry over a man like him!”
Mrs. Anderson raised her eyebrows as if she would smack Emilia’s back if she started crying.
Her loud scolding stopped the tears that wouldn’t even come out anymore.
“…I’m not crying.”
“Good.”
Before long, a bowl of hot soup with a rich smell was placed in front of her.
“Hurry and eat.”
“Thank you. I’ll eat now.”
Mrs. Anderson sat across from her, making sure she finished everything.
After Emilia emptied the bowl, Mrs. Anderson placed a heavy pouch on the table.
Clink.
The sound of coins filled the room.
“Why are you giving me money?”
“It’s your severance pay.”
“What?”
Emilia’s heart sank.
As if she understood what Emilia was thinking, Mrs. Anderson shook her head.
“I’m not giving it to you because I’m firing you for making a mistake.”
Mrs. Anderson firmly held Emilia’s hand with her wrinkled one.
“Leave this village, Emilia.”
“…Leave? What do you mean all of a sudden?”
“I mean you should go to the capital. If you want to start over, you need a new place.”
She pushed the money pouch toward Emilia.
“And no matter what you do there, it’ll be better than staying here.”
“…”
Emilia hesitated.
Still, she understood what Mrs. Anderson meant.
Even if Cedric was the one who had done wrong, he was now an official of the Imperial Palace.
If she stayed in the village, all she would hear was people whispering behind her back.
Everyone would try to stay on Cedric’s good side.
“Honestly, is there anyone in this village who doesn’t know you’re smarter than Cedric?”
“…”
“If you had been allowed to take that famous exam yourself, you would’ve passed it on your first try.”
“But—”
“But what? Or do you want to stay here and watch those people laugh happily together?”
“…What about the store?”
“Thanks to you, I’ve already earned enough for the next five years. So don’t worry about me.”
She wasn’t just saying that.
Because of Emilia’s advice, the store made much more money.
She had even taught Mrs. Anderson how to keep the account books perfectly.
“What could someone my age possibly learn?”
Mrs. Anderson had often said that while refusing to learn.
But Emilia had patiently taught her anyway.
That’s why that fool Cedric was able to pass the exam too.
Mrs. Anderson frowned as she imagined Mrs. Romans happily celebrating with her son.
Then she looked back at Emilia.
“Instead of my good-for-nothing son, you’ve been the one working hard all this time.”
“Your son didn’t run away.”
Emilia gave an awkward smile at Mrs. Anderson’s exaggeration.
Her son, Alex, had simply become an official of the Imperial Palace much earlier.
Of course, Mrs. Anderson always complained that he almost never came home.
Well… he only visits once every six months.
Then Mrs. Anderson placed another pouch on the table.
Seeing Emilia’s confused expression, she proudly said,
“It belongs to my son. I secretly took a little.”
“That doesn’t look like just a little…”
“If I can grab it with one hand, then it’s just one.”
After inventing her own strange way of measuring things, Mrs. Anderson awkwardly cleared her throat.
Emilia couldn’t help laughing.
“Now that’s better. You finally smiled. You never know what life has in store, so just take it without arguing.”
“Okay. I will.”
“Good. And remember this.”
“Your own happiness comes before anyone else’s. Never forget that.”
Touched by her warm advice, Emilia slowly nodded.
After Mrs. Anderson left, Emilia sat quietly for a while before standing up.
She searched through the storage room and pulled something out.
It was a large travel suitcase.
She had bought it long ago, thinking she and Cedric would travel together someday.
Honestly, she wanted to throw it straight into the trash.
The suitcase didn’t do anything wrong.
Carrying it into her room, Emilia began packing.
But when she looked through her things, she realized she didn’t even have many decent clothes.
She suddenly became angry with herself.
Why did I neglect myself so much for someone like him?
Everything good had always gone to Cedric.
She had always put herself last.
Emilia packed the few decent things she owned and tightly filled the suitcase.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The next day, Emilia pounded on Cedric’s front door.
“What now…?”
An annoyed voice came from inside before Cedric opened the door.
“Emilia?”
He looked surprised to see her standing there.
It was obvious he had never expected her to come.
Then his eyes fell on the large suitcase beside her.
His face immediately darkened.
Does he think I’m here to move in?
If so, he was completely mistaken.
Without saying anything else, Emilia held out her hand.
“Give it back.”
“What?”
“Give me back every single coin I spent on you.”
