“Wet nurse!”
Leonhard spotted his wet nurse and hurried over.
She greeted him with a warm smile, but as Hestia approached, her expression turned serious and she nodded slightly.
“Hestia, this is my wet nurse, Daisy!”
“Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Daisy, Lady Frost.”
“Since you’re a wet nurse, you must also be serving the young lord as his personal maid.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Hmm… Albert, could you gather all the servants who served the late duke and duchess?”
“All of them?”
“All those who attended the late duke and duchess.”
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
Albert quickly gathered everyone, including Daisy and those who had served the late couple.
Naturally, the head maid had served Flora, while Albert had served Icarus. With Daisy included, there were about eight people.
“I should have arranged this introduction sooner. I apologize,” Hestia said politely, causing the gathered servants to glance at each other in surprise.
“What are you all doing now?”
“…As the head maid, I oversee the maids and manage general household affairs,” replied the head maid.
“I do similar work, managing the staff and overseeing the castle,” Albert said.
It was expected that the head maid and Butler would continue their usual duties, but then others spoke up.
“I’m currently working in the kitchen.”
“I assist guests when they arrive, but otherwise, I do various tasks.”
“I also do various tasks when I don’t have anyone to attend to.”
The situation for the average maids and attendants who had lost their masters was different. They were given new roles without clear responsibilities, doing whatever tasks came up as needed.
Having served the duke and duchess closely, their pride would have been high, and it was clear they felt discontent about being reassigned.
“The maids who served the late duchess will now be my personal maids. By the way, I brought a maid with me, so the two of you can assist her.”
The newly promoted maids widened their eyes in surprise, exchanging bewildered looks.
“Also, is there anyone among the attendants who is good with numbers?”
One attendant hesitantly raised his hand.
“I’ve helped with the duke’s accounts before, along with various other tasks.”
“You’ll be reporting to the office. You’ll spend most of your day there, so your assistance will be perfect. The other two will serve the young lord, who currently doesn’t have a personal servant, correct?”
Daisy nodded.
Since Leonhard was still young, he only had maids and a wet nurse.
“The head maid and butler can continue as they have been. For the time being, I won’t be able to pay attention to household matters, so I’d appreciate it if you could gradually inform me about those later.”
“…Understood. May I ask one question?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Why did you specifically choose us?”
At the head maid’s question, Hestia looked around at the group.
They all bore expressions mixed with curiosity and suspicion.
“You all served the duke and duchess until just a few days ago. You must possess the requisite skills and have gained their trust during their lifetimes.”
When Hestia mentioned Icarus and Flora, their expressions momentarily faltered, revealing genuine emotion.
The sadness of missing their former masters was evident.
“Although it may seem like I’m acting as the lord of the duke’s household by assigning you, that’s not my intention. I’m making this decision because I highly value your abilities and hope to utilize them fully moving forward. Please do not misunderstand.”
Some among them couldn’t meet Hestia’s gaze and turned their heads.
“To ensure the young lord successfully inherits the family, it is my duty to support him. If you are truly loyal to the duke’s family and can empathize with your former masters, I hope you will follow my guidance.”
The head maid and Butler, overwhelmed with emotion, clenched their fists.
Exchanging glances, they bowed their heads together.
“We look forward to working under you, Lady Frost.”
“I look forward to it as well.”
With a smile, Hestia began walking again to continue her tour of the duke’s residence with Albert.
Leonhard grinned at Daisy and said, “She’s a good person, isn’t she?”
“…Yes, it seems the young lord has a keen eye for people.”
“I told you not to worry. I’ll continue to explore with Hestia. See you soon!”
Leonhard waved to the staff as he hurried off to join Hestia, who took his hand and led him to the training grounds.
Once they were out of earshot, the staff finally let out the breaths they had been holding.
“Personal maids? I didn’t expect to be chosen.”
“Me neither. I thought she would pick anyone since she brought her own maid.”
“It’s definitely better than what we were doing before.”
“Isn’t it different from the rumors?”
“I thought she was just a naive noble lady, but it felt like meeting the late duke.”
“But we need to keep watching her, right?”
“Did you hear? She worked until 3 AM! She finished what should have taken nearly two days in less than half a day.”
“No way, she works well too?”
“…The young lord really chose an impressive guardian.”
The maids and attendants chattered excitedly, most of them expressing positive sentiments about Hestia.
“Everyone quiet down. From now on, you’ll take on new responsibilities as mentioned by the guardian. As employees of the duke’s family, you mustn’t make a single mistake. Understood?”
“Yes. But, head maid…”
“What is it?”
“What do you think of Lady Frost?”
“…A person whose intentions are hard to read.”
“Really?”
“But I don’t think she has any ill will. Whether she’s trustworthy or not will be revealed in time.”
The head maid, along with Daisy and other attendants, shared the same thoughts.
