Chapter 11

After that, I repaired my younger brothers’ clothes, and Father’s too, of course. I also did the curtains in the rooms we use. When curtains are worn paper-thin, it gets so cold.

And speaking of thin, I also repaired the flimsy quilts. They puffed up just a tiny bit. Tsk, they were thin to begin with. Googling Patience’s knowledge, it seems you’re supposed to put luxurious bedspreads over them. I don’t see any of those around here.

“If I can’t find them, I’ll just make them.”

I caught my accomplice, Mary, and—after coaxing her past her protests that “this is no place for a young lady”—I had her take me up to the attic.

“The dust is incredible,” I remarked. It was just a statement of fact, but Mary looked so apologetic. I’m the one who should be sorry! Our house must be the only one where the Master makes the servants do side-jobs. Probably.

“Become clean!” Oh, my, how magical. The attic, which had been smothered in dirt and dust, started to look like a Parisian atelier. That’s an exaggeration, but at least now I can focus on searching. Even if I get covered in dust, I can get clean in an instant with Household Magic, but the sneezing just wouldn’t stop, you see.

“These are quite lovely curtains.”

Old curtains from the days when the family was well-off, frayed rugs, and old clothes that had gone out of style. To me, it was a mountain of treasure.

“It’s a wonder these were kept.”

If they had sold them, they would have at least made a little money… I don’t know if Father simply forgot about them or if he thought such old things wouldn’t be worth selling. He really has zero survival skills.

There’s no use grumbling about it. First, I’ll repair the curtains.

“Look, we can make bedspreads out of these.”

Together with Mary, I sewed bedspreads for myself, my brothers, and Father. Even sewing is fast with Household Magic. This really is convenient.

“Mary, do you think it would be better for me to become a court lady?” I asked her while sewing the bedspreads.

Patience’s memory said she “wanted to be a court lady,” but personally, the world of women’s politics sounds terrifying, and I feel like avoiding it.

“Becoming a court lady is difficult. First, your grades at the Academy must be excellent, and your family lineage is also questioned. Of course, the lineage of the House of Viscount Granger is perfectly fine.”

Mary declared with full confidence that our lineage was fine, but looking at this extreme poverty, there are plenty of problems. I’d also like to know why Father got fired.

As I listened to Mary talk while we sewed, I realized that “court ladies” and “maids” are different. A court lady seems to be an attendant, secretary, and advisor to the Queen or Princess. However, some of their work overlaps. There are court ladies who manage wardrobes, help choose accessories, or style hair. Mary said she wasn’t an expert on court ladies, though she knows a hundred times more than I do.

Before I go to the Academy, there is something I must do for my brothers. That is improving their diet. I’ve finished the room repairs for the ones we use. I’ll do the rest bit by bit during the summer holidays.

“Eva… she’s very thin, isn’t she?”

Usually, you imagine cooks as being plump, but Eva is skin and bones. Besides, she’s hardly ever in the kitchen. I mean, the food isn’t exactly elaborate, but I wonder where she is?

In times like these, it’s best to ask my co-conspirator, Mary. Wyatt the butler keeps his guard up, and George the manservant is always so busy. Just when I think he’s lit the fire, he puts it out, then lights it again. Not only that, he’s washing the chamber pots Mary collects and cleaning the garden. He doesn’t have a spare second to talk.

Mary is just as busy, but she always comes to help me change before dinner. I can catch her while she’s styling my hair.

“Say, Mary, where is Eva usually?”

Mary gasped and dropped the brush.

“I believe Eva is in the kitchen. She has to prepare dinner, after all.”

She’s shaken! That means Eva is up to something. Mary was doing side-jobs, but that was in the maids’ room. Eva is away from the kitchen a lot. So, she must be going out somewhere.

“Is she working somewhere else?” I asked, feigning innocence to bait her.

“No, surely not…” She was completely flustered. I decided to push a little further.

“Is it possible that the ham on our table is something Eva earns by working?”

Ham is supposed to be a luxury item. We ate it normally in the modern era, but I’ve read in books that there were times when commoners could never afford it.

“Please keep this a secret from the Viscount.”

When I heard that Eva works in the market from early morning and receives ham in lieu of wages, I felt so guilty I felt dizzy. That’s why breakfast is always pre-made soup and hard bread. When I think of Eva coming home before noon and slicing that precious ham into the thinnest, thinnest slices, it makes me want to cry.

I have to do something.

I am living thanks to the servants. But that’s all wrong.

“I want to make money. But side-jobs alone won’t be enough… and once I’m at the Academy, I can only do them on Saturdays and Sundays. Plus, it costs money just to come home.”

I had planned to have Mary pick me up from the Academy on Saturday morning and walk home. Making Mary walk the round trip would be exhausting, so I’d need to let her take a hackney carriage at least for the way there. Would I not take one back? A noble daughter doesn’t ride in hackney carriages. However, “taking a stroll” accompanied by a maid is acceptable. And apparently, it’s fine even if it’s a long one. When Mary told me it was trendy for ladies who need to lose weight to walk in the park, I felt a flash of murderous intent. They must be eating sweet cakes and the like!

I’d walk to the Academy on Sunday afternoon and send Mary back to the manor in a hackney carriage. In short, I need money for the round-trip carriage fare. My plan was to cover that with the darning work. But I can’t leave Eva like this, and the food needs to be improved.