Lea bent over to inspect the maid’s legs. The patient was a kitchen maid who had been burned while preparing food.
“It’s going to hurt quite a bit until it heals. But fortunately, the wound isn’t deep. The first aid was very good.”
Due to the nature of a burn injury, it was inevitable to leave a scar. The only consolation was that the injury was on a less visible part of her leg, and the first aid had been excellent.
“Right. If Rikel hadn’t helped, there would’ve been a huge scar, wouldn’t there?”
“That’s right.”
Initially, Lea was impressed when the maid had sought her out and Rikel had immediately cooled the burn with ice to prevent blisters from forming.
She hadn’t even considered that it was Rikel’s doing.
‘He’s surprisingly good at a lot of things, isn’t he?’
Lea’s first impression of Rikel wasn’t particularly good. No, in fact, she still didn’t have a good impression of him.
Because she couldn’t forget Rikel, who had come to her offering a contract and money. He did not hide his dark intentions in front of her.
“Indeed! It seems Rikel can do anything. Even you, as a pharmacist, must admit he is goodlooking, right?”
“He is goodlooking.”
Just by appearances, that’s true…
Rikel’s slyly shining, violet eyes were always hidden behind his smiling face.
Lea knew that the smile was a facade to break down people’s guards. Perhaps because of this, she felt no particular thrill at Rikel’s appearance.
But the maid who asked with a flushed face was a different story. Another follower of Rikel, it seemed.
‘Poor lamb.’
“The treatment is done. Keep it dry and apply cold compresses frequently. Come back tomorrow to get the dressing changed.”
“Thank you! I’m so glad a pharmacist of my age is here.”
Lea, having finished dressing the wound, straightened her bent back. The maid, inspecting the neatly wrapped bandage, got up and asked Lea.
“Oh, right, are you from the Tren region?”
“Yes, I am. I came from Tren.”
Tren, where Lea grew up, was a northern region quite a distance from the Heidern territory.
A small river ran through Tren. The memories of strolling along the river with friends from the orphanage when the seasons changed were still vivid.
‘I wonder how the director is doing.’
It had been a month since she last sent a letter.
The most recent was before her pharmacist appointment was confirmed, after she had had an interview in the capital.
Lea intended to visit the orphanage once a month during her pharmacist duties.
The director was like a parent to her, and the friends and children at the orphanage were nothing less than family.
[Lea, when are you coming? Can’t I go with you?] [Lisa. Lea is going to work as a pharmacist. You need to study here.] [Hmm.] [Lea. Come visit often, alright?]Lisa, who followed her particularly well. Lisa, with her teary, upset eyes, and the director. And Teo, who was like a brother, having grown up together.
The orphanage, where about twenty family members lived together, was always filled with laughter.
A smile naturally formed on her lips as she pictured the lush greenery of the orphanage.
Recalling the cherished memories, Lea was brought back by the maid’s voice.
“I thought so. Did you hear about it then?”
“What news?”
Lea turned to the maid, who she was sorting the medicine for.
The voice, which had been lively talking about Rikel, now sounded worried.
“You didn’t know. Well…”
Could something have happened back home? The hesitant maid made Lea’s heart pound with concern.
“It seems there was a huge flood from heavy rain. My relative lives in Tren. They say the number of displaced people is quite significant.”
“A flood? Is it serious?”
Lea, who was sorting the medicine, froze in surprise at the spot.
“Yes. They say it’s serious. I was about to send a letter to my cousin because of it.”
Come to think of it, the rainy season was approaching. Having not yet rained in the Heidern territory, she had forgotten.
Moreover, Tren was in the northern region, which was not prone to flood damage, so she felt even more relieved.
‘Oh, my goodness.’
Lea covered her lips, shocked. Even though Tren was a city with outdated drainage systems, if there were enough displaced people…
The damage to the orphanage was obvious.
‘Especially since a food poisoning outbreak recently caused financial troubles for the orphanage.’
Lea was regularly sending money to the orphanage. Part of the reason she was tempted by a good initial salary was for the orphanage.
Although they were receiving support from the lord of Tren, the orphanage was always worried about the financial support that could be cut off at any time.
That’s why Lea decided to become a highpaid pharmacist and support it herself. However, the director of the orphanage had always refused her.
[Lea. You also have to live your life. You need to save money for marriage, don’t you? You don’t need to support like this. You’re my child too. I am satisfied enough with you growing up and being independent.]Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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