“Has that woman lost her mind?” Cedric said as soon as he entered his office, looking annoyed.
“I also did not expect Lady Emily to do such a thing, My Lord,” Philip replied, bewildered.
Ever since returning from tea with Lady Emily, Cedric’s mood had been all over the place, so Philip had to be careful not to make his lord angry.
“We can’t let our guard down, Philip.
After all, she was sent by the Maynard family.
She must have been tasked to spy on me directly.
We never know what devious plans she might be scheming.
“Yes, My Lord.” “Order Arthur to secretly keep an eye on Lady Emily’s movements.
Let her feel free to do whatever she wants; we’ll see her true colors, and the moment she makes a mistake, we’ll use that mistake to strike back at the Maynard family.” Cedric’s command was firm.
“As you command, My Lord.” Philip then took his leave of Cedric’s office.
“Does she think I’d be tempted by her cheap tactics?
Hah!” Cedric muttered to himself in his office.
‘How dare she kiss me when I wasn’t ready!’ Cedric thought, touching his lips.
‘But are a woman’s lips always that soft?’ he wondered again, his face flushing as he recalled this morning’s incident.
“If she really wanted to tease me, does she think a peck is enough?
At least she should’ve put in some effort…
tsk… tsk… why is she half-assing it?” he muttered again, still touching his lips, which for some reason Cedric could still feel as if Emily’s lips were touching his.
All day long, Cedric’s mind was filled with thoughts of how absurd and lame Emily’s little trap had been.
—– A few days later —– “Lady Emily, are you sure this will be all right?” Anna asked worriedly.
“Don’t call me Lady… just call me Emily,” Emily replied as she put on the maid’s uniform Anna had prepared the night before.
“No one’s checking on me or asking where I am.
If we return before dinner, no one will suspect a thing.” She replied again, slipping a pouch of coins under her shirt and a few silver coins into her pocket, as a precaution against pickpockets.
This morning, Emily and Anna planned to go for a walk in town to see the bustling market and look for a patent medicine to fix (?) Cedric.
The two women walked confidently in their maids’ uniforms toward the back gate, which the servants usually used to enter and exit the Grand Duke’s residence to deliver supplies.
This plan to sneak out had been carefully prepared by Emily and Anna.
Arthur, who was watching their movements from a distance, ordered the guards at the back gate to pretend not to notice and let them pass.
He wanted to find out what Lady Emily was planning outside the Grand Duke’s residence.
Arthur was also Cedric’s childhood friend and now served as Cedric’s right-hand man as commander of defense and security.
“Why is security at a Grand Duke’s residence so lax, allowing people to come and go as they please without asking many questions?” Emily muttered as she passed through the gate without any trouble.
Emily and Anna stepped out of the Grand Duke’s residence and walked toward the city, unaware that Arthur and his three chosen soldiers were following them.
================================================================ Emily and Anna made their way to the downtown area of the Leander Grand Duchy by hitching a ride on a supply wagon that was heading back to the city.
For the past few days, Anna had been keeping track of the supply wagons’ arrival and departure times to ensure their journey went smoothly.
As soon as they arrived at the shopping district of the Leander Grand Duchy, Emily looked absolutely thrilled.
She had never seen a shopping district from the Kingdom era in person—she hadn’t even imagined it.
If anyone had seen her behavior, they would have assumed she’d been living in a cave all this time.
Emily wandered here and there, leaving Anna overwhelmed trying to keep up with her master.
They browsed through clothes, shoes, and jewelry, and tried various street snacks with great excitement.
“I’ve never eaten food this delicious!” Emily exclaimed, her eyes sparkling and her mouth full of egg tarts as if she hadn’t eaten in days.
“E… Emily, please mind your manners a little… don’t talk while you’re eating,” Anna pleaded worriedly, noticing the people passing by around them staring with strange looks and whispering to each other.
Anna really didn’t understand why Emily looked so happy and amazed while walking around the Grand Duchy of Leander’s shopping district, when she had often gone for walks in the Duchy of Maginhard.
“Is there anything different?” she wondered.
After filling her stomach, Emily stopped in front of the largest medical supply store on the street.
She intended to buy supplies and medicine to fix (?) Cedric.
Emily was so amazed by the goods there, her eyes sparkling; she felt as if she had stepped into a health museum.
“Can I help you, ma’am?” asked the store clerk.
“I’d like to buy some medical supplies and medications,” Emily replied eagerly.
“Alright, please take a look at the medical supplies over there.
However, regarding medications, we can only sell over-the-counter medications to you.
As for prescription drugs, you’ll need a doctor’s prescription,” explained the shopkeeper.
“Oh…” Emily thought for a moment; what the shopkeeper said was true.
In the end, Emily bought general medical supplies such as a stethoscope, scissors, a scalpel, tweezers, latex gloves, needles, and suture thread commonly used for surgery.
