Chapter 006
As Theodore had predicted, Annette didn’t die easily.
She clung tenaciously to the thread of life until Hans brought the nurse.
A nurse named Lisa examined Annette’s condition as soon as she arrived and administered doses of medication.
Annette’s body was dangerously weak, and she had developed a skin condition from living in the moldy asylum room.
Theodore was quite surprised by the nurse’s arrival, but it was a critical situation that required swift action, leaving him no time to object.
Thus, the treatment continued.
Theodore and Hans left Annette’s room to allow her to receive treatment comfortably and sat on the sofa.
While waiting for the treatment to finish, Hans endured Theodore’s displeased glare.
“I told you to bring a female doctor to save the Grand Duchess. Why did you bring a nurse instead?”
“I had no other choice. Do you think it’s easy to find a female doctor willing to come here and stay confined? You should be grateful I managed to find a nurse.”
“Does she have any skills?”
Theodore harbored strong doubts.
Saving Annette was of utmost importance.
However, Lisa’s disheveled hair and intimidating expression didn’t inspire much confidence.
The nurse brought to save Annette seemed to be on the verge of collapse herself.
“She’s better than most doctors.”
“I told you to bring a doctor.”
“If I had kept searching for a doctor, Miss Cheringen would have stopped breathing before we got here. Shouldn’t her matter remain a secret for now? I wondered what would happen if rumors spread that the first Grand Duchess died in the wedding hall and the second Grand Duchess died in the villa.”
Hans avoided his gaze, but Theodore’s questions grew more pressing.
“Why did that nurse accept such a risky job that most ordinary doctors would refuse?”
“Because I told her we’d give her a lot of money.”
“If she has such great skills as you claim, other people besides us would have offered her a lot of money. What’s the real reason she accepted this job?”
“She lost her job due to a medical error.”
No matter how much money was offered, an ordinary person wouldn’t take on such a risky task.
Yet, Lisa had accepted this job, even though Hans hadn’t revealed their destination or the person she would be caring for.
Accepting a suspicious job meant she had a weakness she couldn’t speak of.
Theodore didn’t overlook this loophole.
“She made a medical error, yet she has skills better than most doctors. How am I supposed to believe that?”
“She was the best I could bring to Miss Annette before she died.”
Hans sighed heavily.
He might seem lacking in many ways while dealing with his master’s strict temperament, but he was a valuable human talent that Theodore had saved and kept by his side.
“Are you sure she’ll keep her mouth shut?”
“It was easy to intimidate her because she has so many weaknesses.”
“If that woman survives her illness, find someone else. A female doctor this time.”
“Alright, I understand.”
Hans had escaped reprimand for bringing an unqualified nurse, but things had become more complicated.
Now that he’d bought more time, next time, he’d have to find someone who suited Theodore’s taste.
And Theodore wasn’t a generous person who gave three chances.
Hans was a lawyer, but his life had become miserable because he was good at things beyond legal matters.
He had taken on the role of Theodore’s aide, becoming his right-hand man and handling all the secret tasks.
Since Theodore hadn’t even told Hans about Annette’s identity, from Hans’s perspective, who knew nothing, his master’s actions were utterly insane.
He had been asked to create legal documents to make Annette the Grand Duchess and had brought her from the mental asylum to here.
He even said he’d make her the Grand Duchess.
Annette was one of the people Theodore despised the most—those crazy women who loved Prince Hugo.
Of course, Hans had also heard about Annette’s reputation in social circles.
She was a woman who always carried a fan because it was the only thing she could skillfully wield with her frail arms, and her empty mind was even less useful than her hands.
Annette was the type of person Theodore deeply loathed. What in the Creator’s name was he going to do with her here?
Hans was the one who endured Theodore the most and spent the longest time with him, but even he still felt a chill down his spine whenever he looked into those cruel eyes.
Hans didn’t know Annette’s value, but could a woman on the verge of death in that room survive Theodore?
‘Surely, it’s not because of love.’
Even if Hans considered every possible connection between Annette and Theodore, including the possibility that they were siblings separated at birth, the one thing he couldn’t imagine—impossible as stars appearing at noon on a sunny summer day—was a romantic relationship between them.
‘I don’t know what this crazy master is trying to do.’
Trying to make Annette the Grand Duchess would fail because Annette wouldn’t be able to withstand Theodore’s madness.
While Hans was lost in thought about Theodore’s suspicious actions, the door opened, and Lisa emerged.
“First of all, the initial treatment is complete.”
Lisa was flustered and bowed her head before Theodore, yet she had no idea Theodore was here.
