I should take this chance to get to know Hanna and Ilsa better so we can get along. Perhaps I could ask them what their favorite foods are and cook for them? I wasn’t as good as a real chef, of course, but I’d been cooking for so long that I’d gotten the hang of the basics. We’d surely have a pleasant time if we cooked together too! We could even use the freshly harvested vegetables!
After lunch, Mio left. Hanna and Ilsa came to me in her stead, and the three of us went to the courtyard.
It is incredible! I’d seen the flowers of the garden in bloom several times already, but they still impressed me all the same. Water gushed out of the pristine white fountain and sparkled under the sunlight. There were butterflies flitting about and small birds twittering all around us. I felt as though I’d wandered into fairy-tale world.
Whenever I went to the bathhouse, I glanced at this beauty and felt more serene.
Today too, everything is perfect. How beautiful…
Despite my admiration, I couldn’t stop the next thought that came to me: Flower seeds and seedlings are so expensive, though…
I too used to do my best with the gardening at my parents’ home, but there was only barely enough money to have flowers in the front yard. I could never have grown roses that wrapped around beautiful arches. In fact, I didn’t think I could have done that even if I had had the funds. Such artistry required skills and time.
I was fondly admiring the flowers when I noticed someone moving out of the corner of my eye. It was an older man, not all that tall, but he was well-built and had an impressive mustache. It was Johan, the gardener of Granado Castle.
“Madam… Um, good day…to you,” he greeted me awkwardly.
It had been the same the first time I’d met him with Mio. He didn’t seem to like me very much. He wasn’t rude, but he almost immediately turned his back to me.
When I saw what he had in hand, however, I couldn’t resist calling out to him, “Wait! That’s a tomato plant, right? Were you in the middle of transplanting?”
Johan paused, and he looked a little surprised. He looked at the tomato plant, looked at my face, then at the tomato plant again. “No, I was just…training branches. I cut off the excess branches so that the main plant will grow stronger and bear tastier tomatoes…”
“Oh, I see! Doing that really is better for the plants, isn’t it? I was always looking to increase the number of tomatoes rather than their quality, so I’d never dared to do so, but perhaps I should have…”
“Madam… You’ve tended to tomatoes before?” Beyond his white mustache, I could see that Johan’s mouth was agape.
I could feel my cheeks flush as I nodded. “Yes, and to many other vegetables, in fact. It takes time, but growing them is so much cheaper than buying them. You can even sell the excess.”
“You’re our lord’s fiancée, so you must be a noble lady, right?”
“I-I am. But my house is poor, so… Besides, don’t you think freshly harvested vegetables are much tastier than the ones you can buy?” I asked, frantically trying to explain myself. “I’m self-taught, though, so I never managed to grow pretty ones. I especially struggled to get enough decent tomatoes to sell them.”
“Tomatoes are tricky,” Johan replied with a nod. “They’re an easy target for insects, and they’re rather susceptible to illnesses. They may seem like an easy vegetable to grow, but they require a lot of know-how.”
I nodded along enthusiastically. “They do! I don’t know how many I found ruined because of mold! Say, what should I do to prevent that?”
“You can have that issue with pretty much every type of vegetable if you’re not careful. It happens when you water them too much. Tomatoes in particular need less water than others—it makes them sweeter too!” he explained, clearly enjoying the chance to share his knowledge.
“What if there’s too much rain?”
“Then you just scatter lime over the plants. You also need to shelter them from the rain with covers. Oh, and it’s important to make sure there’s enough space in between each plant so air circulates.”
“You need to leave space? How much?”
Johan looked up at the sky and hummed. He seemed to be thinking about it. After a few moments, he beckoned me closer. “Come, I’ll show you. I don’t just grow tomatoes here; I grow every single vegetable the chef puts in his salad.”
“Really?!”
Yay! He offered to show me before I even had to ask!
I was about to step off the stone paving and onto the soil when…
“Nooo!”
“Gross!”
Hanna and Ilsa screamed.
They hid their mouths with their folding fans and brought their faces close together before they started whispering things to one another so loudly I could hear every word clearly.
“I can’t believe this! She was about to step on the soil, wasn’t she? Doesn’t she know gardens are made to be admired from a distance? You don’t just walk through them.”
“Can’t she see her shoes will get dirty? Seriously… Besides, there are bugs over there, and…that gardener!”
“Maybe that’s what she’s fond of? Her preferences may be peculiar, but we’re just waiting maids. It is not our place to comment on our lady’s tastes.”
“You mean she likes the bugs? Or the gardener?”
“Ha ha ha ha! Why, I meant the bugs, silly!”
“Hee hee hee! The bugs, of course! It couldn’t be that old man…or could it?”
Their shrill voices and cackling carried so far, I had no doubt Johan had heard it all as well. Why are they being so rude?! I wanted to scream at them to shut them up. I didn’t care if they mocked me, but Johan hadn’t done anything wrong. However, my voice was stuck in my throat. I couldn’t even get my body to move.
Johan frowned and turned his back to us, walking away from their mockery.
As for me, I was still stuck in place. I’m sorry…
I wanted to go after Johan and apologize. I wanted him to forgive me. I wanted to get along with him. I wanted to walk around the garden—over the soil—and cultivate vegetables with him while we chatted together.
But on my feet were the beautiful shoes that the count had bought for me—the ones that looked like glass slippers. Even I understood I wasn’t supposed to dirty them. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn’t bring myself to take another step.
I got another bath, with Tunica washing my hair and body, then changed into another dress and returned to my room. Next, I went to have dinner and then it was right back to my room. My waiting maids brought me tea and sweets, and I sat down, waiting for the time to pass. When the time finally came, I changed into a nightgown, rinsed my mouth and my face, and crawled into bed.
“I’ll put out the light now. Good night, my lady.”
“All right. Good night,” I replied, but Hanna and Ilsa had left the room before I could even finish speaking.
I sighed. I’m tired.
I didn’t even know why I was so tired. I hadn’t done anything. I used to draw water, chop wood, do the housework, keep the books, and more. Now, I didn’t even wash my own hair.
After the first day, my hair and skin had kept improving further. My hair was now soft and fluffy, while my skin was clear and smooth even without makeup. I wasn’t wearing any perfume, but I still smelled sweet. My hands were clean to the tip of my nails, and there was no dirt stuck under them.
This was like a dream.
No, I couldn’t even have dreamed about a life like this.
Lord Kyros was doing so much for me. And I knew I shouldn’t think that—I really, really, really knew I shouldn’t—but I was ill at ease. There was a dull ache in my stomach that just wouldn’t go away. Every day, I felt as though it was growing larger, and I was starting to fear that, one day, it would tear a hole inside of me and engulf me entirely.
“I can’t sleep…” A long sigh escaped my lips.
I’m thirsty. I got out of bed and put a shawl around my shoulders before leaving my room quietly. My waiting maids were likely in bed already. The corridor was dark, with small gas lamps dimly illuminating the corners.
I’d walked around the mansion many times already, and I remembered its structure. I made my way toward the first floor. I’d get some water, stop thinking about negative things, and go back to bed. I had to fall asleep quickly. Tomorrow, my waiting maids would come to wake me up in the morning, and they’d surely think that I hadn’t been raised properly if I couldn’t wake up on time.
Relying on the faint light, I finally reached the dining room on the ground floor.
What if it’s locked?! I worried, as I walked up to the door. Thankfully, my worries were unfounded. The door was cracked open, and there was light inside.
A man suddenly spoke up. “Marie?”
It was Lord Kyros.