10 — Chapter 10

I am gradually cleaning and repairing things with Household Magic. If I do too much at once, I might get exhausted. I’m sure it’s bad to use up too much mana. I could look it up in a book, but improving our lifestyle comes first. Besides, I’ll be taught all about it once I go to the Academy anyway.

“In January, you will be enrolling in the Academy, Sister. It is a joyous occasion, but I shall be lonely.”

While I was teaching Nasius his studies in the morning, he dropped this bombshell. It’s currently December. In other words, I only have one month left.

“The Royal Academy is in Romano, so surely I can commute? Therefore, you won’t be lonely.”

Nasius looked at me with wide eyes. His round, grey eyes are so cute.

“But you can’t rent a horse every day, so you said before that you would move into the dormitory.”

Wait, what? I “Googled” Patience’s memories. The Royal Academy is near the Royal Palace—moreover, it’s on the complete opposite side of the city from the Granger estate. Of course, one could commute by carriage, but… on the day we went to the church, even though the carriage was our own, the horse was a half-day rental. Poverty is truly tragic.

“That’s right. But I shall return on holidays.”

It’s not a distance that’s impossible to walk. For the sake of seeing my brothers, I’ll walk. Or perhaps a hackney carriage? I know they exist, but Patience has never ridden in one. They cost money, so walking it is.

“But you cannot go alone, Sister.”

Ah, right. A noble lady walking alone without a maid is a no-go.

“Nasius, I will manage somehow. Trust your sister.”

Where there’s a will, there’s a way! Or so they say, but the lack of funds is painful. Besides, once I’m gone, who will look after the boys’ studies? Oh, right—there’s Father.

Academic matters aside, I want to get this house in order before I leave! Or so I thought, but then Mary caught me.

“My Lady, what have you done to these curtains and rugs?”

Cleaning the nursery is Mary’s job. She noticed immediately that they looked brand new.

“It was Household Magic.”

When I answered, Mary dashed off, only to return with a mountain of clothing.

“These are the uniforms for the Royal Academy. Can you make them clean with your Household Magic?”

There were plenty of hand-me-down uniforms from female relatives in various sizes.

“Using it all at once will tire me out, so I’ll start with the ones in my current size.”

I tried chanting “Become clean!” at the smallest uniform. Uniforms take a beating since they’re worn every day. The cuffs and elbows get shiny from wear. But now, it looked brand new. Ah, I’m a little tired.

“My, with this, you won’t feel ashamed. I was thinking of cutting pieces from the larger uniforms to repair the frayed spots, or taking the large ones apart and resewing them entirely.”

A grey dress and jacket. It featured the Royal Academy emblem. It looked fairly standard. While I was thinking idly about that, more items were brought to me one after another.

Right around the time I was wondering, How many pairs of socks does one person need? I suddenly hit upon a business idea: repairing the silk socks worn by the nobility. Yes, I remember reading in Taisho-era novels about people doing piecework at home darning stockings.

“Listen, Mary. I’m quite dexterous with my hands. I want to put that to use.”

Somehow, I feel this “restoration” is different from ordinary Household Magic, so I’ve decided to insist it’s just needlework. I checked Beginning Household Magic, and there was nothing in there about restoration.

“But, My Lady…”

Mary was conflicted. She was torn between her enthusiasm to provide an outfit befitting a Viscount’s daughter for the dormitory and her hesitation over whether a noble lady should be doing manual piecework.

“I know that you sometimes do sewing work on the side.”

Yes, Patience knew Mary was doing piecework. Just how poor is the Granger family! Among her tasks was darning socks. Silk socks are expensive, after all; it’s a waste to throw them away just because of a small snag—even for an aristocrat. They’d wear new ones for parties, but it seems to be common sense to wear darned ones for daily use since they’re hidden by other clothes.

“But if they look brand new, people will be suspicious.”

Mary looked worried, suspecting my Household Magic might be a little “different.” It seems different from my mother Julianne’s, too. Is this a “cheat” ability?

“But they say the work of a master darner shows no seams at all.”

“That is true, but with mine, the stitches are slightly visible.”

Mary was finally giving in. Undergarments should really be new, though. Even if I can make hand-me-downs look new, I have my limits! Socks, however, are just barely okay.

“We’ll just say your skills have improved, Mary. That way, my preparations will be sufficient. We might even be able to afford a new coat.”

I successfully tempted Mary and secured some stocking-darning piecework.

However, piecework really doesn’t pay much. It’s the same even in another world.

One pair is 5 cents. Ten pairs make 50 cents. In other words, you have to darn twenty pairs just to make 1 bronze. It’s hard work even to earn a single silver coin. To earn a gold coin, you’d have to darn 200 pairs.

“Ugh, I feel dizzy.”

I struggled through the lightheadedness, and thanks to the darning, I managed to get new undergarments and a coat.

Household Magic is convenient, but you really have to be careful not to overdo it.