I Ended Up in a Shotgun Marriage with the Male Lead

Chapter 4

Ever since that day, Emilia had been bedridden with illness.

“Cough… Cough…”

As she coughed, she silently scolded herself for being so foolish.

No matter what had happened, she should have changed out of her wet clothes.

Even swallowing was painful, and she grimaced as she forced herself to drink a little water.

I should at least go get some medicine.

She tried to sit up, only to give up moments later.

In her current condition, even stepping outside for a short while was impossible.

I stocked Cedric’s house with every medicine and health tonic imaginable…

Yet she hadn’t even kept a single bottle of medicine in her own home.

It wasn’t even funny.

I’ll just sleep a little longer.

Just as she was about to drift back to sleep—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The violent pounding on the door startled Emilia awake.

Who could that be?

“Emilia! Open the door!”

That voice…

Emilia hurriedly forced her heavy body to her feet.

As soon as she opened the door, she found Mrs. Anderson standing there with an angry expression.

“How did you— Cough! Cough!”

“Oh, good heavens! Just look at you!”

Seeing Emilia’s pale, haggard appearance, Mrs. Anderson smacked her own chest in frustration.

“What am I supposed to do with such a foolish girl? Let me in.”

With a deep sigh, she frowned and gently pushed Emilia back into the house, patting her on the back.

Mrs. Anderson looked around the room before pointing at a chair.

“Go sit over there first.”

“Huh?”

“Judging by the look of you, you haven’t eaten a proper meal, have you? Sit down. I’ll make something right away.”

“But I’m fi—”

“Tsk! Hurry.”

Mrs. Anderson glared at her as though scolding a child.

With no choice, Emilia obediently sat down.

Come to think of it… I never even sent word that I couldn’t come to work…

Watching Mrs. Anderson take out the cooking utensils, Emilia spoke.

“I’m sorry. I missed work without saying anything.”

“Forget it. I figured something must’ve happened.”

“But… how did you know?”

“How did I know?”

Mrs. Anderson set a dish down with a loud clack.

“The whole village already knows Cedric brought a woman back from the capital!”

Clicking her tongue, she continued,

“They say he’s parading her around without a shred of shame. Isn’t she supposed to be some noble lady from a count’s family?”

Emilia slowly lowered her head.

“And don’t even think about crying! Tears are wasted on a scoundrel like him!”

Mrs. Anderson raised her eyebrows as if she were ready to smack Emilia across the back if she cried.

Oddly enough, after hearing that scolding…

The tears that refused to fall disappeared altogether.

“…I’m not crying.”

“Good.”

With practiced skill, Mrs. Anderson quickly finished a fragrant bowl of soup and placed it in front of Emilia.

“Eat.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

Mrs. Anderson sat across from her, carefully watching to make sure she ate every bite.

Once Emilia had emptied the bowl, Mrs. Anderson placed a heavy pouch onto the table.

Clink.

The sound of coins jingling echoed through the room.

“…What’s this money?”

“It’s your severance pay.”

“What?”

Emilia’s heart sank.

As though reading her thoughts, Mrs. Anderson shook her head.

“I’m not giving it to you because I’m firing you.”

Her eyes were firm as she reached over with her wrinkled hand and took Emilia’s.

“Leave this place, Emilia.”

“…Leave? What do you mean?”

“I mean go to the capital. If you’re going to start over, then do it somewhere new.”

Mrs. Anderson pushed the pouch of coins toward her.

“And no matter what you end up doing… it’ll be better than staying here.”

“…”

Emilia hesitated.

Still…

She understood what Mrs. Anderson meant.

If she stayed in this village, all she’d hear were whispers behind her back.

Even though Cedric was the one who had done wrong…

He was now an official of the Imperial Palace.

Everyone would inevitably side with him.

“Honestly, is there anyone in this village who doesn’t know you’re smarter than Cedric?”

“…”

“If you’d been allowed to take that famous exam yourself, you would’ve passed it on your very first try.”

“But—”

“But what? Or would you rather stay here and watch those two laughing happily together?”

“…What about the shop?”

Mrs. Anderson snorted.

“Thanks to you, I’ve probably already earned five years’ worth of profits. Don’t worry about me.”

She wasn’t exaggerating.

Thanks to Emilia’s advice, business had improved tremendously.

She had even learned how to manage the books perfectly.

“What could an old woman like me possibly learn?”

She had said that countless times.

Yet Emilia had patiently taught her anyway.

That’s why that fool Cedric managed to pass his exam in the first place.

Mrs. Anderson frowned as she imagined Mrs. Romans happily celebrating with her precious son.

Looking back at Emilia, she said,

“If anything, you’ve worked harder than my own runaway son.”

“A runaway son?”

Emilia smiled awkwardly at the exaggerated description.

Mrs. Anderson’s son, Alex, had simply become an Imperial Palace official at a young age.

Although…

Mrs. Anderson constantly complained that he never came home.

Well… he only visits once every six months.

Just then, Mrs. Anderson placed another coin pouch on the table.

Seeing Emilia’s puzzled expression, she declared proudly,

“It belongs to my son. I borrowed a little.”

“…That doesn’t look like just a little.”

“If I can grab it with one hand, then it’s only one handful.”

Apparently embarrassed after inventing her own unit of measurement, Mrs. Anderson awkwardly cleared her throat.

That made Emilia burst into laughter.

“There you go. Finally smiling.”

Mrs. Anderson smiled with satisfaction.

“You never know what life has in store, so stop overthinking it and just take the money.”

“Okay… I will.”

“That’s my girl.”

She gently squeezed Emilia’s hand.

“And remember this.”

“Your own happiness comes before anyone else’s.”

“Never forget that.”

Hearing those warm words, Emilia slowly nodded.

* * *

After Mrs. Anderson left, Emilia sat quietly for a while, lost in thought.

Then she stood up.

She searched through the storage room until she found something.

A large travel suitcase.

She had bought it long ago for the day she and Cedric would finally travel together.

Honestly…

She wanted nothing more than to throw it straight into the trash.

The suitcase didn’t do anything wrong.

Carrying it into her bedroom, Emilia began packing.

But when she looked through her belongings…

She realized she barely had any decent clothes.

A sudden wave of anger rose inside her.

Why had I treated myself so poorly… for someone like him?

Anything nice had always gone to Cedric.

She had always come second.

Emilia gathered the few belongings worth taking and carefully packed them into the suitcase.

* * *

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The next day, Emilia pounded on Cedric’s front door hard enough to shake the house.

“What now…”

An irritated voice came from inside before Cedric opened the door.

“Emilia?”

He looked genuinely surprised to see her standing there.

As though he’d never expected her to come.

A moment later, his eyes fell on the large suitcase beside her.

His expression immediately darkened.

Does he think I’m here to move in and refuse to leave?

If so…

He was gravely mistaken.

Without saying another word, Emilia simply held out her hand.

“Give it back.”

“…Give back what?”

“The money.”

“The money I spent on you all these years.”