“Madam, I’ve brought your breakfast.”
“…Mm.”
When I sat blankly on the bed, gazing out the window, my maid would bring breakfast on an elegant tray.
On the tray were freshly baked bread from dawn, black tea, and a small handful of fruit.
Without ever going to the dining hall, I would eat alone in my bedroom while looking out the window.
Around the time I took two sips of tea, my personal maid Anna murmured with a face full of pity.
“It would be nice if Madam could eat at the main castle.”
“This is more than enough for me.”
“Madam…”
Anna lowered her head, looking like she might cry.
But I really mean it.
It’s already been nearly two months since I arrived here, but I still can’t get used to the overreactions of the attendants.
“Any appointments with the main family today?”
“No, because of the coronation last week, they’re still quite busy… And the year-end banquet is coming up too. I heard an important guest from the imperial family will be attending…”
Anna trailed off, eyes full of apology.
Of course, the people who are “busy” here are not me, but my son and daughter-in-law—the Duke and Duchess.
Well, the former Duke did pass away suddenly. They must be busy with the transition. Still, a special guest, huh…
I absentmindedly recalled this information that didn’t concern me and tore off a piece of buttered roll, dipping it in jam and taking a bite.
It was perfection. A world apart from the rye bread I used to eat when I lived in the capital.
To be able to enjoy a leisurely breakfast like this every day… I’m happy.
Anna seemed saddened that I didn’t eat with the rest of the family at the main castle, but I found the most joy in eating and sleeping in my room without ever stepping outside.
This was a luxury even my previous life hadn’t afforded me.
Besides, it takes at least thirty minutes just to walk to the main castle. And so many stairs, too…
Slow-moving and loathing stairs, the dining hall in the castle was just too far for someone like me.
Leave the annex, cross the garden, enter the main building, and climb more stairs… In a fantasy world with no elevators, even the thought of all those stairs was dreadful.
“I’d rather starve.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing.”
No matter what the staff of the annex said, I was content with this lifestyle.
In fact, I was especially happy that I didn’t have to see my son’s family.
I felt confident I could live this way for the rest of my life without a single complaint.
Though, to be fair, it was a little uncomfortable at first.
I suddenly recalled the day I arrived at the Laighton estate.
The castle was in chaos following the death of the previous Duke from a heart attack. Our wedding preparations had turned into a funeral overnight.
Sold off as the previous Duke’s bride, I never even saw his face. I became the Great Madam of the Duchy—a Dowager Duchess I’d never even dreamed of being.
I was now a widow, with a stepson older than me.
What a turbulent past I’ve had…
I sipped more tea and looked up at the blue sky outside the window.
Along with the memories of my current self, Wilhelmina, the past life of “Kim Hana” came vividly back to me.
…Whether it was reincarnation or transmigration, I had thought life would finally turn around.
I died young, at 32, and woke up in a fantasy world, expecting a more luxurious life than my previous one.
But that hope was crushed almost immediately.
I had just barely graduated from the academy with poor grades, and was struggling to survive after finding a job with a merchant guild. That’s when memories of my past life began returning.
I had decided to use them to find an easier life.
Then, out of nowhere, my already indebted family suddenly went bankrupt.
Apparently, a distant relative of my father’s even stole the family seal and gambled everything away.
There were no sophisticated systems like debt renouncement in this world. My body itself ended up treated like seized collateral.
In this society where human rights were barely acknowledged, a debtor like me was treated horribly.
Still considered a noble lady, I was sold off as a bride to an aging noble who had already gone through four wives.
They said “gone through,” but in reality, those women had likely taken their own lives due to domestic violence or cruel in-laws.
I was chosen to be their replacement.
With no more prospects left, they had decided to just buy someone suitable.
“She’s passable. I’ll take this woman.”
A man who seemed to be the old noble’s steward evaluated my appearance as if shopping for a doll, then casually purchased me from my creditor.
And just like that, I was sent to the aging noble with a tacky wedding dress that didn’t suit me, and a dowry set that must’ve been fashionable twenty years ago.
