Chapter 18
And exactly three days passed after that.
For those three days, Evan would leave the room with his sword before I even got up, and he wouldn’t return until after I had already fallen asleep.
It was safe to say I barely saw his face at all. On the surface, nothing seemed particularly different, but for some reason, his expression looked darker than usual.
I had been determined to catch him tonight and have a proper conversation.
“Hello.”
A young woman with long, flowing red hair came into my room and greeted me cheerfully.
“My name is Serena Morristo. Starting today, I’ll be serving as the young madam’s personal physician, checking on your condition every day.”
So this was the alias Sven had chosen.
The fake name of the doctor we’ll assign from our side will be Serena Morristo. That way, you’ll recognize her immediately when you see the name.
Sven… he really does know how to get things done.
“Thank you, Serena.”
Maybe things were finally going smoothly, because Lisa didn’t follow her in either. Evan was out every day training with his sword, so the room held only Serena and me.
Serena leaned in close beside me, smiling brightly, and spoke in a low voice.
“Our guildmaster gave me special instructions. He said you’re a very generous client, so I should serve you well.”
Of course. Do you know how much money I’ve poured into that place?
“Serena, are you really a doctor?”
“Nope.”
Serena winked confidently.
“I don’t really know medicine. I skimmed a few basic books cramming at the last minute, though.”
“Then how did you pass the interview?”
“Well… the Duke doesn’t know much about medicine either, so I got accepted thanks to a famous medical academy diploma, a license, and a mountain of recommendation letters.”
“Oh my…”
“Of course, they’re all forged.”
“W-Wait… is that really okay?”
“It’s rare for our guildmaster to go this far… He must really like you, Lady Laria.”
It wasn’t that he liked me. He liked the answer I gave him at the end.
Anyone with half a mind would be curious about the internal affairs of House Icard, and he probably wanted to make use of me.
“So what exactly am I supposed to do, Lady Laria?”
Serena’s green eyes sparkled as she asked sweetly.
“The Duke will keep asking about my condition.”
“Mmm, that’s true.”
Serena answered after thinking for a moment.
“The condition was that I must never tell anyone about your illness.”
That was only natural, since I was a terminal patient no one was supposed to know about.
“He said he’d cut off my head if rumors spread. Oh dear… it didn’t sound like a joke at all.”
“It won’t be.”
“Huh?”
“Jokes are scarier.”
“…I see.”
Serena let out a deep sigh and continued.
“And he told me not to inform you directly, but to report regularly to him about your condition.”
Everything was exactly as I expected.
You can’t give your heart easily to Duke Icard…
In the end, Duke Icard hadn’t assigned a physician to cure me.
He had assigned one to watch me.
“Ah, he even told me to examine you right now and report the results.”
“That’s probably the final interview.”
I crossed my arms and smiled.
“Go tell him that I have a rare disease called Garba Castle Pulmonary Disorder, with several complications, and that I’ll die within six or seven years.”
“What?”
“Tell him no medicine will really help, but you’ll do your best. Add that it won’t be easy.”
“Oh my… such an enormous lie?”
“He probably won’t even be surprised. And make sure to tell me how he reacts.”
The reaction I expected from the Duke was:
Don’t bother trying to cure her. Just keep reporting.
“But… Lady Laria, aren’t you not sick?”
Serena tilted her head.
“Huh?”
“If you were truly ill, you wouldn’t bother buying land under a false name or purchasing a title…”
“I’m a little sick, but I’ll get better soon. And if I cough up blood sometimes, don’t be shocked.”
“Then I really have nothing to do here, do I? I just have to pretend to try.”
“That’s right.”
“My goodness.”
Serena clapped her hands once, looking delighted.
“What an easy mission.”
Then she grinned and tossed her long hair back.
“Then… would it be alright if I date someone while I’m here? I noticed there are quite a few decent-looking servants.”
“That’s up to you, Serena.”
I answered calmly, though my expression stiffened slightly at the unexpected comment.
“Dating is my hobby.”
“Ah… I see.”
Only then did I realize she was a strikingly sensual beauty. Her bold features matched her glamorous attire.
“If you ever find a man you like too, Lady Laria, tell me secretly. I’ll help arrange a rendezvous.”
“W-What?”
“That’s my real specialty. Not medicine—secret affairs. Leave it to me.”
Serena winked.
Seriously… even for a shadow information guild, they sent someone like this?
“B-But I’m married…”
“It’s a political marriage, isn’t it?”
Serena replied casually.
“Noble couples who marry young for politics all cheat anyway. Ninety-nine percent of the gossip in high society is about that.”
…True. The original story was basically an affair tale too.
Evan wasn’t a good husband, but Princess Ellani was still a married woman.
This is such a mess. What kind of person was the author?
The author’s pen name was “Devil Cat.”
Cute pen name, but the writing was definitely strange.
Still, Evan was such a worthless excuse of a husband that no readers blamed Princess Ellani. And since divorce wasn’t even possible under imperial law, affairs were probably common.
This wasn’t modern society like my past life.
It was a completely different world.
A country where parents could force marriage—of course adultery might work differently from my common sense.
“If you ever need 상담 about men, you’re always welcome. I’m an expert.”
Serena smiled confidently.
Sven… did you really send someone appropriate?
Still, since I couldn’t move freely, having someone from the Bastian Information Guild under my influence would be extremely convenient.
“Serena.”
“Yes?”
“I have something to tell Sven.”
I spoke as if casually tossing it out.
“The last time I was walking downtown, I noticed a burning smell coming from the building behind that café.”
“A burning smell? Behind the café?”
Serena’s face turned serious.
“Yes. Tell him he should check it carefully.”
“Oh my, yes!”
“I’m only worried something bad might happen, since we’ve formed a good connection.”
I put on a gentle expression and spoke softly.
“It could be nothing, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful. As you can see, I can’t move freely, so every connection I make is precious.”
“Oh…”
Serena looked slightly touched.
That was when I smiled shyly and delivered the finishing blow.
“That’s why both you and Sven are very precious to me.”
Someone, please put subtitles on the screen:
Laria (14), Possessed Character / Dead serious about acting — in bold Gothic script.
As expected, Serena took my hand and replied sincerely.
“How… thoughtful of you. Thank you so much.”
In that building behind the café lived Sven’s mother.
And on the floor below, a strange mage obsessed with experiments had recently moved in.
So it made sense Serena looked alarmed.
In the original story, that mage caused the entire building to explode.
Sven, who lost his mother in the incident, fell into a temporary depression.
By now, Seymour is probably going to Sven.
That’s why Seymour, who was in contact with Sven over purchasing the Hanyua territory, struggled a bit.
But now, Seymour would be able to buy the land smoothly without incident.
At this point… it wasn’t intentional, but it’ll help Seymour too.
I had felt guilty for taking advantage of Seymour’s wealth, but this was like repaying the debt cleanly.
Saving someone’s life was the right thing to do anyway.
And while I was at it, I made sure to earn a little credit.
Soon, they’ll think of me as their benefactor.
Then, no matter what tasks I gave them, they would do their best.
I needed to be firmly entangled with Sven.
If I could freely mobilize an information guild…
That would be like giving wings to someone like me, a transmigrator.
I had been reincarnated into the worst possible conditions:
Limited movement, a weak body, and no special abilities…
But—
I’ll survive with shamelessness and audacity!