However, they didn’t yet realize that their negative thoughts about Hestia had already begun to crumble.
* * *
Hestia continued exploring the duke’s residence.
‘First, I’ve to win over the servants.’
Given that they had served the late duke and duchess closely, they were likely to hold important positions within the ducal household, and the likelihood of any of them being spies was minimal.
‘Though that’s not always the case.’
Hestia glanced at Albert who was walking ahead.
He was no different from the people she had just met, loyal to the duke’s family.
Yet right now, he was the most likely candidate for a spy.
She wanted to grab him and demand to know what his relationship with Count Humphrey was, but she held back.
‘Patience.’ she thought to herself.
She had to act as if she didn’t suspect him, as if she were unaware of a spy being present.
That way, she could set a more significant trap later.
“Next, we’ll visit the training grounds. The knight order usually resides there.”
“The Winston knights are the most famous in the south. I’m a bit excited.”
“They’re all incredibly strong. You’ll be amazed when you see them.”
“Really?”
Hestia held onto Leonhard’s hand as they headed for the training grounds, where most of the knights were gathered, likely in the middle of training.
The commander, noticing Hestia and Leonhardt, halted the training.
“Salute! It’s an honor to see you, Young Lord Leonhard!”
“We greet you, Young Lord!”
With disciplined stances, powerful voices, and a solid sense of unity, the atmosphere was electrifying.
Despite the sudden loss of their master, the knights didn’t seem confused or distressed. It appeared there was no need for Hestia to interfere much with the knight’s affairs.
But then again, there was something off.
‘Are they ignoring me?’
Although it wasn’t necessary to greet her as they did to Leonhard, the man standing at the front, presumably the commander, should have at least given her a brief acknowledgment. Yet, even though she was standing right next to Leonhard, he didn’t even spare her a single glance.
It didn’t seem to be out of blind loyalty to Leonhard. Rather, it felt as though he was subtly trying to challenge her authority.
Suddenly, Hestia recalled what a blacksmith at the Byron Guild’s master once told her.
***
“The craftiest people are knights.”
“They have this habit of subtly looking down on people, always trying to figure out in a single glance whether someone is stronger or weaker than them.”
“If a knight tries to engage in a power struggle with you? That means they’re trying to dismiss you, so you can’t just let it slide.”
“What? Are you saying I should fight them?”
“No, what I mean is, unless they’re a wandering mercenary, knights serve someone, right? You can’t let a subordinate act like they’re above you.”
***
At the time, she didn’t fully understand the meaning behind those words, but now it was all too clear.
‘These bastards, huh?’
Of course, it was only natural that they would show more loyalty to Leonhard, but that didn’t mean they could disregard her.
“This is Hubert, the commander of the knights, and his lieutenants, Lloyd, Cobil, and Alexar,” Albert introduced the key members of the knightly order.
But Hestia only had eyes for the man standing in the front—Hubert.
He was intentionally avoiding her gaze, staring off into the distance as if she wasn’t even there. Hestia smirked, then stepped forward, positioning herself directly in front of him.
Only then did Hubert reluctantly move his eyes to look down at her.
“Your neck seems quite stiff, Sir. Do I need to look up at you?”
Hubert’s eyebrow twitched. He finally lowered his head.
“I am Hubert, commander of the knights.”
“What’s my name?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked, what is my name?”
“…You are Lady Hestia Frost, are you not?”
“Yes, that’s correct. But since you haven’t mentioned my name until now, I wondered if you might have forgotten it. Or perhaps you hadn’t heard about my position as guardian?”
She was pointing out the fact that he had deliberately left her out when greeting Leonhard earlier.
Hubert, realizing what she was getting at, clenched his fists tightly.
“I understand that you take great pride in being the knights of House Winston. And I know that the one you are meant to follow is none other than Lord Leonhard.”
Hestia lowered her voice deliberately, making sure that her words echoed clearly throughout the training grounds.
“But that does not give you the right to disregard me.”
The knights stirred uneasily at hearing such a bold statement from a noble lady.
“In the coming years, we’ll be seeing each other quite often, whether we like it or not. But if you continue treating me as if I’m just part of the background, I suspect I won’t be too pleased about it.”
“…That was not my intention.”
“It better not be. Because if it was, it wouldn’t be fitting behavior for the proud knights of Winston.”
There was more murmuring among the knights, but Hestia kept her gaze locked on Hubert.
It was always more effective to confront the leader than to deal with a whole group.
After glaring at her for a moment, Hubert finally let out a small sigh and averted his gaze. Then, with clear reluctance, he offered her a proper bow.
“My apologies, Lady Frost. Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Hubert, commander of the knights.”
“Hestia Frost. Let’s try to avoid any future conflicts. We’ll be seeing quite a bit of each other.”
“I will bear that in mind.”
Though she still had plenty more to say, continuing further would only deepen the resentment between them, so she decided to leave it at that.
