Leonhard approached Hestia and whispered in her ear.
“Actually, Albert said that.”
Hestia raised an eyebrow.
“He said You were deliberately coming late to grab my attention, and that you were distracted by your surroundings since you’re a country noble… But I didn’t think that at all! That’s all Albert’s words.”
“Hm, I see.”
“…Were you disappointed in me?”
Seeing Leonhard’s downcast expression, Hestia relaxed her stiff face.
“Of course not. I wouldn’t be disappointed over something like that.”
“Phew, I’m glad.”
“Has the head butler said anything strange about me before?”
“Um… not particularly? But he doesn’t really like that I chose you as my guardian.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m still not trustworthy enough.”
“Or maybe he dislikes that Count Humphrey isn’t your guardian.”
“…Count Humphrey?”
“Yeah, he suggested Count Humphrey as my guardian. And he still hasn’t sent a letter to the palace to say you might give up the position.”
Hestia’s expression stiffened.
Knock, knock—
“Excuse me. All of Lady Frost’s belongings have been moved to her room.”
Just then, Albert knocked and entered.
Hestia straightened her back after a brief delay.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
‘He’s been bothering me for a while now.’
She knew he didn’t like her.
While he didn’t openly express it, he subtly ignored her and didn’t seem pleased that she had become the guardian.
At first, she thought it was simply because she was still young and that Albert, like others, was concerned about the duke’s household, but…
‘It doesn’t seem like that at all.’
He might have leaked the letter.
But why?
Albert had worked for the duke’s household for twelve years.
How could someone with that much experience switch to Count Humphrey so quickly after the duke and duchess passed away?
‘And he became the head butler five years ago, so he’s not inexperienced.’
Perhaps he didn’t realize Count Humphrey’s ambitions and genuinely thought he would be a help to the duke’s family?
If not, the only explanation was that Albert had deliberately teamed up with Count Humphrey.
“Lady Hestia, you moved your belongings to Sir Luciard’s room, right?”
“Yes, as you mentioned before. Once the room is organized, we can switch rooms.”
“Great! Hestia! Let’s go to the room right next door! I just told them to change the curtains and bedding in my uncle’s room!”
With great excitement, Leonhardt grabbed Hestia’s hand and pulled her along.
Since it was right next door, Hestia could immediately see the room she would be using.
“Tada! What do you think?”
“It’s perfect for a short stay.”
The ivory-colored bedding and greenish curtains made the place feel neat and tidy.
Leonhardt walked around, explaining the layout, but Hestia was already familiar with it.
‘It’s just like before.’
Ten years ago, during the wedding of the duke and duchess.
Hadn’t she stopped by to help Luciard briefly?
Although the furniture had been updated to suit adults, the overall layout remained the same as before.
“How is it? You can decorate it however you like, Hestia!”
“It’s fine. Since this is just a temporary room, I’ll receive various catalogs tomorrow to decorate the new room. Let’s first decorate the room the young lord will use and then mine.”
“Okay! But to make sure you’re not lonely, I’ll give you a doll! Just wait a moment!”
Leonhard dashed out of the room.
Once Leonhard was gone, Hestia spoke up.
“Head Butler.”
“Yes?”
“After dinner with the young lord, I intend to dive straight into my work.”
Albert’s shoulders flinched.
“You must be tired from coming here, so why not take a little rest…?”
“There’s a lot of accumulated work. I need to get it done as soon as possible. Also, my dedicated maid will be Hilde. Please prepare a room for her and arrange a meeting for her to meet the staff.”
“Yes, I’ll take care of that.”
“Tomorrow, I plan to tour the duke’s estate. I want to familiarize myself with the layout and check if there are areas that need reinforcement. I’d also like to greet the staff. Unless there’s something special, please tell everyone to wait in their places.”
“You’re going to greet the staff? If you just leave it to me…”
“Didn’t you say you haven’t sent a letter to the palace yet?”
As Hestia interrupted him, Albert fell silent.
“During the time I was away in Byron, there must have been plenty of time to send at least one letter. It seems you’ve been quite busy.”
“I was worried that the young lady might change her mind halfway…”
“I’m not someone who would casually abandon my guardian role, especially since I’ve already signed a document. So make sure to write that letter and send it to the palace tonight.”
“Understood.”
“Whether you like it or not, we’ll have to see each other for the next few years, so it wouldn’t hurt to get to know each other a bit, right? I trust you will convey that to the staff well.”
“…Yes, my lady.”
“Then I’ll take my leave now.”
Though he maintained a neutral expression, there was an unmistakable displeasure in his eyes.
But it didn’t matter what he thought.
‘He needs to act properly from now on.’
If he has any ulterior motives, I’ll cut them off immediately.
* * *
After finishing dinner with Leonhard, Hestia entered the office once used by Icarus.
All the necessary documents and information for work were kept here, so she had no choice but to come.
“These are the documents that need immediate review.”
Thud— thud—
Albert placed two mountain-high piles of documents on the desk.
