Edited….

4. The use of the flower vase on that night

Unlike being reluctantly forced intoonto the carriage by the servants, once they arrived at the Duke’s mansion, they were received graciously.

Without even a greeting, Klaus, who had disappeared somewhere in the Duke’s mansion, Alejandro instead of Klaus, kindly guided them through the mansion.

“Ah, please greet each other. This is Mr. Jeffrey Humphrey, the head butler of the Duke Valtezar’s mansion. And this is Mr. Antonio de Hesingk, who has just become a member of the Duke’s household. He will be serving at the Duke’s mansion for a while.”

A man with thin, silver-framed glasses stared at Roselia with a strict expression, as if appraising a commodity. On thinking that they would frequently encounter each other at least for a year, Roselia awkwardly smiled and made a joke that wasn’t even funny.

“You have two names like twins. Jeffrey and Humphrey! Haha!”

“…”

The effect was dismal.

Jeffrey, who had become even more colder than at her first impression, and Alejandro, who had an extremely embarrassed expression, were both staring at her intently.

“Ahem! Well… I guess you must be tired from coming such a long way in a hurry. Jeffrey, can you please show Antonio to his room?”

At Alejandro’s words, Jeffrey courteously bowed and raised his hand towards a servant who was standing behind him. In response, the servant also bowed with the same graceful demeanor.

“Denver, please show the new servant to their room.”

“Shall we guide them to a double room like the other servants?”

“That would be a good idea. It seems Roy has been using a room by himself, but it would be better if he shared it with the newcomer.”

For a moment, chills ran down Roselia’s spine.

When they said ‘servant,’ they surely meant a man, and now they were suggesting that she should share a room with a man…

However, it wasn’t her place to refuse and insist on having a room all to herself as a new servant.

Amidst Roselia’s embarrassment and nervousness, Alejandro, an unexpected savior, stepped forward before Jeffrey.

“Oh, I forgot to mention this. Mr. Antonio is in a somewhat exceptional situation. He is not only a servant of the Duke but also the Duke’s business partner. So, please assign Mr. Antonio a room not far from the Duke’s study. Oh, and a room where he can also conduct his work.”

Upon Alejandro’s detailed explanation, Jeffrey looked at Roselia as if he was displeased. It was an expression that didn’t inspire much confidence, as if he was not sure if she would be able to perform her duties properly.

Since Roselia would be living as a servant in the mansion, she tried to smile at Jeffrey. Jeffrey pretended not to see her smile and lowered his head in response to Alejandro’s request; he replied, “I understand. I will guide Mr. Antonio to the room at the end of the second floor where the Duke’s study is.”

Only then did Roselia breathe a sigh of relief inwardly.

It was a bit inconvenient that the room was close to the Duke’s study, but at least she didn’t have to share a room with a stranger.

Furthermore, based on its location, it seemed more like a guest room than a servant’s room.

It was fortunate that she wouldn’t be caught by other servants when changing her clothes. Of course, it seemed that the Duke had ordered the room to be allocated closer to his study for more efficient supervision…

“Please follow me.”

Denver, the servant, led the way with an uncomfortable expression.

Roselia nodded quickly at Jeffrey and Alejandro, then hurriedly followed behind Denver. As she did, she heard Alejandro’s voice, picking up the conversation hastily.

“I’ll deliver the 20 grangs later to your room!”

Roselia glanced at Alejandro as if to acknowledge him, and then quickly followed behind Denver, taking speedy steps.

She had to occasionally skip a step or two due to how fast they were walking, given her short legs.

While muttering curses to herself about how purposely all this was happening, suddenly, something sprang out from the corridor near the staircase, and Roselia found herself stumbling over something soft.

“Miss Claucet!!”

Startled by Denver’s voice, Roselia looked at the soft, cloud-like, sky-blue thing in her arms with curiosity.

A soft sky-blue cloud? Could a cloud be floating in the Duke’s mansion?

“How long are you going to hold me like this?”

The cloud spoke… no, that’s not right!

In her confusion, Roselia suddenly realized that she was holding onto something soft and alive and quickly let go in surprise.

The sky-blue cloud, or rather, the girl with thick, wavy azure hair, gracefully stood up and stared at her. She looked like a girl in her twenties, who probably had not yet made her debut.

“You must be a new servant I haven’t seen before…”

With a disdainful look she asked, as if evaluating merchandise, Roselia asked her with a slightly uncomfortable feeling.

“Who are you?”

At her blunt question, the girl who resembled a cloud made a surprised expression, as if she had heard an unexpected sound.

“Do you not know me? Even though I’m here at the Duke’s mansion?”

“Oh dear, Miss Claucet. I apologize. The new servant is a bit inexperienced and made a mistake.”

When Denver referred to the girl as ‘Miss Claucet,’ Roselia quickly realized that she was probably a noblewoman at the Duke’s mansion.

Mistake? If she hadn’t held onto that girl, she would have fallen flat on her face.

However, since everything would sound like excuses, Roselia quickly gathered her thoughts and, with a calm expression, bowed respectfully to the noblewoman.

