I'm A Sucker For Extras - Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Brody exited their quarters and crossed to the next room.
 
River and the woman who had attacked him were fast asleep.
 
‘They must have taken the leaves well? ‘
 
After a quick check on them, Brody headed downstairs.
 
Hmmph. Brody was surprised to see Aidan moving around in the kitchen. He had already cleaned up the broken dishes and dangerous items.
 
Brody sighed as she saw a single red mark on the countertop next to the bowl.
 
‘When the hell did he see that little mark?  ’
 
Brody wiped the marks away with a linen cloth.
 
Wiping up the blood splatters was long overdue, and with all the physical exertion, the hangover she’d forgotten about resurfaced, pounding in her head.
 
‘I wonder if licking my head will make it better. No, I mean, if he licked his own head, his headache would go away, but that’s not possible because of human anatomy. Maybe he can’t cut his hair. What about rubbing saliva on his palm and massaging his head? ’
 
Brody tried to distract herself, feeling awkward being in the same room as the man she’d just argued with.
 
She’d rather be asked about the woman who attacked River now, who she was, and why Brody was so quick to criticize her.
 
But Aidan didn’t say anything, as he organized. Brody hesitated to initiate the conversation herself, and the silence persisted.
 
When he was done, Aidan left the window open again and slipped out quietly.
 
Brody could finally breathe a deep sigh of relief.
 
It looked like he had a lot to think about, just as she had a lot to think about.
 
Brody went back upstairs.
 
She walked into a room that wasn’t her own.
 
She saw a weary River lying on the bed and an even more exhausted woman.
 
Brody walked past River to the dark-haired woman with a deep shadow across her face.
 
And then she remembered, back in the kitchen, just moments ago.
 
River was bleeding profusely, and the woman was on a rampage, swinging a knife at him, and even in the midst of it all, Brody heard the woman’s words clearly.
 
And the desperate sound of her screams lingered in Brody’s ears.
 
“Give me my daughter, my sweet daughter, you cruel bastards, you deserve to be fried in the fires of hell! My daughter, oh, my daughter, Nikke. That poor thing, not yet of age…….”
 
“Nikke?!
 
She definitely said, ‘Nikke.’ ‘My daughter Nikke.’
 
Feeling the familiarity of the name hit her ears, she recognized the woman in front of her.
 
‘Caleb Miller.’
 
The madwoman was Caleb Miller, a supporting character in the original novel.
 
❖ ❖ ❖ ❖
 
“Caleb Miller.
 
Originally from the North, she had a happy life, marrying a knight and raising a daughter. However, her husband passed away due to an accident, leaving Caleb to provide for herself and her daughter.
 
In a time when the North and the Empire weren’t openly in conflict, Caleb displayed exceptional skills and was recruited as a maid for a noble house in the capital.
 
An eye for fashion, a sense of style, and the ability to read the trends of the day and even shape the next big thing.
 
She surpassed all other maids in the noble house, despite the difficulties in dealing with the demanding aristocrats.
 
It’s a peaceful life with a well-funded ducal household where she can fulfill her talents and raise her daughter.
 
But as the conflict between the north and the imperial court deepened, her life shattered like glass.
 
When Jax McCarthy’s mother, the Duke’s wife, learned of her Northern heritage, she dismissed her, conscious of the eyes on her.
 
Driven out overnight, she returned to the North with her daughter.
 
Eventually, on the day they successfully passed through the Perdan Fortress, they were captured by the Imperial Army.
 
Unfortunately, among the soldiers was one who had served in the noble house where Caleb worked, and he revealed her origin.
 
In the chaos, she lost her daughter and suffered many hardships.
 
In the midst of chaos, Caleb lost her daughter and experienced many harsh moments. Fortunately, with the sudden end of the war due to the assassination of the Northern Duke, they were allowed to return to the North.
 
However, having lost everything, she went mad.
 
In the original story, it was the princess who was almost killed by her.
 
After winning the war, the princess traveled to the north to inspect.
 
They encountered a mad Caleb.
 
Having a deep grudge against the Empire, Caleb attempted to kill the princess. The ‘original Brody’ used Caleb’s insanity to her advantage due to jealousy.
 
But the princess’s wisdom saved her from Caleb’s death threat, and she even cured the madwoman, restoring her sanity.
 
She found her daughter and showed Mrs. Caleb great compassion.
 
Caleb was so moved that she gave her undivided loyalty.
 
‘Nieke, I’m sure. It’s the name of Mrs. Caleb’s daughter, and the circumstances are clear.’
 
Brody nodded, remembering the original story.
 
It was a ceasefire, but the North had actually won, so the story had changed.
 
But what happened to Caleb seems to have remained the same.
 
Except that the family that ruled the region now was still the Northern Duke’s family, not the Imperial family, and so it was the Northern Duke, not the Empress, who made the inspection.
 
Brody recognized the irony.
 
In the original, it was Brody, the botanist, who had cured Caleb of her madness.
 
Of course, it was at the princess’s order, and after failing to kill her, she’d cowered in humiliation, cried, and decided to eat poison.
 
‘The point is, I can cure her.’
 
Brody looked down at Mrs. Caleb, who was fast asleep under the weight of the dream leaf.
 
The madness was scarier than it had been when she’d read it in the story, and the shame was hard to describe.
 
Honestly, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
 
‘If I pretend not to know…… She’ll never see her daughter again, and she’ll never come to her senses…….’
 
Under the circumstances, how could she pretend not to know?
 
Brody hesitated, but eventually decided to go ahead and cure Caleb.
 
