The next day, Emily spent the journey back to the Grand Duchy of Leander in complete loneliness.
This time, Cedric wasn’t sitting with her in the carriage.
Cedric chose to ride a horse alongside Arthur at the front of the group.
For some reason, Emily’s heart ached in a way she had never felt before.
“What is this?” “What is this feeling of unease?” “Could the kindness Cedric showed yesterday have been just another mistake?” “Or perhaps from the very beginning, I’ve misunderstood his kindness because my expectations were too high?” “I think everything that happened yesterday was just a delusion of mine.” “It can’t be that easy for Cedric to accept me,” Emily thought as she gazed out the carriage window.
============================================================== Since that day, Emily hadn’t been able to see Cedric.
Philip said that Cedric couldn’t meet with anyone because he was busy with some urgent administrative tasks that had piled up after their trip to church.
Emily couldn’t press the matter any further.
Even if she had managed to see Cedric, Emily wasn’t sure what she would have wanted to explain to him.
Would Cedric even be willing to listen to her explanation?
And was her explanation even important enough for him to listen to in the first place?
Finally, Emily gave up on trying to find Cedric.
… That day, Emily decided to go to the One Silver Clinic.
Emily thought, wouldn’t it be better to focus her thoughts and energy on something more useful rather than dwelling on something with an uncertain outcome?
“Lady Emily, are you all right?” Anna asked worriedly.
“…huh?” “I’ve noticed that since returning from church, My Lady has looked gloomy, and you haven’t even had an appetite.
Did something happen in the capital?” Anna looked at Emily’s face with concern.
She didn’t know what was troubling her Master’s mind, causing her to be so gloomy.
“I’m fine,” Emily replied briefly as she opened her medical supply boxes, preparing to see a patient.
Today was the clinic’s first day operating after its official reopening.
Rio’s mother was already out front managing the line of patients waiting outside.
“All right, Anna, let’s get started with a burst of energy!” Emily said, trying to look as cheerful as possible so Anna wouldn’t get too anxious.
Anna simply nodded in agreement.
She knew it was impossible to pry any further answers out of Emily.
For now, she would just observe her.
One by one, patients entered the examination room Emily had prepared.
Most of them suffered from skin conditions and coughs due to poor environmental hygiene, age-related health issues, or fevers in children.
Since early morning, Emily had been busy examining patients and preparing medicine, assisted by Anna.
Anna was amazed by Emily’s skill and efficiency in handling the patients.
“Is this really Lady Emily?” Anna wondered to herself.
… It was lunchtime.
Clinic operations were temporarily closed for an hour.
Emily, Anna, and Rio’s mother had lunch together in the clinic kitchen, enjoying a simple meal of plain bread with strawberry jam and a few slices of apple.
No one would guess that Emily was a noblewoman, seeing how simple her meal was.
In the middle of lunch, a commotion suddenly erupted in front of the clinic; it seemed several people had just arrived.
“You two go ahead and finish eating; I’ll go check who’s here,” Emily said as she stood up from her seat.
Work in the field of social services can be physically and mentally exhausting.
Especially for Anna and Rio’s mother, who are new to this field.
Emily immediately stepped out of the clinic to see who had arrived and was causing the commotion.
… To her surprise, she saw Iris, Damian, and Daniel standing in front of the clinic, carrying a middle-aged male beggar who appeared to be crying out in pain.
However, what was causing the commotion among the patients was that the beggar brought by Iris and Daniel was limping, and an unpleasant odor was emanating from his feet.
It seemed the patients were bothered by the man’s presence.
Seeing Emily emerge from the door, Iris and Daniel immediately helped the man closer into the clinic, while Damian followed behind.
“I found him near the end of the main road; he looked like he was in pain, so I brought him here,” Iris explained.
Emily was so proud to see someone like Iris—where else could you find a kind-hearted person with such strong principles?
Perhaps only in the world of novels.
“Have him sit over there,” Emily ordered, pointing to a chair outside the clinic, quite a distance from the line of other patients.
She knew that performing first aid on this man would be a bit messy, so treating him inside the examination room would make it difficult for Anna to clean up afterward.
Emily then ran into the examination room and brought out a basin, an IV fluid bottle, and some of her equipment.
