I Became the Wife of the Hero Who Killed Me - Chapter 9

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Episode 9

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And so I headed to the Outer Wall Monastery once again.

Reflecting on the lessons from a few days ago, I dressed as modestly as possible, removed all accessories, and didn’t bring a single gold coin with me.

Perhaps having grown accustomed to my unexpected visits, Filio and the monastery people greeted me calmly.

Only the bureaucrats from the Castle Keep tilted their heads in bewilderment.

“Why isn’t the lady, who is the embodiment of luxury, dressed up today?”

“Could it be that she dressed modestly considering the current situation?”

“As if? When her father, His Highness the Crown Prince, passed away, she dressed even more lavishly than His Majesty the Emperor. She’s not someone who considers time and place.”

“Maybe she didn’t want to dirty her expensive dress.”

They were all wrong.

The correct answer was to avoid becoming a donation angel.

I snorted and let the bureaucrats’ whispers go in one ear and out the other as I passed by. I could hear Count Baron taking care of the bureaucrats behind me.

“It seems there’s someone here who wants to work overtime? What about you, do you want to work late? Should I give you extra work?!”

“….”

At the Baron’s magic words, the bureaucrats bowed their heads at the speed of light.

I was right to bring him along. He insisted he didn’t want to come, but when push comes to shove, he handles things so well.

“My lady, welcome!”

I was about to habitually wash my hands when I hesitated for a moment.

Just then, trainee Joseph, who spotted me, came running out with a delighted face.

“You can wash your hands at this washbasin. It may be troublesome, but you must use soap.”

“How dare someone like you try to get water on my imperial hands?! It’s so insulting I need to wash my ears!”

I added elaborate excuses while pretending to wash my ears, diligently soaping between my fingernails.

Good, that was natural.

The scene inside the treatment center I finally entered was still shabby and chaotic.

Though more organized than the first day of the accident, the interior was still packed with critically ill patients.

Moreover, since there weren’t enough hospital beds, many patients were lying on the cold floor with just a single yellowed linen cloth spread beneath them.

‘Why is there such a shortage of money?’

I clearly told them to request additional funds from Bertol, the chamberlain of House Lombard, if donations were insufficient.

I grabbed a passing monk and questioned him.

“Did Bertol refuse to provide the donation money?”

“Oh, no! It’s not that, but with our status, we couldn’t meet Sir Bertol….”

“Hah.”

I pressed firmly on my throbbing forehead.

I wondered why this had happened since Bertol wasn’t the type to skimp on money for such matters, but it seemed they couldn’t even meet him and were stopped at the castle entrance.

Damn bastards.

“Then you must have requested support funds from the Castle Keep? I saw bureaucrats outside.”

“Of course. But they said it would take some time for the supplementary budget to reach the higher-ups….”

This shit!

As a former bureaucrat, I knew better than anyone. The higher-ups in the Castle Keep cared far more about fighting among themselves and playing politics than whether the people lived or died.

It would take four months for the supplementary budget to reach the higher-ups, four months for approval, four months for budget execution—a total of one year!

My old trauma felt like it was about to resurface.

I clutched my throbbing head and tried to calm my rising anger.

‘No, now I should only think about living well by myself. Don’t have foolish thoughts.’

It was fortunate I didn’t bring any gold coins.

Something caught my eye. The people who should have been in the treatment center were nowhere to be seen.

“Where are the physicians?”

“Th-that is….”

Joseph couldn’t answer and just rolled his eyes around.

From the boy’s silence, I could sense many things. Thick veins bulged on my forehead.

“Haha, so they dared to ignore my orders?”

Irritation piled upon irritation until I couldn’t see straight.

I hadn’t asked them to come and volunteer for free. I had even paid them in advance, compensation equal to the days they’d lose by closing their clinics in the inner castle walls, and they took the money and ran!

‘I suppose they never thought I’d come to this dirty, shabby treatment center again?’

But it actually happened.

I commanded the soldiers guarding outside.

“Drag all those runaway physicians here and make them kneel before me.”

“…Pardon?”

“Go right now, won’t you?!”

“Yes, yes, we’re going now! We’ll go like the wind!”

