It didn’t take long for an incident to occur.
“My lady, we’re in trouble!”
“…”
I didn’t normally see my husband in the morning, so I was drinking tea by myself. A maid had suddenly rushed into the room.
“What happened?”
“Um, that’s…” She took a deep breath before speaking. “The servants from the other houses have gathered outside!”
“Why?”
“They want to see you, my lady.”
“Is he going to kill me now?” Or are these humans demanding I be executed?
I don’t think the human known as my husband plans to send them away, so I have to assume they were here to kill me.
“No, not at all.”
Phew. I was going to ask another question, but then I heard someone shouting from outside. I had a bad feeling about this. I quickly left the room.
There was a large group of servants crowded around the iron gate.
“There she is!”
They shook the iron gate as soon as they saw me.
“Oh, my lady!”
“Do you still have the medicine you gave to the maids of House 1?”
“If there’s anything left, can I get some? I’m willing to buy it!”
“Me too! I really need it!”
While the servants were in an uproar, the butler said, “My apologies, I should have taken care of them sooner.”
“No, it’s my fault. How could I leave you like this?”
“My lady, I insist I will be the one to handle the situation.”
The servants flinched when the butler said he would “handle” the situation. No matter what anyone said, I was the one who started all this. I didn’t want to cause any internal problems for no reason. I began to think about how to stop the butler.
Then, someone else appeared.
“How interesting.”
He seemed to be enjoying the current situation quite a bit. I turned my head. As expected, it was that human, my husband. He must have just woken up, given his disheveled appearance. His shirt was unbuttoned enough to expose his chest to some extent.
Lukas smiled as he rubbed his eyes. “It is good to see you’re dressed properly.”
I rolled my eyes. Should he really be the one saying that?
“What did you do to cause such a commotion?”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Oh? Why are they here then?”
“I was in the middle of figuring that out.”
He gritted his teeth. “Do they wish to court the duchess?”
The servants cowered in response.
After calming them down, the butler ran toward us. “My lord, I am deeply sorry this happened while you were sleeping.”
“It’s all right. What’s your report?”
“I heard my lady gave her maids a potion as a gift…”
“A potion?”
I felt my body tense as I saw his fierce gaze. I knew I was right to be worried about the medicine made by a witch. For some reason, I didn’t want to be misunderstood. Before I could say anything, however, Lukas grabbed my arm.
“Is this true?”
“The medicine—”
“My wife has yet to give me anything. What exactly did you hand over to the maids?”
“…”
“Do I have no place in your heart?” He glared at the servants.
Even the butler frowned at my husband’s behavior over not getting something before the maids. “My lord, that’s not important right now.”
Thank you for scolding him.
“Anyway, my lady gave the maid the potion… Its effects are quite potent.”
“Is that so?”
“I believe everyone’s here because there are rumors about its efficacy.”
“I see.” Lukas nodded. “What kind of potion is it? I hope you can give one to me as well.”
“Sorry, but I gave the last bottle away already.”
“Did you at least save some for me?”
I decided not to call him out for believing I would do such a thing.
“Is there not even a little bit left?”
“Not even a drop,” I said. I heard the servants groan and sigh.
“Ah… I can’t believe there’s nothing left!”
“My wife made a fuss about getting it by all means…”
“I promised my daughter I’d remove the scar on her face!”
Seeing them cry didn’t make me feel better. Why are they so disheartened? I sort of felt sorry for them.
“If I had the ingredients and the time… I could make more.”
“Really?”
The servants’ eyes twinkled as if they just discovered treasure.
“Please make a new batch, my lady!”
“I beg you, my lady!”
“We’ll even help!”
I felt like I fell into a trap. There was only one correct response. “Sure, I don’t mind.”
Oh. Oh, no.
…I think I made the situation worse.
***
“I’m sorry. I really am, my lady. I talked to others about the potion…”
“It’s fine.”
Betty, the maid who no longer had the scar on her face, continued to apologize with tears in her eyes.
“It all worked out in the end, right?”
“I’m still confused why my lady asked for a normal pot instead of a cauldron, but…”
She was confused because I was a witch, right? Since some books contained false information about us, humans had misconceptions about our way of life.
“By the way, my lord is wonderful. When he heard you make potions as a hobby, he set up this place.”
“Do you think so too, my lady?”
I agreed with them, actually. Although he was an annoying human, I was grateful for his efforts. Yesterday morning, after the incident, I decided to make medicine for the servants. Fortunately, all the required herbs were available. The problem was finding a suitable location to make it. I wanted to use the kitchen; however, the chef told me that the kitchen in House 1 can only be used to make meals for the duke and his wife. That meant I had to go to the kitchen in House 2. The very next day, my husband built a potion-making room overnight near House 1 once he heard about my predicament.
“If there is anything you need, please tell me,” he had said.
“Thank you.”
“However, I will ask for payment.”
Of course. I wasn’t surprised.
“If you make something in the future, you must give it to me first. Don’t forget, Ella.”
He was still irked by the fact that I thought to give a maid a present before him. It was troublesome, but I accepted his condition since I honestly had nothing to lose.
“It’s good I have something to do in my spare time.”
So far, all I’ve been doing is reading books and more books, everything from culture to history. My head was going to explode. Smelling this bitter scent made me feel better.
“My lord seems to be in a good mood these days.”
“Indeed. I used to be scared of him because he frowned every time I saw him.”
“Do you think he smiles a lot now?”
The other maids who were trimming herbs nodded and responded to Betty.
“My lady always looked bored, but you’ve been livelier lately.”
“It’s like you found something fun to do!”
“Don’t tell me you want to quit,” I said.
“Oh, of course not. Anyway, isn’t this place proof that my lord cares about you?”
They were Havel’s maids, interacting with a witch who was otherwise seen as a monster. I won’t fall for their tricks.
“My lord is a rare gentleman.”
“He’s so handsome.”
“Isn’t he perfect? He has the property and status.”
They continued to praise the duke. It was debatable whether or not he was a perfect husband, but I was fortunate to meet him. I was glad I didn’t marry the crown prince. Lukas likes witches. It really was my lucky day I married him. Of course, I was only alive because he was grateful for the witch who saved his life. He was using me to repay his debt. I didn’t feel happy about that. It was almost like his goodwill had an ulterior motive.
“What do you think, my lady?”
“Huh?”
Betty approached me and stomped her foot. “Isn’t our lord handsome?”
“Um…”
