IFHWPUML Chapter 018

Wilhazelle was serious.

Chase didn’t seem to realize how dangerous tetanus could be. If he got it, he might have to amputate his hand.

“Tetanus? What is that?”

Chase asked, having heard the term for the first time.

“Oh, whatever. If you don’t want to risk losing your hand, you should get it treated.”

“It’s fine. You can go now.”

Annoyed by her persistence, Chase leaned back onto the bench again. It seemed like she was going to pretend to be worried about him as well now. He kept a stiff expression on his face, as if to say that it wasn’t working.

“Tia!”

Whether or not he wanted to treat the wound, Wilhazelle still called Tia over.

“Yes! Ah! Greetings Duke.”

“Tia, where’s Raphel?”

Wilhazelle asked when Tia, who had been playing with Raphel, came over alone.

“The knight is playing with him for a while.”

“Then can you bring me some disinfectant and a bandage? Please.”

“What? Oh, yes!”

Tia did as she was asked and ran off to fetch the supplies. While she waited, Wilhazelle sat down onto the bench, as far from Chase as possible. There was no need for her to stay here since Tia could just hand him the box of medicine, but looking at his attitude right now, it was clear he wouldn’t treat the wound even if he was handed the medicine box.

Wilhazelle didn’t want to feel indebted to anyone, especially Chase. She also thought she would feel bad if the wound got worse. There was also the possibility that, if the wound left a scar, he would blame her and use it against her.

She had to see him get treated with her own eyes. His stupidity was the issue here, but what could she do about it? He got hurt helping her.

“Ha.”

Chase sighed as he watched her sit down. It’s not like this was the only bench in the garden, so why did she have to sit so close? He straightened up, thinking it would be better for him to leave.

“Duke, you’re not the type of man that runs away just because you’re a bit uncomfortable, right?”

And just like that, Wilhazelle’s voice hit him.

His brow twitched as he froze.

“Of course not.”

He leaned back against the bench again knowing full well she was deliberately provoking him, but he didn’t want to be seen as a coward.

“Right, right.”

Lizelle, who had already figured out his personality, easily put him back in his place. He absolutely hated losing, so he reacted right away, even if he was annoyed.

“Here’s the medicine box you requested.”

Soon, Tia came running back carrying a small box.

When Wilhazelle, who had received the box of medicine, held it out to him, Chase held out his hand to her as if he had no choice.

“You didn’t really think I would treat you myself, did you?”

She looked at his outstretched hand and asked curiously.

“…”

When she placed the medicine box next to him, as if telling him to take care of it himself, Chase’s ears turned bright red.

He hurriedly withdrew his outstretched hand.

He looked away in embarrassment at the misunderstanding.

“Huh? You really did?”

Wilhazelle, seeing his ears, asked in surprise. He seemed to really think she would help tend to his wound herself.

“No.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t like me helping you either.”

“I said I wasn’t expecting your help.”

At this point, his ears couldn’t get any redder, but he couldn’t help but pretend until the end.

“Yes, yes. Whatever you say. Just quickly get treated.”

“I’ll take care of it, so just go.”

Chase said, exhaling deeply in embarrassment. His reddened ears were burning.

“Really? I even got someone to fetch you medicine, so please do it.”

Lizelle stood up from her seat.

She originally intended to stay and watch him get treatment, but he was so embarrassed she thought it best to leave. She chuckled at his uncharacteristic reaction and walked away with Raphel’s ball in hand.

“Ha…”

Chase, alone again, lowered his head. He was so embarrassed that even the back of his neck felt hot. He was so used to receiving treatment he naturally assumed she would treat him herself. However, when he realized he’d misunderstood, his face heated up for some reason.

Out of embarrassment, he pushed the medicine box next to him away but then pulled it back to treat his wounds.

 

***

 

A few days later.

Lizelle left the mansion with Raphel.

The Duke’s mansion wasn’t lacking anything, but she wanted to take the child out for some fresh air. She also wanted to give him plenty of new experiences while he was still young. When he was formally recognized as the Duke’s nephew, he wouldn’t be able to roam as freely as he could now.

From etiquette to swordsmanship to succession management classes, he’ll definitely have a busy schedule. Until then, she wanted to let him play like a child. She thought Chase wouldn’t allow them to leave, but surprisingly he gave them permission fairly easily.

The only condition was that they had to be accompanied by the family knights. At Lizelle’s request, they were following at a distance.

“Wow…”

Raphel was busy looking around, eyes wide.

Lizelle chuckled as she watched him. The innocent child’s reaction was so cute.

“Look at this, Raphel, it’s candy.”

