The Ugly Wife of the Shady Duke - Chapter 121.1

A bitter taste spread through Grace’s mouth, it was an echo of the original memories.

She herself had never taken appetite suppressants, but she’d known many people who had suffered terribly from the side effects.

And it made her stomach twist to realize that, if Grace from a few months ago had lacked even a little resolve, she might have been tempted by a d**g like this.

‘Right. This world is different from the one I lived in before—so you never know, that kind of reasoning…’

Even as she thought that, Grace found herself hesitating.

This was a world where divine power existed. Divine power could cleanse illness and corruption of all kinds.

‘Then wouldn’t it be possible to make a diet pill or appetite suppressant without side effects?’

Perhaps because it was being handed to her directly by an artificer from the Magic Tools Association, her thoughts drifted in that direction.

Although she believed she had lost a considerable amount of weight since first waking up in this body, attending recent banquets had made her keenly aware that she was still much larger than other young ladies and noblewomen.

She had never disliked her body, but an unexpected flicker of temptation stirred.

At that moment, a large hand slipped in and took the container.

“Popular among noble ladies, you say? How curious. Is there nothing that appeals more to men?”

“Ah, there is a tool currently under research, but…”

“Not medicine like this, I hope?”

With an untroubled expression, Benjamin opened the container and examined the pills. They were plain, round, and white and rather utterly unremarkable.

He rolled one pill between his fingers as he continued speaking.

“And surely there are magic tools more suitable as gifts for ladies. Something other than this.”

At his words, the artificer went pale, as if he’d just stepped on a magical landmine. Benjamin’s face was as gentle as ever, but he didn’t look amused in the slightest.

“……”

“What do you think, Wife? Do you prefer medicine like this over magic tools?”

Benjamin turned his gaze to Grace. His tone was infinitely softer than when he had addressed the artificer.

“Ah, I…”

As his eyes met hers and the question reached her, the bitterness that had filled her mouth moments ago faded considerably.

“This medicine was a gift from the merchant guild to the Magic Tools Association. I don’t think it’s something I should accept.”

It was a polite refusal, one made easy thanks to Benjamin.

‘Is Benjamin really fine with me as I am?’

The thought surfaced unexpectedly.

Grace herself was fine with the way she looked. After all, not long ago she hadn’t even been able to move properly. How could she be dissatisfied with a body that now allowed her to walk freely?

Her stamina was steadily improving, she’d learned how to escape her depression, and the dreadful voices cluttering her mind would soon fade as well.

But now that she clearly acknowledged both Benjamin’s interest in her and her own feelings for him, Grace found herself wondering, Is it truly all right to be like this?

‘Though before that, I really should find out what happened to the soul that originally belonged to this body…’

It would be more accurate to say that Benjamin loved the original owner of this body, not her. Recalling that, Grace forced an awkward smile.

“Then let’s agree not to accept it.”

Benjamin placed the pill container back on the tray, deliberately farthest from Grace. He looked genuinely displeased at even the faint possibility she might take it.

‘Still, since the medicine came up, maybe I can use this chance to ask…’

She’d already been curious about why the Magic Tools Association had bothered to interact with the Everlasting Flower merchant guild. Perhaps she could uncover a clue here.

Despite never appearing once in the original story, the guild seemed to wield subtle but significant influence in noble society, which made her uneasy. If it were that large, it should have appeared in the original novel, even if the story followed Aria’s perspective.

‘Aside from the occasional major incidents tied to the saint’s wishes, the story mostly centered around the capital and the Everlasting Flower guild seems very active here.’

If so, there was a high chance Aria had encountered them as well.

In the original story, Aria had attempted trade with the Kingdom of Arsia and had even secretly searched for the Blessing of the Sun.

No matter how mobile a merchant guild might be, it felt unnatural that Aria had never even heard its name.

In fact, that very absence was what made it suspicious.

“By the way, for what reason did the Everlasting Flower guild send something like this as a token? From what I recall, that guild operates on a membership basis and doesn’t sell its goods freely.”

Grace asked the artificer with an expression of genuine ignorance.

The fact that this artificer had brought the medicine to her suggested he held some degree of authority.

‘Knowing what this item is means he’s involved to some extent, and since there aren’t other artificers here right now, it should be easier to get information.’

At the very least, he must be connected to someone knowledgeable about it. Meaning there was a chance he’d let something slip if she showed interest.

So rather than pressing him directly, Grace casually let the question drift out as a vague opening.