By the time he sorted out the situation and opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by a breathless shout.
“I-I am so terribly sorry!” A girl rushed up the walkway to the house, her hair flying wildly behind her. “I tried to come as early as possible, but the carriage wheel suddenly fell off in the nearby forest! My name is Mona, and I will be working here starting today. I look forward to serving you!”
Mona—the girl who had just approached the mansion—bowed her head so hard that her two big braids smacked her face.
Tala and Safina curiously looked from Rose to Mona. If they were to believe what the girl who had just arrived said, then she was the maid who was supposed to start working this morning. In which case, that begged the question: Who was the girl diligently scrubbing the foyer all morning?
Of course, Safina was first to arrive at the answer, having visited the Witch’s hermitage many times. He looked up at her with a start before dropping into a respectful bow.
Witnessing the head butler bowing to a maid widened Tala’s eyes, as she had yet to grasp the situation. Two people were scheduled to arrive at the mansion that day—the new maid and the new lady of the house.
It didn’t take a genius to realize who was who with Safina bowing to Rose.
“O-Oh, my lady! Forgive me! How could I make you do such horrible things…?!” Trembling with shame, Tala bowed deeply.
Rose placed her hand on Tala’s shoulder, causing the older woman to timorously raise her head. “Ms. Tala, would you like me to bring you a compress later?”
“…Pardon me?” Baffled, Tala gaped at Rose.
“…I understand what happened now. Tala, Safina, this is Rose, the Good Witch of the Lake, who will be staying in our home starting today. Take good care of her. Do your best, too, Mona.” Harij looked sympathetically at his servants before approaching Rose.
Dressed in fancier clothes than usual, Harij almost looked like an unknown gentleman to her. He was the coolest man in the kingdom, to say the least. He blinded her with his brilliance.
Too embarrassed to stare into the light that was her beloved, Rose sniffed the air instead.
“…What are you doing?”
“You smell of sweat.”
“And whose fault do you think that is…?” Harij placed his hand on his face for the second time. Then he grabbed her hand and rested it on his arm to escort her. “Your room’s ready. Let’s go.”
Tala frantically called after Rose as she was being led away. “M-Milady! The brush! You are still carrying the scrubbing brush!”
✦ ✦ ✦
∴ ∵ ∴
“THINK of this as your own room back home and relax.”
The room Harij showed Rose to was criminally large. Two, even three hermitages could fit inside it. Several doors leading only God knew where were scattered about. Noticing her giving the doors an evil look, Harij explained their purpose.
“That one over there is locked, but the rest are to rooms that you may use freely. If you need to work with fire at all, do it in the kitchen, please. Let someone know first, too.”
“Okay.” Rose easily agreed to this, since she planned to make all her potions at the hermitage.
The beautifully patterned rug in the room had a deep and luxurious pile that sucked feet right into it, reducing foot fatigue no matter how long a person might be standing for.
Each piece of fine mahogany furniture was polished to a lustrous shine, and the walls were upholstered with green fabric.
It was altogether extravagant and elegant, yet soothing, as though she were still in the forest. The room, unified by greens and browns, showed the care with which Harij had rushed to prepare the space to welcome Rose.
“So? Care to explain why the guest of honor would be cleaning for her own arrival?” Harij asked, a critical edge to his tone, but that petered out when he noticed Rose’s shimmering forest-green eyes taking in the room. He exhaled a loud sigh of defeat. “Tala is getting on in age. Don’t tease her too much. You might surprise the life right out of her.”
Harij flumped down on the ottoman prepared as a part of Rose’s room. Seeing him like this drove home the fact that he truly was a nobleman. He looked made for the space.
Staring at her dashing crush sitting in the middle of the dazzling room, Rose muttered, “…It made me nostalgic.”
“What did?”
“She had a way about her that reminded me of my grandmother. Her graying hair did, too.”
Harij raked his hand through his own hair, messing up the gorgeous locks. “…She can be a little harsh at times.”
“She didn’t scare me one bit,” Rose said with her hand on her heart. Her voice came out softer than usual.
Rose’s grandmother had been a strict woman. She never joked or teased, and she always sounded as if she were angry. Both Tala and her grandmother spoke in harsh tones, but they never insulted her.
Since arriving, Rose had followed Tala around like a baby duckling no matter what she said to her because it reminded her of the time she’d spent with her grandmother. Even if it was only a brief moment of make-believe, she wanted to immerse herself fully in that nostalgia.
“Thanks to her, I was able to set my mind at ease that this is a very nice mansion.”
“I see,” Harij said, taking what she said to heart.
Rose was a witch. A witch who used the lie of magic could not use lies other than magic.
Understanding that about her, Harij had to accept her words as the whole truth.
He suddenly stood up, approached Rose, and extended his hand to her. He caressed her cheeks and ran his fingers over her temple. She squirmed under the ticklish feeling of his thumb gently tracing her hairline.
“You can trust everyone in this house. The same goes for the new girl—Mona. Safina chose her, and I trust his judgment.”
“All right.”
“He hired Mona to be your personal maid, but—”
“I will take on apprentices, but I have no need for maids, thank you.”
“I’ll let them know.”
No noblewoman would’ve been allowed to utter such a remark—however, Harij didn’t decline Rose’s request.
In her chest, joy blossomed as his words convinced her that it was okay for her to stay as a true witch in a mansion meant for nobles.
Harij stopped savoring the feel of her cheeks and patted her on the head instead. “Let me officially welcome you.”
“Thank you for letting me stay.”
She faced him and they exchanged formal bows. A refreshing wind blew through the windows and swayed the curtains.