The Wealth I Carried for Veronica’s Gift
p>It was my entire fortune and more, the money pouch I’d brought along to buy a present for Veronica.
p>As we crossed the bustling market streets and reached the alley where the pharmacy stood, a little girl who had been clinging to my big hand and skipping along suddenly spotted someone loitering in front of the shop and shouted at the top of her lungs.
p>In front of the pharmacy stood a boy about ten years old, taller than the little girl, his clothes covered in dirt, knees scraped raw. He was fidgeting nervously, and in his hand he clutched a crumpled, filthy money pouch.
p>“You…!”
p>The boy turned at the little girl’s voice. The moment he saw his younger sibling, his eyes bulged and he dashed over at full speed.
p>Slap-!
p>“I told you not to move from that spot!” the brother shouted, slapping his sister’s back hard. “I’m already chasing a pickpocket! What if you disappear too?! How long do you think I’ve been looking?!”
p>His voice trembled with anger as he struck his sister, but his face was already soaked with tears.
p>Anyone could see how terrified he was that he might have lost his sister forever.
p>In the end he stopped scolding, pulled her into a tight hug, and whispered, “Ugh… you dummy, what if you get lost…”
p>“Oppa… uwaaah…”
p>The little girl, who had been holding back tears moments ago, burst into wails the instant she was swept into her brother’s arms, releasing all the sorrow she’d endured.
p>Watching the two siblings collapse to the ground, clutching each other and sobbing, Karin and I smiled quietly as if we had agreed to do so in advance.
p>I walked over, squatted down, and gently stroked the siblings’ heads.
p>“At least you found the money your brother lost. Chasing a pickpocket barefoot must mean you’re super fast and brave. Good for you. When you grow up, won’t you become a wonderful knight?”
p>The brother, still hugging his sister and crying, startled and lifted his tear-streaked face.
p>Seeing my scarred, rugged face, he had been scared for a moment, but when my hand touched him, he relaxed and quickly looked away, embarrassed.
p>“How can a commoner become a knight…? Knights only serve noble lords.”
p>His defeated answer made me smirk and shake my head. “Commoners can become knights. It’s not impossible. Why? Because the uncle standing here and the scary aunt beside him are both commoners. In fact, this aunt is an amazing knight recognized even in the real empire.”
p>“…Really?”
p>The boy’s eyes widened in amazement.
p>I stood up and rummaged through my pouch, pulling out a leather bag.
p>It was the money pouch I’d carried for Veronica’s gift, practically my entire fortune.
p>“Here, take this.”
p>I pressed the entire pouch into the boy’s dirt-streaked hand.
p>“Huh? A, mister! This, this much money is…!”
p>“Don’t give up just because you’re a commoner. You’re fast and brave enough to catch a pickpocket—you qualify. This will cover the first travel expenses on your path to becoming a real knight. Don’t let it be stolen this time.”
p>As I handed it over in a strict tone, the siblings’ eyes filled with the awe of witnessing a miracle.
p>I’d rolled through life with not a single coin after leaving the barrier, so their shabby clothes didn’t feel like someone else’s problem—it was pure empathy.
p>Anyway, at the Grand Ducal Castle I ate, slept, and lived off charity; I had no intention of saving any money.
p>And…
p>…
p>Karin’s eyes beside me also sparkled as she watched the scene.
p>Karin too rummaged roughly at her waist and pulled out a thick pouch stuffed with her knight’s monthly pay.
p>“Little one! Take my money too!”
p>“…Eh? The knight auntie too?”
p>Karin pressed her own pouch into the opposite hand of the boy clutching my money pouch with a loud clang.
p>“With the money your brother gave you, buy delicious meat! With mine, buy a sword! Not some cheap iron junk—a sturdy, good one! So you can become a great knight later and protect your little brother and sick mother!”
p>Karin’s sudden flex, even heavier than mine, left the children stunned.
p>I stared at Karin in disbelief. “What? Why are you competing here? You really have fire in you.”
p>But…
p>“I went first, so I won.”
p>This time I had claimed victory.
p>“The pickpocket might still be around, so let’s buy the medicine and walk you home safely. Come on, let’s go inside.”
p>I pushed the children’s shoulders and opened the pharmacy door.
p>Ding-a-ling-.
p>The old bell rang as we stepped into the dimly lit pharmacy, the sharp scent of herbs and mysterious roots invading our noses.
p>“Um… customers? You must tell me what herbs you need so I can prepare the medicine for you…”
p>As soon as we entered, I saw the gray-haired pharmacy owner looking flustered and sweating while trying to hide his confusion.
p>And in the corner where his gaze landed sat a woman bundled from head to toe in a large brown hood and cloak, her body completely hidden as she crouched with her back turned.
p>…
p>Despite the owner’s awkward urging, the hooded woman only hunched further, silent.
p>She then glanced sideways at our group, gave the owner a hurried gesture, and whispered urgently.
p>“Ah, you mean the little customers behind me first? Uh-huh… understood. Just wait a moment longer.”
p>The owner immediately understood and nodded toward us, stepping closer.
