As though he could read Pesha’s bewildered thoughts, the butler apologized and said,
“I’m sorry. Since the territory is rather small and underdeveloped, it’s not easy to find enough workers for the construction…….”
At that moment, Owen’s eyebrow twitched.
Although Pesha had not known Owen for very long, she thought she could tell which part of the butler’s words had made him react.
‘He’s blaming the territory for being small and underdeveloped in front of its lord. That’s practically the same as humiliating him.’
It was an unmistakably discourteous thing to say, but Owen did not take issue with it.
“Fine.”
Perhaps because he did not want to keep hearing embarrassing things in front of his new bride, he instead seemed eager to put the matter behind him as quickly as possible.
“Handle that part however you see fit.”
“Yes. I’ll urge them to hurry as much as possible. But, in the meantime, it may be somewhat difficult for the two of you to share a room as husband and wife. Would that be all right?”
“Wait…….”
Just as Pesha was about to intervene because she felt uneasy about simply letting the situation pass like this,
Owen spoke first.
“Yes. Until it is completed, there’s nothing we can do.”
Pesha’s eyes widened at his answer.
Seeing that, Owen asked with his usual blunt expression,
“Or does my wife wish to share a room with me in another room, at least?”
“Th-There’s no way!”
If she agreed to that, wouldn’t it make her look as though she was one-sidedly interested in that man?!
Even after hearing Pesha’s refusal, Owen showed no particular reaction and ordered the butler,
“Good. Proceed as it is.”
“Yes, my lord.”
After saying that, Owen simply strode into the mansion.
‘Are you kidding me?’
Pesha was dumbfounded as she watched his back disappear into the mansion.
‘It’s ridiculous enough that newlyweds can’t share a room just because of the mansion’s circumstances, but he wants to keep waiting for construction that’s already been going on for a whole year?’
Of course, it wasn’t as though she wanted to share a blanket with that frightening man.
But there were appearances to consider.
That man seemed embarrassed by hearing that his territory was small and underdeveloped, yet he did not seem to have considered that if the newlyweds slept in separate rooms, rumors would spread among the servants and, eventually, even through high society.
‘When on earth is that damned construction going to be finished?’
There were so many things she wanted to ask.
But if she asked, she felt like she would hear another question like the one just now: ‘Is this because you want to sleep with me?’
‘I don’t want to! I said I don’t! But this is a little too much, isn’t it?’
As Pesha stood there blankly, overwhelmed by the futility of it all, a maid approached her.
“My lady. Would it be all right if I showed you to your room now?”
“Ah, yes……. But what’s your name?”
“My name is Philia. Please feel free to call me that.”
The maid’s manner was more polite than Pesha had expected.
Still confused about how everything was supposed to work here, Pesha followed behind Philia.
Upon entering the castle, the first thing they saw was the great hall, whose architectural style was so old-fashioned that it looked as though it might have been built around a hundred years ago.
Well, that was understandable. Swapro was on the far eastern frontier, so she could not expect the same environment as the capital.
“Please come this way.”
But the farther they went through the great hall and into the mansion, the more question marks appeared in Pesha’s mind.
‘Is this really a count’s castle? No, do the servants even take care of this place……?’
And for good reason. The wooden parts of the mansion had rotted to the point where the structures looked as though they might collapse, while cold wind whistled through the gaps between the bricks in the stone walls, making her hunch her shoulders despite the weather not being particularly cold.
Looking at the state of the mansion, so unfamiliar that it was downright shocking, Pesha could not help but blame the Emperor.
‘No, they did say the castle was in bad shape in the original story too, but this is way too much!’
The maids from House Rydell following behind Pesha did not say anything, but she could tell they were quite taken aback as well.
Meanwhile, Philia, who had been walking at the very front to guide them, began giving a brief explanation about herself and the castle.
After quietly listening to her, Pesha asked,
“Um, Philia.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Were you assigned as my personal maid?”
Philia stared blankly at Pesha for a moment before shaking her head.
“No. I’m the head maid.”
“The head maid?”
This young girl was the head maid?
Noticing Pesha’s bewilderment, Philia smiled as though she were used to this reaction.
“Ah, you must be surprised. I’m the most experienced person in this mansion, so I was chosen as the head maid. I originally worked at a marquis’s household in the south for five years.”
“Five years?”
“Yes.”
Even Minnie, the least experienced among the maids standing behind Pesha, had already been a maid for four years.
So in this mansion, they had put someone with a total of only five years of experience in charge as the head maid?
“……I see.”
It seemed utterly hopeless, figuring out how she was supposed to manage things here.
As they continued walking, they eventually arrived at the countess’s room.
The bedroom was not very far from there.
After showing Pesha the room she would mainly use, Philia also opened the bedroom door for her.
‘This one’s at least better…….’
Perhaps because it had been cleaned in advance, it was old but neat.
Just as Pesha’s expression was beginning to brighten a little, Philia spoke.
“There are currently no spare staff available for a personal maid, so we’ll hire someone and assign them to you afterward.”
“Ah, okay.”
“Still, since you have three existing maids, I don’t think you’ll have any inconvenience in your daily life.”
“Mm…… all right.”
Just how tightly were they running their staff that they did not even have a maid to assign to the lord’s wife?
At this point, Pesha was no longer even surprised.
“Then I’ll be going now. Please rest comfortably.”
Philia bowed deeply before closing the door and leaving. After maintaining silence for a moment, the maids began whispering among themselves one by one.
“My lady. I think this place is a little strange.”
“Did you hear? They say someone with only five years of experience is the head maid.”
“On the way here, I saw that the cobwebs were still hanging in the stairwell!”
Pesha calmed the maids as they each poured out the things that had shocked them.
“W-Well, there are certainly some surprising things, but people live here too. Let’s not go too far.”
“But…….”
“Girls, this place has ears too. If you whisper too much, there’s no telling how your words might get twisted and spread around. And don’t forget that this is the castle His Majesty bestowed upon Count Namoi.”
“Yes……. My lady.”
Realizing that their words and actions could damage their mistress Pesha’s reputation, the maids quickly reflected on their behavior.
Pesha smiled at them and patted their shoulders.
“Anyway, you’ve all worked hard today. It’s late, so let’s rest now. Just help me get ready for bed, then you should go rest too.”
“We will, my lady.”
After receiving the maids’ help to get ready for bed, Pesha lay down and began thinking about what she should do from here on.
‘First of all, I need to build a bridge between Owen and Io. If I dawdle around and really become an obstacle, my life could end up in danger just like it did in the original story.’
If it were Io, perhaps she would understand the situation of this territory, feel sorry for them, and offer her help.
Then Pesha only had to use that opportunity to create time for the two of them to be together.
She believed that even without making any particular effort, once the two protagonists met each other, they would fall in love just as they had in the original story.
“Then I’ll have to find an opportunity and carefully bring up the subject of divorce.”
After all, this had been an unwanted marriage for him as well, so once the territory’s situation and his political standing improved somewhat, she did not think divorce would be entirely impossible if she persuaded him properly.
“Right. For now, I’m just going to sleep.”
Pesha pulled the blanket all the way over herself and spent her first night as a newlywed alone.
She had always slept alone, so there was nothing particularly unusual about it, but perhaps because her sleeping place had changed, the large bed felt strangely empty.
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