Chapter 9

Upon climbing the stairs to the second floor, I found a beautiful maid standing by the wall. She looked to be about my age.

She was a sharp-looking beauty with straight chestnut hair tied back, though her expression was entirely blank. She was a little intimidating.

“I’ve arranged for that maid over there to look after you, Lady Agnes,” Lord Nazelbert said.

The maid gave a respectful bow, and I hurriedly bowed back in a panic.

“Well then, goodnight, Lady Agnes.”

“G-Goodnight, Lord Nazelbert.”

When I offered my awkward greeting, Lord Nazelbert gave a satisfied smile and headed back down the stairs.

…Phew, my heart was racing. Everything Lord Nazelbert does is just so charming.

I turned back to the maid to introduce myself.

“I am Agnes Eventail. I’ll be in your care for a while.”

“I am the head maid in charge of the Florescrus Duke’s annex. Please, call me Kelly.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Kelly.”

“Lady Agnes, please address me without any honorifics. It must have been cold outside, hasn’t it? I’ve prepared hot water in your bathtub, so please, go ahead and use it.”

“Thank you so much for everything.”

She actually seemed quite well-disposed toward a “Potato Lady” like me.

With her symmetrical features and lack of expression, she came across as blunt, but she didn’t show even a hint of disdain. It might have been on Lord Nazelbert’s orders, but she even went so far as to prepare a warm bath for me…!

“You’re so kind, I’m actually moved.”

Up until now, I had no memory of ever being treated kindly by a woman my age.

The maids loyal to the Marquis of Eventail looked down on me as a “useless daughter” because I complained about every single rigid rule. Outside the mansion, everyone else despised me, calling me the “ugly Potato Lady.”

I knew it was because I couldn’t rebel against the family code and went out dressed in such outdated clothes, but obtaining modern, sensible attire was difficult for me since I couldn’t defy my parents.

“This is your room. Please, come in, Lady Agnes.”

“Y-Yes.”

When Kelly opened the door, a refined, well-maintained room was revealed.

The furniture wasn’t flashy or cute, but it was beautiful enough that one could tell at a glance it was high-quality. A sofa and table were draped with calm, light purple fabrics.

Similarly, the bedspread—a combination of light purple and white—was embroidered with a delicate pattern of tiny flowers. A vase on the side was filled to bursting with pale pink blossoms.

“Wow, what a lovely room,” I breathed.

It was worlds apart from my own room at the Marquis of Eventail’s estate, which was dominated by massive, gloomily colored furniture.

In my room back home, generations of ancestral wedding chests had been gathered together.

In this country, there was once a custom where a bride would bring a full set of furniture with her when she married. Wedding chests were part of that tradition, and the Eventail family still practiced those old customs to this day.

As my parents insisted, the items themselves were wonderful. They were high-quality, luxury chests made with meticulous care.

However—and this was a big however!

Because it was considered a waste to throw them away, the total number of chests brought into the house over generations was nearing thirty.

This happened because every time a new bride joined the family, she arrived with a set of about three chests.

Some brides, like my grandmother, had even brought five or six chests with them.

Those sturdy chests never broke and simply continued to grow in number; ten of them had been placed in my room, completely surrounding my bed. If an earthquake ever hit, I’d be finished in an instant.

But look at this! Look at this clean, refreshing room in the Duke of Florescrus’s annex!

There was no stifling sense of claustrophobia here, and through the large windows, it looked like I’d have a wonderful view of the scenery outside.

“This is the bathroom,” Kelly said.

The bathroom she led me to smelled wonderful. It was a sweet, gentle scent, like a blend of lavender and apples.

This room, too, had a calm design.

Frothy bubbles were spilling over the edge of a golden clawfoot bathtub.

Tucking up her sleeves, Kelly efficiently helped me undress and urged me into the tub. She began to wash my body in silence. Unlike the maids at my parents’ house, who scrubbed me roughly until my skin was raw, her touch was the definition of “meticulous.”

Once she finished rinsing off the soap with warm water, she dried me off and helped me into a fluffy bathrobe.

“Oh, it’s so soft and light!”

Hearing my reaction, Kelly looked puzzled. “Eh? It’s just a normal bathrobe.”

No, it wasn’t. The bathrobes at my house were rock-hard and incredibly heavy.

After leaving the bathroom, I sat down in a soft chair, and Kelly immediately prepared some cocoa for me.

“Thank you very much.”

To tell the truth, I rarely had the chance to drink cocoa unless I was out. Sweets were forbidden in my household.

Thanks to the bath and the cocoa, my body was now completely warm. I had been driven into a situation where I couldn’t exactly be optimistic, but right now, I felt happy.

I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed. As I sat on the soft, canopy bed, a faint smile played on Kelly’s lips. Her expressions weren’t very pronounced, but I could tell she was smiling for me.

“Lady Agnes, please have a peaceful rest.”

“Yes, goodnight.”

The lights were dimmed and Kelly left the room, so I shuffled over to lie down in the middle of the bed.

“…Isn’t this bed a little too big?”

It was so wide that three people could easily sleep in it. Even if this was just the annex, the Duke’s house was truly on another level.

Wrapped in the comfortable bedding, I soon drifted off into a world of peaceful dreams.