Anthea was proud as she left Julie and Ellie behind and returned with an escort. She concealed her sympathy for the children and feigned discomfort. Anthea, who made many villainous remarks, did not forget to tell her at the last minute to spend the Duke’s money as much as she wanted. She said that it didn’t matter how much money it costs, and she said she doesn’t want to see dirty children, so as per Anthea’s wishes, she will make sure that her children don’t go out picking flowers among themselves for a while. Maybe buy toys for the kids to play with. Since she behaved like a wicked woman by exploiting child labor to make up for bumpy roads, she wanted to add to that the extravagance and extravagance she also wanted to convey. What a useless waste of money she was spending on things she didn’t need.
“I must have looked like a really bad villain this time.”
Anthea said she was sure she bit her tongue and that she spoke as vulgarly as possible.
If she’s like this, she’s done something big. She worked so hard that even the two people who showed favor to her were embarrassed. This evil deed will be worth at least 10 points. She didn’t know how many points she needed to save, but she imagined putting up ten villain stickers at once, so she thought she could take a day off. Contrary to the expectations of Anthea, who fell asleep early, contented alone, the faces of the two maids who faithfully carried out the Duchess’ orders were filled with overwhelming emotion.
-Are the children walking around like they couldn’t even eat blood porridge, and spilling the soup?
-Are you just leaving something so dirty like that?
-What are those skinny bones?
-It wasn’t confirmed by a doctor.
Remembering what Anthea had pointed out, the two maids strengthened their resolve. Most of the children did as Anthea told them and started to fill the path with dirt. It didn’t take long for several children to prepare the not-so-long path with dirt. As a reward, she gave them a silver coin, which was difficult to receive even if they worked all day. After that, she rented the yard of a quiet inn located in a deserted place to wash and feed the dirty children. Julie first took the tired children and washed them, and then Ellie bought them clothes and put them on the children. She was worried about their illness, and as Anthea said, they called a doctor and checked on the health of her children. Some children had mild colds and were prescribed medication. Children were bored with hard bread because their parents did not return until late at night. For the children, the innkeeper cooked soup containing crumbly but well-stored bread and plenty of ingredients. Of course, the cost was paid by ghostwriting the Duchess’ autograph. They almost misunderstood the lady for a moment, but all their misunderstandings were cleared up by Anthea’s bright smile, saying that they would trust her as she would spend as much money as she wanted. Julie and Ellie couldn’t help but laugh at the bright smiles of the children who were hesitant at the kindness of a stranger.
“I guess we did just as our lady wanted, right?”
“Huh. As expected, our lady is as beautiful in heart as she is in appearance.”
Julie and Ellie felt proud despite working overtime, saying that their lady was an angel. If Anthea had seen it, it was such a completely opposite interpretation that she would have felt mortified and said that it wasn’t true. The shadows of the two maids guarding the Duchess’s room kept moving throughout the night.
“Ma’am, let me clean your arm.”
“Yes…”
After just going out for a long day, Anthea developed a fever all night long and couldn’t get out of her bed. Even when she was at the count’s house, she would often get a fever like this if she stayed too much in the garden or paid too much attention to it. Anthea’s body was so weak that she thought she would fall because she fell so often. Anthea’s plan to pile up her evil deeds inside and out came to naught. In response to Anthea’s gloomy expression, Julie acted cheerful even though she had to nurse her all night.
“I’m guessing you’re not yet tired from the long journey. You’ll be fine after a few days of rest.”
Anthea’s mood didn’t improve because she knew that wasn’t the case. She thought she was in good health because she had survived the carriage during her month as a duke. She forgot for a moment that her body was in such a mess that she could easily collapse if she overexerted herself even a little. She tried to do her best as a villainess in the duchy’s house, but she felt pitiful as she was stuck in her bed on the third day. Should she now be armed with her seclusion and depression like her original character Anthea did? Close her curtains and let in not a ray of light.
‘I don’t like that.’
She often felt like this, her body falling apart, and for half a year she spent a long time in depression and darkness, and she did not want to eat away at herself. She felt like if she did that, she would really end up being the original Anthea.
