A Greedy Suspicious Woman

"But your highness…"

"The child is worried about you." He cut her in the middle as the footmen held the door for her. She wanted to say anything further but looking at Alec's worried eyes and Cassian's cold look, she mumbled something under her breath. She left the carriage.

Alec followed but Cassian did not come out. Not that she was expecting him to walk with her. She had read about the nobles and class system but had not realized it well when she had come here. But now, after living in the palace for weeks and getting a lot of gossip from the maids, she had realized there were norms stricter than she thought. She had to pay attention to how she behaved in public.

She had not changed much in her behavior despite the fact that it was only about her words.

As she was dragged by the child in the small building, the carriage door opened again and a man entered.

A file was placed in Cassian's hands. As he opened it and started reading, the man finally spoke.

"I have been to her house and asked her neighbors. Meredith is a meek woman who hardly talks with anyone. She never raised her voice and lived silently after her mother's death.

No one knew who her father was. It was said that her mother brought her seventeen years ago when she was just a child and settled in the town.

She never talked about her husband. She worked as a seamstress which Meredith continued. She is soft spoken and kind so she has a positive relationship with everyone.

Recently she was seen with a man. She introduced him as her fiance and they were going to marry soon. She had taken five gold coins for loan for their marriage. However, on the day of their marriage when the guests reached the church, the couple was not there.

The guests waited for a while before returning to their homes. Some rushed to Meredith's home concerned but the door was locked. After that, she was missing.

However, when the debt collectors arrived at her home after one week, she was in her house and behaved strangely. And then the debt collectors took her away.

The neighbors did not get time to talk to her to find out what happened and where she was but they still think it was strange.

Some speculate that she was harsh because the man abandoned her. There might be a chance that she wandered looking for him but was unable to find him, which made her bitter.'' The files had the names of all the neighbors with their statements and two portraits of Meredith they had collected from her house.

One was from her childhood and one looked recent. She stood with a man holding his hands. In both portraits, she looked so sweet, innocent, and kind. This seemed completely different from the rude and brash woman living with him though their faces were completely identical.

"Did anyone talk about her fortune telling?" That was the only thing that worried him since the start.

"No! Your highness. I asked many but they all looked shocked by the lady's fortune telling knowledge. They all said they had only heard about it for the first time and a few even laughed thinking I was teasing them." His stern face looked awkward as he said that.

"Keep digging."

"Try to find out more about that man? Did he work in our fief or somehow possessed knowledge about me or did she know anyone else that provided her information about me?" The man's eyes turned grim as he nodded when they both heard the voices of Alec and Mary chattering.

"You can leave now." The man bowed his head and walked out from the other side before the left door opened and both came in.

"I have told you that I did not need a physician," she said with a shake of her head.

"He laughed when we told her the reason for our visit and chased us off," even though she would have done the same if she would have been a doctor.

Also, physicians were rarer and more expensive than doctors in this era because they were scarce. This novel is fantasy and has magic yet they do not have doctors!

"He chased you away?" asked Cassian with the tilt of his head when Alec was the one who nodded with a somber face.

"I did not want to create trouble, I apologize for it." He was the one who asked to visit the physician. He did not want Mary to be punished for it.

But Cassian looked at the footmen instead.

"Give Alec and Lady Meredith this infirmary and appoint the physician as their personal physician. I want him in the palace before we return."

"....." the footman bowed his head and closed the door before running towards the infirmary when the carriage started again.

"Is that what we call the power of a CEO? I have never done it in the past?" She had been rich but even a wealthy person cannot be so dominative since there is law and government but what he did was so cool and suave.

"But it was not needed! We hardly get sick. It is a waste of money to pay someone so much just to take care of two healthy people. If you are feeling remorseful that he insulted me, why don't you pay me the amount you are spending on him instead?" Her mind had already started to calculate the amount as her eyes shone with the gleam of gold that made him narrow his eyes.

She was so greedy that he could not trust her. However, at the same time the trust Alec showed on her, he could not let go of her.

"Why do you need money so badly?"