The moment she heard those words, Charlotte’s eyes gleamed with a strange light.
However, the woman was too busy sniffling and complaining to notice the peculiar change in Charlotte’s expression.
“…So that’s why I…”
“If you apply this ointment consistently, it will get better.”
Charlotte abruptly cut off the woman’s endless complaints and set down the powder and ointment she had just applied to the woman’s hand.
The woman, who had been planning to launch into a tirade about her mistress who had recently become inexplicably harsh towards the employees, wore a bewildered expression.
Charlotte met the woman’s eyes and smiled brightly.
The woman was dazed, just as she had been when she first saw Charlotte. When she smiled, Charlotte looked even more beautiful.
For a moment, this shabby apothecary felt like a lush green forest.
“Since you’ve been through such a pitiful ordeal, I’ll give you a special discount.”
“Oh, really? How much…”
“Hmm, normally this powder would cost 8 tizzles (*1 tizzle ≈ 10,000 won), and this ointment is even more expensive. It’s extremely difficult to make. Even if you gather baskets full of mushrooms that only sprout briefly at dawn before withering, you’d be lucky to get two spoonfuls after boiling them down…”
As the explanation grew longer, the woman began to feel uneasy as she considered the state of her purse.
She knew that the prices at Charlotte’s apothecary varied greatly.
From very cheap cough medicine to mysterious tinctures that nobles would secretly seek out while carrying gold, the shop handled almost everything.
But one thing was certain: all the medicines sold in this shop were “the real deal”. Whatever they might be.
“So, how much…”
Charlotte glanced at the woman’s anxious face and smiled kindly again.
“I’ll give you both the powder and the ointment for 5 tizzles.”
“What? That cheap?”
“I told you, didn’t I? That I’d give you a discount. Don’t wear gloves. There’s no point in covering the wound. It’s still treatable, but if it gets any worse, we might have to amputate your hand. Is that okay with you?”
The woman shook her head with a frightened expression, forgetting even the pain.
Charlotte took out a clean paper bag, put in the new ointment and powder, and advised again:
“Apply it once after dinner, and once more before bed. If you have soft linen, cover it lightly with that. And you need to let it air out as much as possible. When the skin starts to peel, don’t force it off, just leave it alone. And don’t even think about touching lye or anything like that for a while. Understand?”
“Oh, I understand. Um, will this really be okay…?”
Charlotte looked down at the bill handed to her at the counter. And she thought:
‘How could it be okay?’
Charlotte pocketed the bill and smiled.
“It’ll be fine, so be careful on your way back. If you run out of ointment or powder, come back again. You’ll need to keep applying it until the wound is completely healed. I’ll give you the same price then too.”
“Th-thank you! Really… I don’t know how to express my gratitude…”
“Oh, I should be thanking you for visiting. Please come by often. We have everything from mint that’s good for coughs to tinctures that instantly sober you up, ointments that loosen muscles that have been tense all week, and potions where just one drop will send you straight to dreamland when you can’t sleep at night. And please spread the word to others.”
“Of course. Certainly. I’ll do that… Thank you so much. Well then…”
The woman pushed the door. The silver bell above jingled cheerfully.
“Ah, just a moment.”
The woman, who was about to leave the shop, turned her head while clutching the bag to her chest. Curious green eyes silently gazed at the woman’s face.
“You said you work at Baron Lirald’s house, right?”
[This is the timeline separator]After confirming that the herbs laid out to dry were crisping up nicely, Charlotte changed the sign on the door from ‘Open’ to ‘Out’.
The jingling sound of the silver bell when opening and closing the door. She both liked and felt a chill from this sound.
After locking the door and stepping out onto the street, Charlotte looked sprightly with her hair tied up and a small basket hooked on her right arm.
The sight of her gracefully walking the busy streets in her softly tailored leather shoes was enough to draw the gaze of many people.
“Charlotte! Where are you off to?”
Yuno, who sold fruits, called out in his usual booming voice. Charlotte flashed him a bright smile and replied.
“Hello, Mr. Yuno. I’m going to get lunch.”
“I heard the chef at ‘Weightsobla’ made a special menu today. It’s limited to lunch, so why don’t you hurry over?”
“Oh, really? What a shame. I made sandwiches. Would you like some?”
Charlotte opened her basket to show him the contents.
Yuno’s lips spread wide when he saw the cute sandwiches filled with herbs, vegetables, and salty ham sprinkled with pepper.
“I’d love to! But is that okay?”
“Of course, it’s fine! You gave me information, so I should give you something in return. Here, please eat. I’ll come back for the basket later.”
“Thanks for this. I was just starting to feel hungry. My missus has been nagging me to lose some weight.”
By ‘missus’, he meant his wife, not his employer.
Charlotte bid him to enjoy the food and continued down the street, feeling even lighter than before.
When she came back to retrieve her basket from Yuno, she would likely receive some fresh oranges, lemons, or peaches in return.
