Johannes didn’t say anything until the end. Instead, he tightened the shawl even further and took me straight to my room. It seems that they decided that they were not in a state to attend the banquet. How could I get out of something like this? Marilyn’s face turned white as she noticed the clear handprint on my neck.
“Miss Prim, what on earth is this…?”
She took my hand and made me sit on the bed. And she took a closer look at the sleepy part.
“Who are you? Might cut off her lady’s neck…!”
“It’s nothing.”
“The marks are so clear, so how can they be nothing special? I don’t think girls these days know how precious their bodies are.”
As she healed, Marilyn said it would probably take a good week for all of her bruises to go away, and she sighed the whole time. The sight of her neck wrapped in bandages looked very funny. Marilyn told me not to come out of the room, and then she left, returning a while later. Fortunately, she said, the banquet ended reasonably well.
“I went to Duke Schultz. At the banquet, the Duke announced his marriage alone, and said that Miss Prim was not feeling well, so he would only be able to introduce her at her wedding.”
“Thank god. Sorry, Marilyn helped me a lot, but I took a wrong turn…”
When I sighed, she said bluntly.
“How is that Miss Prim’s fault? “It’s my fault for not following along.”
Anyway, she said, it would be a good idea for Marilyn to have her own maid. Her hostess’s position has been vacant for quite some time, so the existing employees are not suitable to serve as her dedicated maids. She said she was on her way to get permission for the proposal from Johannes.
“Fortunately, the Duke asked me to recommend someone if he wanted one.”
“…okay? Then I’d like to hear Marilyn’s opinion. Who do you recommend?”
“Well, the situation of the Schultz family is not good right now, so it would be better for someone to be quiet.”
How easy is it to find someone with a heavy mouth…? She is a dedicated maid. It was already a pain in the ass. She couldn’t figure out who to choose, so she kept asking her, and she answered a few times at first, but eventually she seemed to get tired of it. With a somewhat tired look on her face, Marilyn told me some of the virtues I should have as the duchy’s hostess in the future. For example, you need to formulate your opinions clearly or state them clearly when you have a request. She also advised me that since I had decided to become a member of the Schultz family, I should be faithful to all their rights and obligations. While I was immersed in new worries, wedding preparations began in earnest.
* * *
I was incredibly busy for a few days. It’s already been a week since Johannes announced his marriage. Time passed peacefully and quickly. I haven’t seen him since that day. It was because I was uncomfortable… That guy must be really busy. He won’t think anything of it. It seems like I’m the only one wandering here. But regardless of the feelings that stuck with Johannes, he had to do his job properly. I have to repay him for the help he helped me.
“Difficult.”
I said to myself as if sighing. The sunlight coming through the window diagonally illuminated the scattered papers. With a fountain pen in my mouth, I mumbled and looked at the countless books piled up on the desk. The history of the Schultz family, the family tree of the Schultz family, the achievements of the Schultz family, the management of the Schultz family, the customs and customs of the Schultz family… I had expected to some extent that there was a lot of knowledge I needed to learn, but it was very difficult to learn everything at once.
“But I still have to do it, what can I do?”
I held the fountain pen in my mouth straight. Then, I organized step by step what I had learned on the paper in front of me.
- The Schultz family, a founding family and one of the three ducal families of Docilia, is one of the most influential noble families.
- Producing authoritative scholars and military executives for generations. Not only did they show outstanding abilities in business and politics, amassing enormous wealth, but unlike other families that were in jeopardy every time the throne was changed, their prestige is the only one that remains intact.
- Mussen, under their influence, is so dependent on the Schultz family that it is no exaggeration to say that it is run by the Duke Schultz.
This is all I roughly memorized. Other than that… I raised my head when I heard a knock on the door.
“This is Fret Gunner.”
A soft voice came from outside the door. I checked the clock on the wall. It seemed that Sir Fret’s class time had arrived.
“Come on in.”
* * *
“Now you have almost everything memorized.”
Sir Fret and I exchanged questions and answers several times. He closed the book with a satisfied smile on his face. I nodded slowly, and he opened his mouth, saying that it would be a good idea to talk a little more deeply.
“The late Duke’s mother was the only sister of His Majesty the King. Not many people know this.”
As a result, it meant that Johannes was currently third in line to the throne. I felt so dazed that I couldn’t even blink.
