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Chapter: 3
Chubby cheeks, and a large mole on one cheek.
When I first heard the name Pruge, I wasn’t completely sure, but once I saw his face, the description from the novel came back to me and I became certain.
Pruge Rempel.
An early-story villain in the original novel, he secretly siphoned off the already meager fortune of the ducal family and even laid his hands on the inheritance left behind by the male lead’s father.
When the male lead later discovered the truth, he tried to kill Pruge, but the man fled quickly, sensing danger.
The male lead of the original story waited for an opportunity to kill the traitor Pruge—and succeeded early in the novel.
“So as long as we have money, we can call a doctor, right?”
“Of course. I truly care about the young master as well. If we had the money, I’d want to call one immediately.”
“Really? Okay.”
I left the study with Bella.
“M-Madam… sniff… what do we do now?”
“What do you mean, what do we do? We go get money.”
“W–What?”
Bella stared at me blankly.
“For now, you go check on the duke’s condition.”
“M-Madam? Madam!”
Ignoring her calls, I walked briskly, recalling the contents of the book.
Pruge’s room was located at the very end of the second floor.
A lock—one my own room didn’t even have—was attached to his door.
Others might not have paid it any attention, but I knew exactly why Pruge kept his room locked.
He had gathered all the money he’d secretly embezzled there!
Just like in the book, when I lifted a nearby flowerpot, a glint of light caught my eye.
A key.
Pruge’s room key.
Careless as he was, after nearly losing the key several times, Pruge had begun hiding it in a place only he knew.
“Hiding keys under flowerpots really is universal, whether it’s this world or another.”
I unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The bed and floor were a mess, cluttered with various items, and books were piled everywhere.
“Ugh… what a weird smell.”
I pinched my nose and frowned, carefully stepping around so as not to disturb anything.
“How am I supposed to find it here?”
In the original story, the male lead simply entered the room and instantly found the hidden space. It never explained how.
I absentmindedly stood on my toes and tapped the floor with my heel.
A dull knocking sound echoed against the wooden floor.
I tapped the walls, tugged at the coat hooks—but nothing moved.
“What on earth is it?”
If he found it immediately, it couldn’t have been some overly complicated trick… but I couldn’t figure it out.
“This isn’t good…”
I grew anxious.
If I failed to find the hidden money here, I had nowhere else to get funds right away.
Well, technically there were other options—but nothing that could be obtained quickly.
If I didn’t call a doctor by tomorrow, who knew what would happen to the male lead?
“Ahhh!”
As I ran my hands through my hair in frustration, something caught my eye—the dust on the floor.
Strangely, one specific area had less dust.
As if something had been sitting there until recently.
My gaze shifted to the carpet.
If the carpet had been moved, the dust would disappear in exactly that shape.
A spark went off in my head.
I slid the carpet to match the dust pattern and lifted a wooden plank underneath.
Beneath it was an empty space—and inside, a small wooden box.
When I opened it, a pile of jewels gleamed back at me.
“Whoa…”
Firewood money, medicine money, servants’ clothing expenses—and even the male lead’s inheritance.
He’d really been skimming carefully.
“How much did you have to steal to gather all this?”
Along with my joy came a bitter feeling.
Though there were many jewels, none seemed astronomically valuable.
Right now, the ducal household was so poor that this felt like a fortune—but in truth, this amount wouldn’t even equal the cost of a single dress the male lead later gifted the female lead.
What other nobles might spend on one night of entertainment was everything Duke Valfruga could leave behind for his heir.
Among the jewels was also a ring engraved with the Valfruga family seal.
A ring passed down through generations of dukes.
According to the novel, Pruge had swallowed it whole after acquiring the possessions of the duke following his accident.
The male lead believed the ring had been lost when his father died, but later, while investigating Pruge’s embezzlement, he discovered it.
His rage at that moment was immense.
“Well, karma.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, I took just one emerald—the smallest and least noticeable—and snapped the box shut.
I’ll just take enough to call the doctor for now. I’ll come back for the rest later. I have nowhere to hide it, and right now, I’m at a disadvantage.
At the moment, I was nothing more than a newly married orphan girl from common birth.
Even if I claimed Pruge had been stealing household funds, it would sound like a false accusation.
If the male lead said it, no one would doubt him—but I was different.
I’ll deal with this later, once I’m closer to him.
Having decided, I placed the box back under the floorboard, returned the carpet to its original position, and made sure nothing looked disturbed.
After putting the key back where it was, I headed back to the male lead’s room.
Bella, who had been nursing him by his bedside, greeted me.
“Madam! Where did you go?”
