The Male Lead Is Going Mad Searching for His Dead Wife, and I’m That Wife - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The male lead goes mad searching for his dead wife, and that wife is me. Chapter 011
Rita spotted Ann lingering around the Duchess’s room.
Rita’s eyes flared. Ann was one of the ringleaders in the maids who had been heaping blame on the Duchess.
So she really is going to try something!
Rita rushed over and planted herself in front of the door.
“W-what!”
“I’m the Duchess’s personal maid. What do you think you’re doing here?”
Ann’s eyes went wide.
“Nothing! I’m not doing anything!”
“Liar! If you were planning to do something to the Duchess, you’d better come clean right now!”
“I told you, it’s nothing!”
With a sharp shriek, Ann bolted down the corridor. Rita stood there fuming for a moment, then knocked on the door.
No answer came, no matter how hard she knocked. Growing uneasy, Rita pushed the door open. Please, don’t let it be too late.
When Rita stepped inside, what greeted her was Lisana asleep in bed, her cheeks flushed. Thankfully, she was unharmed. Apart from looking like she had caught a slight chill.
‘I need to fetch some medicine.’
The problem was that they didn’t hand out medicine easily to lowly servants like her.
Rita bit her lip hard.
It was late, but she might have to go see the Duke. Still, wouldn’t he hate to see his wife die of a cold?
As Rita agonized, her eyes landed on a brown glass bottle.
It was a cold remedy that every citizen of the Empire knew. Rita’s eyes widened.
“Why is this here…?”
She murmured under her breath and glanced at Lisana.
“No way?”
Ann brought this?
But why? A stingy woman like Ann wouldn’t offer such kindness for nothing.
Either way, if Lisana had taken this medicine, then it was a real relief.
* * *
A few days later.
The warning signs of a cold had been real. Still, perhaps thanks to taking the medicine early, she didn’t suffer too badly.
According to Rita, a maid named Ann had apparently brought it. It seemed to be her way of repaying the favor of having the laundry taken in for her.
Good thing there was no poison in it.
It was a day without snow. In other words, a good day to put into action what I had been mulling over.
I intended to look for some work.
Money had to be saved. No telling when I might lose my place here.
In truth, I was a Duchess in name only, and since I was practically left to my own devices, slipping outside the castle was easier than I had expected.
I set out dressed as plainly as I could, and not even the guards recognized me.
I passed by them naturally and walked right out.
The town was lively. As befitted the heart of the Northern Front, the market overflowed with goods, and the people passing by wore bright expressions.
I pulled my hood low and walked down the alleys. I felt eyes sliding toward me, but I ignored them.
Was it my outfit? I’d picked the plainest thing I could find. The guards hadn’t recognized me, after all.
‘I need to move quickly.’
I had only one goal: securing cash. I may have become a Duchess, but someone else’s money is still someone else’s money. Only the money in my own hands is truly mine.
An emergency fund is a lifeline. An emergency fund is a lifeline. If my situation changed at any moment, I’d need money I could hold in my own hands to be prepared.
So I thought about what I could do. Mainly things I could do from home.
My conclusion was sewing. I checked with Rita, and it seemed the tailor’s shop handled alterations and farmed some of the work out.
With my skills, I thought I could land that kind of commission.
Before my eyes stood a sign reading .
‘The Ducal House also uses Laura’s Tailor Shop. I’ve heard the seamstresses there are quite skilled. And I hear they’ve been looking for another seamstress lately.’
I had come following Rita’s words. Since the Ducal House’s work was also being handled by them, I figured they wouldn’t cheat me out of my pay.
Jingle.
When I opened the door and walked in, a stern-looking middle-aged woman, who appeared to be the owner, peered up at me over her spectacles.
The owner took me in with one glance and spoke.
“Welcome. Are you here for a fitting?”
The way she smiled suggested she had noticed that, plain as my clothes were, the fabric was of good quality.
Well, she did seem to have that much of an eye. That’s why I had deliberately worn something with fabric that looked good. First impressions matter, after all. I spoke as pleasantly as I could.
“No. I’ve come to look for work, madam.”
“Hm?”
The owner tilted her head, her face awkward.
“I heard you were looking for a seamstress. If you have any alterations that need doing, I was hoping I might take on some of the work.”
The owner looked me up and down with an expression of disbelief. Although the style of my gown was out of fashion, the fabric was luxurious, my skin was pale, and my face had the bearing of good breeding. Anyone could see I was not someone who needed to earn wages. I was a noblewoman.
“Miss, I think you ran away from home without knowing how the world works… This isn’t a playground for people like you.”
“I didn’t come here to play.”
I slipped off my glove and held out my hand. Slender, white fingers. But the tips were marked with needle pricks, and calluses had settled there, hard and thick.
The shop owner’s eyes widened. Those weren’t calluses from a day or two of sewing.
Then I pulled out the socks I’d brought along. The mending was so perfect you couldn’t find a trace of the darning.
“Patching a sock heel is something I could do with my eyes closed. I can embroider, too.”
The owner was impressed. Embroidery had been one of my hobbies, and I never imagined it would come in handy like this.
“All right. Actually, there are a few urgent pieces. I was about to work overtime because the orders have piled up, and it looks like you’ve arrived as my savior.”
She pushed a bundle toward me. My eyes lit up. Now came the most important part, the thing I had to settle before starting any work.
“How much will you be paying me?”
Wage negotiations.
“Excuse me?”
“My wage. How much per piece can I expect?”
Only then did the owner take on a serious expression.
“Five copper coins per shirt.”
“Seven, then. Ten if I add the embroidery.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Six.”
Six, then. It was the price I’d had in mind from the start.
“Fine. Six it is. But the thread is on your tab.”
“…Very well. But if your work turns out to be a mess, I’ll cancel the contract on the spot.”
“That won’t happen.”
Trust me, I wanted to say.
Thankfully, finding work didn’t take long.
Because of that, I was able to head back at a not-too-late hour.
I left the shop, hugging the bundle of mending close to my chest. It was heavy. The weight of it meant my little emergency purse would be getting heavier, too. The corners of my mouth lifted on their own.
Mend just five pieces a day, and that’s enough potatoes to fill a pot.
This is how you build up a stash of savings, bit by bit. They say the hardest part is getting started.
I slipped out of the alley humming a tune. My arms were loaded down, but my steps toward the castle were light.
Yet in front of the castle gate, a familiar black carriage had come to a halt. And standing before it, arms crossed, was a man staring at me with cold eyes.
It was Lucian.
“….”
I stopped too. He seemed to be returning from somewhere, too. Maybe he’d been in one of the carriages that passed me earlier. He might have seen me from inside.
Lucian’s eyes had sunk into a deep, inky black.
“Where have you been? Who did you meet?”
His voice was low.
Ah, right. I’m under suspicion.
For a moment, I’d forgotten my own situation. Maybe it would have been better to bring someone along after all.
The owner of Laura’s Tailor Shop would surely vouch for me.
Still, in a moment like this, it was best to nip any seeds of suspicion in the bud. I showed him what was in the bundle.
“I was bored, so I went and picked up some work.”
The cloth tangled inside the bundle spilled out into view. Lucian’s gaze dropped downward.
“…What is this?”
“Sewing repairs. I mend them and deliver them, and they pay me for it. It’s a very good job, Duke. If you go to Laura’s Tailor Shop, you can confirm it for yourself.”
And there’s not a speck of misunderstanding to be had. I was quite pleased with my newly acquired job.

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