She knew it wasn’t an ordinary job, but she didn’t know it was connected to the Grand Duke, who was portrayed as a fool in the newspapers and a monster in people’s mouths.
Hans felt sympathy for Lisa, who was trembling after realizing Theodore’s true identity.
He felt compelled to quickly find another doctor and send her away from here.
So far, Theodore hadn’t said anything, let alone acknowledged Lisa’s greeting.
Lisa fidgeted with her fingers, unsure of what to say.
Hans, who was in a worse position, spoke instead.
“How is the patient?”
“She’s in very bad condition. She needs to go to a hospital as soon as possible and undergo proper examinations…”
Theodore, who had been listening, cut her off.
“If that were possible, why do you think we summoned you here?”
“I’m sorry.”
Lisa apologized without knowing why, and Hans asked the next question before she could cry.
“She’s suffering from a high fever. But why?”
“I’m sorry, but I suspect poisoning, not illness.”
“Poisoning?”
“She’s trembling severely, and her body isn’t responding well to fever reducers. It seems she may have ingested poison, as her condition isn’t a common one.”
Lisa’s voice trembled slightly as she reported the patient’s condition, but she stood upright.
It was an attitude unbecoming of a nurse who had been fired from a hospital after causing a medical error.
“What caused the poisoning?”
“I don’t know to that extent. It takes time to find out.”
“Can you find an antidote?”
“Until we identify the type of poison, we can’t rush into treating her recklessly. If I give her an antidote incompatible with the poison in her body, something worse could happen.”
“Then?”
“There’s no treatment available at the moment.”
Of all Lisa’s words, these were spoken with the most confidence.
Theodore’s expression stiffened at Lisa’s firmness.
The fact that someone who didn’t even show his dislike openly expressed clear displeasure meant he didn’t like Lisa’s response at all.
Hans felt his desire to send the nurse away had just been fulfilled.
Theodore would now order Lisa to be fired or killed.
“Hans.”
“Yes.”
“Did I tell you to bring a fake nurse who says there’s no hope for treating patients?”
“It’s not because I’m not skilled enough, but the poison…”
“I never gave you permission to interrupt me.”
Theodore objected to Lisa’s excuses.
Lisa covered her mouth with her hand, perhaps feeling sorry for herself.
At that moment, Hans touched his forehead.
If possible, he wanted to send this nurse away alive, but it had become difficult now.
As the situation grew tense, someone arrived and seemed to resolve Hans’s concerns.
“If I know what poison I took, can you treat me?”
Annette, who had regained consciousness, left the room with the maid’s help.
Lisa hurriedly ran to Annette.
“You’re in very bad condition. Even if you’re awake, you need to rest.”
She was a highly professional person who thought of her patients.
This was the first reasonable remark Annette had heard in this villa.
“I heard your conversation from inside. If you know the type of poison I took, can you find a way to detoxify my body?”
“I pride myself on knowing more about medications than any doctor.”
“Aren’t you a doctor?”
“I’m a nurse.”
Annette evaluated Lisa’s response and asked Theodore this time.
“Did you bring her here? Are you confident in her skills?”
“I don’t trust her at all, but the lawyer I trust believes in her and says she’s qualified.”
“Then she’s not the worst, is she?”
Lisa’s face turned red as they exchanged evaluative remarks in front of her.
The two spoke as if there were no other people with them in the room.
“I can see that you’re the only person with medical expertise I can trust in this situation.”
Annette placed something in Lisa’s hand.
“This is the medicine I took. They made me take it for about a month. There’s a chance I ingested another poison without knowing. Do you know what this medicine is?”
“I think I recognize it, but I need to analyze the ingredients to be sure.”
Lisa took the medicine with a puzzled expression.
“Find a way to break down the formula of this medicine and save me. Otherwise, this man will kill you.”
When Annette pointed at Theodore and said this, Lisa was so shocked that she dropped the pills on the floor.
“This is the poison our lives both depend on.”
After hearing Annette’s words, Lisa hurriedly picked up the medicine.
In that moment, Lisa wasn’t only afraid of Theodore but of Annette as well.
She felt an intimidating aura, equal to Theodore’s, from a woman who wouldn’t be surprising if she stopped breathing and died on the spot.
Hans thought Annette’s threatening skills, which terrified Lisa in an instant, were very useful.
A woman who knew nothing had to distinguish between the cards she could use in the current situation and those that threatened her opponent and use them immediately.
So Annette had used Theodore.
Hans had thought she wouldn’t survive Theodore, let alone stay alive, but her actions were surprising.
Hans wasn’t alone in his thoughts.
Theodore looked at Annette and said calmly, “Can we talk alone for a minute?”
