Why Are you Obsessed Even Though you're Dead ?

 

 Chapter 10

“After that, I caught a cold a whole day resting.’’

It was said that the cold overlaped with fatigue.

I vaguely remember having a conversation with Laches when I lost consciousness, but the details were not clear.

Laches didn’t say anything significant, judging by the fact that he didn’t have any special words for me.

If I could read Laches’s memories, I might be able to find out what conversation we had at that time.

“Sigh.”

Today, as usual, morning arrived without fail,  I sighed heavily as I got out of bed to start the day.

“It’s warm.”

I smiled involuntarily as I looked at the blazing fireplace.

It was said that a significant flaw was found in the servants’ quarters, and construction had begun.

During the construction, the servants were scattered, and I also got a new bedroom.”

“I was lucky enough to be assigned a room by nature as I collected and did laundry. Although the space is small, it is cozy with no drafts from the window, and the mattress is much softer than before.’’

‘It’s really nice like this.’

The proximity to the fireplace and the ability to have a room to myself made me increasingly hope that the construction would be further delayed.

“There should be a harvest today.”

Buttoning up, I mumbled to myself and headed to the dining hall for breakfast.

The meal that came out was potato soup.

Potatoes, something I had never eaten in Nirel.

Back then, root vegetables from the ground, especially poisonous potatoes, were thought to be deadly. But here, they don’t exist, so they became foods I couldn’t eat.

I have to eat to have the energy to work.

“I heard Lady Hanyang submitted her resignation.”

“Indeed, She said she would quit all of a sudden.”

As we headed towards the restaurant, murmurs of the maids could be heard.

While I was mentally absent due to a cold, the head maid suddenly disappeared. Then, after a few days, she reappeared and abruptly submitted her resignation, quitting her job.

The reason was unknown to anyone.

Anyway, I was relieved because I was worried that maybe I would be punished for not working for a day due to suddenly collapsing.

“Hey, Leia is coming.”

As I got assigned for the meal and sat down, I could feel a maid staring at me from a distance.

“They say Leia is chasing after Ronan.”

… Here, Leia was me, and Ronan was the blond knight who followed me.

After a good rest and waking up clear-headed, I gathered my strength and diligently followed Ronan.

There were times when I wanted to shake hands to try to read Ronan’s memories, and there were times when I tried to wipe something off his face, just like with Laches.

But the problem was that Ronan, like a squirrel, always skillfully avoided me.

Then, last time, he publicly rejected me, saying, “If you’re following me to confess, I apologize in advance. I don’t want to engage in a relationship until I achieve my goal of becoming the strongest knight.”

Due to this, false rumors spread widely.

“It was foolish to think for a moment that having you as my escort would be nice.”

Since it was true that I followed him, I couldn’t deny it. Moreover, if he asked why I followed him, I had nothing to say, so I just seethed inwardly with resentment.

All the men from the northern region truly turned my insides upside down.

Since I didn’t have any useful memories when touching other knights, I had to somehow see Ronan’s memories.

“Leia.”

I was eating a bland potato soup alone when someone sat down in the empty seat next to me.

“…Celly.”

It was Celly, the maid who used to share a bedroom with me. She had previously asked the housekeeper to let me rest on a day when I was sick, but ended up getting scolded and punished for carrying firewood alone.

Fortunately, after that incident, the housekeeper submitted a resignation letter and disappeared, allowing her to return to her original duties.

“Let’s eat together, The others have already finished eating and gone to work.”

Her friendly gesture felt unfamiliar, causing my shoulders to instinctively tense.

Of course, it was natural. Apart from Detoire and Delia, I had only two friends throughout my life.

But Celly, while casually eating potato soup, spoke to me without any hesitation.

“Are you going to collect laundry in the morning?”

“Yeah.”

“What about your schedule in the afternoon?”

“…Laundry again.”

“Again?”

“I have to change all the curtains and bed sheets before the season changes completely.”

When I lived as an ignorant noble girl, I only cared about having thick curtains and blankets when it was cold and thin ones when it was warm and sunny.

Little did I know that these were the laborious tasks of the maids.

“Alright then, My afternoon schedule is cleaning the corridor windows. Would you like to switch? It should be easier than washing bed sheets and curtains.”

“It’s okay…”

“Leah, do you… have someone to help you when washing the curtains?”

“Anyone to do it together? Of course, there’s no one.’’

Even someone to talk to me, Selie is the only one like this.

As I nodded, Elie burst into laughter.

“See? You just need to call the others who are off in the afternoon to help. Honestly, with so many curtains in the mansion, when do I do it all alone? Everyone knows or unknowingly does it together. There’s really no one who does it alone like you.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah, I have plans in the afternoon, so I can’t help. Even if I ask the others to do it with you, it would be awkward.”

“…Yeah,  Doing it alone is better.”

“Then let’s change my schedule instead. I’ll be with the others, so clean the corridor windows for me. And…”

Looking around, Selie lowered her upper body and whispered softly to me.

“In the afternoon, there are about twenty people responsible for corridor windows. Since the areas are not divided, even if you clean roughly, it won’t be obvious who didn’t do the work. So you can play around while doing it.”

“…Isn’t it something you should do yourself then?”

“Right, That’s why I’m suggesting we switch. I couldn’t help you before because I was cautious of Lady Han, right?”

Selie smiled and enjoyed a mouthful of potato soup.

“I want to make up for it by doing well this time.”

“It was the first time I had heard such words. Apologies from someone, expressing regret, and even the intention to treat me well – all of it was completely new.’’