p>But my and Karin’s eyes were fixed on the suspicious hooded woman in the corner instead.
p>A suspicious person bundled from head to toe in broad daylight in a market pharmacy, not uttering a single word and wringing her hands in panic.
p>Could she be an assassin’s spy targeting the Grand Ducal Castle? Or a criminal dealing in poison?
p>‘Smells suspicious.’
p>Karin, sharing the same thought, secretly rested her hand on her sword hilt and watched the woman’s every move sharply.
p>While the owner made the children’s prescriptions, we naturally crept closer to the hooded woman like snails, stealthily narrowing the distance behind her.
p>Then…
p>As the hooded woman bowed her head and fidgeted, a single long strand of hair poked out from the back of her brown hood.
p>…?
p>Even in the dark pharmacy, the hair color was unnaturally vivid.
p>A gorgeous, elegant purple hue shone clearly.
p>Both our eyes widened.
p>That purple hair.
p>And that slender, graceful shoulder line and body silhouette.
p>In this world, we knew only one woman with that back view.
p>I swallowed hard and leaned in close to whisper almost against her back.
p>“Um… madam…?”
p>“Kyaaah!!”
p>Before my cautious call could finish, the hooded woman leaped up like a person in place.
p>“N-no! I-I must have mistaken you for someone else! I’m just a passing ordinary…!”
p>As the woman turned to protest, flailing her arms wildly, the large brown hood that had been balanced precariously on her head slipped off with a rustle.
p>Swoosh-.
p>The hidden radiant purple hair cascaded down under the pharmacy’s lantern light.
p>And the beautiful, demure features hidden beneath the hood were revealed.
p>The face of the Grand Duchess, our noble direct superior, Rebecca von Arteta, appeared before us.
p>“Hah!”
p>“Ma’am?!”
p>Karin and I froze solid.
p>The Grand Duchess.
p>Without even one escort or maid.
p>Sneaking alone into the market pharmacy in the corner, fully wrapped in dirt-stained clothes.
p>“Aaaaah…!”
p>Realizing her true identity had been exposed to the two subordinates she trusted most, Rebecca buried her face in both hands and collapsed onto the floor, crouching.
p>“Make it like you didn’t see… Please, please pretend you didn’t see…”
p>Her ears, flushed red from embarrassment, looked ready to burst as she hid her face in her knees and moaned softly.
p>Carrying the Grand Duchess by accident, Karin and I stared blankly at each other, waiting awkwardly while the children’s medicine finished being prepared.
p>On the way home from the pharmacy, the children walked cheerfully ahead.
p>Behind them walked Karin, then Veil, and finally the Grand Duchess, still wearing the hood low over her head like a criminal, in a straight line.
p>…
p>A suffocating silence hung between the three of us.
p>Karin and I were dying to ask why the Grand Duchess was here, but we didn’t dare speak up.
p>***
p>“Uwaaah! Even thinking about it now, it’s so embarrassing and unfair!!”
p>Rebecca bit her lip hard.
p>She had secretly infiltrated the dangerous market pharmacy without any escort and gotten caught by Veil and Karin.
p>Because of the smut novel that had completely taken over her daily life.
p>‘The knight made a girl stay awake all night by drinking the powder of red coral from the southern coast…’
p>‘Red coral powder! A miracle medicine that can restore a man’s virility!’
p>A legendary drug that could revive the ten-year impotent Grand Duke Gareth.
p>Could this potion actually exist?
p>Could they really find it in the northern market pharmacy?
p>That curiosity and desperation had driven the Grand Duchess to disguise herself and come out into the streets.
p>‘If only I’d ordered it a little faster, I wouldn’t have been caught!’
p>Rebecca punched the ground in her mind.
p>If she had simply said the herb’s name right at the door, there would have been no problem.
p>But the moment she opened the door and stepped inside, the voices of Veil and Karin stopped her footsteps.
p>‘Commoners can become knights. Use this money for the first travel expenses on the path to becoming a knight.’
p>‘So you can become a great knight later and protect your little brother and sick mother.’
p>Watching those two warm, wonderful subordinates give their entire fortunes without hesitation to the poor commoner siblings had moved her so much she had stayed outside listening for ages and missed the perfect timing for her golden potion shopping.
p>But…
p>‘Wait a minute. Thinking about it now…‘
p>Rebecca’s flushed cheeks slowly cooled, a relieved sweat rolling down her face.
p>‘It’s actually a million times better that I got caught right before saying the potion’s name?!‘
p>If she had quietly asked the pharmacist, “Um… could you give me some red coral powder that can make my husband rise up?” and was about to pay when Veil and Karin walked in?
p>‘Just imagining it is terrifying! I would have been forced to bite my tongue and die right there, losing all face as the Grand Duchess!’
p>That the potion shopping had been cut short was actually a relief.
p>She could simply claim she had come for a mild digestive remedy and that would be the end of it.
p>Having rationalized everything, the Grand Duchess finally crawled out of the swamp of embarrassment, cleared her throat, and lifted her head.
p>Just as the children reached their old house, waved to us with a belly laugh, and disappeared inside.