“My lady.”
“…”
“My lady?”
I grimaced, hearing the familiar form of address. I didn’t even want to think about opening my eyes.
“My lord said if you don’t wake up after the third ‘my lady’, he will wake you up himself.”
Damn it. I opened my eyes because of a remark I couldn’t ignore. As I grumbled to myself, I saw a smiling maid.
“Good morning, my lady.”
Good morning my ass. “Can’t I sleep for ten more minutes?”
“My lord said if you do that, he would carry you to his bedroom.”
Are you kidding me? “Look, I’m awake! I’m awake, all right!” I sat up and waved my arms around wildly.
Only then did the smiling maid nod and approach the bed. “You should get used to this.”
“I will never get used to this.”
It had been fifteen days since Lukas declared he would make me a duchess. Fortunately, there were people in the castle who weren’t afraid of me. My human husband was useful in this regard. Whenever he had the chance, he chased after me and annoyed me, but the people who saw it happen started approaching me, one by one.
“I understand. Nothing is more difficult to adjust to than my lord.”
“…”
“Just accept it.”
Is this supposed to be advice? I sighed.
Knock, knock. Another maid entered the room. “Good morning, my lady!”
“…Everyone’s so energetic in the morning,” I murmured. These maids were responsible for serving “The Wicked Witch”. At the same time, it showed they weren’t afraid of me. “How come I only see you around?”
“There are only four of us working in this house.”
“Aren’t we in a castle?”
“Yes, but it’s divided into three areas. To make it easy for the servants to differentiate themselves, we call them House 1, House 2, and House 3. For your information, we’re in House 1.” The maid hurriedly brought a bowl with warm water and towels.
As I wiped my face with a damp towel, my exhaustion left me. “Do you manage this place by yourselves?”
“There are maids who work in the kitchen.”
“That’s…”
“It’s true a few more servants would ease our workload, but… my lord doesn’t trust outsiders.”
He didn’t trust outsiders. I couldn’t believe Lukas, who approached a witch without any hesitation, was such a person.
“My lady, since you stay in your room usually, we only have to clean the areas you use frequently. Everything else is cleaned on occasion,” explained the maid who woke me up.
“Hmm, I swore there were more maids when I first arrived.” I’m pretty sure the number of servants who greeted me was greater than these four.
“Perhaps the maids you saw that day were from House 2 and House 3. Most of them are likely from House 2.”
“Is that so?”
“They manage one of the mansions behind the main castle. I think you should stay away from there, for the servants are loyal to the royal family. It’s also probably why they’re arrogant and rude.”
The mere thought of it annoyed me, and the four maids pouted on my behalf.
“Why are all the servants sent by the royal family in House 2?” I asked.
“Well…”
Oh, it’s that again. The maids mumbled.
“Since you’re going to find out eventually… His Highness and my lord… don’t get along very well.”
“I’ve heard.” There was a lot of tension between the infamous crown prince and the popular duke. “Is it to keep an eye on him?”
“Sort of.”
It was no surprise then that everyone from the royal family was sent to House 2.
“Don’t worry, they’re not allowed to go here. You’re safe.”
“Yes, my lord will protect you.”
I nodded; however, I didn’t like that. I was curious about what House 2 and House 3 looked like, but I decided to push them to the back of my mind for now.
“Can’t you treat my lord better? Please?”
“Despite his looks, he’s a very kind person.”
“He’s also a perceptive man.”
“I won’t make any promises.” Are they actually talking about my husband? After exchanging glances, two of the maids quickly flocked to my side.
“Oh, goodness, my lady has beautiful skin!”
“Yes! You’re so pretty!”
“Do you think I’m going to fall for cheap flattery?” They’re using that tactic, huh?
“I’m telling the truth!”
“I’m so jealous!”
The rest of the maids chimed in their praise as they approached me… I don’t think I can handle this. While they continued to compliment me, I noticed a large scar on one of the maid’s faces. “What happened?”
The maid smiled. “I got it when I was helping out in the kitchen as a child. The oil was hot.”
“I see.” Looking closely at the scar, it must have been very painful. “While it’s unreasonable for me to be nice to your lord, I might be able to do something about that.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“Did you forget I was a witch?”
The maid’s eyes were practically sparkling. “Are you going to use magic? With a wand? Will you speak an incantation?”
“Or are you going to put a lizard’s tail and horse’s heart into a cauldron?”
“Maybe my lady has a magic amulet!”
“I know what you’re all thinking, so please stop.” I got out of bed and retrieved a box from the corner of the room. It contained the items I brought after leaving Kartelle.
“My lady… will I be reborn?”
“That’s beyond my scope of abilities.” Once I rummaged through the box’s contents, I pulled out a small bottle. The green liquid in it gave off a faint glow. “It’s impossible for a witch to intervene when a human’s life is involved. I wouldn’t do it even if I could. Besides, I can’t use mana right now.”
“I see…”
“That scar can be healed, however.” I smiled. “Take it. This medicine will do the job.”
“Medicine?”
“Making potions is my hobby.”
While my sisters were stronger and more beautiful than me, I was confident in my potion-making skills. Even the Witch Queen acknowledged my talent.
“This is a witch’s magic potion I’ve heard about!”
The maids were excited again, saying they read about potions in a book.
“Are you sure it’s okay, my lady?”
It was just medicine; however, it was still made by a witch. Can I just give it to her? I was worried, but seeing the maids dance in a circle made my doubts disappear. There were only four of them. They also were my maids. Everything will be fine.
Only later did I realize I made a horrible mistake.
