CHAPTER 25: UNEXPECTED VISITOR

Perhaps only now have I understood the true meaning of the quest "Girl in Distress." So, the incident in my house is the very event? In the end, Angela brought trouble upon herself by showing up at the villains’ lair.

When I saw Angela lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood, I was instantly overcome with panic. What the hell happened here?! If the main character really dies in my house, I’ll never be able to wash away this sin!

With that in mind, I immediately rushed to the child. Angela was unconscious, but I could feel her pulse. That was somewhat reassuring.

A few seconds later, I heard footsteps on the stairs. Ruby was standing next to me. When she saw what had happened to Angela, the girl covered her mouth in horror.

I immediately asked her:

"What happened here?!"

My niece was barely holding it together. Her voice was shaking.

"Auntie, when you left, Angela wanted to see my toys..." she began to explain tearfully, "We were going to go up to my room, but when we came back, my little sister suddenly fell down the stairs...!"

"Fell down the stairs?!" I asked, stunned.

"I... I didn’t have time to stop her!"

"........"

Ruby’s reaction seemed quite plausible. Perhaps she was even more shocked than I was.

"Auntie, you believe me, right?" the girl asked hopefully.

I sighed heavily.

"Of course. I know it was an accident."

Even though Rubella Weinstein was the main villain, I didn’t believe she was involved. After all, she was only ten years old. No child of that age was capable of such cruelty. Angela must have really just been a victim of circumstance.

Edison came running at the noise in the living room. When the old man saw what had happened to our young guest, he was almost speechless.

"Ma’am, is that...?"

"Doctor, quickly!" I shouted.

The butler reacted immediately and rushed out into the street.

It would take too long to drive Angela to the hospital. The nearest one was in the capital, which was at least forty minutes away. I was afraid that by that time the girl’s condition would reach a critical stage.

While Edison went to find a local doctor, I urgently tried to figure out what to do next. I didn’t know how serious the head injury was, so every minute counted.

"Auntie..." Ruby whimpered next to me, "I’m scared! Will my little sister be okay?"

I tried to calm her down, even though I was the one who needed reassurance the most right now.

"Don’t worry. The doctor will be here soon!" I assured her, my heart pounding wildly.

The main character is dying in my living room! System, help!

In reality, I had no idea what would happen to this world if Angela suddenly disappeared. However, I certainly wasn’t going to test that theory.

Until the doctor arrived, I had to provide at least some first aid.

With hands trembling with excitement, I picked up the girl and was about to carry her to my bedroom. Then I asked Ruby for a little help: to bring water and rags. At the very least, I needed to wash the blood off her. My niece immediately rushed to carry out my instructions.

While caring for Angela, I kept glancing nervously at the clock. I just prayed that the girl would stay alive until the doctor arrived.

"Damn it, why did you choose to fall down the stairs in my house?!"

Honestly... Problems kept coming at me one after another. Even though I hardly bother anyone and just live my life. Why is it so difficult to be a background character?

When I believed in God for the first time in my life and prayed for his mercy, time dragged on terribly slowly. Although in reality, no more than ten minutes had passed. Finally, there was a noise and the sound of a door slamming downstairs.

The old butler returned very quickly. Out of breath, he entered the bedroom and announced his arrival.

At that moment, a weight lifted from my heart.

"Is the doctor here?" I asked hopefully.

The man nodded.

"He is waiting downstairs for you to call him."

I sighed.

"Then tell him to come in immediately!"

Edison seemed tense, as if he hadn’t told me something.

"What’s the matter?" I asked indignantly. "Angela urgently needs..."

"It’s not just the doctor waiting for you," he suddenly announced.

"What?"

I froze in bewilderment.

"On the way, I met Duke Dickens... He said he was just about to visit you."

My jaw dropped. William Dickens...?! It couldn’t be! Why did he come so quickly? Weren’t we supposed to meet in two days?

I nervously pursed my lips.

"So you’re saying they’re both waiting for me in the living room...?"

The old man nodded tensely.

