Chapter 16
To be honest, it wasn’t exactly that Cedric had “woken up” that day. It was more like he had been half-asleep or in a strange daze.
He remembered thinking casually:
“Well, I guess I owe her a favor. I won’t forget that.”
With that thought, he wrote a note saying, “Come to Wintergarten and find me,” stamped it with his seal, and left it behind.
Then, like he was under a spell, he walked again toward the place with the old cloth.
Next thing he knew, his knights were holding him up.
That was the end of it.
Cedric snapped out of his thoughts and looked across at the woman sitting in front of him.
His calm eyes carefully examined Rita.
“You’re called Rita?”
“Yes! Please just call me Rita.”
“But… the person I saw back then didn’t have pink hair.”
Rita blinked, then clapped her hands like she had just remembered something.
“Oh, right! That’s probably why you didn’t recognize me. My hair was brown back then, wasn’t it?”
Cedric nodded.
“Yes, it was.”
Rita muttered to herself, “I knew it. I knew the Grand Duke couldn’t be that petty and heartless.”
She didn’t even try to hide how bold and cheeky she was.
“This pink is actually my real hair color.”
“…And back then?”
“I had my reasons.”
Rita sighed deeply.
Whatever those “reasons” were, Cedric didn’t care.
Because of how much she had shouted earlier, her fluffy pink hair looked even puffier now, almost filling up his view.
When Cedric stayed silent, Rita looked nervous and forced a smile.
“Anyway… I’m sure you knew I would apply for the job, right?”
People who pretend to be confident are easy to spot—just like Rita right now.
Cedric gave her a slight smile.
“I did think that might happen.”
He actually felt a little bad for Harun, who was hoping for a proper new assistant. But the truth was… this job posting was only made to bring Rita in.
Cedric had told Harun that if the healer from Luetta village applied, to let her in immediately.
Harun had found that strange and said, “There’s no way that woman would apply.”
But Cedric thought otherwise. From the way she acted, it was clear she was aiming right at him.
She even told people that the apples she bought were “famous Grand Duchy apples the Grand Duke praised.”
Even Tinte, who got furious over Rita’s potion sales, had heard about that and just clicked her tongue, saying, “That girl’s got guts.” Cedric agreed.
If she wasn’t a scammer planning to run away after stirring up attention, then she would definitely apply.
And if she didn’t apply? Then she was a scammer, and Cedric could punish her.
His eyes narrowed.
“Listen, Your Grace,” Rita began in a bold tone.
“This is your lucky day. I’m actually really talented, you know? You’ve got a top-tier worker right in front of you—you should grab me before I leave.”
“Hmm.”
“So? Shall I sign right now?”
Her eyes sparkled.
She didn’t seem to care about money or power. But Cedric couldn’t help wondering—what did she really want?
“You’re saying… you’re that healer.”
“I am.”
Rita wasn’t a spy, and she wasn’t some gift from the gods either.
Cedric smiled again.
She had listed facts only the real person would know, and she brought that crumpled note as proof. It was clear she wasn’t lying.
Cedric didn’t believe in coincidences. And this wasn’t one.
This was a situation he had created and led himself.
His mind worked quickly.
He still had one worry—those determined eyes that shouted “I’ll be loyal!” “I won’t betray you!”
He remembered the people who once said those exact words… and then betrayed him.
But… it was true he owed her. It was also true that Rita could be useful to the Grand Duchy.
Cedric smiled and said,
“Alright. Let’s renegotiate.”
“Cedric!”
“She’s the one who saved my life. I called her here.”
And maybe—just maybe—she could help ease the pain of his curse.
His eyes scanned Rita again, cold and cautious.
He wasn’t being careless. He didn’t have the luxury to trust people easily.
Most people who applied to work at the Grand Duchy were either desperate nobodies, spies, or assassins.
That’s why Cedric only kept a very small, trusted group close to him.
But this time, he felt a little bit of hope.
Cedric asked,
“So… what exactly do you want?”
I passed the first step!
The negotiation went smoothly. Cedric seemed to be thinking deeply about something, but in the end, he agreed to all of my requests.
He said he would hire me as a healer. He even admitted that he was planning to do that from the start—as long as nothing suspicious came up.
Of course, he did mention there were still some steps I had to go through…
But that didn’t matter.
What mattered was this:
I GOT A JOB AT THE GRAND DUCHY!
“Let’s go over your contract details one more time. Let me know if anything’s wrong.”
Harun—the Grand Duke’s only assistant—was still giving me suspicious looks. But even so, he followed Cedric’s orders exactly.
While Cedric and I talked, Harun took notes, and now he read them out loud:
“Hired as a healer. Free place to live, research lab provided, meals and research budget covered, 300 square meters of land for research use, a one-week break every three months… and an official appointment letter dated Imperial Year 875, January 18. The letter will be framed and hung in your lab.”
January 18, Imperial Year 875…
That was the day I first met Cedric.
The day Calix showed up and ruined my mood.
The day I found the handsome man collapsed near my house, healed him, then even had time to check the barrier afterward.
It was like a turning point in my life.
I nodded and added,
“You’ll pay me a good salary too, right?”
“There has never been a single payment issue in the Grand Duchy,” Harun answered firmly.
Even though I didn’t really have anything to spend money on, money was always nice to have. You never know when you’ll need it.
Everything was going great.
Which meant… now, there was just one more thing left.
My heart, which had been feeling happy, suddenly tightened.
“Oh, right.”
I spoke casually, trying to sound relaxed.
“While you’re agreeing to all this… can I ask for one more thing?”
“Go ahead. What is it?”
Cedric had been getting up from his seat, but he sat back down and leaned forward to listen carefully.
I took three deep breaths. I didn’t want them to notice how nervous I was, so I took my time, and my answer came out a little late.
“Is it important?”
“Yes… pretty important.”
Actually, it was super important. More than everything I had asked for so far.
I clenched my sweaty hands into fists to hide them and said,
“Can you… hide me?”
“Hide you?”
“Actually, I mean… it would be even better if you could protect me.”
The sound of Harun’s pen suddenly stopped.
Cedric also froze.
I leaned back in the chair and looked at them calmly.
“That place where I met you, Your Grace… it was in the Kingdom of Ludencio, right?”
“…The kingdom?”
“You didn’t know?”
Wait… he didn’t know where he was? That’s kind of weird.
The moment I said that, the mood in the room shifted.
Did I say something wrong?
Cedric and Harun looked at each other with strange, unreadable expressions.
Seeing that… a small sense of fear crept into me.
