THM 09

Chapter 9

“Hm?”

This was a problem. Did the servants of a ducal household really have to learn high society etiquette as well?

Hiding my slight tension, I answered as calmly as I could.

“No. Not at all.”

Sir Fret frowned and stared at me quietly. It seemed I really was supposed to have learned noble etiquette.

I stood there, tense, waiting for him to speak. But the answer I got was unexpected.

“I assumed you had naturally learned it.”

“Pardon? What do you mean…?”

I blinked in confusion. Sir Fret held out a contract stamped with the ducal seal and asked,

“Where did you learn your manner of walking, speaking, and these everyday manners?”

At that point, I had no idea why he was asking such a thing, so I simply took the contract and replied matter-of-factly,

“My father taught me.”

His brows furrowed even deeper.

So his gentle expression could change like that. I was briefly surprised when he asked another question.

“Did your father, by any chance, have connections with high society?”

“No, not at all.”

I shook my head lightly.

If anything, he had strongly avoided getting involved with nobles.

I forced myself to dig through my fading memories and continued,

“Ah, when I was young, a certain noble lady visited us occasionally. But that’s all. My father was a very ordinary man… Why do you ask?”

“Because you display an almost perfect noble etiquette.”

“…What?”

I tried to understand what he meant for a long moment, then ended up laughing and waving my hand dismissively.

“That can’t be true. I’ve never even brushed fingertips with a noble.”

Well, recently I had met his superior several times, but still. I added playfully,

“Is that so…”

Sir Fret tilted his head slightly.

“Who knows? Perhaps your father knew the etiquette of high society.”

“That could be.”

I humored him lightly as he still looked puzzled. His attitude immediately softened.

“Of course, it may simply be due to my lack of experience.”

“In any case, since you say it’s not so, I won’t ask further.”

With a gentle smile, Sir Fret escorted me out.

We crossed a courtyard surrounded by multiple buildings and finally reached the main gate.

It’s ridiculously large.

After glancing around the massive estate that couldn’t be taken in at once, I clicked my tongue inwardly and asked,

“By the way, is there no reason to go to the other annexes? It’s nothing serious—I just noticed no one gave me a tour.”

Sir Fret stared at me, so I quickly added as if making an excuse. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.

Fortunately, he answered right away.

“You may access most areas. However, aside from the main building, please refrain from entering other places unless you receive special instructions.”

“I understand. Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Sir Fret. Thank you for today.”

Just as I finished greeting him and was about to leave through the gate—

“Ah.”

He called me back.

“I trust someone as perceptive as you will follow what I’ve said.”

His voice was still gentle, but somehow it sounded cold.

“No matter what happens, you must never step into the basement of the western annex.”

It sounded like a warning.

* * *

A week had already passed since I started working at the Schultz ducal estate.

The excitement of my first day had long since faded.

“…Sigh.”

Sitting at my desk, I let out a deep sigh and looked out at the dry lawn. Servants bustled busily across it.

I should have asked for physical work instead.

That would have been far more comfortable than this.

But when the Duke of Schultz offered me the job, I had been too overwhelmed to make any requests. I didn’t feel entitled to ask him for anything.

I had only been determined to do my best at whatever task I was given.

I never thought it would only be document sorting…

I glared at the stack of papers I had finished long ago.

The neatly arranged documents at the edge of my desk swayed slightly whenever wind slipped in through the window, as if mocking me.

In other words, I was bored out of my mind.

The work assigned to me at the estate was minimal.

I simply sat in my assigned office and sorted documents by date. It wasn’t difficult at all—nothing like what Sir Fret had implied.

While studying pharmacology, I had handled far more documents than this.

But because of that, my reputation among the servants was terrible.

On my first day, while leisurely drinking tea by the window, I had made eye contact with one of them.

“Miss Prim seems just like a noble lady.”

In other words, they meant I had it easy. That I didn’t belong as a servant.

And that wasn’t all.

