Chapter 2

My late ex-husband, Count Delmore, vanished immediately after our hastily arranged wedding ceremony.

As someone who had just transmigrated into I Became the Secret Friend Obsessed Over by the Crown Prince, I had been immensely relieved.

The problem was—

How am I supposed to take this dress off?

The gown had been cinched so tightly to flatter my figure that I couldn't wash, couldn't sleep—could barely breathe.

Come to think of it, isn't there supposed to be a bright, loyal maid by your side whenever you transmigrate into a novel? That's the cliché, isn't it?

I'd already pulled the servant bell cord at least thirty times, but no one had come.

Such was the reality of a neglected countess.

In the end, I quietly opened the door to the bridal chamber and stepped outside in search of someone who could help me out of the dress.

"Excuse me? Is anyone there?"

As I looked around and headed toward the end of the corridor, a commotion reached my ears.

"If you weren't such a useless child, we wouldn't have had to bring in another woman and spend such a fortune!"

It sounded like my mother-in-law was screaming at someone behind a firmly closed door.

"A useless child?"

There was only one person she could be talking about.

Linea.

The novel's heroine, Linea, had suffered terribly throughout her childhood due to her grandmother's abuse, her stepmother's indifference, and her uncle's deliberate neglect.

According to the story, her grandmother took out all her frustrations on Linea.

"That woman isn't your new mother. She's merely a decorative wife brought in to give this family an heir."

My mother-in-law had looked down at Linea and warned her sternly.

"So don't forget your place. Since you were born for no purpose, you should at least grow up to be a pretty and obedient girl. Then perhaps you'll be of some use to this family."

The words made me let out an awkward laugh.

Who says things like that to a ten-year-old child?

Without hesitation, I threw the door open.

Inside stood my mother-in-law and, before her, Linea with her head bowed low.

"A young lady's greatest virtue is serving her husband and her in-laws well—hm?"

"Mother~!"

I called out sweetly, deliberately dragging out the last syllable.

My mother-in-law blinked at me in bewilderment before asking sharply,

"...What do you think you're doing? You should be spending your wedding night in the bridal chamber. And why are you still wearing your dress? What kind of shameless behavior is this?"

"My husband escaped through the window."

"What?"

"He said he has the love of his life already and that this marriage is nothing more than a political arrangement. Anyway, that's how things turned out, so could you help me take this off?"

I casually nudged Linea behind me and strode toward my mother-in-law.

"I guess the count's household is poorer than I thought. I pulled the servant bell over and over, and nobody came. I nearly suffocated."

Turning my back to her, I exposed the laces of my corset and urged her impatiently.

"Come on, hurry! Hurry!"

"Y-You... have you lost your mind?"

"If not, I'll cut it off with scissors. Or maybe I'll go outside and ask the first person I see to help me undress?"

Only after my outrageous threat did my mother-in-law reluctantly begin loosening the corset strings.

Meanwhile, I winked at Linea.

I tilted my head toward the door, silently telling her to make her escape.

Linea merely blinked her large eyes at me.

Then, finally understanding, she gave me a small bow and hurried out of the room.

Glancing over, I saw my mother-in-law fumbling awkwardly with the corset, clearly unfamiliar with the task.

Suddenly, she seemed to realize what she was doing.

She yanked hard on the laces and shouted furiously,

"Wait a minute—why am I doing this?!"

"Then can I choose a maid I like? I'm the countess now, after all. Having no personal maid reflects poorly on the family's reputation."

A deep sigh escaped behind me.

"...Just go."

"Yes, ma'am. Sleep well."

I spun around immediately and, true to my upbringing in a Confucian society, gave her a polite farewell before slipping out and shutting the door behind me with a bang.

"Where did that child go?! Linea!"

I heard my mother-in-law yelling behind me, but I ignored her and turned to Linea, who was still lingering uncertainly in the hallway.

"Aren't you sleepy? Want me to help you get ready for bed?"

"..."

"If you stay up too late, you won't grow tall. Good children need to go to sleep early."

Linea stared at me blankly, looking as though she couldn't quite understand what I was saying.

"Uh..."

Seeing me flustered by my complete lack of experience with children, she whispered in a tiny voice,

"Thank you..."

"I didn't really do anything. If you ever need something, you can tell me anytime."

Linea fidgeted awkwardly as she looked at me.

Then she quietly turned around, walked to her room, opened the door, and slipped inside.

That was how Linea and I first met.

Two months later—

After I stubbornly demanded that he lend me money, the Master responded with these words:

"'Go ahead and gut me,' you say? That's quite an interesting expression."

He muttered the words with a look that suggested he wasn't interested in the slightest.

I smiled brightly.

"Surely you wouldn't actually cut open a golden goose like me, would you?"

"The goose may lay golden eggs, but when it asks to borrow money, it does give one pause."

"Honestly, I'm confident there's no chance my investment will fail. But if it somehow does..."

The Master raised an eyebrow.

Still smiling cheerfully, I held up three fingers.

"In exchange, I'll tell you how to extend your life by at least thirty years."

"...My life?"

"You have a heart condition caused by mana overload syndrome."

I looked at him as though I knew everything.

"And unlike ordinary cases of mana overload, yours is a rare variant, so conventional treatments don't work. That must be frustrating."

The look in his eyes changed instantly.

For the first time, genuine interest flickered behind his calm facade.

I smiled.

"And I know the cure."

Why had I sought out the Master the moment I transmigrated?

Because he was an important supporting character, of course.

Unlike me—who, in the original story, abused Linea and eventually had my head chopped off by the second male lead—the Master became one of Linea's greatest allies.

He cared for her like an uncle.

And the cure?

Linea was the one who discovered it.

Linea, I'm sorry for stealing your achievement. But it's for both of us!

The Master's expression hardened.

"Where did you obtain that information?"

"Trade secret, naturally. You don't survive in business by giving everything away on day one."

Since there was no way to explain how I knew, I decided shameless confidence was my best option.

"You may find me suspicious, but the only cure for your heart condition exists inside my head. So don't even think about assassinating or torturing me."

"...I had no such intention."

"That's a lie."

I knew exactly what kind of man he was.

Not that he would go that far—yet.

"As a gesture of good faith, I'll give you the first step of the treatment."

"Interesting. You're claiming to know the first step of a cure even I couldn't find."

Meeting his skeptical gaze, I continued.

"It's not poison. You know the herbal tea made from Luzetti leaves? The one people drink because it's supposedly good for circulation?"

The Master glanced at me.

"Crush a single stalk of Enas grass into it and drink it every day. Every morning when you wake up, your chest probably feels heavy, as though your heart is being squeezed."

His expression froze.

"You need to relieve that symptom before moving on to the next stage of treatment."

"..."

"So then, where's my money?"

At my shameless demand, the Master finally burst into incredulous laughter.

"I can't win against you."

"Of course not. You'll never regret making a deal with me."

I extended my hand cheerfully.

After shaking it, the Master bent down and disappeared briefly from view.

A moment later, he returned and handed me a check.

Two hundred million won.

The moment I saw the amount written on it, dopamine flooded my system so intensely I thought my heart might leap out of my chest.