WHSM 02

Chapter 2

My late husband, Count Delmore, disappeared immediately after our hastily arranged wedding ceremony.

As someone who had just transmigrated into I Became the Secret Friend Obsessed Over by the Crown Prince, I had breathed a sigh of relief.

The problem was…

‘How am I supposed to take this dress off?’

The gown had been laced so tightly to create the perfect silhouette that I couldn’t even wash, let alone sleep.

‘Wait a second… Isn’t it a cliché that whenever someone transmigrates, there’s always a bright, loyal maid standing by to help?’

I’d already pulled the servant bell at least thirty times.

No one came.

So this was the reality of being the neglected Countess.

In the end, I quietly slipped out of the bridal chamber in search of someone who could help me out of the dress.

“Excuse me? Is anyone here?”

As I wandered toward the end of the hallway, voices echoed from somewhere nearby.

“If only a useless child like you had never existed, we wouldn’t have had to spend a fortune bringing another woman into this house!”

From behind a tightly shut door, my mother-in-law was shouting at someone.

A useless child?

Just hearing those words was enough for me to know who she was talking to.

Rinea.

The heroine, Rinea, had endured a miserable childhood. Her grandmother and stepmother openly abused her, while her uncle deliberately neglected her.

According to the novel, her grandmother took out every frustration she had on the little girl.

“That woman isn’t your new mother. She’s nothing more than a woman brought here to bear the heir of this family.”

After saying that, my mother-in-law sternly warned the child.

“So don’t forget your place. A girl who shouldn’t have been born must always be pretty and obedient. That way, when you grow up, you’ll at least be useful to this family.”

I couldn’t help letting out an awkward laugh.

She was saying all of this…

…to a ten-year-old child.

Unable to listen any longer, I threw the door open.

Inside stood my mother-in-law, while in front of her was Rinea, her head hanging low.

“A proper young lady’s greatest virtue is serving her husband and his family—”

She stopped mid-sentence.

“Mother-in-law~!”

I called out sweetly, adding a playful nasal tone.

She blinked in surprise before glaring at me.

“…What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be spending your wedding night in the bridal chamber? And you’re still wearing your dress! What kind of disgrace is this?”

“My husband jumped out the window.”

“…What?”

“He said he has the love of his life, so this marriage is just political or something. Anyway, that’s how it is. Could you help me take this dress off?”

As I casually nudged Rinea behind me, I strode toward my stunned mother-in-law.

“I guess the Count’s household is poorer than I expected. I rang the servant bell over and over, but nobody came. I almost suffocated in this thing.”

Turning my back to her, I exposed the corset laces.

“Come on! Hurry!”

“Y-You… have you gone mad?”

“If not, I’m cutting it off with scissors. Or I’ll just go outside and ask the first person I see to undress me.”

Faced with my shameless ultimatum, my mother-in-law finally reached for the corset strings almost on reflex.

While she fumbled with the laces, I caught Rinea’s eye and gave her a wink.

I tilted my head slightly toward the door.

Run while you can.

The little girl simply blinked her large eyes.

Then, realizing my meaning, she quietly bowed to me before hurrying out of the room.

My mother-in-law glanced toward the door, but she was too unfamiliar with corsets to notice. Her hands clumsily worked at the tangled laces.

Then she suddenly seemed to realize what she was doing.

“What am I even doing?!”

She yanked the strings violently and shouted.

“Exactly.”

I smiled brightly.

“By the way, can I choose a maid I like? I’m the Countess now. It would damage the Count family’s dignity if I didn’t even have a personal maid.”

A long, exhausted sigh escaped behind me.

“…Just go.”

“Yes, Mother. Have a pleasant night.”

I immediately turned around and, true to someone raised in a Confucian culture, politely bowed before leaving the room and firmly shutting the door behind me.

“Wait! Where did the child go?! Rinea!”

My mother-in-law’s belated shouting echoed from inside.

Ignoring her, I looked at the little girl who was still hesitating in the hallway.

