My Contract Husband Resembles the Male Protagonist - Chapter 28
Then a small hand grabbed me.
It was Sophia, the granddaughter of the lord.
“Miss.”
“Please save my grandfather! He is the only family I have!”
“Alright, let me ask something. Do you have an herb called Cozyflower?”
“I believe we don’t have that… We’ve almost used up all the medicine we had stored.”
They must have used up all the best herbs they had in storage to treat the lord’s illness.
“Can you ask for help from Kiedland? Lady Adeline Kiedland lives here, so it seems like you could ask her.”
“…Lady Adeline has locked herself in her room for days and hasn’t come out.”
Sophia’s voice faded as she avoided my gaze. From Yurta’s expression, I could tell.
‘She’s taken offense and is deeply embarrassed.’
But it was better if she didn’t come out willingly.
“Then, instead of Cozyflower, please procure these herbs for me.”
I handed over a note and lowered my voice.
“Can you help hold the Lord’s arms and legs?”
“Yes, understood! But what kind of method will you use for the treatment…?”
Thump!
I inserted the medicine bottle into the lord’s mouth.
“Ugh! Gragh! Cough, cough, ack!”
“Grandfather!”
“It’s okay. He’s just fussing a bit because it’s bitter. Please hold his arms and legs.”
In truth, the medicine was very effective but also quite painful.
“Is this really okay? Grandfather seems to be in so much pain!”
“Miss Anne, what exactly is that?”
“Holy water from the temple’s treasury, a very ancient remedy.”
“Holy water…!”
Yurta and Sophia, recognizing the temple’s emblem on the bottle, quickly pressed down on the lord’s limbs.
Holy water was expensive, after all.
“Phew! That’s it.”
I shook out every last drop of holy water and fed it to the lord.
“But if it’s holy water… does it mean grandfather has contracted a severe illness? Is he really seeing spirits?”
“No.”
The illness my grandfather suffered from long ago was no ordinary illness.
This was precisely…
“He was poisoned.”
* * *
I counted the money I had received.
“Have you been to the bank?”
Dale, who returned home late at night, approached me with a surprised look.
He sat next to me, tilting his head like a puppy.
“Dale, your face is so bright it’s hard for me to concentrate.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Dale covered his blushing cheeks with his hand.
However, he didn’t move far from my side and continued to hover around.
“Is that money from the Count of Grunwald?”
He looked at me somewhat apprehensively.
“Why? Worried I might have extorted the last bit of money from an already impoverished domain?”
“…No.”
His denial was slow in coming.
But I don’t covet other people’s money without reason.
Especially not Grunwald, the domain where I’ll have to live in seclusion; I wouldn’t do such a thing.
“This is an advance payment.”
I pointed to the money bag on the table and explained.
It also included the return of the remaining portion of my intermediary fee that Aide Yurta had managed.
“An advance payment… have you entered into a contract with the Lord’s castle?”
“Yes. I got a job, Dale.”
“A job?”
Dale’s eyes widened in surprise.
“I’ve agreed to look after the Lord’s health while going back and forth to the castle for a while.”
I had decided to work as a physician occasionally visiting the Lord’s castle to manage the Lord’s health.
Who would be the first to receive news when the Emperor issues commands to each region?
It was the Lord of the domain.
Someday, if the Emperor starts looking for me in earnest, the news would likely reach the Lord’s castle first.
So, being at the Lord’s castle would allow me to quickly receive news of the Emperor finding me or any changes concerning him.
There was also a steady monthly remuneration agreed upon.
It was barely enough to cover food expenses, but even a small amount of money, if regular, can stabilize household finances.
And now, I have secured one more promise from Yurta, who is currently performing the Lord’s duties in his stead.
“I’ve arranged to have the garden area in the forest behind the Lord’s castle transferred to me.”