“Uh… just a short walk. How is the duke?”
“The fever hasn’t gone down at all. What should we do…?”
The child still hadn’t opened his eyes, breathing unevenly.
Bella genuinely seemed worried about him.
At least, Bella seemed somewhat trustworthy.
“Bella. Go fetch a doctor.”
“But Madam… the money—”
I handed her the jewel I had taken.
Bella’s eyes widened.
“You found this while walking around the castle?!”
“Yes. I don’t know how much it’s worth, but it’s a jewel. It should be enough to call a doctor.”
“You found this… while walking?!”
Bella stared back and forth between me and the jewel.
That kind of reaction over something like this…
If she saw everything Pruge had hidden, she’d probably faint.
“Sell it, call the doctor, and if there’s money left, bring it back to me—not to anyone else. If anyone asks where the money came from, say it was my dowry.”
“Y-Yes.”
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried.
Bella could always run away like a servant fleeing in the night.
But I needed someone to help me going forward.
There were more jewels anyway—this was as good a time as any to test her.
I placed the jewel into Bella’s trembling hands.
“I—I—I…”
I urged the still-stunned Bella.
“What are you standing around for? Go! How long are you going to leave the duke sick?!”
Clutching the jewel so tightly her knuckles turned white, Bella ran out.
There was a loud crash—she must have tripped once—but soon I heard her running again.
I sat down beside the bed, clasped my hands as if praying, and looked down at the boy’s face.
“Just hold on a little longer. The doctor will be here soon.”
Not long after, Bella returned with a doctor wearing a white coat.
She must have rushed him badly—he was still panting when he arrived.
“Doctor! Hurry! Please look at our duke!”
Bella urged the half-dazed doctor on.
The doctor quickly opened his medical bag and examined the boy.
Seeing his serious expression, my own face grew tense.
Why does he look like that?
Is it really that bad?
The doctor checked his eyes, listened to his heartbeat, and examined his body.
With each moment, my anxiety grew.
In the original story, he survived and grew up safely.
What’s going on?
Please, say something.
Finally, after checking the boy’s ears, the doctor spoke.
“Fortunately, his condition isn’t severe. It’s just a common fever children his age often get.”
“Thank goodness…”
A sigh of relief escaped me.
“There won’t be any lasting effects, right?”
“No. His body seems weakened from lack of proper nutrition lately. I’ll prescribe some medicine—if he eats well and takes it properly, the fever should subside quickly.”
After seeing the doctor off, I sat beside the child, completely exhausted.
A duke suffering from malnutrition.
Does that even make sense?
Now that the doctor mentioned it, his thin cheeks looked even more pitiful.
I sent Bella to buy meat with the remaining money.
Just as the doctor said, after giving him the medicine, the fever quickly went down.
I stayed by his side all night and eventually drifted off.
Then, a rustling sound woke me.
“Mmm…”
The child shifted, then slowly opened his eyes.
Our gazes met.
Red eyes—sparkling like stars in the sky, flickering like flames.
A beautiful, mysterious color I’d never seen before.
“See? I knew you’d be pretty.”
Of course—the male lead even has beautiful eyes.
Smiling, I greeted him.
“Hello, husband.”
He looked at me with wary eyes.
“I’m the wife you married. Pellia Foldvish. You can just call me ‘noona.’”
The child tilted his head slightly.
So cute.
Holding back the urge to hug him, I asked,
“What’s your name?”
“…Lucius Valfruga.”
“Okay. Can I call you Lus?”
After hesitating, he slowly nodded.
That guarded expression made him look like a wounded young animal.
“Lus. How do you feel? Does anything hurt?”
“…I’m fine now.”
“You can speak casually, you know. You’re a duke now.”
At my words, Lus shrank back as if he’d been scolded.
Does he hate being a duke?
I hurriedly added,
“More importantly, you’re my husband. So, um—think of us as friends. Really close friends! Friends talk comfortably with each other, right?”
Well… if you want to keep using formal speech, that’s fine too.
I added timidly,
“Yeah…”
“I should tell Bella to prepare some food. The doctor said you need to eat well to recover.”
“You called a doctor? Doctors are expensive…”
Lus’s face turned pale.
Seeing a sick child worry about money instead of himself hurt my heart.
I met his eyes and spoke gently.
“That’s okay. Your health matters more than money.”
“But…”
“It’s fine. I’ll take care of everything.”
And I’ve seen the original story—so I’ll make sure you eat meat three times a day.
“So don’t worry about anything else. Just eat well and grow up healthy.”
And please… save me too.
I don’t want to die.
