My ex-husband, Count Delmore, who is now deceased, disappeared after our hastily held wedding.
Of course, as someone who had just been possessed by the character in <I Became a Secret Friend Obsessed with by the Crown Prince>, I breathed a sigh of relief, but the problem is...
'How am I supposed to take this dress off?'
I couldn't wash or sleep because of the tight dress I wore to accentuate my figure.
'Come to think of it, isn't it a cliché that when you get possessed, there is always a cheerful and loyal maid by your side?'
I think I even pulled the rope about thirty times, but no one came.
This was the reality of the mistreated Countess.
Eventually, I quietly opened the bridal chamber door and stepped out to find someone to take off my dress.
"Excuse me, is anyone there?"
As I looked around and headed toward the end of the hallway, I heard a loud noise.
"If it weren't for a useless kid like you, I wouldn't have needed to go out of my way to bring in a new woman and spend a fortune!"
It seemed like my mother-in-law was screaming at someone from behind the firmly closed door.
‘A useless child?'
I could tell who she was talking to just from those words.
'It's Linea.'
The female protagonist, Linea, went through a difficult time in her childhood due to direct abuse from her grandmother and stepmother and intentional neglect from her uncle.
It said that Linea's grandmother took out all her anger on Linea.
"That woman is not your stepmother; she is merely a figurehead to bear an heir for this family."
The mother-in-law who said that gave Linea a stern warning.
"So, since you were born useless, you must always be a pretty and well-behaved girl. That way, won't you be of at least some help to the family when you grow up?"
As soon as I heard those words, I burst into an awkward laugh.
Because she was saying strange things to a child who was only 10 years old.
In the end, I flung open the door as if nothing were wrong.
Through the door, my mother-in-law and Linea, standing before her with her head bowed low, came into view.
"For girls, the greatest virtue is simply serving their husbands and in-laws well... Huh?"
“Mother!”
I called my mother-in-law affectionately, mixing in a nasal tone. At first, she just blinked her eyes as if flustered, but soon she asked me.
"...What on earth are you doing? You should be spending your wedding night in the bridal chamber by now! What kind of immodest behavior is this, without even taking off your dress!"
"He jumped out the window."
"What?"
"He claims he has a lover with whom he shares a love of the century, so this marriage is merely a political arrangement or something. Anyway, that’s how it turned out. Please undress me."
I gently nudged Linea behind me and strode toward my mother-in-law.
"It seems the Count's family has less money than I thought. Even when I pulled the rope, no one came. I thought I was going to suffocate to death."
I turned my back to my mother-in-law, showed her my corset straps, and pestered her.
"Ah, hurry, hurry!"
"You, you... are you crazy?"
"Or I'm going to cut this off with scissors. Or I'm going to go outside, grab anyone, and ask them to take it off for me?"
It was only then that my mother-in-law, taken aback by my extreme words, began to untie the laces of my corset.
In the meantime, I winked at Linea, who had raised her head.
When Linea saw me nodding for her to leave during this opportunity, she just blinked her big eyes.
However, Linea soon noticed the situation, bowed to me, and hurriedly left the room.
I glanced at my mother-in-law, who was moving her hands awkwardly, as if she were completely unfamiliar with undoing a corset.
Then, as if finally realizing why she was doing this, she irritably pulled the rope hard and shouted.
"No. Come to think of it, why did I...!"
"Then, may I choose a maid I like? I am now a Countess, after all; not having a maid would tarnish the family's prestige."
At my innocent question, my mother-in-law let out a deep sigh from behind me.
“...Go now.”
"Yes. Good night."
I quickly turned around, politely greeted them like a native of a Confucian country, left the room, and slammed the door shut.
"No, where did the child go! Linea!"
I heard my mother-in-law shouting something belatedly, but ignoring her, I asked Linea, who was standing hesitantly in the hallway.
"Aren't you sleepy? Shall I go help you sleep?"
"..."
"If you stay up late, you won't grow tall. Babies need to go to bed early and sleep soundly."
Linea looked up at me intently, her face showing she didn't even understand what I was saying.
"Ah..."
Seeing me flustered because I had absolutely no experience taking care of a child, Linea whispered in a very low voice.
"Thank you..."
"I haven't done anything for you, so it's nothing. Just let me know if you need anything anytime."
Linea looked at me hesitantly, then soon turned around.
Then, she went straight to her room, opened the door, and slipped right in.
That was my first meeting with Linea.
***
And now, two months after that day, this is what the Master said to me when I stubbornly demanded to borrow money.
"Saying 'I don't care' is quite an interesting thing to say..."
The Master muttered with a look of complete lack of interest.
I smiled sweetly and asked him back.
"Of course, you wouldn't actually cut open the belly of a golden goose like me, would you?"
"It does make me think a lot when that goose asks to borrow money instead of giving me gold."
"Honestly, I am convinced there is no possibility that I will fail at investing, but if I do fail."
The Master raised his eyebrows at my words.
I continued speaking brightly while holding up three fingers.
"In return, I will tell you a way to extend the terminally ill Master's life by at least 30 years."
“...Time-limited?”
"I know what condition the Master has. You have heart disease caused by an excess of magical power."
I asked him with a look that said I knew everything.
"On top of that, unlike typical mana excess, it is a unique trait, so existing treatments don't work. It’s quite troublesome, isn't it?"
At my words, the Master's eyes changed in an instant.
I smiled at him, whose eyes instantly lit up, and continued speaking.
"I know a solution, too."
How did I, possessed, even know the Master and come find him in the first place? Of course, since he is also a pretty important supporting character!
Of course, unlike me, who abuses Linea and gets my head chopped off by the second male lead, he becomes Linea's helper.
The Master appears as a character who cherishes Linea like an uncle. It was Linea who discovered this cure as well.
'Linea, I'm sorry for stealing your credit. But it's for us, isn't it!'
Upon hearing those words, the Master's expression changed drastically.
"Where did you get that information?"
"Of course it's a secret. Have you been in this business for just a day or two?"
Since it was a fact that could not be explained by anything anyway, I decided to act even more brazenly.
"I may look suspicious, but the only way to cure the Master's heart disease is in my head, so don't even think about assassinating or torturing me."
"...I didn't intend to do that."
"Lie."
I know everything. I know what kind of person you are.
Although you wouldn't go that far right now.
"First of all, in exchange for your trust, I will also hand over the first step of the treatment."
"That's interesting. To think you know the first step of the treatment that even I haven't been able to obtain."
I met his eyes and spoke, still finding him suspicious.
"It’s not poison. You know the Ruzzetti herbal tea that we commonly drink for its benefits to blood vessels, right?"
The Master glanced at me at my words.
"Try crushing a sprig of Enas grass and adding it to the drink every day. Your heart will likely feel heavy and oppressive every morning when you wake up, so you need to alleviate that symptom a little to move on to the next stage."
"..."
"Then where is my money now?"
As I nonchalantly asked for money, the Master eventually burst into laughter as if dumbfounded.
“I can’t win.”
"Of course. You will absolutely not regret doing business with me."
I extended my hand to him in a cheerful voice and shook his hand.
The master soon let go of his hand, bent down, and disappeared for a moment.
He soon stood up and handed me a 200 million check, which he had even signed.
At that amount, dopamine surged as if my heart were about to burst.
The Master let out a low laugh when he saw my flushed face.
"I hope you succeed."
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