Chapter 39: I took away Yeju's first love.
I wondered if anyone could really live in such a place.
"304 is the last address I know. Let's go."
"Are you really living here?"
In response to my question, Daniel shrugged.
"There was no talk of him returning to his family. The last place he stayed was here."
At this point, all we could do was hope that Robert was here.
On a positive note, if he was in financial trouble for any reason, the likelihood of him accepting my offer would be high.
I prayed silently as I climbed the stairs.
With each step, the creaking sound was as if the stairs would collapse.
Upon reaching the third floor, we stood in front of the room we presumed he was staying in.
"Is anyone inside? I'd like to have a brief conversation."
Daniel knocked on the door first.
But there was no response.
When he shrugged and looked back at me, I pointed at the door with my chin, indicating to knock again.
"Mr. Robert! It won't take long."
Perhaps due to the noise, a neighbor opened their door slightly and checked us out.
I approached the child, who was holding the doorknob guardedly, and asked,
"Have you ever seen who lives next door?"
The child held out their palm.
I took a coin from my bag and placed it in the child's palm.
It was a considerable amount of money, enough to buy a week's worth of food.
The child stared at the coin in their palm and nodded.
"Can you tell me what kind of person he is?"
The child held out their palm again. I gave them a coin of even greater value.
"It's a man with golden hair. Sometimes, rough-looking men come to visit him."
Could he be involved with loan sharks or something like that?
The child waved their palm again.
I smiled and gave them another coin.
"They're injured men. They bleed a lot and cry for help, making a lot of noise. But you and your brother look fine, why are you here?"
I didn't answer the child's question, just stroked their head.
The child flinched at the irritable voice from inside.
"I think I should go now."
"Thanks for the information."
The child called Nina smiled and closed the door.
Turning back to Daniel, I pushed him aside and knocked on the door again.
"I heard you're a skilled doctor. I came here because I need your help."
If he was accepting patients, it would be faster to say I came for a patient.
A hoarse voice came from inside the room.
I looked at Daniel. When I nodded, he shouted,
Creak, the old door opened with a sound as if it might break at any moment.
Inside stood a man with dirty blonde hair.
His eyes lacked vitality, and his hair was tangled and unkempt.
Moreover, he looked as if he hadn't eaten properly and was about to collapse from malnutrition.
"It's me, but who are you?"
His dull eyes scanned me and Daniel, then he tilted his head.
Given that our engagement and subsequent breakup were quite famous, he might have known us if we attended the same university.
After a long pause, Robert slowly spoke.
"Daniel and his fiancée. Or rather, ex-fiancée, I suppose."
"Both are correct. This is Daniel Malphion, and I am the Duchess of Pione, who was once engaged to him."
The combination seemed confusing, and Robert's eyes wavered.
I glanced around the room over his shoulder. It looked shabby but was clean, perhaps because he occasionally treated patients.
"Can we come in for a brief conversation?"
To our surprise, he readily let us in.
The room was filled with a cold air.
The only furniture was a bookshelf, a bed, a table, and two chairs.
Under the bed was a large brown bag, which looked like a medical bag.
Robert willingly offered us the chairs.
I declined the chair and looked around the room while he boiled water.
The bookshelf was filled with old medical books, and a small frame lay face down.
When I lifted the frame slightly, a sketch of four people was inside. They seemed to be friends who studied with the deceased professor.
"You said I could come in, but you didn't say I could touch things."
Robert openly showed his discomfort as he placed the teacup on the table with a thud.
"I'm sorry. I overstepped."
Robert's face stiffened, surprised that a duchess would apologize.
But he quickly composed himself.
I sat down and took a sip of the tea, which barely moistened my throat.
The tea was almost flavorless and very bitter, likely made from old tea leaves.
It was better than being turned away, but he certainly wasn't welcoming us.
"What brings such distinguished guests to this humble abode?"
His tone was casual, but his words were sharp.
I sipped the tea and revealed our purpose.
"I'm planning to open a comprehensive hospital soon."
At my words, Robert's eyebrows twitched.
"I want to recruit you as the hospital director."
Robert's reaction was less intense than Daniel's.
I frowned and glared at him. Daniel shut his mouth but his eyes still showed dissatisfaction.
Robert shrugged, looking incredulous.
"Do you know why my friend is so angry?"
"No, I don't understand."
"Can't you see my condition?"
As he said this, Robert exaggeratedly gestured around the room.
"Is being poor the problem?"
"Hospitals are for the nobility. Which noble would come to a hospital run by a down-and-out like me?"
"I don't understand what you're saying. I am the heir to one of the most powerful families in this empire. Who would dare to ignore a hospital I establish under my family's name?"
Robert's eyebrows twitched again.
Is he upset because I'm openly using my family's name?
"And I'm not offering you the position of hospital director to treat patients."
"You can't be serious. You want me to be a figurehead?"
"You're overestimating yourself, Robert. If I wanted a figurehead, I would have chosen the Pione family's personal physician, not you, who have nothing left."
I pointed out his current reality bluntly.
Before he fled the medical field, Robert might have been able to be the hospital's front man.
And that wasn't what I wanted from him anyway.
"Then what do you want from me?"
"The research you were doing three years ago. I want you to complete it."
Robert, who hadn't reacted to anything else, flinched at the word 'research'.
It seemed there was still some hope.
"Fine. I decline. You should try this elsewhere."
"I'm not joking. I'm very serious. I'm also very interested in the research you left unfinished."
I looked him straight in the eye. His light blue eyes quickly avoided mine.
After hesitating for a moment, he spoke quietly.
"There are better people than me."
He wrote two names on a piece of paper and handed it to me.
They seemed to be the friends in the frame.
"People I used to research with. They are much more stable and as intelligent as I am. You should entrust the task to them."
And he pushed us out of the room.
"I hope I never see you again."
With a bang, he closed the door.
I fiddled with the paper in my hand, staring at the door for a long time.
I became even more curious about what had happened to him.
After being chased away by Robert, we got back into the carriage.
On the way back to the Malphion mansion, Daniel, watching me, spoke up.
"What about looking for someone else? It doesn't have to be Robert, right?"
I didn't respond to Daniel's suggestion.
There was something else I was more curious about.
"Do you know who Eric Foreman is?"
"I mean the person Robert mentioned just now."
Despite his title as a duke, Daniel had many friends from various social classes.
The Malphion family liked to sponsor talented individuals regardless of their background.
Since I hadn't heard the surname Foreman before, he was probably from the middle class.
If he could afford the medical school tuition, he must have had a sponsor, likely the Malphion family.
"Oh, he's probably a friend who studied under Dr. Gregory. I know he's now a professor at the academy."
"You knew and didn't tell me?"
At my words, his shoulders twitched.