“I apologize for not recognizing you, Miss. My name is Antonio de Hesingk, and I will be working at the Duke’s mansion starting today.”

“Hesingk…? A noble?”

“…I used to be a noble, indeed. Now, I’m just a servant at the Duke’s mansion.”

“Hmm….”

The sapphire eyes of the Lady scanned Roselia’s entire figure as if she had discovered a fascinating toy. Then, her eyes lingered on Roselia’s face, reflecting an interesting expression as they sparkled.

“You’re quite pretty. I like pretty things.”

Roselia was taken aback by the Lady’s words, unsure if they were meant to be probing or a pure expression of admiration.

“Is that so…?”

Avoiding the young Lady’s persistent gaze, Roselia forced a smile.

At that moment, there was a commotion coming from the staircase.

“Miss Claucet! What on earth! Escaping again! I can’t bear this as your maid!”

The lady turned confidently towards the maid as if she had been waiting for her, and placed her hands on her hip. Roselia, who had ended up standing next to her in bewilderment, exchanged a puzzled look with Denver while Lady Claucet confidently declared.

“Starting today, Antonio will be my ‘Domestico.'”

“Excuse me…?”

Both Roselia and the maid responded simultaneously.

Seeing the confused look on Roselia’s face, the bewildered maid turned to her with questioning eyes, and Roselia simply shrugged her shoulders in response.

‘Domestico’ was a term that had spread among society with the ladies, referring to a ‘handsome servant.’ Depending on the appearance and abilities of the personal ‘domestico’, they could become objects of envy among the society of ladies and influence their status.

Sometimes, the true nature of high society involved using the handsome personal ‘domesticos’ to extract information from desired families.

“I’ll be taking Antonio to the ‘Green Ladies’ gathering tomorrow, so be aware.”

After making her statement, Lady Claucet briskly left the aristocratic mansion. A second later, Roselia finally spoke up.

“Excuse me…??”

Those who had been frozen in place as if enchanted, except for Lady Claucet, snapped back to their senses upon hearing Roselia’s voice.

“Miss Claucet!! To attend the gathering tomorrow, you must receive appropriate grooming!!”

Only after the maid and Lady Claucet left the mansion , did Denver and Roselia regain their composure and manage to move with puzzled expressions.

“You seem to be quite popular. You caught the Lady’s attention on your first day.”

In response to Denver’s even more displeased tone, Roselia ignored his words and continued walking.

Who said anything about wanting to be a personal domestico? Of course, they were treated better than regular servants. However, she was not even a real male servant, and she had important matters to attend to, not to mention a hefty debt of 3,000 grangs.

As the situation continued to deviate from her plans, Roselia let out a deep sigh.

* * *

Roselia waited for Alejandro, who had promised to come to her room, was getting tired as the sun set as he still hadn’t arrived. She finally prepared to go to bed, exhausted from waiting.

She carefully locked the door and first removed the cloth that was tightly wrapped around her chest after taking off her shirt.

“Ah… it feels like I can finally breathe.”

A sense of liberation that couldn’t be expressed in words washed over her.

Her chest wasn’t particularly large, but it wasn’t small either, and it seemed to perk up as if in protest.

If she had grown up well-fed and comfortable, her chest might have been even larger than it is now.

In a way, it was fortunate. Even now, it felt suffocating, and if it were any bigger than this size… just the thought of it made her shudder.

Roselia quickly went into the bathroom attached to her room, fearing that someone might unexpectedly come into her room and hastily finished her shower.

Drying her short black hair, which had become even darker due to the water, she hesitated for a moment.

Should she wrap her chest again? But why bother when she’s alone? No one would come visit at this hour, right?

Even though Alejandro had said he was coming…

Roselia glanced out of the window and sighed before lying down on the bed. It was already past evening, nearing the night.

She had skipped dinner because she didn’t want to deal with the intimidating men, and now, she had no energy left.

Even if it was Alejandro, coming to someone’s room at this hour would be impolite, she thought, feeling even more disheartened.

That’s when it happened.

Knock, knock.

She wondered if she had misheard it, but when she heard the knocking sound again a moment later, Roselia felt like she had been struck by lightning and sat up impulsively.

Could it be that he came at this hour?

She hurriedly tried to wrap her chest with the cloth, but her flustered mind made it impossible to do it properly. The knocking sound became stronger and more insistent.

“Uh, just a moment!”

Quickly pulling up her pants and buttoning up her shirt, she checked her appearance in the mirror.

There wasn’t much of a difference from a moment ago, but if someone paid attention, they might notice her perky chest. What bothered her even more was the fact that she wasn’t wearing any underwear, which shamelessly showcased the pinnacle of her chest’s existence. Roselia felt like crying.

Knock, knock, knock!

“I’ll be right out!”

With a nervous edge in her voice, Roselia reluctantly approached the locked door and opened it. Standing in front of the door was not Alejandro but Duke Valtezar.

“Why… Duke, why are you…?”

As Roselia stammered in confusion, Duke Valtezar furrowed his brow and slowly examined her appearance.

“Why are you holding that large vase of flowers?”