The Villainess' Son is Innocent - Chapter 20
Chapter 10.2
“Oh, goodness, my lady… You don’t look so good…”
She left for a moment and returned with some medicine and a handkerchief to comfort my stomach. Isana was also present.
“Are you hurting anywhere? You don’t have a fever, but please hold on for a moment.”
Isana handed me lukewarm water with the medicine, and she handled it very cautiously.
“Are you feeling this way because of the young lord?”
Their question left me speechless.
‘Am I truly worried about Emil or the unsettling future?’
I felt so disappointed in myself. Isana wrapped her arms around me as my face darkened.
“I… understand your feelings, but Lord Emil will be fine. So, please take the medicine. Alright?”
A future that only I’ve seen.
A secret that I alone carry.
As I swallowed the medicine, guilt tightened its grip on my chest. I felt suffocated.
“I’m okay, you can go back downstairs.”
Feeling more uncomfortable with their presence, I expressed my desire to be alone. Perhaps due to the placebo effect of having taken medicine, I felt slightly better than before.
“There are two things I need to figure out.”
Having calmed down, I looked at my hand wrapped in the handkerchief.
First, I had to find a way to secretly enter the duke’s residence before Emil left.
And second, discover the perfect cure for the madness Emil was likely harboring.
It was time to take action.
* * *
If there were a way for me to transform into an adult, I would have used that method to infiltrate the duke’s residence. Unfortunately, in this world, magic powerful enough to change a human’s outward appearance was prohibited.
So, the most realistic option available to me was to acquire the help of someone working for the duke.
“Lady Vel, an acquaintance of mine knows a girl named Tilly.”
“Tilly?”
“Yes, my lady. She’s been working under the duke for a little over two years now. She used to fear Young Lord Calixt based on the rumors she heard… but for some reason, she confided in my acquaintance that she doesn’t know if she’s doing the right thing.”
If she’s currently wavering in her perception of Emil, this was a perfect opportunity. She might be willing to help, even if it’s for the sake of her own conscience.
“That person sounds promising.”
A few days later, I ventured into the bustling streets with Elena.
Instead of wearing a cloak, I dressed in commoner’s clothing and hid my hair inside a hat. With this disguise, I didn’t stand out much except for looking like a pretty boy.
“My lady, seeing you dressed this makes me feel like I’ve gained a handsome younger brother.”
“For today, I’ll be your younger brother. How about that, dear sister?”
Elena responded to my joke with a straight face, “Younger brothers don’t act this cute!” But just a moment ago, she looked happy at the fact that I was like her little brother…
After a while, we reached the agreed-upon location. It was a restaurant regularly used by commoners.
‘Huh?’
At the table I had reserved in advance, a familiar person was sitting.
“You…”
It was the maid who had attended to me and Emil during my visit to the duke’s residence. Since then, I occasionally saw her every time we escorted Emil back to the duke’s mansion, making her face memorable.
“Lady Velsia…?”
She recognized me too and began to rise from her seat but hesitated.
“So, your name is Tilly.”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
In the meantime, Elena asked for a simple menu.
‘I’m glad it was someone familiar.’
I pulled out a shoddy hairpin from my pocket.
“If you go to the bank with this, they’ll exchange it for the money I requested. I can guarantee it’ll be a sum equivalent to your annual salary.”
“T-that’s…”
“In return, help me meet up with Emil. I previously sent a letter, but the duke refused my visit.”
Gulping, she nervously asked,
“Won’t it be impossible?”
“No… No, it’s possible.”
Tilly took a deep breath, seemingly already aware of Emil’s situation.
“Every day around four in the morning, new groceries arrive at the duke’s mansion.”
Her suggested plan was as follows:
Before morning, I’ll hide inside the cart that brings groceries into the mansion. As the cart enters, the assistant chef will be busy checking the purchased produce. Then, Tilly will cause a distraction, allowing me to discreetly slip out of the cart.
She explained that near where they station the carts, there is an area where they store empty oak barrels for firewood. If I hid there, she would come and fetch me.
“Immediately after dawn, the maids must finish cleaning the boiler and illuminating all the lights in the mansion. Then, they’ll be busy replenishing firewood and coal.”
“Ah, so you’re coming to fetch me from there?”
“Yes, that’s right. We are also using the oak barrels to transport firewood. If you hide inside one, I can bring you to the young lord.”
It felt like a scene from Mission: Impossible.
‘Well, it does make sense…’
This time, Elena spoke up.
“To infiltrate the grocery cart, we need to know which merchant guild they’re associated with.”
Elena said she would check if bribing the merchant would be possible.
After roughly going over the plan of movement with Tilly, I visited the herbal shop I had looked into earlier.
“Is there anything specific you’re looking for?”
“A medicine that won’t harm animals.”
“What type of medicine is that?”
A medicine that won’t do any harm, but will create an opportunity for me to slip into the cart. I laughed and said,
“Do horses have a favorite scent they smell?”
The old woman looked at me strangely and recommended several medicines. Choosing the most expensive and fast-acting one from the suggested options, I hurried back home.
I quickly tried to bathe and change without my parents noticing and then entered the room where Emil had been staying.
‘Am I doing the right thing?’
The more that boy valued our home, the greater the likelihood that he wouldn’t hurt us.
I knew all this seemed like we were deceiving him.
‘But I have no other choice.’
I grabbed the cufflinks I had gotten him earlier as a gift and left the room.
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