‘It’s surprising, but…’
When I remembered the power that Johannes had, I realized that he was someone I could not touch. Yeah, if you’re that kind of person, it might not be a big deal that I almost died. It may take time, but finding another person like me won’t be a problem. While thinking about that, I suddenly got goosebumps all over my body.
“Wait.”
Sir Fret looked at me quizzically. His grey-blue eyes narrowed.
“Then the king executed the previous king’s sire…?”
Lord Fret nodded his head.
“In the face of power, even family is just an enemy. The Schultz family does not have a very good relationship with the royal family. Currently, the royal family has blocked all financial financing rights of the Schultz family. It’s not a problem for living a basic life, but…”
He glanced at me. It seemed like they were watching to see how I would react. I guess it was because they judged that people might be reluctant because it was a negative story about the royal family. However, to me, who has lived an ordinary life my whole life, stories related to politics seem distant. Lord Frett seemed to think I didn’t care, and he continued to tell me gossip that wasn’t royal gossip.
“The intention is probably to completely exclude the Schultz family from business and politics where large sums of money are exchanged, thus firmly undermining the family’s prestige.”
In short, the checks are not easy.
“The employees of Duke Shultz, including myself, do not believe that the previous Duke committed embezzlement.”
“I also don’t think the former Duke did that… Just listen to what Sir Fret says.”
His father always said that Duke Schulz was a good man. As someone who grew up hearing that, of course it was an unbelievable story. Perhaps the royal family did not want to deal with the public’s anger, so they may have concocted such a ridiculous plot to place blame on the Schultz family.
‘It’s said to deal with political enemies, but it’s so base and senseless.’
Even if I tried to think positively, I couldn’t. Because of that, I had to go to class in an unpleasant mood the whole time.
“This is the end of today’s class. Have you thought about who to fill as your dedicated maid?”
Sir Fret closed his book and asked. I shook my head.
“Um, no. Marilyn recommended it to me, but I’m still thinking about it.”
“Okay. But make sure you have a dedicated maid at least a week before her wedding. I would like to tell you to take your time, but the ceremony is so busy…”
I received the wedding dress design list and guest list that Sir Pret gave me.
“Yes, I know it well. I’ll think about it as soon as possible.”
* * *
“Ma’am, are you that nervous?”
“Huh? Ah… little?”
There was only one reason why I was pacing around the room out of anxiety. Because today is the wedding day.
“Do not worry. As long as you do what you have prepared, you will get through safely.”
I smiled and told Ahin, the new maid in the Schulz family who was comforting me, that I would do well.
“Ahin, you worked hard too.”
“What did I do? You are so pretty, ma’am. She is the best bride I’ve ever seen.”
“Isn’t the dress pretty?”
Although he responded jokingly, it was sincere without a hint of lies. The dress made of organza fabric was the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen.
“It’s pretty because you’re wearing it.”
After Ahin tidied up the lace decorations sewn here and there, she smiled. Her freckles, clearly visible on her bronze skin, moved dizzyingly.
“Don’t lift it too much.”
“Really…!”
“Then let’s do it because you decorated it well.”
When I laughed, Ahin stuck out her lips and added,
“Ma’am, could you please bow for a moment? It’s done now.”
Finally, Ahin, who put on the veil decorated with a flower crown, looked around me and added,
“I am so grateful that you hired me like this. When will a foreigner like me ever get to work at such a prestigious company?”
“Because you’re so good at everything.”
After much thought, she thought it would be better for the maid to be someone who did not know Chilia well, as Marilyn had said. The only condition I put forward was to be ‘a person with a heavy mouth’. As Marilyn said, I accepted Johannes’ marriage proposal, and outwardly I will now become a member of the Schultz family. Therefore, I had to stop the story from leaking out around me. With Johannes’ return, there will be more than one person who is curious about the internal affairs of the Schultz family. Because of this, the newly hired Ahin was from a foreign country and was not good at Docilian.
‘In a way, you listened to my request well.’
Ahin was a war refugee from the northeast and had very limited sentences, but since he waited on me and took care of cleaning the house, there were no inconveniences in communication. Regardless, as the wedding time approached, her nervousness grew. I said to Ahin as I was pacing around the room.
“I need some time to relax and want to be alone for a while. Would you please go out and wait for me?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Once I was alone again, I looked out the window again. Anyway, there was nothing strange about hiring a dedicated maid.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on October, 30.
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