Don’t Tame It [Novel]

46.

“Ah.”

Only then did the realization dawn on Irene, and she let out a low sigh.

“I will send someone to Therapia to acquire the necessary items. I shall instruct them to prepare an ample quantity, so please write down everything you desire.”

Irene nodded and offered a polite, “Thank you.” Then, as if just remembering, she turned her gaze back to Diego.

“In that case, may I visit the bookstore?”

“A bookstore? Is there a book you wish to purchase?”

Irene nodded once more. Diego watched her with eyes lost in thought, then he creased the corners of his eyes into a cheerful smile.

“I told you. You may do whatever you wish.”

Irene tilted her head, watching him smile in that way that reminded her of a sweet potato. The smoothly peeled potato was constantly imitating a sweet potato.

* * *

“Physician Rios, do you have a moment?”

Irene was certain that if politeness were given a physical form, it would look exactly like Adolf. The butler in charge of the estate almost never raised his voice, not even toward the servants.

Thanks to this, the Grand Duke’s estate was always tranquil. Diego’s boast that Irene would take a liking to his estate had not been an empty promise.

In truth, Irene liked this place even more than she had anticipated. Above all, it was because no one here teased her.

“This is your weekly pay.”

Adolf held out a black velvet pouch. Irene loosened the drawstring right in front of him. In matters like this, it was best to be clear.

“…….”

Glistening gold coins appeared. Irene couldn’t even bring herself to count them; she simply stared at them in a daze.

This was the first money she had earned from working.

While attending the Royal Medical College, she had occasionally received money from professors. It was payment for dissecting cadavers on their behalf.

But then and now were different. If one were to ask what was different—

Well. Perhaps the difference between pocket change and gold coins.

She herself had not changed at all. Yet at the Royal Medical College, she had received pocket change, and at Norte, she received gold coins.

Why?

Why had my value increased? I am the same person as I was ten days ago.

“Ah.”

As if she had grasped the reason, Irene slowly nodded. It wasn’t that she had changed. It was that the person evaluating her had changed.

To the professors, Irene was someone to whom they could toss a few pennies and assign menial tasks. To them, Irene was worth exactly that much.

But Diego was different. From the very beginning, he acted as if Irene were someone immensely important, and he did not hesitate to praise her as a competent surgeon even in front of her own family.

Furthermore, he had frequented the Royal Medical College time and again to hire Irene. As if Irene were a person of great significance.

“Huh?”

Thinking that far, Irene tilted her head. Then, she pressed one hand firmly against her heart.

Thump, thump.

Her heart was fluttering in a chaotic rhythm.

“Is something wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Adolf watched her with worried eyes.

Worry.

Irene, unable to find a place to rest her eyes, looked down at her own feet for no reason. She answered in a murmur.

“No. It happens occasionally these days. It gets better soon, so you needn’t concern yourself.”

“Please let me know if you ever require assistance. Of course, Physician Rios is far more knowledgeable in medicine than I, but I have lived longer than you. Thanks to that, I know exactly whom to call when a problem arises.”

“Yes.”

Irene bobbed her head in agreement. Then, she returned to the thought she had been pondering earlier.

Unlike the professors who thought Irene could be exploited for a few coins, Diego valued her work at ten gold coins per week.

Suddenly, a passage she had read in a book came to mind: that a knight offers their life for a liege who truly recognizes their worth.

Perhaps that was why. Why the sight of the shimmering gold coins felt so welcome. Because Diego had recognized her abilities.

Though, she had no intention of actually offering her life.

“His Excellency the Grand Duke is waiting. Let us move to the main building.”

Irene, lost in her thoughts, quickly pulled herself together. She repeated the thought she had now entertained about six times: Diego must surely be a man of leisure.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for a Grand Duke to volunteer to guide a mere attending physician.

“Yes.”

Irene replied indifferently and stared intently at Adolf. Adolf arched his graying eyebrows, as if asking why she was looking at him like that.

An awkward silence passed. In the end, it was Adolf who spoke first.

“Physician Rios?”

“I need time to hide the pouch. It’s not that I don’t trust you, Adolf, but it is best to be certain about these things.”

“Ah.”

Adolf wore a briefly flustered expression before smiling gently and stepping back.

“Then I shall see you at the main building. You know the way, do you not?”

“Of course.”

Although Irene had gotten lost twice even after the first day, she now knew it for certain. It was thanks to Mia, who had turned on her internal lights and drilled the path into her head repeatedly.

