Apparently, she meant it.
I still wasn’t sure what her point was, but that wasn’t anything new. I never understood women. The same went for Marie: I didn’t get her, and the worst part was that I didn’t even understand what it was I didn’t understand.
But what to do, then? I didn’t mind remaining clueless, but I still had to find a way to make her feel better.
Leaving my ulterior motives aside, I wanted Marie to stop worrying. Now that she was a resident of this castle, I wanted her to feel comfortable here.
Mio watched me in silence as I dwelled on the matter. I’d fallen in love with Marie, but she and I hadn’t spent much time together yet. Mio had been by her side longer, and she seemed to understand her better.
I’d hired Hanna and Ilsa purely for Marie’s sake. Marie seemed to have led a difficult life so far, so I wanted her to be able to enjoy the life of a proper noble lady, and I’d figured bringing in two noble ladies as her waiting maids would be a good way to facilitate that.
Besides these two, I’d only chosen people I personally liked to work in the castle. I thought acting like a prim and proper noble was tiring, and my servants were…friendly, to put it nicely. If you wanted to put it more bluntly, you could say they were overly familiar and had no respect for social norms and status.
“Mio, I’ll be away for work starting tomorrow,” I said. “I’ll be as quick as I can, but it’ll still take several days.”
“I understand,” she said. “I know you’re trying your hardest to secure a long break for your engagement ceremony and to enjoy some uninterrupted time with Lady Marie.”
“Yes.” I nodded. “While I’m away, I want you to observe Marie.”
“I will.”
“Oh, and she’s your master while I’m not here. Whatever she asks of you takes priority over my orders.”
“I know. What if she’s not very clear with her wishes, though?”
“I’ll trust your judgment. Try to make her as comfortable as possible—truly comfortable. And pass that directive on to the others.”
“May I review the performance of the rest of the staff myself?”
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“All right. Thank you, my lord.”
I wasn’t sure why, but by the way she thanked me, I could tell she’d really been hoping to get that approval.
“Now that that’s been settled, let’s talk about Marie,” I said, changing the topic.
“Sorry?”
“Today is a day worth commemorating! Marie and I had our first real chat! Don’t you think we should talk about that? What better person to share my excitement with than you, a fellow member of the Marie Appreciation Society?”
“This is the first time I’m hearing of this club of yours,” Mio said, not sounding particularly impressed.
“First, let me tell you about how cute she is. Obviously, every part of her is cute, so that goes without saying, but—”
“Are you sure this talk can’t wait until tomorrow?”
“I’m too excited to sleep.”
“Isn’t that what that body pillow is for?”
“I don’t know what you’re imagining, but no. I got it to sleep better, that’s all.”
“That’s exactly what I meant. What did you imagine?”
I was struck speechless for a moment, but I managed to get a hold of myself. “Stop making fun of me and listen. I promise it won’t take long. So, first, you have to take into consideration that her very existence is adorable.”
“Okay…”
“And, you know, objectively, she’s beautiful.”
“She is. She’s not exactly the type of sweet, cute girl men usually fawn over, but she has nice features. Tunica was also saying she takes well to makeup. She had a lot of fun, trust me.”
“Oh, speaking of makeup, she didn’t have any on earlier, did she?”
“She didn’t. Her hair was down, and she had no dress or accessories either.”
“And yet she sparkled. Her skin is so clear… I thought I was looking at a fairy.”
“She’d make for a very tall fairy.”
“That’s the thing, Mio! At first, I thought she’d be cuter if she was smaller, but I realized I was completely and utterly mistaken.”
“She does have a nice figure. When she wore frumpy clothes, she looked a little bulky, but corsets tighten so easily on her. I’m still in the process of correcting her posture, though.”
“I thought I was looking at a goddess.”
“Oh, that’s a new one.”
“She looked so dignified and cool when she was all dressed up, but…with just her nightgown on, she looked…nice… That was…so nice.”
“And now your vocabulary is degrading. Are you all right, my lord?”
“I could see the lines of her body… And…unexpectedly…she does have…you know…”
“Seriously, are you okay?”
“Of course, her personality is adorable too. She’s smart, but she’s also naive and unfamiliar with the ways of the world. That unbalance makes her so endearing, and it makes me want to protect her. She’s reserved, but she’s brimming with curiosity…and she’s also a good listener! Talking to her is so fun, and I love the way her eyes sparkle when she’s interested in a topic. The way she talks isn’t sophisticated or fake like most nobles, and that only makes it better, right?”
“You sure do have a lot of observations tonight, my lord.”
“And her smile and laughter are as destructive as a ballista.”
“Wow. Quite impressive.”
“How can anyone have these looks and that personality? That has to be a miracle. The synergy amplifies her charm a hundredfold!”
“You’re one to talk.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, never mind. Are you about done? It is very late, and neither of us will be able to wake up if this keeps up much longer.”
“I only have plans in the evening. I can sleep until midday.”
“Well, I can’t. I have work to do in the morning, so I’ll excuse myself now.”
“I wanted to talk a bit more. This is fun.”
“I’m sure your body pillow would love to listen.”
I sighed. “I’ll never be able to sleep…”