She had anticipated a large amount, but this was overwhelming.
“By the way, there’s even more waiting, so please keep that in mind.”
“…How long has this backlog been?”
“Almost two months.”
It was surprising that the gap was so long, especially since Icarus had passed away only recently, but it was because he frequently left the duke’s household in search of Luciard.
For a moment, Hestia felt dizzy looking at the mountain of documents, but she took a deep breath and tied her hair up.
Then she immediately began reviewing the documents.
Albert, who had been quietly observing, couldn’t help but smile slightly.
“It must be difficult since it’s your first time doing this. I can help.”
“Thanks for the offer, but that won’t be necessary.”
“It seems you might struggle to handle all this on your own?”
“I can manage. It might take a while, but it’s not beyond my ability. I’ve had enough practice over three years.”
Even as she was going through the documents without having processed a single one yet, he couldn’t figure out where her confidence was coming from.
‘Is it arrogance?’
Maybe she simply didn’t want help out of pride.
Albert smirked to himself, thinking he would watch and see just how well she could manage without his assistance, then suddenly…
“Hmm, I see what I need to do.”
Hestia made a meaningful remark.
He thought she was just boasting, but then she quickly started moving her hands on the first document.
Albert’s mouth slowly dropped open as Hestia swiftly finished ten tasks.
He hurriedly checked the work she had completed.
‘… Impressive.’
Everything was neat, with no unnecessary clutter, and was well-organized.
Even the following documents were just as tidy.
Thanks to her straightforward and meticulous organization, it looked like the work could go ahead without a hitch.
Even Icarus wouldn’t have been able to work this quickly; how can this ordinary 18-year-old noblewoman pull it off?
“Head Butler.”
At her call, Albert snapped back to attention, his previous disdain replaced with surprise.
“Do you want to help me that badly?”
“Uh, I mean…”
“I guess there’s no choice. Sit here and just help with sorting the documents. I’ll still need to do the final review, so this should make things easier. Just sort them like this.”
Hestia instructed him on the categories for sorting and then returned to her work.
Albert was momentarily dumbfounded.
‘This isn’t what I expected.’
He had naturally assumed Hestia would struggle with the duke’s work.
He knew she had handled work for the Frost Foundation, but he thought she was just acting like a figurehead, like other noble ladies.
So he thought that if she couldn’t handle the work properly or needed help, he could always intervene whenever necessary…
‘That was a misunderstanding.’
Actually, it was a relief that he wasn’t in her way. Helping would just mean organizing a few minor papers.
Reluctantly, Albert sat down and began organizing the papers into the categories Hestia requested.
He had thought it would be easy, but with so much paperwork, verifying each document was a task in itself. The moment he sorted something, Hestia would immediately take it away, making his efforts somewhat pointless.
As the hours passed and midnight approached, Albert couldn’t believe his eyes at the sight of Hestia, who hadn’t moved from her spot.
“My lady, it’s already past midnight. Perhaps we should call it a night…”
“Has it already gotten that late? Hmm…”
Checking the clock, Hestia looked at the mountain of papers she had managed to get through—She was almost at third of them.
“I’ll just do a little more. It’s better to finish half now so it’ll be easier later, right? Surely, you’re not more tired than me who was riding in a carriage for two days?”
“Of course not.”
“Great! Let’s push through a bit more.”
Clenching her fists and smiling, Hestia quickly returned to the stack of documents with a serious expression.
Albert thought to himself, ‘… We’re going to finish this tonight, right?’
It wasn’t until 3 AM that he finally managed to escape from Hestia’s clutches.
Because of the demands of his job, he only managed to get about three hours of sleep before having to start work again at 6 AM.
* * *
The next day, Hestia got up early, had a light breakfast, and decided to explore the duke’s residence as she had informed Albert the day before.
When Leonhardt found out, he offered to guide her, but they agreed he would just accompany her since it wasn’t appropriate for a young lord to lead such a tour.
Their first stop was the servants’ quarters.
Though she could have skipped this part, Hestia insisted on seeing everything since she was at the duke’s residence.
“I’ve never been here either,” Leonhard said, holding Hestia’s hand and curiously glancing around.
At that moment, some servants stood in a neat line, waiting for their morning duties to begin.
‘Why are they here?’
‘She said she wanted to know the structure of the duke’s residence.’
‘Then she really didn’t need to come here, did she?’
‘How are we supposed to know what nobles think?’
The servants smiled warmly as they stood like a screen, exchanging busy glances.
Having once been a maid herself, Hestia recognized their expressions.
‘It brings back memories.’
Though she hadn’t lived in the mansion while taking care of her younger siblings, she had occasionally stayed a day or two with her colleagues.
The duke’s residence was certainly larger than typical noble houses, but the overall atmosphere and daily life weren’t different.
Hestia’s reason for coming to such a place was to observe the environment in which the servants worked and familiarize herself with their faces.
Indeed, many familiar faces from before she became a guardian were present.