‘Then why did you attack River? Was it difficult to distinguish between the Northern Army and the Imperial Army because you were mentally unstable? And why are you here? This village is a village that did not exist in the original work.’
 
Swooping in and stabbing a man as high as the Chief of Staff was a pretty big offense.
 
Aidan had given Brody the benefit of the doubt for now, but she couldn’t keep hiding River’s injuries from everyone.
 
Besides, once River woke up, it would be over.
 
‘It’s actually a fortunate event. Giving me a break in this situation.’
 
Brody murmured while fiddling with a bottle of medicine in her pocket.
 
‘It must mean that His Grace trusts me this much.’
 
He trusts me, he likes me, he still has feelings for me……, and yet he pushes me away.
 
From the way he worried about Brody and then pushed her away, approached her and then backed away, it was clear that he was in a dizzying state of mind himself.
 
‘If he’s so determined, he can’t get his mind around my work…….’
 
Brody sighed deeply. His conscience pricked at the thought that he’d done the unthinkable by marrying her, but he also felt unclear.
 
‘What is it? What’s wrong? ’
 
A sudden knock on the door shattered her reverie.
 
“My Lady, it’s me, may I come in?”
 
The voice sounded familiar, but she wondered why he was here?
 
“Uh, uh-huh. Come in.”
 
It was sudden, but there was no reason not to let him in, so Brody allowed it.
 
As she answered, a young man with short brown hair opened the door and poked his head in.
 
Smiling broadly, he was none other than Teddy.
 
“What are you doing here?”
 
Brody met him at the door.
 
Teddy glanced over Brody’s shoulder into the room, then scratched his head.
 
“Yeah, well, the Duke said we could just go to……, and listen to the lady?”
 
“…….”
 
Apparently Aidan was nervous to leave Brody alone with River and the assassin, so he sent Teddy.
 
“How do I explain this situation. Ugh, my head.’
 
She ran a hand through her hair and hesitated.
 
‘I can’t help it. ‘I have no choice but to use that method.’.
 
Brody made up her mind and pulled Teddy inside.
 
Then she said to him
 
“Will you help with something for a moment?”
 
“Help? Who’s sick…… Heh! Chief of Staff, I was wondering where you were, and then I saw this…….”
 
At the sound of his surprise, Brody put her index finger in front of her mouth.
 
“It’s a top secret; that’s why you sent here away quietly; don’t ask questions; just follow me; His Grace will explain later.”
 
“Ah, yes! I will follow you without asking or questioning! ”
 
Brody smiled at his cool response.
 
With that, she deflected the situation by shifting the explanation to Aidan.
 
“By the way, my lady.”
 
“What?”
 
Well, despite saying he wouldn’t ask, Teddy couldn’t hold back his curiosity. Was he unable to resist? When he called her, his head throbbed again, but Teddy asked without hesitation.
 
“My Lady, are you injured anywhere? My lord’s expression wasn’t good, so I was wondering what happened to you..”
 
“…….”
 
‘I was hurt, but Your Grace licked me and made me feel better.’
 
As she was saying that to herself, Teddy spoke up.
 
“Well, I was expecting a hangover, for one thing.”
 
Ding. The words hit Brody like a ton of bricks.
 
A hangover? Why? Why would he make that assumption?!
 
‘Did I get drunk in front of the whole town last night or something? ’
 
Whether or not he realized Brody was flustered, Teddy began to explain.
 
“Well, Mrs. Connie said so. She wondered if you had drunk a lot and suggested you might not need a hangover cure.”
 
Brody wiped the sweat from her brow.
 
‘Oh, it’s just something Conny said. Whew…’
 
But she was far from reassured.
 
“And…… said that several people…… witnessed some mischief in the potato patch yesterday.”
 
“Oh, it’s just something Conny said. Whew…”
 
Even more unsettling was the fact that Teddy, with an embarrassed expression, had a blush on his face.
 
“What’s that…… story about the potato field?”
 
“Oh, that… Well, you know… Ha-ha. It’s about how well the Duke and Duchess get along… Something like that.”
 
It was certain. If she looked under her feet right now, she might confirm that her heart was rolling down like a toppled toy.
 
Brody barely managed to maintain her composure and replied.
 
“I was so drunk last night that I had to stop……. I’m embarrassed.”
 
“No, no, no, I mean……! It was so beautiful. I pray that you two live a long life together.”
 
Brody smiled faintly.
 
But inside, she was already kicking the covers for the millionth time.
 
‘I can’t believe I let people see me like that. Ew. I want to die.’
 
❖ ❖ ❖ ❖
 
When Aidan returned to his room in the evening, he was startled.
 
Because Brody was lying face down on the bed with her face buried.
 
The sheets were a mess from the tossing and turning.
 
Worried about what had happened, he debated whether or not to tell him. After all, they hadn’t said a word since their argument earlier in the day.
 
Luckily, Brody, who was buried in the pillow, spoke up first.
 
Aidan was a little relieved when he realized that she hadn’t spoken to him.
 
“Did Your Grace know? ”
 
Until she asked him a stinging question.
 
“About what?”
 
“About……. yesterday?”
 
Aidan frowned. Yesterday?
 
If it was yesterday, then…… a lot had happened. What could she be talking about?
 
The kiss in the potato field? The time he’d told River to be nice to the king? The time he’d thrown up and thrown away all his clothes? Or was it……?
 
As he ran through each of Brody’s actions last night, Brody sat up and looked at him.
 
The look on her face was painful.
 
“You don’t…… remember?”
 
Aidan asked, puzzled.