“You even have your own private office.”

I was the only one assigned a private office. When I found out, I had been extremely embarrassed.

Feeling guilty about receiving such high wages for so little work, I had tried several times to help the other servants.

But every time, the response was the same.

“No, we couldn’t possibly burden you with such labor, Miss Prim. Of course not.”

Their voices were sharp, though their manners were polite enough that at first it was hard to tell whether they meant it sincerely.

Soon enough, I painfully realized they had completely excluded me.

“We wouldn’t dare dine with someone like you, Miss Prim. Please, go ahead.”

Naturally, they didn’t include me during meals or breaks either.

I didn’t expect deep bonds like those who shared rooms, but I had hoped to at least get along somewhat.

My father had shown me love and kindness, but he had never allowed me to grow close to others.

“…Sigh.”

Watching servants playfully tossing around a woven laundry basket, my expression hardened slightly.

They noticed me and immediately turned cold.

I stood up and drew the curtains. The fabric felt unusually rough in my hands.

What they were doing wasn’t exactly bullying.

Honestly, I would have felt the same in their position.

It was understandable.

Receiving the same pay but doing vastly different amounts of work—of course they wouldn’t like it.

And on top of that, Sir Fret treated me with constant politeness…

I had asked him several times to treat me more casually, but his answer was always the same.

“I’m used to this. It’s more comfortable for me this way.”

He always said it with that same smile, so I eventually gave up insisting.

At this point, there was only one way for me to work comfortably in this mansion.

I let go of the curtain.

I wasn’t sure if a mere servant could just go see the master, but it seemed best to meet the Duke of Schultz first.

* * *

Meeting the Duke wasn’t difficult. When I asked Sir Fret, he readily agreed to arrange it.

As I walked down a long corridor and opened the door, a bitter scent of tobacco—just like the one at my father’s funeral—tickled my nose.

Tapestries hung along the arched walls.

“I heard you wished to see me. Is there a problem?”

A soft voice drifted from the ash desk in the center.

I stared at the man folding his newspaper and looking up at me.

It had been a while since I’d seen the Duke of Schultz. He looked sharper than I remembered.

Perhaps because he had helped me before, I hadn’t thought of him as this cold back then.

There was something distinctly disciplined about him—like the strict order of the Dochilia navy. His expression was emotionless, tinged faintly with weariness, yet strangely captivating.

Because of that, I found myself more tense than before.

Of course, he was now my employer, so it was only natural to be formal.

The Duke straightened his posture slightly.

“I heard from Fret that you’re doing well at your assigned tasks.”

Meeting his gaze made my palms grow sweaty. I straightened my back and spoke.

“The problem is that there isn’t enough work.”

“That is a problem?”

His brow narrowed. I nodded.

“The workload is far too small compared to the salary I receive. I have a duty to work more. That is the issue.”

A faint crack appeared in his expression. His eyebrow lifted.

“Duty?”

He rolled the word on his tongue. Though slightly intimidated, I continued,

“I came here as a servant, after all. Honestly, it’s uncomfortable. The other servants don’t look at me kindly either.”

“….”

“To be honest, these days I keep wondering, ‘What will they say today?’ Even after I go home, I feel uneasy.”

That was the truth.

Since I had to work in the afternoon, I often felt too self-conscious to even eat properly. I had gotten indigestion countless times in just one week.

I let out a shallow sigh.

“Surely the Duke of Muisen isn’t going out of his way to give me special treatment just to ease my grief.”

Unaware of how his expression was changing, I added,

“And Sir Fret treats me like I’m some kind of superior. It’s very uncomfortable.”

A quiet scoff slipped from his lips, cutting me off.

Only then did I look at him properly.

He rested his chin lightly on his clasped hands.

His blue eyes slowly traveled from my dark green dress embroidered with white thread, down to my gray silk stockings and neatly polished shoes.

Then his lips, which had been pressed in a straight line, parted.