I clutched the folds of my dress. It seemed I was trapped. Either way, there was nothing I could do. Since the duke had already arrived, it would be rude to send him away. I would have to receive them both.

"All right... I’ll be right down."

With wobbly legs, I left the room and went downstairs. Edison hadn’t lied. William Dickens was sitting on the sofa waiting, while the pale doctor was pacing nervously at the door. Working in a rural clinic, this was the first time in his life he had treated someone from the aristocracy.

I addressed him first.

"Hello," I shook his hand, "Thank you for coming so quickly!"

The man was very excited.

"It is an honor for me to be invited by a lady of the Weinstein family!"

I smiled politely. In fact, this man was the only available doctor in the immediate vicinity. The schedules of all the doctors in the capital were booked up for six months in advance. On top of that, I needed a specialist who wouldn’t ask unnecessary questions.

"Please come in as soon as possible! The patient is waiting upstairs," I said. "The butler will show you in."

"T-thank you!"

As soon as the two of them left, I was able to breathe more easily. It seemed that I no longer had to worry about Angela’s health. All that remained was to figure out how to get the duke out of here.

Today, while Angela was at my estate, I had to make sure they didn’t meet under any circumstances. I knew that William Dickens, who had worked for the imperial family for most of his life, would most likely recognize the heroine at first glance.

Duke Dickens frowned and got up from the sofa.

"What’s wrong?" he asked. "Why did you need a doctor?"

I smiled tensely.

"Nothing special. Just a maid who fell ill."

"A maid?" he repeated. "You called for help so urgently for a servant?"

"Of course," I said calmly. "I’m a good employer."

The man smiled coldly.

"I see."

"Exactly. So why did you want to see me?"

In order not to waste time, I was going to get to the main topic as soon as possible. We went into my office, and sitting at the table, I crossed my fingers. The duke couldn’t even guess that a storm was raging inside me right now.

"Ahem..." William began discontentedly, "Actually, I wanted to offer you something."

"Hmm? Really?"

"I promised to help you improve your reputation in society. It seems that a great opportunity will soon present itself."

I immediately understood what he was talking about. It seemed that Roger had indeed accepted my offer of cooperation. I just didn’t expect it to happen only a couple of hours after our conversation.

Meanwhile, the duke placed a gold envelope on my desk.

"This is an invitation," he explained. "There will soon be a banquet at the palace in honor of the emperor’s birthday, and I thought..."

"I accept!" I said immediately.

He froze in amazement.

"What?"

"I agree to attend the banquet with you," I said. "That’s what you’re hinting at, isn’t it?"

The duke was taken aback that I accepted his offer so quickly without even looking at the envelope.

"Ahem..."

"If that’s all, then let’s discuss the details later."

I was in such a hurry that I completely stopped paying attention to my surroundings. Including the fact that a check mark had appeared next to "talk to Duke Dickens." After that, a new task appeared, which I also did not look at.

However, it would be too rude to make my intentions so obvious. After all, we are still partners. I must maintain a friendly atmosphere.

Duke Dickens was finishing his cup of green tea when I heard a noise coming from my bedroom. I immediately tensed up. Thoughts of Angela’s condition wouldn’t leave me.

In the end, I couldn’t take it anymore and decided to check.

"Um... Please wait here. I have some things to take care of."

He nodded.

"Of course."

Maintaining a polite smile, I quietly closed the door behind me and slipped unnoticed into the bedroom. These rooms were on the same floor.

Angela was still lying on the bed. I rushed to the doctor.

"Well?" I asked excitedly.

The man had just finished his examination. He smiled faintly and reassured me:

"Don’t worry. It’s just a minor concussion."

"Really?"

"Yes. A couple of days of treatment, and everything will be much better."

I breathed a sigh of relief. At first glance, the situation had seemed much worse.

"Thank you so much, doctor!"

I shook his hand wholeheartedly. If only this man knew that he had just saved the most important person in the world.

After the man wrote the necessary prescription, the butler was about to show him out.

I thought I was alone in the room. But...

The next second, a voice suddenly rang out from behind me:

"Her Highness...?"

Duke Dickens looked shocked.