As soon as she came out, Emily sat down in front of the man and immediately put on a medical mask.
Meanwhile, Anna and Rio’s mother, who had finished their meal, came out as well and watched closely what was happening, ready to offer assistance if needed.
Emily also asked them both to put on masks and medical gloves if they wanted to help.
“This won’t be easy for someone who isn’t used to the medical field.” Emily thought.
Iris, Damian, Daniel, and the other patients also watched curiously from a distance as Emily treated the man.
The homeless man was groaning in pain, clutching his right leg.
“I’m going to take off your shoes.
Is that okay with you?” Emily asked, seeking his permission.
The man simply nodded, unable to speak as he was too busy trying to endure the excruciating pain.
And sure enough, as Emily slowly untied his shoes, a foul odor immediately wafted out; for a moment, Emily was grateful they were outdoors.
But what was even more shocking was that maggots had already begun to swarm the wounds on his toes.
“Unbelievable,” Emily muttered.
Everyone who saw it was equally shocked and disgusted.
Even Anna and Rio’s mother, who were also standing near the patient, felt nauseous, as if their lunch was about to come back up.
“Wait here for a moment.” Emily then got up from her seat and ran into the clinic to wash her hands.
While washing her hands, Emily felt like she wanted to cry.
How could that man have endured such pain all this time?
How long had he been enduring it?
Damn.
After washing her hands, Emily immediately ran back out to tend to the man.
She sat down right away and put on medical gloves.
Without hesitation or disgust, Emily removed the countless maggots writhing and squirming using a cotton ball and a basin she had prepared.
Then, with patience and care, she cleaned the wound on the man’s leg using saline solution to clean the damaged skin tissue without harming the healthy skin.
Everyone who witnessed the incident was amazed by Emily.
She didn’t even flinch at the sight of a wound that most people would find repulsive.
This was especially impressive for Damian, who had also witnessed the incident.
At first, he was simply curious: who was this girl who had suddenly appeared and said she wanted to help these poor people?
It wasn’t hard for him to find out who Emily was.
And once his investigation bore fruit, he was even more surprised.
This girl, who seemed humble and friendly, turned out to be a noblewoman from a wealthy family—the eldest daughter of Duke Maynard, a family renowned for producing the Kingdom’s scholars.
And what was more shocking was that she is the fiancée of Grand Duke Cedric?
As the fiancée of the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Leander, if her intention was truly to help the poor, wouldn’t it be easier for her to allocate funds, or implement other policies that her fiancé could support?
But no.
This girl insisted on doing it herself.
Stubborn.
That was the perfect word to describe her.
And it turned out that Emily was trying to do all this in secret, thinking Grand Duke Cedric was unaware.
Naive.
That was the second word that could describe this girl.
But for some reason, after getting to know her closely, a feeling arose within Damian that was more than just curiosity.
Wasn’t this girl different?
She wasn’t like most nobles.
She’s friendly and cheerful.
And she doesn’t discriminate against anyone based on their social class.
She even eats and drinks at the same table as the poor.
Damian found himself increasingly unable to shake his attraction to Emily.
There was just one problem.
Emily was Grand Duke Cedric’s fiancée.
No matter how scoundrel Damian might be, stealing someone’s fiancée felt like an act too lowly.
But after learning that their engagement had been forced upon them by King Killian.
In fact, according to reports, Emily had even attempted to end her life due to depression over the forced engagement.
Isn’t this good news?
If Emily truly didn’t want the engagement and was willing to go with him.
Damian could make anything possible.
With the help of his father, Duke Oliver Goldwin, ruler of the Duchy of Hagio—a duchy renowned as the hub of the merchant community and the economic lifeline of the Malakar nation—and the influence of his grandfather as High Priest of the Holy Church in the nation’s capital.
Damian would do anything to win Emily.
Emily just has to accept his hand.
And everything will become possible.
But how to make Emily accept him is the most important thing Damian must figure out.
He’s never wanted anything this much before.
However, judging by Grand Duke Cedric’s attitude when they met in the capital back then, it seems he likes Emily too.
“Looks like this is going to be a fierce battle,” Daniel muttered.