Spoils of War Duchess

Chapter 39

“What are you saying? We’ve benefited so much from Edel, how could we feel upset over something like that?”

“That’s right. Thanks to Edel, we can now use hot water.”

At those words, Masha’s expression completely changed.

“What do you mean? Using hot water? And how is that because of Edel?”

“Oh my, Head Maid, you didn’t know? When Edel collapsed, the Count came to the laundry room.”

Celia’s smile deepened.

“He was shocked that we were washing with cold water in the middle of winter. So, starting today, he’s having a heating system installed in the laundry room to use hot water.”

The male servant, who had been silently tearing his bread across from Celia, nodded in agreement.

“The Count ordered me and Benjamin yesterday to build a furnace in the laundry room and repair the furnace in the servants’ bathhouse right after breakfast today.”

At this, the other maids looked surprised and asked again.

“In the bathhouse too?”

“Really? So we can use hot water when we bathe?”

The male servant nodded vigorously, even while chewing his bread. Benjamin, sitting next to him, continued explaining.

“Of course. He even told us to stack a lot of firewood near the laundry room and bathhouse so it wouldn’t run out until the weather warms up.”

“Wow!”

The servants’ table buzzed with joyous excitement at Benjamin’s words.

They had suffered so much in the freezing weather, unable to use warm water. Now, they could finally wash with hot water!

However, amid all the joy, Masha’s face flushed red, then turned pale in frustration.

“Everyone, be quiet!”

She yelled, startling the others, who looked at her in confusion, wondering why she was acting that way.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing! No one is to act until I confirm it with the Count. Understood?”

Masha’s arrogance had surpassed everyone’s expectations. Edel stared directly at the agitated Masha and spoke calmly.

“The Count gave the order himself, and you’re saying we shouldn’t start until you confirm it? Are you suggesting your authority is above the Count’s?”

Masha’s eyes burned with fury, but Edel didn’t feel the least bit intimidated. She had never been afraid of a head maid, and everyone around them agreed with her.

Even Marco, who was usually silent, couldn’t hold back today and spoke up.

“We finally get to wash with warm water, but you don’t seem happy about it. Do you prefer washing with cold water, Madam?”

“N-no, of course not! It’s just that I didn’t hear about this, so I thought there might be some misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding…?”

Someone muttered quietly, and everyone shot Masha sideways glances.

Feeling cornered, Masha tried to change the mood by yelling at Edel.

“Anyway, Edel! Starting today, your tasks in the kitchen will be washing dishes, cleaning vegetables, and preparing ingredients. If any of the vegetables spoil because of you, I won’t let it slide, so stay sharp!”

“I look forward to working with you, Head Cook.”

Edel only greeted the cook with a bow, making Masha’s expression even more displeased.

* * *

Though Edel had been ‘promoted’ to a kitchen maid, it didn’t mean she could avoid putting her hands in cold water. After all, hot water couldn’t be used for washing vegetables.

Additionally, her start time had moved earlier, so now she was waking up at 5:30 a.m.

When she came to the kitchen at such a pre-dawn hour, she lit the oil lamps, checked the stove’s embers, and laid out the ingredients for breakfast that had been prepared the night before. This signaled the start of her day.

“There’s nothing left to prepare for this morning, so I’ll wash the lunch ingredients ahead of time.”

The previous maid had started preparing lunch after breakfast, but since Edel was still inexperienced, she had to be more diligent.

When the cook, Arturo, appeared, she helped him prepare the servants’ breakfast. Afterward, she washed and prepped more ingredients.

“Then it’ll be time to serve Linia her breakfast and lunch. After that, it’ll be time for the servants’ lunch. There’s barely a moment to breathe.”

After clearing the dishes and preparing dinner ingredients, she finally had a short break, but by 5 p.m., it was time to start dinner preparations again.

“The kitchen is just as tough as the laundry room. And all the tools here are old too. The workflow is so inefficient.”

And above all… it was filthy.

Edel deliberately looked away from the places where it was obvious rats had been living. With her current workload, she didn’t have the energy to tackle cleaning the kitchen.

