Chapter 4
The medical arts in this world were crude at best.
Over the past generation, the number of gifted individuals had sharply declined. Warriors were still relatively common, but the numbers of mages and healers had plummeted.
Healers, in particular, were exceedingly rare—so rare that only the powerful could hope to receive their services. Even then, the skills of those who remained were nowhere near what they had once been. The miraculous cures of the past were no longer something one could expect.
Given such circumstances, ordinary people relied on folk remedies.
As a result, my treatments produced effects that were almost miraculous.
“You can rest easy now.”
At my words, Gilbert’s eyes reddened. Whenever the topic turned to his wife, he became as soft as a young girl.
I took two packets of herbal medicine from my basket.
“So I’ve changed her prescription. This isn’t treatment anymore—it’s to strengthen her weakened body. This one is good for the lungs, and this one restores stamina.”
I handed him ‘Gyeongok-go’ and ‘Bojung-ikgi-tang’.
“And this is the prescription. If she continues to brew and take it regularly, she’ll regain her health.”
The hand that eagerly reached out for the medicine hesitated for a brief moment, but I pretended not to notice.
“Your wife said she wanted to try twisted doughnuts, didn’t she? I made them myself.”
“Thank you—truly, thank you.”
Gilbert bowed repeatedly as he accepted the basket of doughnuts, then immediately offered me an envelope.
“Raymond stopped by again yesterday.”
“And how much did he sell this time?”
“Two gold coins.”
I smiled in satisfaction.
“You’ve done well.”
—
A dog might stop eating filth—but Raymond would never quit gambling.
Whenever harvest season came around, professional gamblers would flock to the territory to fleece him. It had gotten so bad that there was even a saying:
‘When winter comes, the lord of Valdif sleeps atop a mountain of debt.’
He would sell anything that could fetch money. The problem was that there was nothing left to sell. All he owned was land—and in Valdif, land didn’t sell.
It was too barren to be worth anything.
Then one day, Raymond heard astonishing news.
The pawnshop owner’s wife, who had been on the brink of death, had miraculously recovered. The treatment had apparently been so expensive that their finances were strained. And that lofty pawnshop had begun accepting land as collateral.
Raymond rushed there at once. From then on, he crossed that threshold so often it wore thin, diligently offering up prime parcels of land.
Right up until yesterday.
—
The envelope Gilbert gave me was thick with the deeds to the land Raymond had sold off. He handed me another document.
“This contains the whereabouts of the swindler gambling ring that fleeced Raymond.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
I tucked the envelopes into my basket. Gilbert hesitated, then spoke.
“My lady, I’ve never once asked a client what they intended to use their money for.”
It seemed he had realized this would be our last transaction. I had always paid him in medicine—but this was the first time I had ever handed him an actual prescription.
“I know it’s improper, but I’m truly worried. What you’re giving in return for saving my wife feels far too little.”
When I had first said I would accept land deeds as payment for his wife’s treatment, he had been dumbfounded.
So when I then told him to lend money to Raymond in exchange for land deeds, I must have seemed like a naïve child who knew nothing of the world.
“Why are you collecting useless land?”
You only see what you understand.
The Gyeongok-go I prepared for his wife contained honey, fresh rehmannia, and poria. And Bojung-ikgi-tang required even more ingredients—astralagus, atractylodes, angelica, cimicifuga, bupleurum, aged tangerine peel, licorice, and others.
Where did I get all of that?
The terrain of the Valdif territory was long and narrow like Chile in South America, and mountainous throughout like Korea. Not only medicinal herbs, but all kinds of spices were scattered everywhere.
In short, it was a treasure vault.
Contrary to his worries, I understood the ways of the world all too well—far too well to ever explain them to him.
I simply smiled. Gilbert apologized, saying he’d asked something unnecessary.
I shook my head.
“Not at all. I understand.”
Then I wiped the smile from my face and spoke seriously.
“I’m saying this because I’m worried too—don’t speak of our dealings even in bed.”
I tapped his shoulder, deliberately mentioning his wife. It was a warning: don’t let a single word slip anywhere. Judging by the way he swallowed, he’d understood perfectly.
As I turned to leave, Gilbert asked,
“My lady, may we hope you’ll continue to use our shop?”
Honestly—he was quick on the uptake.
I looked straight at him.