At Irene’s triumphant reply, Adolf smiled and left the room. Irene hid the pouch deep inside her bed and headed out of the annex building.

Suddenly, she felt a flicker of anxiety that she had hidden the money in too obvious a place, but now was not the time to be distracted. If she were careless, she would end up lost again.

With a very serious expression, Irene chose the path to the right at the maze-like junction. The main building came into view in the distance.

However, she could not let her guard down here. If she saw the building and just kept going right, the path would lead to the trail headed toward the forest.

Irene braced herself and headed down the center path.

“Physician Rios.”

Irene, who had been focused on finding her way, came to her senses at the voice that drifted from behind her. Even without the rattling of wheels, she knew who the owner of that gentle voice was before she even turned around.

It was Mario, the coachman. Usually, he drove Diego’s carriage, but for some reason, today he was pulling a cargo cart. The mule, walking with a steady gait, stopped in front of Irene.

“Good morning.”

Mario greeted her with a warm smile. Instead of answering, Irene tilted her head back to look at the sky. The sun was directly overhead.

Could one still call it morning? It was too late to be morning and too early to be afternoon.

Because of this useless contemplation, she missed her chance to respond. But Mario did not mind. He shifted slightly to the side as he asked, “Would you like a ride?”

The story of Irene getting lost three times was quite famous among the servants. Whenever she was out for a walk, passing servants would always chime in with worried expressions.

—Have you lost your way again, Physician Rios?

—Where are you headed? I shall escort you.

—This is the garden of the main building. The annex is that way.

Perhaps Mario had heard the rumors as well. Irene looked at the mule’s tired face and shook her head quietly.

She began to walk again, and the wheels of the cart turned in tandem. *Clop, clop*, the rhythmic sound of the mule’s hooves put her at ease.

Predictable things always made Irene feel peaceful. Set routines, organized books, precise timekeeping, and the hostility of others.

However, the unexpected always shook her at unpredictable moments. The fickle expressions of Mia, the kindness of Diego, the goodwill of others.

“Are you headed to the village?”

Mario’s question shattered Irene’s train of thought. She turned her head reflexively and raised her eyebrows.

Noticing Irene’s gaze, Mario glanced at the cargo bed and replied casually.

“Ah, you mean this? I grow sweet potatoes at home. Today is the day to deliver them to the estate, so I’m on my way to make the drop. For some reason, Aunt Juana doubled the sweet potato order this time. Thanks to that, my wife is grinning from ear to ear.”

“Wow.”

Irene let out a low exclamation of wonder. The cart was piled high with sweet potatoes. It was her first time seeing so many sweet potatoes all at once.

Her eyes sparkled, just as they had when she looked at the gold coins.

Irene had liked Mario from the very beginning. He kept to his promised times and understood the proper distance between people.

And on top of that, he farmed sweet potatoes!

Irene found herself liking Mario even more.

“Sweet potato farming.”

She lifted her head abruptly, staring at Mario with piercing eyes.

“Then, does Mario eat sweet potatoes every day?”

At her question, Mario shook his head with an expression that suggested he was sick of them.

“Don’t even get me started. ‘Every day’ is an understatement. My wish is to have a single meal without a sweet potato in sight. Had I known, I would have farmed potatoes instead.”

“Woah.”

Irene looked up at the sky in a daze. A single Japanese white-eye bird flew across the cloudless blue.

At the same time, a long-forgotten dream resurfaced. A dream she had held secretly in her heart when she first headed to Norte.

To save enough money, move to a countryside no one knew, and buy a small house and some land. And to farm sweet potatoes.

Then she could eat sweet potatoes every day, and even sell the ones she didn’t eat.

Hmm? Sell the leftovers?

The order seemed a bit backward, but it didn’t matter. Her eyes, filled with pleasant daydreams, shone brilliantly under the sunlight.

“Physician Rios!”

Just then, a familiar voice pulled Irene back to reality. Mario looked toward the main building and smiled.

“It’s Mia.”

Sure enough, Mia was running toward them with fierce intensity. With her eyebrows slanted toward the sky, she looked ready to pour out a lecture.

“The butler arrived a long time ago, so why are you still here? Surely you haven’t lost your way again, have you?”

Irene tried to answer that she hadn’t, but Mia didn’t give her the chance.

“I’ve shown you the way so many times. *Sigh*, I have no choice. From now on, I shall have to follow you wherever you go, Physician Rios. How do you get lost even more often than my youngest brother?”