Now, after washing the ingredients for lunch, her hands were so cold that she could barely hold a knife.

“Hoo… hoo…”

Rubbing her frozen hands together and blowing on them, she felt the same tingling sensation in her fingertips as when she had gotten frostbite on her feet.

She wished she could warm her hands by the stove, but if she did, one of Masha’s spies would surely make a fuss.

“It’s already this late. Still, I should prepare a little more.”

Edel clenched and unclenched her hands a few times before picking up a small knife and starting to peel potatoes.

After soaking the peeled potatoes in water, she had to peel onions, tears streaming down her face, and then split open a large pumpkin, scooping out its insides and shaving off the thick skin.

“Ahem! Don’t slack off and do it properly!”

Just as Edel was peeling potatoes, another kitchen maid, Lola, arrived for her shift and immediately began nagging.

Lola, who was loyal to Masha, seemed to have received instructions to constantly monitor and nitpick Edel’s every move. It was also the reason Edel couldn’t warm her hands by the hearth.

Sometimes, Lola even went out of her way to sabotage Edel’s work, but after getting scolded by Arturo for it, she toned it down a bit.

Of course, Edel, who had long since abandoned the path of the “obedient maid,” wasn’t going to put up with Lola anymore.

“Lola, you might want to take care of your own tasks. You didn’t clean the pot yesterday.”

“I-I might’ve forgotten! Where did you leave it?”

“Where else would it be? Right where you left it.”

Lola glared at her with furious eyes and shouted.

“If you knew it wasn’t cleaned, you should have done it! Why did you leave it there?”

“Lola, don’t slack off and do your job properly. That’s your responsibility.”

“W-what did you say?”

“Why are you so surprised? It’s the same thing you’ve been telling me ever since I started working here.”

Edel smiled sweetly and went back to peeling the potatoes.

“Arturo will be here soon. If I were you, I’d be cleaning that pot instead of wasting time.”

Grinding her teeth, Lola rushed over to the pot.

Arturo was the type to get angry easily, and if he found out that Lola had left without cleaning the pot yesterday, he’d likely toss every tool she’d cleaned onto the floor while cursing at her.

‘What made her think I’d cover for her?’

Edel couldn’t understand Lola’s brazen attitude. Did she really believe that yelling alone would make others back down?

Soon enough, Arturo entered the kitchen, his usual scowl in place, and the moment he saw Lola scrubbing the pot, he exploded in anger, hurling insults.

The array of inventive curse words was enough to make Edel feel like her ears were being dirtied. But what bothered her even more than her ears was her nose.

‘The Count really needs to hire a new cook. Forget the swearing, a chef who reeks of tobacco should be fired immediately.’

Arturo’s arrival was always preceded by the stench of tobacco. The sight of him cooking while smelling like smoke made Edel frown, especially since he didn’t even bother washing his nicotine-stained hands.

Ever since she became aware of that, eating the food he prepared made her stomach turn.

“Edel! Are the breakfast ingredients ready?”

“Yes, Chef.”

Edel calmly placed the ingredients she had prepared the day before in front of the still-fuming Arturo.

He finally calmed down a bit and pulled out a knife from the kitchen drawer.

* * *

“Oh, my legs…”

It was 3:30 in the afternoon.

After finishing the lunch dishes and preparing the ingredients for dinner, Edel sat down on the stairs connecting the kitchen to the storage attic, trying to catch her breath.

Her back and legs ached from standing all day, and she couldn’t help but groan as she lowered herself onto the steps.

‘Maybe I’ll just rest my eyes for a moment.’

Having woken up at the crack of dawn and been busy ever since, fatigue was hitting her hard.

This part of the kitchen was rarely visited by Lola, so she wouldn’t get caught.

Edel leaned her curled-up body against the wall and closed her eyes. Just as she was about to drift off, she heard someone enter the kitchen.

‘Is it Lola?’

The sound of a woman’s heels clicking on the floor made Edel open her eyes in alarm and strain her ears.