Despite having eaten just a small, tough potato, my stomach felt as if I had indulged in a soft and moist brioche.

“Um… then, in the afternoon, I’ll clean the windows.”

It felt somewhat embarrassing, like when I first made friends as a child. I absentmindedly lowered my head into the bowl of potato soup.

Suddenly, the surrounding noise stopped, and silence settled in.

Even Celly’s soft voice came to a halt.

“Um?”

In the eerie stillness where only the sound of breathing could be heard, I raised my head. Then, I noticed Laches, who had somehow appeared next to me, sitting in the empty seat beside me, chin in hand.

“Hello.”

When our eyes met, he greeted me first without hesitation. It was unthinkable for someone of higher status to greet a maid first.

Looking around, I saw that all the maids who were eating had stood up and were bowing towards Laches.

I quickly stood up as well and bowed towards Laches.

“Hello, Your Grace.”

“I didn’t come to disturb your meal, so sit down.”

Laches grabbed my wrist and forcibly made me sit.

It was a rough attitude with no consideration whatsoever, but the hand that held my wrist felt as gentle as a feather, with no strength.

“Hurry up and eat, You need to work again today after eating.”

Laches sneered unpleasantly. Everyone was standing, and I was the only one sitting.

“Your Grace, what happened…”

“Do I have to feed you for you to eat?”

“Pardon?”

Laches grasped the wooden spoon and ladled a full bowl of soup. However, soon he wrinkled his eyebrows, dissatisfied with something.

“The soup is too thin. Is it water?”

After stirring a few times with the wooden spoon, he glanced at Selie’s bowl on the opposite side.

“There are hardly any chunks. Is this how you usually eat?”

Whether Elie was asking herself or muttering, I was confused and tilted my head.

Instead of Elie, I bowed my head towards Laches and replied, “Your Grace, people are waiting in the breakfast hall.”

“Are you telling me to hurry to the breakfast hall?”

“No, I just… worried that Your Grace might be hungry.”

“You speak well. How does my condition look today?”

“Thanks to your concern, I am doing well.”

Laches nodded, gesturing backward. As he gave the order, the butler waiting behind opened the dining room door.

The chef, holding a tray with dishes for the breakfast hall, stood there.

“Those working for the mansion have the right to eat grandly. From tomorrow, the menu will change.”

Laches’ designated dishes were placed on the servants’ table, The servants’ eyes widened at the unfamiliar food.

“Of course, the food doesn’t always come out like this. Today, the chef is busy, making it difficult to prepare new dishes. So, I shared my breakfast, and it’s awkward if you expect the same food tomorrow.”

“Laches gestured for me to enjoy the meal with a smile. Sitting beside me at the dining table, he rested his chin on his hand and flashed a mischievous grin.’’

“Eat a lot, It’s going to be a long day today.”

“Pardon?”

What could this mean? However, he seemed unwilling to provide an explanation.

“His Lordship is overflowing with consideration.”

“The word ‘consideration’ is awkward.”

Laches leaned towards me, The citrus scent he had worn during the mourning ceremony lightly touched my nose. It was a fresh and refreshing fragrance that surprisingly suited the chilly northern region quite well.

He lowered his upper body so that only I could hear him, whispering quietly.

“Let’s call it caprice, If I suddenly change my mind and return everything, including the accommodations and meals, to their original state, it won’t be considered consideration.”

“…Then why are you suddenly being capricious?”

“Because I liked the pleading request.”

A pleading request? Who would beg to eat their fill? Why would they come to me to talk about it?

Do they want thanks?

“…I appreciate His Lordship’s caprice.”

“That gratitude suits my taste.”

Laches chuckled, raising his index finger and tugging only the left corner of his mouth.

“Sorry… I tried to give you an easy task.”

“It’s afternoon, They said it’s time to clean the corridor windows, so I thought if I’m lucky, I might meet Ronan and read his memories… but everything has changed.’’

Suddenly, all the maids assigned to indoor tasks were reassigned for guest reception in the mansion.

“It’s okay,  Besides me, all the maids working indoors have been mobilized.”

Upon hearing the news, Celly, who seemed to have run over while doing laundry, apologized with her cold hands.

I placed the decorative vase in the corridor and looked around. No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t seem like they were preparing for a ball. Moreover, there were no hostesses or ladies in the Violetontus Castle, so there was no one to host the party.

Is there anyone worth visiting Violetontus Castle?

“Did you hear who’s visiting by any chance?”

“No,  I didn’t hear anything in advance. Everyone seemed surprised when they were told to prepare for guests all of a sudden.”

Was it a statement made with today’s guest reception in mind?

As I was placing the vase on the decorated table, I suddenly recalled Laches’s words from this morning, saying that today would be a long day.

Was that a remark anticipating today’s guest reception?

‘’The door opened, and the butler and neatly dressed knights entered.”

“The guest’s carriage will arrive soon,  There seems to be an issue with the carriage heading towards the northern and southern territories, so they urgently requested to repair it at our castle before continuing. Everyone, please prepare to welcome them.”

The butlers and knights hurriedly conveyed the message to the maids. It appeared that a noble was experiencing problems with their carriage while passing through, and they needed repairs before setting off again.

“Is someone coming? Is it a gentleman?”

Someone inquired, and the butler nonchalantly responded, “Lord Pallow Yeongae and Count Deverti will be coming.”

Upon the calm reply of the butler, the vase in my hand slipped downward.