Some general medications and medical alcohol.
As well as a medium-sized brown suitcase to carry the equipment, similar to the one Dr.
Gillen had used back then.
After leaving the store, Emily took Anna for another walk.
“Hmm… Emily, I’m sorry, but can I ask you something?” Anna asked hesitantly.
“Go ahead,” Emily replied, not really paying attention because she was busy looking at the shops around them.
“Why did you buy such a complete set of medical supplies?
I’ve never even seen you sew clothes…” Anna asked curiously.
Hearing that question, Emily suddenly stopped.
“You’re right!
Why did I buy them?” she asked herself.
“Arrgghh… I promised myself I wouldn’t work!
Why did I do this?
Am I really as workaholic as those nurses said, to the point where I unconsciously bought work supplies?” Emily muttered in frustration, holding her head.
Anna didn’t understand what Emily was saying and tried to guess the reason herself.
“You don’t trust your safety at the Grand Duke’s residence?
So you’re making your own preparations?
But still, we can’t use them ourselves,” Anna asked, feeling sorry for Emily.
Anna couldn’t imagine how great Emily’s fear was of possible dangers threatening her life, forcing her to make preparations to this extent.
“No, it’s not like that,” Emily replied quickly, afraid Anna would worry even more.
“I guess I just bought it because I wanted to (?)” Emily answered uncertainly.
“Never mind, let’s go for a walk again!” Anna and Emily continued to look around at the bustling city; Anna’s legs felt like they were about to give out, but she didn’t dare complain—as long as Emily was happy.
Suddenly, there was a commotion across the street near a small alley; several people had gathered to look at something.
Emily was curious and urged Anna to go take a look.
When they got closer, it turned out the people were surrounding a small boy in ragged clothes who was being dragged by a large adult man while being scolded to go with him without resistance.
Seeing this, Emily immediately pushed through the crowd to get closer.
“What’s going on?
What did this child do wrong?” Emily asked, wrapping her arms around the little boy’s shoulders.
“Mind your own business, lady!
This child’s father promised to pay the debt and the interest, but he still hasn’t come home.
I’m here to do business, not charity!” the man replied angrily.
“What are you going to do with a child this small?
How could he possibly pay his parents’ debt!” Emily shouted, getting angry.
“I’m going to sell him as a slave.
Mind your own business!
Get out of the way!” the big man shouted, shoving Emily aside so she’d let go of the little boy.
“Emily!” Anna shouted in shock and panic, rushing over to Emily, who had fallen to the ground.
The crowd was also shocked by the incident; they hadn’t expected the man to resort to violence against a complete stranger.
Arthur and the three soldiers under his command, who had witnessed the scene from a distance, were equally startled and ready to intervene—after all, Lady Emily was Grand Duke Cedric’s fiancée, and violence against her was simply unacceptable.
But suddenly… “Wait!
I’ll pay off that boy’s father’s debt.
Don’t take him away!” Emily shouted.
“Do you have the money?” the man asked, slightly intrigued by Emily’s offer.
“How much is the debt?” Emily asked.
“The debt is 50 gold coins and the interest is 30 gold coins.
Do you have that much?” the man asked mockingly.
Anna was shocked to hear this; it was a quite large sum.
One gold coin was equal to ten silver coins, meaning they would have to pay 800 silver coins.
By comparison: the average monthly income for ordinary people working as farmers, manual laborers, and small merchants was 20–40 silver coins per month.
“I don’t have that much money on me right now, but take this necklace—it should be worth far more—and free that child’s family from their debts,” said Emily, holding out a silver necklace adorned with a blue gemstone in the center.
The big man quickly took the necklace and examined it closely to verify its authenticity.
“This necklace and gemstone seem genuine; if appraised, it could be worth up to 200 gold coins,” the man thought, rubbing his chin, then smiling contentedly.
“Alright, I’ll take this necklace.
Consider yourself lucky I’m in a good mood today!” the man said, shoving the boy toward Emily, then walking away, leaving them behind.
After the man left, the crowd dispersed as well, as if nothing had happened.
“Damn, rich people!
They just want a show!” Emily grumbled.
“Are you okay, young man?” Emily asked the boy, brushing the dirt off his clothes.
“Yes, thank you for your help, miss,” he replied, his face on the verge of tears and his body trembling; he still looked quite shaken by what had just happened.
“Come on, I’ll take you home.
Where do you live?” Emily asked, taking the boy’s hand, while Anna followed behind them.
The boy pointed to a narrow alley in the direction from which he had been dragged by the man earlier—a slum area where migrants from outside the Grand Duchy and the poor typically lived.
Arthur and the three soldiers who had witnessed the entire incident were bewildered; they had never seen a nobleman willing to sincerely help the poor the way Lady Emily had.