“Aren’t you sleepy? Want me to help you get to bed?”

“…”

“If children stay up too late, they won’t grow tall. Good little kids should already be fast asleep.”

Rinea stared blankly at me, looking completely unable to process what I’d just said.

“Um…”

I had absolutely no experience dealing with children and was beginning to panic.

Then, in a tiny whisper, she spoke.

“…Thank you.”

“I didn’t really do anything.”

I smiled gently.

“If you ever need anything, you can always tell me.”

She hesitated for a long moment, looking at me uncertainly.

Then she quietly turned around.

She walked to her room, opened the door, slipped inside, and disappeared.

That was the very first meeting between Rinea and me.

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* * *

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Two months later.

After I’d stubbornly demanded that he lend me money, the Master finally spoke.

“So you’re telling me to split my belly open? That’s… an interesting expression.”

His face clearly showed that he wasn’t impressed.

I flashed him a cheerful smile.

“You wouldn’t actually gut a golden goose like me, would you?”

“The goose may lay golden eggs…”

He rested his chin on one hand.

“…but asking me for a loan certainly gives me something to think about.”

“I honestly have complete confidence that my investment won’t fail.”

I paused deliberately.

“But if it somehow does…”

One of his eyebrows rose.

Holding up three fingers, I smiled as brightly as ever.

“I’ll tell you a way to extend the life of a terminally ill man like you by at least thirty years.”

“…Terminally ill?”

“I know what disease you have.”

I looked at him knowingly.

“You suffer from heart disease caused by mana overload.”

“…”

“And unlike ordinary cases of mana overload, yours is a rare mutation, so none of the existing treatments work.”

The instant those words left my mouth, something changed.

Behind his expressionless mask, his eyes sharpened.

I simply smiled wider.

“I know how to cure it.”

How else would I know the Master before meeting him?

Because he’s an important supporting character.

Unlike me—who was destined to abuse Rinea before eventually having my head chopped off by the second male lead—the Master would become one of Rinea’s greatest allies.

He cherished her almost like a niece.

In fact…

The cure had originally been discovered by Rinea herself.

Rinea, I’m sorry for stealing your achievement… but this is for both of us!

The Master’s expression darkened.

“Where did you obtain such information?”

“Trade secret.”

I shrugged.

“You’ve been doing business for more than a day or two, haven’t you?”

Since there was no believable explanation anyway, I decided shameless confidence was my best option.

“I know I look suspicious. But the only person who knows how to cure your heart condition is me. So don’t even think about assassinating or torturing me.”

“…I had no intention of doing either.”

“Liar.”

I knew exactly what kind of man he was.

Not that he’d go that far…

At least not yet.

“As a gesture of trust, I’ll give you the first step of the treatment.”

“Interesting.”

His eyes never left mine.

“So even I couldn’t discover the first stage of the cure, yet you somehow know it?”

“It’s not poison.”

I continued calmly.

“You know Luzetti herbal tea? The one people drink because it’s good for blood circulation?”

He gave a small nod.

“Crush a single stalk of Enas grass into it every day before drinking it.”

I leaned back in my chair.

“Every morning when you wake up, your heart feels unbearably heavy, as though something is pressing down on it.”

“…”

“You need to relieve those symptoms first before moving on to the second stage.”

Silence filled the room.

Then I smiled brightly.

“So…”

I held out my hand expectantly.

“Where’s my money?”

Seeing me ask so naturally after dropping such unbelievable information, the Master finally burst into laughter.

“I can’t win against you.”

“Of course not.”

I grinned.

“You’ll never regret making a deal with me.”

I cheerfully extended my hand.

After a brief pause, he shook it.

Then he bent down behind his desk for a moment.

When he straightened up again, he placed a signed check worth 200 million won into my hand.

The moment I saw the amount, it felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest.

A surge of dopamine exploded through my entire body.

Seeing my flushed face, the Master chuckled softly.

“I sincerely hope your investment succeeds.