Mio had mentioned having served the duke “all her life.” I now realized how true that statement was—she’d been a servant of House Granado for as long as she could remember.
Mio chuckled. “I’ve led a very pleasant life. I even used to rock our lord to sleep when he was a baby, you see.”
Huh? How old is Mio?! Is she older than Lord Kyros?!
“At any rate, many of the servants are of unknown backgrounds, with plenty of them having had a rough upbringing. However, they’re all loyal to our lord. I can promise you they would never harm you.”
“H-huh? Um… All right. I believe you.”
“Hanna and Ilsa are from an ancient and honorable knight family. Unlike me, they’re dignified and noble, so I’m sure they’ll be perfect as your waiting maids.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant at first, but as I watched Mio set the table with tea and sweets, I finally got it.
Most people in the Dilts Kingdom hate foreigners. The Dilts Kingdom had done exceedingly well for itself, both on the battlefield and through commercial exchanges, so a great majority of its inhabitants were convinced they were the best people in the world—particularly the nobles. My family was the same. While he could have hired foreigners for cheap, my father was adamantly against it. He always said he’d rather cook and clean himself than allow a foreigner into his house. Needless to say, he never did any of that himself. I did.
I’d practically lived as a slave my entire life. How could I ever look down on others? If anything, I longed to speak with foreigners. Getting the chance to hear about the culture and customs of foreign lands in person was so rare! I wanted to know more about the heroes whose names I’d only read once or twice in books. I wanted to know what the traditional songs I’d read the lyrics of sounded like. I wanted someone to tell me what the singing voice of the gigantic bird with rainbow-colored feathers I’d read about was like. Just the thought that people who might have the answers to some of the countless questions that swirled in my mind lived under the same roof as me filled me with excitement. This was the life I’d always dreamed of living!
However, the two companions I’d been assigned were Hanna and Ilsa, the daughters of a knight family. The title of knight was technically lower than that of baron, but unlike me, the daughter of a ruined family, these two behaved like true ladies. I’d never socialized with nobles, so I had no idea how to approach them. I didn’t know how to act like a lady.
Still, I had no doubt Lord Kyros had put a lot of thought into choosing them. I didn’t want to disregard his kindness. Besides, I had to get used to being a countess.
“Thank you for being so considerate,” I replied with a smile. “I will do my best to learn so that my inexperience doesn’t reflect badly on any of you.”
Mio looked at me with an awkward smile.
After the snack, a hairdresser came to see me. It was an older woman. She didn’t work exclusively for Lord Kyros, but rather she had a shop in the capital and was apparently well-known for her skills. She stared at my hair for a few moments before taking out her scissors and starting to cut strands off at peculiar angles. Tunica had come with her, and the two exchanged opinions as she worked.
After that, Tunica brought me to the bathhouse. She put product on my hair, left it for a while, washed it, then let the older woman cut more hair. Tunica then dried my hair and put scented oils on it before arranging it into an updo. Mio watched her weave the strands while fervently taking notes.
Next was lunch, which was even more extravagant than breakfast had been. There was so much food that we could have catered an entire village festival. I was so focused on trying to eat as much of it as possible to avoid waste that I couldn’t even remember what I’d eaten by the end of it.
After stuffing myself to my limits, I took a break before going to the courtyard. I was surprised to discover that one of the flowerbeds had turned into a vacant plot overnight. Apparently, a statue in my image would be erected there.
I returned to my room, still utterly confused by what I’d been told in the garden—a statue?!—but I was soon called to the salon. There, I met a painter. I was dressed in an extravagant gown complete with a set of luxurious jewelry and lathered in heavy makeup before being asked to sit on a sumptuous chair. From there on, I sat still for four hours while the artist sketched.
I asked about it later and was told that having your picture painted was a very common thing. Apparently, the man who was in charge of doing mine was an up-and-coming painter who was very popular in the capital. My surprise must have shown on my face, because I was told, “I can’t believe you don’t know who he is!”
After that, I took another bath while Tunica gave me a massage. I was then immediately shown to the dining room, where another lavish meal awaited me.
The head chef was present with a humongous block of cheese in hand. He offered to cut some off for me on the spot, but I still hadn’t digested my lunch and was struggling to eat. In the end, there were tons of leftovers.
When I returned to my room, Mio brewed some tea for me. After the second cup, I started nodding off.
“Are you tired, my lady? I’ll bring you some warm water.”
After I rinsed my mouth with it, I lay down in bed. Mio immediately put the blanket over me.
“You don’t need to go that far,” I said with an awkward smile. “I’m not a child.”
“This much is common in noble houses,” Mio replied. “Do not forget you are to become a countess, my lady.”
I couldn’t argue when she put it that way.
“Tomorrow, the band in charge of composing the song for your engagement ceremony will visit us. Please have a good rest tonight,” she said, giving the blanket one final adjustment.
“Good night, Mio…”
I was incredibly sleepy, and my bed was so warm and soft that it felt like it had come out of a dream, yet, somehow, I struggled to fall asleep. Was it because I was too tired?
For the next four days, I didn’t see Lord Kyros even once. He was busy with his duties as a count and his work as a company owner, and it was apparently a common occurrence for him to be unable to return to the castle for several days at a time.
“Lady Marie, which dress would you like to wear today?” Mio asked, but I wasn’t sure how to answer. She knit her brow. “Do you not like any of them?”
“N-no, I think they’re all beautiful—so beautiful I don’t know which one I should choose.”
Mio gave it some thought before picking out a magnificent lemon-yellow dress. “This one,” she said.
After she dressed me, breakfast was brought to my room. This morning, I was served several types of freshly baked bread, ham steak, omelet, and a nuts salad. The bread of the Granado Castle was completely different from the stuff I baked at home. The flavor of the wheat was rich, and it was so soft that I was sure I could use it as a pillow. The butter that was served alongside it was also amazing! Neither too salty nor too rich, it was so delicious, it must have been made with magic.
There were also lots of ingredients I had never seen before. The vegetables I couldn’t identify in the salad were very refreshing. They tasted as though they’d just been harvested, but I was pretty sure there were barely any fields in the capital. Where had they even come from?
I asked Mio about it, and she pointed at the window. “They were harvested this morning,” she said. “Right there in the courtyard.”
“T-truly?! I never noticed there was a vegetable garden!”
“The vegetables have been planted in such a way that they can’t be seen by visitors. Our gardener, Johan, always works hard to meet the expectations of our head chef.”
“That’s amazing! I’d love to see the vegetable garden, Mio! Could you show me to it later?”
Mio shook her head. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. I will not be by your side anymore for the time being.”
“Huh?! Why?!”
“Our lord is returning, and I must welcome him. But feel free to go wherever you like with Hanna and Ilsa today.”
“O-okay…”
I nodded, but deep down, I felt incredibly worried. It was a little ridiculous, but I couldn’t help it. I understood, though. The grand chamberlain served the lord, not me. That was only natural. A noble lady couldn’t throw tantrums because she felt shy or preferred one servant over others.