Chapter 22

My second day in the frontier of Sutrena…

Despite my heart racing at the thought of sharing a room with Lord Nazel, the morning arrived without any particular incident.

“Huh…?”

I had taken a bath and changed, and after Lord Nazel told me, “You must be tired today, so please get some rest,” I lay down in the oversized bed and immediately lost consciousness, falling into a deep sleep.

“Lord Nazel… who was supposed to be sleeping next to me, is gone?”

He was already up; Lord Nazel was nowhere to be found, leaving only the traces of rumpled sheets behind.

“I didn’t… oversleep, did I?”

After having Kelly help me get dressed, I asked about Lord Nazel’s whereabouts. She informed me that he had already headed out.

It wasn’t that I had overslept, but it seemed Lord Nazel had woken up quite early.

Apparently, he was currently at the fortress working with Henry.

“Alright, I have to work hard too!”

A noble lady’s job was to manage the household, after all.

“First, I need to get a handle on the entire mansion. It seems there aren’t any servants besides Kelly, so I’ll have to hire some… Wait, isn’t it weird that there’s nobody here!?”

As I played the straight man to my own joke, Kelly, standing nearby with her usual expressionless face, filled me in.

“Actually, I heard that even though they put out a call for staff, no one applied. Apparently, being a servant at the lord’s mansion is an incredibly unpopular job. We might not get anyone unless we significantly raise the wages.”

“Why!? It wasn’t like that in the royal capital, was it?”

“I don’t know the specifics, but it might be related to the previous lord’s terrible reputation. It seems we aren’t particularly welcome here either.”

“Really? It’s the previous lord’s fault!?”

“Yes, likely. Given that Wyvern incident yesterday, it was probably a form of harassment toward us. I suspect they were trying to embarrass Lord Nazel. Many nobles can ride Pegasuses but can’t handle a Wyvern. However, that experience… the speed was enough to make one feel quite ill.”

Kelly spoke flatly about Tony’s actions.

Her tone was calm, but I could sense a considerable amount of lingering resentment behind her words.

“So that’s what it was…”

I had been happy just to ride a Wyvern, but I never imagined it was meant as harassment…

The level of malice I had faced as the “Potato Lady” in the past was so high that I hadn’t even noticed this!

“I wonder if Lord Nazel is alright at work.”

“I cannot say for certain.”

“It’s not like I can just go barging into his workplace. At the very least, I’ll make the house clean so he can relax when he gets home. Kelly, I’ll help with the cleaning as much as possible!”

We were given almost no funds when we came to the frontier.

To prepare for any emergencies, we had to cut back on unnecessary spending as much as possible for now.

“Lady Agnes, how admirable. I, too, shall work with all my might.”

For the time being, I decided to tour the vast grounds with Kelly to assess the situation. We started by doing a full walkthrough of the mansion, but the interior was in a terrible state.

“It’s… a parade of extravagance and waste.”

“Indeed. There is far too much oversized trash. Tacky ornaments, paintings with no discernible meaning, and furniture so over-designed that it’s unusable. To think there is even a fountain inside a room.”

“Just how much money was spent on all this? I’m not exactly an expert on the value of things, but…”

Even I could tell that an absurd amount of money had been poured into this mansion.

“Let’s check the garden as well.”

“Yes, Lady Agnes.”

The two of us headed down into the garden. The artificial stream flowed around the mansion before draining into a pond outside. Honestly, it seemed entirely pointless.

Even the beautiful rose hedges were now overgrown and covered in untended thorns, making them impossible to approach.

“Oh, is that a field?”

“It appears so. Or perhaps a ‘former’ field would be more accurate. Over there, we also have a rather sturdy-looking stable.”

“It’s awfully big. I wonder if they used to keep magical beasts in there?”

When we checked inside, it was completely empty. Kelly and I exchanged looks.

“First, let’s start with the interior of the mansion. For now, we’ll increase the number of usable rooms! We’ll sell what we can to increase our available funds! And then, we’ll hire servants and a gardener!”

Just watch me, Lord Nazel.

Even if this marriage was forced upon you, I will prove myself as your wife by managing this mansion splendidly!

Fired up, I immediately set to work cleaning the mansion with Kelly.

However, just as we located the cleaning supplies, Kelly let out a small mumble.

“By the way, Lady Agnes… have you ever actually cleaned before?”

“…No, but I’ll make it happen somehow.”

“I thought as much. Please do not push yourself too hard.”

I had never cleaned back at the House of Eventail, but I had seen the maids doing it.

I was just imitating what I’d seen, but I figured I could manage… probably.