Before I could swing my club, the soldiers hurriedly mounted their horses and began racing down the road.

Fuming, I threw down my club and entered the treatment center, plopping down heavily.

While everyone was watching my mood, one person caught my eye—someone who remained calm and continued treating patients despite the ominous atmosphere.

On his chest was a gold badge symbolizing the Medical Academy.

‘Not everyone ran away?’

His clothes were so shabby that I had mistaken him for a volunteer or caregiver, but looking again, he was a physician from the inner castle walls.

“Hey, you.”

Intrigued, I gestured toward the man.

The physician who realized my call reluctantly rose from the hospital bed and approached me.

“What’s your name?”

“Gilbert.”

“Sir Gilbert, everyone else ran away, so why did you stay here alone?”

“I’m not a sir. Just call me Gilbert.”

I paused for a moment. The tuition for the Medical Academy wasn’t something ordinary commoners could afford.

I naturally thought he’d be a noble….

“My reason for staying probably won’t be very interesting to you, my lady.”

“I’ll decide whether it’s boring or not. Speak.”

“As you can see, I’m a commoner.”

Gilbert began to speak calmly.

After all kinds of hardships, he barely managed to enter the academy, but the world didn’t work on skill alone.

He was ostracized by professors and classmates from his academy days, and though he graduated as valedictorian and opened a practice, no nobles would come to his clinic.

“Even if I go back, only flies buzz around my clinic and there’s nothing to do. So this is better.”

Gilbert’s story resonated deeply with me.

Though he pretended to be calm, the venom filling his eyes reminded me of my former self.

He seemed quite useful.

“Which family do you serve as personal physician?”

“What insane noble would give me a position as personal physician?”

Becoming a noble’s personal physician provided considerable economic benefits and opportunities to advance into higher society through noble patronage.

But it required being skilled at pleasing nobles and flattering them.

It wasn’t suitable for someone as tactless as Gilbert.

I nodded with satisfaction.

“Then become my personal physician.”

“I understand there’s already a personal physician at Lombard Castle….”

“Who said to work for Lombard? Work for me. I don’t particularly like sharing what’s mine with others.”

Count Baron, who had been watching the situation, cleverly offered a check and pen.

“My lady, I prepared this in advance thinking you might need it.”

I praised his thorough preparedness and wrote his annual salary in the blank space on the check.

“How about this much? Is it insufficient?”

“That’s not the issue…”

The position of the Duchess’s personal physician was what every doctor in Lombard dreamed of.

Although this generation’s duchess had the enormous problem of being ‘Elisia’, many believed that her ignorant and simple nature would actually make it easier to please her.

In other words, the dream position that everyone coveted was being offered to Gilbert, who had been ignored by them all.

Moreover, I believed in not being stingy with money when it came to buying people. It was a life truth I’d learned from watching the penny-pinching higher-ups in the Castle Keep.

He took the check with a dazed expression.

“I like principled lunatics like you. And now that you’ve become my personal physician, I’d like you to take on one more task.”

When I gestured, the Baron flew over like a butterfly and presented another check.

I filled in the amount with great satisfaction.

“Stay here temporarily until the situation is resolved, treat the patients, and establish a proper system on site. Think of this as advance payment for additional duties.”

“But my lady! Just for treating some patients from the outer castle walls, such a huge amount…!”

The Baron, who had sneaked a peek at the amount, jumped up in shock.

I twisted my lips into a grin.

“Are you paying for it? Should I let you pay?”

“Oh my, I was just trying to say how admirable your generous spirit is, my lady.”

The Baron immediately changed his tune.

I spoke to Gilbert, who still had a dazed expression.

“I’m someone who’s clear about rewards and punishments. Whatever the reason, you were the only one who followed my orders, so you’ve essentially shown loyalty to me. You deserve compensation.”

“Then I’ll accept your proposal. I’ll work as your personal physician from now on.”

“M-my lady! Please wait a moment!”

Just then, the entrance to the treatment center became noisy.

The Inner Wall Physicians, who had grasped the situation, came rushing inside in a panic.

“Gilbert is of low birth, lacking in Medical Arts, and naturally rude beyond measure, making him unsuitable to treat your noble ladyship!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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