Anthea shook her head and tried to shake off her negative thoughts. She has lived so that even her weakness can be to her advantage. When she was sick, she became more prone to whining. She abused power at the same time.
“My lady. I brought soup.”
Her soup, which had felt very savory until yesterday, gave off a sweet smell. She said it was hearty so far, so it seemed like there was a lot of meat in it.
“I don’t want to eat.”
“But you have to eat it to gain strength.”
“Get it away.”
Even though Ellie felt sorry for Anthea’s helpless push against her, she quietly backed away.
Her body must also have energy. As her stamina was low, it was difficult to suppress her irritation. She closed her eyes, wishing she would just go to sleep, and in an instant her beasts came rushing in. While she was half-asleep, moisture touched her lips and she was thirsty, so she took the food and fell asleep. How much time has passed?
“Huh!”
Anthea, lost in her nightmare, gasped and opened her eyes. One wall of the room, which should have been dark, was glowing softly due to the magic stone. Anthea was the only one in the room. No matter how busy Anthea was when Anthea had a fever or was lying down, the people who always came to visit were nowhere to be seen. The faint scent of her sachet, which Mary had specially dried for Anthea, who had nightmares when her fever rose, could not be smelled anywhere. As she tossed and turned, she couldn’t even hear Nathan’s soft voice gently stroking her hair and whispering sweetly to her. There was no Countess, who told her to have sweet dreams, made her drink after cup of flower tea that she would not drink, and changed her cold towels until her fever went away.
“Mother…”
As she struggled with her motion sickness in her carriage, she was still able to hold on. As she arrived at the duchy and planted her feet on the ground, she felt like the ground was more unstable than ever. She was okay though. She would be back in half a year.
“Well… Ugh…”
As her fever rose and emotions took precedence over reason, her buried longing came to the fore. Without realizing it, she sobbed and let out her longing for someone she couldn’t tell whether it was her parents who had abandoned her in real life or the Countess.
“Uh… mom… I’m sick”
Anthea, who had been crying, fell asleep again due to her fever rising.
* * *
It’s refreshing. Her body and mind were as refreshed as the clear sky seen outside the window. As she stood up with her clear head as if she had truly rested for the first time in a long time, Julie, who had been by her side since then, supported her. Unlike Ann Shea, who looked refreshed as if she had just woken up from a good night’s sleep, Julie’s face was as if she had been by her side all night.
“Did you stay up all night because of me?”
“I took a short break while changing shifts with Ellie. More than that, madam, are you feeling better now?”
“Huh. I’m fine.”
“Everyone was surprised because you suddenly developed a fever. I was upset when the doctor said it was because you were very nervous and only gave you fever reducers… I’m glad your fever is gone.”
Anthea felt ominous at Julie’s relieved face.
“Ah, ma’am! You’re awake. As expected, you are a good person.”
The pure joy that was the kindness itself bloomed on Ellie’s face as she just opened the door and came in. That wasn’t a joke. What on earth happened while she was asleep? Anthea’s face was like an angel, so it’s not like she’s forgotten all her evil deeds. As a result, all the villain points she had accumulated were lost.
“I was punished for doing something bad, so don’t worry too much.”
“Yes? Are you saying you’re mean?”
“Huh? Wasn’t I bad yesterday?”
Something didn’t make sense. What? Even though she was puzzled, Anthea calmly explained to Julie that she was sleep deprived because she was taking care of herself.
“I told the kids to carry dirt. I said I didn’t want to see them because they were skinny and dirty.”
“Oh, that’s it.”
What, actually, Julie was the villainess’s aptitude? Anthea was rather taken aback by the so calm reaction.
“The kids were so wild that the bumpy road was almost completely covered.”
“Yeah, right? Child exploitation is bad.”
“The kids who were already dirty got even dirtier, so we rented a nearby inn.”
“Huh?”
“The clothes were too old, so I bought new clothes for them all.”
“Buy me new clothes?”
“Yes. My lady told me not to worry about money, so I spent it well.”
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on January, 24.
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