Wilhazelle picked up the cane-shaped candy on display at a stand and showed it to Raphel. The bright colors were very pretty to look at.

“Candy!”

Raphel reached out his small hands and Lizelle handed him the candy.

“How much is it?”

“100 shillings.”

Lizelle opened her purse made of light pink leather and handed the owner 100 shillings she managed to find after fumbling around for a while.

‘We’re in big trouble.’

She had no money. All she had left was 1,000 shillings. Just enough money to buy 10 candies. Suddenly, a drop of cold sweat ran down her neck.

They never had to spend any money at the Duke’s, but on the rare occasion they went out like today, money would be necessary…

“Candy, yay!”

Lizelle let out an awkward chuckle as she turned to Raphel, who was sucking on the candy with a big smile on his face.

She was doing some metal calculations at the moment.

Even though it wasn’t a lot of money, she had to save some as an emergency fund. Because of the debt, she also was unable to ask her parents for any funds. They were already having a hard enough time…

Lizelle fiddled with the emerald necklace around her neck.

‘Should I just sell this?’

Even though it was as small as a little fingernail, she should be able to get some money from selling it. The ring on her ring finger could not be sold because it was a family ring. Only this necklace…

Among the previous Wilhazelle’s numerous belongings, the only thing that caught her eye was this necklace.

That’s why she didn’t sell it when she resold everything else to repay some of the debt. There was nothing she could do right now though. The situation was not favorable. With her mind made up, Wilhazelle looked around to see if there was a jeweler nearby who would give her a decent price.

She worried about money so much in her previous life and, in the end, it was the same here too. She is truly a very unfortunate person.

“Oh, it’s a thief!”

Suddenly there was a commotion accompanied by a loud shout. Lizelle instinctively hid Raphel behind her. The knights who had been keeping their distance were making their way through the bustling crowd toward them.

A loud voice echoed through the market once again, along with the sound of approaching footsteps.

“Catch that thief!”

Everyone was shocked by the loud ruckus and went to find the source of the commotion. At that time, a large man was running hurriedly in the distance, pushing people out of his way. The thief was like a bulldozer, giving off a very fierce aura, as if he wouldn’t let anyone stand in his way.

Lizelle was afraid that Raphel might get hurt, so she avoided the man as much as possible. Part of her wanted to help, but she couldn’t catch that boar-like man on her own. Raphel could also get hurt while she was focusing on the thief.

Raphel was contently preoccupied with eating his candy and obediently followed Lizelle’s directions. The sound of footsteps was getting closer and closer, though.

The people around were unable to stop the man and started to panic. If you try to help without a plan, you never know what kind of trouble you might face. Lizelle tried to get as far away from the thief as possible to protect Raphel.

But why did the footsteps seem to be getting closer and closer to them no matter where they moved?

“W-what…”

Lizelle’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘Why is this crazy guy running right at us?’

As they ducked into a corner, she saw the man presumed to be the culprit still running towards them.

“Lady Wilhazelle!”

Kei was also surprised and ran toward them. Wilhazelle wanted to find another place to take refuge, but they were blocked in on both sides by the stalls. She hugged Raphel protectively. The sound of footsteps pounded in her ears, getting stronger every moment.

As she was watching the situation, everything appeared to be happening in slow motion. The man who was running suddenly stumbled and lost his footing, even though there was no obstacle to trip him.

Thud!

The man tripped and fell heavily in front of Lizelle.

A cloud of dust rose up.

Wilhazelle was looking at the man who fell down with a bewildered expression, it sounded like it had really hurt… She couldn’t believe he tripped over himself, like a bad skit. She could only stare blankly as the situation seemed to have been planned intentionally.

“Ack!”

The thief, who had fallen hard to the ground, was irritated and frowned. He fell so hard there was blood flowing out of his torn pants. The thief did not stop for long though, glancing at the woman who was following him, and standing up hastily.

Then he just kept going.

“Hey, wait!”

Lizelle shouted at the criminal who was running away. He forgot to take the handbag that was lying on the ground… If he had fallen and hurt himself trying to steal this bag, why would he just leave it behind so easily? What a strange thief.

“Are you okay!”

“Yes, I’m fine. Could you help me clean up here?”

Wilhazelle reassure the knight who had clear worry visible on his face. She then asked him to help her clean up the stall the thief knocked into and made a mess of. As they were about to begin picking up, she looked back to the spot the thief had fallen, dust still rising.

A luxurious wine-colored handbag was left lying on the dirty ground. In the distance, the owner of the handbag was yelling desperately as she ran toward them.