“Do you truly mean that?”
“Valdif without you, my lady, is a sinking ship.”
Then he hastily added,
“It’s not because I’m afraid my cooperation with you might be discovered.”
When I narrowed my eyes, Gilbert subtly averted his gaze.
I let out a small laugh and left. The sun was slowly setting in the western sky.
‘The mercenaries should be arriving soon.’
I hurried back to the castle.
—
The head maid let out a long sigh.
Ever since the greenhouse incident, all sorts of rumors had been circulating. That Gerard had been completely ensnared by the enemy princess’s skirts—
That part, at least, was true.
There were even rumors that Anais would leave.
“Ridiculous. Do they have any idea how much money she’s brought into this territory?”
She’d earned a great deal, but the herb fields she’d personally cultivated were beyond any monetary value.
“Leave all that behind and go? Not a chance. If she tries to divorce him, I’ll stop it no matter what.”
She was muttering to herself when a sharp voice came from behind.
“Divorce?”
It was Tanya.
“Anais is getting a divorce?”
“W-What? N-No, that’s not—”
“I heard every word you said!”
“Well, that is—”
Cold sweat broke out on the head maid’s back. But the water had already been spilled.
Tanya ran toward Josephine’s quarters, shouting,
“Mother! Mother!”
The head maid clutched her head with both hands.
—
By the time I arrived at the castle, the sun had completely set. To make matters worse, the moon was hidden behind clouds, leaving everything pitch-black.
As I crossed the courtyard, there wasn’t a single light burning.
‘Raymond is spending money like water.’
So much so that he was even cutting into the funds meant for lighting fires. The household had visibly fallen into poverty.
It was a satisfying sight, as far as I was concerned.
Before Gerard returned, people had revered me like a goddess.
But once Raymond seized actual control and Shaiya appeared—armed with Gerard’s affection and even an heir—people began to waver, one by one.
Josephine was the first to turn away, and the servants slowly followed.
With me constantly out and about preparing various things, it only fueled the shift.
Now, the only person left on my side was the upright head maid.
In my previous life, she had tried to help me no matter what. Because she’d escaped starvation thanks to me, she had called me her lifelong benefactor and even sent me money after I left this place.
‘If I leave her behind, she’ll be badly ostracized. Should I take her with me?’
The head maid held a lifetime post—she couldn’t simply quit or leave the territory at will.
Lost in thought as I walked, I suddenly heard a voice behind me.
“Where have you been?”
Gerard emerged from the darkness.
My heart nearly leapt out of my chest. I pressed a hand to my chest and glared at him.
But my vision blurred.
Gerard, dressed in white, was right in front of my nose. I tried to step back, but my back hit the wall.
His commanding warrior’s build, deep and powerful eyes, and perfectly balanced features still made him undeniably handsome.
His tightly closed lips curved into a smile that once seemed capable of melting ice whenever they were turned toward me.
Though that was now a very long time ago.
Out of nowhere, he grabbed my hand.
“How rough. Hardly the hands of a noble lady.”
He clicked his tongue softly.
“Did you trust me so little?”
When I frowned, he continued.
“You didn’t believe I’d come back alive, did you? That’s why you kept handling herbs until your hands ended up like this.”
Ha.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
“Even when you were here, everyone in the territory had to scour the mountains for something edible.”
“That’s precisely why I went to war—and returned as a victorious general.”
When I twisted my hand free, he frowned.
“I risked my life, and you compare that to mere herbs? That hurts. I went to hell for the sake of this territory and my family.”
“Leave me out of that family. I never expected to become someone’s mistress.”
“Don’t take it too far. It’s unsightly.”
Gerard let out a faint sigh.
“Do you hate Shaiya that much? She’s a pitiful woman. When I was crossing the line between life and death, she was my only refuge. To think she’s merely a mistress is almost unfair.”
He gripped my shoulder.
“Anais, you are my wife. That fact hasn’t changed, so don’t drown yourself in self-pity.”
He had said the same thing in my previous life.
But it wasn’t true.
Shaiya had never been satisfied with being a mistress. She never stopped whispering poison.
‘What do you think a woman wants most when she believes her husband is dead? At the very least, she needs to remarry while she’s still young to live comfortably. Who knows—she might’ve been desperate enough to throw herself at any old noble.’