Yuril, the capital of the Kingdom of Loynock where Charlotte’s shop was located, was a place bustling with activity day and night.
It had been 20 years since the revolutionary government fell and the monarchy was restored. While there had been chaos during the change of rulers, that much time was enough to return people’s lives to normal.
“Hey, Sister Charlotte! Want to buy some flowers?”
“I’ll buy some on my way back. I’m on my way to lunch now.”
“Charlotte, my mother’s back is hurting again. Could we get some more of that medicine from last time?”
“Come by in two hours! I’ll have it ready for you.”
In this neighborhood, Charlotte was a famous and popular young lady.
Of course, there were some who spread envious rumors, calling her suspicious for running an apothecary alone, unmarried and not seeing anyone personally.
But most people liked the kind and lively Charlotte, and she in turn stayed close with her neighbors, paying no mind to slander or rumors.
“Please spare a coin.”
Just as Charlotte was about to enter a restaurant, a beggar lying in the shadows between buildings reached out his hand towards her.
Charlotte looked down at him with a pitying expression for a moment, then took out some bills from her pocket and pressed them firmly into his hand. There were six 1-tizzle bills in total.
The beggar’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected large sum, and his fingertips trembled slightly.
“Th-thank you. Thank you, angel-like miss…”
“It’s nothing.”
Charlotte let out a small sigh as she watched the beggar disappear into the shadows clutching the bills.
‘Weightsobla’ was right in front of her and the delicious smell of cream wafted through the air, but what she had just given to the man was all the money Charlotte had brought with her.
She had also given her sandwiches to Yuno, so she would either have to go back to the shop to get more money or just take a walk and get some snacks with the few coins she had left.
Just as Charlotte had made up her mind and was about to move, she heard a man’s voice with an unpleasant metallic undertone.
“Well, well, I’m seeing all sorts of strange sights these days.”
An unstable shadow, slightly elongated, wavered towards Charlotte.
Charlotte quietly observed the man limping towards her.
His black hair was grown out carelessly and tied back like a ponytail, and his face was covered in small scars.
Though he was grinning casually, his eyes were surprisingly intelligent, and he had a sharp nose bridge that made him a handsome young man.
“What’s the occasion for you to be giving alms?”
Charlotte, who had been walking expressionlessly, spoke while looking ahead.
“Those bills had ghost residue on them, so I needed to get rid of them quickly. It was bothering me, but this worked out well.”
“I knew it. You wicked girl.”
As the man chuckled, Charlotte turned to look at him sharply. Her emerald eyes sparkled dangerously.
It was a look that none of the neighbors she had been chatting with could have imagined, but to this man, this expression was more familiar.
He couldn’t help but pretend to gag every time he saw Charlotte’s so-called ‘business smile’.
Charlotte whipped her head back around.
“That person from earlier is insensitive, so it’s fine. He has no intuition. He’s too busy living hand to mouth.”
Charlotte, who had been striding towards the square, suddenly turned her body back in the direction she had come from, as if struck by a thought.
The man stumbled at her abrupt movement and grumbled lightly.
“Hey, what’s the deal? I almost fell over.”
“If you have business, just say it quickly and go.”
“Isn’t it lunchtime now? You came out to eat too, right? You could at least offer to have a meal together.”
Charlotte snorted derisively.
“Why should I? And didn’t you see earlier? That was my lunch money for today. I only have a few coins left now.”
“Then just eat something that fits those few coins.”
The man looked back. Charlotte, who had inadvertently followed his gaze, furrowed her brow.
A small street vendor was selling baked donuts.
“You should be able to buy that much with the loose change in your pocket, right?”
“This is unbelievable, really.”
However, Charlotte ended up buying donuts for the man’s share as well.
The two sat side by side on a bench a little distance away, each holding a bag containing two hot donuts.
The man stretched his legs out as if finally relieved. However, he couldn’t fully extend his right leg.
Charlotte stared blankly at him as he tapped his knee, which was bent slightly outward, with his fist.
She took a bite of the greasy donut.
“What is it? Spit it out quickly.”
“You’re so impatient.”
“Taemi, if you stall any longer, I might one day feed you laxatives. The kind that will make you faint from dehydration.”
Despite Charlotte’s vicious threat, the man, Taemi, just chuckled. He took a big bite of the donut, stuffing his cheeks, and said:
“There’s a rich man, called Grimel. He was originally an unremarkable boatman. He couldn’t have children for a long time, then finally had a single daughter in his 40s. But guess what? After this daughter was born, the man struck gold. He saved penny by penny and made some kind of investment, and it turned out to be a gold mine? Ah, I don’t mean he actually invested in a real gold mine.”
“Just get to the point.”
Taemi put another donut in his mouth. He had devoured a fairly large donut in just two bites.
“Besides that, he had many other small strokes of luck, so he raised his daughter like a princess, saying it was all thanks to her. But a few days ago, his daughter started complaining about stomach pain, and now she’s bedridden, looking like she’s at death’s door.”
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
