Duke Hart would not appreciate this fact. After all, he disliked Carlos.
‘No… It’s beyond dislike. In the original, he even tried to kill him.’
And it was still the same.
Recently, Duke Hart had engaged in a significant battle with Carlos.
Nellia contemplated and decided she had to keep this matter a secret from Duke Hart.
However, Nellia didn’t know that this decision wouldn’t last long.
After informing Duke Hart that she would be back home after a long time, Nellia went to meet the apothecary.
The apothecary’s house was well-hidden, making it challenging to locate.
Nellia stood in front of a place presumed to be the apothecary’s house and knocked on the door. Soon, an elderly man with a hunched back opened the door.
“What brings you here?”
“Um… I came to find someone named Griff.”
The old man nodded.
“I am Griff.”
Meeting the person directly made things more convenient. Nellia felt relieved, thinking they could quickly discuss matters and leave.
“Oh, nice to meet you. I am Nellia Benedict, working as a maid for Duke Hart. I came here with an introduction from Viscount Clint.”
After Nellia introduced herself, Griff briefly examined her and then opened the door.
“…Come in for now.”
As they entered, a warm atmosphere filled the room with a crackling fireplace. Griff pulled a chair and placed it between the fireplace and the table. Nellia expressed gratitude and took a seat.
“Why have you come to see me?”
In response to Griff’s question, Nellia organized the story she had prepared in her mind and said, “I’ve come to request medicine for the Duchess.”
As Griff was the exclusive apothecary of the Hart family, mentioning that it was for a member of the Hart family would likely make him consider the request.
“The Duchess?”
“Yes. Duke Hart is worried, fearing that the Duchess secretly asked me for help. She’s been experiencing increasing stiffness in her arm without any apparent reason, making movement uncomfortable. It seems like it’s getting paralyzed. The doctors couldn’t find the cause.”
Griff’s furrowed his brows at Nellia’s explanation.
“Hmm… The doctors said they couldn’t find the cause?”
“Yes. However, in the past, she received help from a vitality circulation remedy. I suspect it might be related to vitality.”
Before coming here, Nellia recalled useful information from the original story. Carlos had used a medicine during a previous war to alleviate the stiffness in his arm, and it was a vitality circulation remedy.
“That’s… I’ve never heard of such symptoms before. Making medicine for it might be challenging.”
“Well, there is another aspect. I don’t know much about Duke Hart’s curse, but your family developed a transformation suppressant. So, I thought you might be able to develop a remedy to alleviate or cure Carlos’s symptoms.”
“That was possible because we researched it for a very long time. In the end, we couldn’t create a perfect cure.”
Nellia spoke quietly, lowering her upper body as if whispering.
“But… Carlos doesn’t like Duke Hart. No, it’s more than dislike. In the original story, he even tried to kill him.”
It was the same even now.
Recently, Duke Hart had engaged in a significant battle with Carlos.
Nellia pondered and decided to keep this matter a secret from Duke Hart.
However, Nellia didn’t know that this decision wouldn’t last long.
After informing Duke Hart that she would be back home after a long time, Nellia went to meet the apothecary.
The apothecary’s house was well-hidden, making it challenging to locate.
If Carlos’s symptoms could disappear so easily, the novel’s story would never have progressed in the first place.
“When the medicine is developed, how much will the symptoms be alleviated?”
“Well… I can only know once I try making it.”
Nellia nodded.
“Yes, please do your best.”
“Understood. I will submit the development costs to Duke Hart afterward.”
“Um… No. As I mentioned, please directly claim it from me. Duke Hart must not know about this.”
Griff responded immediately, as if saying it didn’t matter who paid, as long as he received the money.
“I’ll do that.”
Though the conversation concluded, Nellia hesitated before leaving the spot.
“Um… How much… will the development cost?”
Nellia was most concerned about this part. Since she had accumulated a considerable amount of money while working as Duke Hart’s maid, she intended to use it if necessary.
Griff blinked slowly and then spoke slowly.
“I can’t predict the exact amount, but probably…”
Leaving Griff’s house, Nellia was absent-minded. The development cost Griff mentioned was incredibly high, almost the price of a house. Moreover, that was just the development cost, and the cost of the medicine would be charged separately.
Realizing the exorbitant amount, Nellia’s eyes widened. She understood that Duke Hart must be quite wealthy since he had easily paid such a sum.
When Griff chuckled and said it was much cheaper than the transformation suppressant, Nellia, with astonishment in her eyes, had heard an absurd amount.
Nellia stood still, staring blankly at the ground.
‘How am I going to get this money…’
No matter how much she thought about it, unless she won the lottery, there seemed to be no way to gather such a large sum. Moreover, there was no lottery in this world.
Nellia returned to the Duke’s mansion in a daze. Duke Hart, who maintained his human appearance by taking medicine, greeted Nellia.
“Nellia, you came back early today.”
“Yes…”
With Nellia’s weak response, the Duke approached her. Tilting his head, he came close to her face.
“Nellia…? What happened?”
Nellia silently stared at the Duke. Facing him made her want to confide in him about what had happened today.
Even though she knew it was not the right thing to do.
On the other hand, there was resentment. Duke Hart became sharp-tongued when it came to Carlos. So, Nellia had to be cautious of the reality that she had to consider Duke Hart’s feelings.
Of course, she knew why he reacted that way…
‘But still, this is not something that benefits me.’
She didn’t have a wish to find Zegrid’s heart and beg for it.
Originally, her wish was to quietly live like a bee, get married somewhere suitable, and enjoy a sweet life before quietly passing away.
But because of Duke Hart, even that modest dream had been completely shattered.
Nellia, eyeing Duke Hart, thought it might be better to be honest rather than deceiving. She wanted to see Elena’s tears again.
Once she started lying, it would be an endless chain of lies.
If, even after confessing honestly, she was strictly forbidden from meeting Carlos, she would either secretly infiltrate the royal palace to steal Elena’s tears or reveal that she knew about the future. Nellia opened her mouth, mentally preparing herself.
“Duke, sir.”
“Yes, Nellia.”
“In reality… today, I visited Griff, the alchemist of the Hart family.”
The Duke was surprisingly not greatly surprised. Nellia, gauging the Duke’s expression, quickly continued.
“I’m going to explain why I met Griff… I promise not to jump to conclusions until I finish explaining everything.”
Nellia extended her pinky finger. The Duke looked down at the pinky finger, then, seeing Nellia’s serious expression, readily linked his pinky with hers.
“Okay.”
As their two pinkies firmly entwined, Nellia spoke.
“The reason I met Griff today… is because I wondered if it would be possible for him to create medicine to treat the stiffening arm of Lord Carlos.”
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!
