Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Stolen Bracelet
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The priest, who had been watching my face stiffen from that chilling premonition, forced a bright tone into his voice.
"St-still, the medicine's development is almost complete now! The intensive treatment is nearly finished too."
"What happens if you treat it?"
"You can't use Divine Grace, but you can live like a normal person."
"Really?"
"Yes. For the past four years, we've been pouring enormous sums into research under Duke Kalenberg's orders. It's still a bit imperfect, but even so..."
Grandfather had ordered them to develop the medicine?
'Then Erich really does...'
I'd heard it in passing before.
Right before I was born, Erich had been brought back to the main family.
If Grandfather's order to develop the medicine came right when Erich started growing up in the main house, that was the only way my mind could interpret it.
I barely managed to hold back a sigh.
In the meantime, we'd arrived at the small side room in the temple where Dennis Seller was staying.
"This is originally for commoners, so the rooms are a bit cramped."
"I heard Dennis Seller is a collateral branch of the noble Seller Viscount family?"
The priest gave a meaningful smile at the nurse's question.
There was no explanation, but I could understand.
'Even nobles have to pay to get noble treatment, huh.'
That's why Mrs. Seller must have begged her husband so desperately for healing donations.
Since they differentiated rooms by donation amount, they probably differentiated treatments too.
How desperate must a mother's heart be with a sick child.
Even if they were developing a treatment, no one could afford one that cost a fortune.
It would drive you mad if there was a clear cure but you couldn't pay the healing donation.
'And on top of that, he cheats?'
What a piece of trash.
Just before opening the door to go in, I turned back to the priest briefly.
"Is Erich sick with the same thing as Dennis?"
The priest nodded after a moment's thought on who Eri was.
"Ah, you mean Young Master Erich. Yes, unfortunately."
"Is he getting treatment well?"
"Treatment like this doesn't just depend on medicine; you have to comprehensively assess the patient's stamina, health, and so on."
"Then what do you have to do to get better?"
"Well, it's obvious. Eat well, sleep well, keep a calm mind, pray to the gods..."
After that, it was all empty platitudes.
I nodded appropriately, sent the priest away, and opened Dennis Seller's door.
Mrs. Seller, who had been sitting on a chair by the bed with a dark expression, jumped to her feet.
She bowed so deeply her head nearly touched the floor.
Her face looked utterly drained, as if she'd used up all her energy yanking Professor Seller's hair.
"Is the baby sleeping?"
"Yes, miss. He had such a high fever, so he fell asleep after taking medicine."
Dennis was even younger than me.
He should be at the age where his chubby cheeks dimpled with laughter, but Dennis's face was dominated only by the pallor of illness.
As the nurse said, his fever must have been severe—his cheeks were blotchy with feverish red blooms.
The nurse, staring at the pitiful sight, furrowed her brow.
"I heard the rough story from the miss. Your situation is truly heartbreaking, Mrs. Seller."
"I'm sick of sharing a surname with that man. Just call me Paula, please."
Paula's eyelashes trembled faintly.
She'd been suppressing her churning emotions, but when the nurse's hand gently patted her shoulder, Paula finally couldn't hold back her tears.
"I've lost a child to illness too, so I fully understand how you feel, Paula."
The nurse's child, who died young, had been the same age as Dietrich.
Of everyone here, the nurse could understand Paula's heart the deepest.
Paula, sniffling, lifted her eyes to look at the nurse.
Once the empathy formed, it didn't take long for her to explain her situation.
"My son has been sickly since birth. At first, I thought it was just a fever, but when we came to the temple... well."
"The priest said it's a constitution that only some direct descendants of the duke's family inherit."
"The Seller Viscount family, my husband's main house, is such a distant collateral branch it's embarrassing to even call them relatives, and I never dreamed this would happen to my child."
"Are the symptoms severe?"
"They say it's milder at his young age. But as he grows, the symptoms will worsen, and he won't even be able to maintain consciousness properly."
I thought of Erich.
My chest ached.
It was a pain beyond words.
"But Professor Seller, your husband, still won't give the healing donation?"
Betty, listening beside us, couldn't contain her anger and jumped into the conversation with an outraged expression.
"Yes."
"He's the professor in charge of the main family's education. Doesn't he get a hefty salary?"
"If he skimps and saves tightly, he could pay the healing donation easily. But my husband always says there's no money."
"And yet he buys houses and jewels for his mistress? Did he go dig up some land and mine the gems himself?"
Hearing Betty's furious voice snapped me out of my reverie, and I sank into thought.
'There definitely is something suspicious.'
A professor handling the main family's education surely received a massive salary.
But I didn't think it was enough to splurge on mansions and jewels.
Unlike his wife's shabby appearance, Professor Seller was always dressed head to toe in the finest luxury goods—a real dandy.
If he spent his whole salary on himself, fine, but splurging on a mistress and dressing himself up?
Was that even possible?
'Maybe he's getting support from his main family, the Seller Viscounts?'
Unable to contain my curiosity, I tilted my head.
"Isn't Professor Seller's house rich? I learned viscounts are nobles!"
"Not at all. My husband is collateral in the viscount family. The current viscount is his cousin, but he's such a miser he won't give money even to his cousin."
"What about the child's medical bills..."
"No way. I've gone begging several times and just got turned away at the door."
Then where on earth did Professor Seller get all that money he spent?
"And yet he buys a mansion for his mistress. Did he at least buy a tiny cottage?"
Paula's eyes blazed with fire at Peter's question.
Her lips turned blue from sheer rage.
"Tiny? It was a two-story mansion with a garden. Apparently some baron's villa."
"That crazy bas... Sorry, miss!"
"Have you met the mistress? This might be rude, but don't take it wrong. I thought if she knew the child's situation, she might show some mercy."
The nurse threw the question in a slightly hurried tone, as if to cover Peter's curse.
Scorching fury poured from Paula, hot enough to burn at a touch.
"I met her once. But she's not the type to care about our Dennis at all."
"What was she like? Some stunning beauty?"
"Her looks were one thing, but she dressed so flashily."
Seeing Betty grit her teeth like it was her own affair, Paula clutched her skirt.
"Wearing a dress wrapped in expensive lace, with a necklace embedded with over twenty rubies."
"Good heavens!"
"I saw her climb into a luxurious carriage like that, and my heart..."
"Here, a handkerchief."
Paula covered her face with the handkerchief Betty offered.
She collapsed over the bed and poured out her tears.
We all fell silent, only able to watch until her sobs subsided.
"The worst part is..."
There was something even worse?
Her voice was a mangled mess from crying as Paula poured out her rant.
"That bracelet she was wearing? It was originally mine."
"What?"
"It was my bridal bracelet, pawned because we didn't have money for my son's treatment."
Bridal bracelet?
"I don't know how she got it, but she wore it so brazenly."
"No way!"
"She saw me and deliberately lifted her wrist, showing it off. She must have bought it on purpose to humiliate me."
Horror spread across everyone's faces.
"It was the ruby bracelet my late mother gave me, telling me to live happily..."
Wow, this was really too much.