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Chapter 09
“What?”
I was at a loss. Could it be that the servants of a ducal household were also expected to learn the etiquette of high society?
Hiding a slight tension, I answered calmly,
“No, not at all.”
Sir Fret frowned and looked at me quietly. It seemed that, indeed, I might have to learn aristocratic manners.
I tensed up, waiting for him to speak, but his response was unexpected.
“I had assumed, naturally, that you had already learned them.”
“Excuse me? I don’t quite understand what you mean…”
Blinking in confusion, I looked at him. Then Sir Fret handed me a contract stamped with the ducal seal.
“Where did you learn things like your gait, your way of speaking, and your everyday manners?”
At that moment, I didn’t realize why he was asking, so I took the contract and replied casually, as if it were obvious:
“My father taught me.”
Sir Fret’s eyebrows drew even closer together.
So that gentle expression could change like that… I was genuinely surprised, when he asked another question.
“Did your father happen to have any connection with high society?”
“No, not at all.”
I shook my head slightly. He had been extremely reluctant to get involved with the nobility.
Forcing my memory to trace back the hazy past, I continued:
“Oh, well, when I was very young, occasionally a lady would visit, but that was all. My father was a very ordinary man… But why are you asking about that?”
“You display aristocratic etiquette with almost unnatural perfection.”
“Excuse me…?”
I tried to understand his meaning but ended up laughing and waving my hands.
“That can’t be. I’ve never even touched the hands of any noble.”
Of course, I had recently met your superiors several times, I added lightly with a touch of playful teasing.
“Is that so…”
Sir Fret tilted his head and continued,
“Perhaps your father might have known high society etiquette after all.”
“That’s possible.”
I gave him an appropriately agreeable response, though I was as puzzled as ever. Sir Fret immediately softened his expression.
“Of course, it could simply be my limited perspective that makes it seem that way.”
Anyway, since he said it wasn’t the case, I didn’t ask further. Smiling gently, Sir Fret escorted me.
Crossing the courtyard surrounded by multiple buildings, we finally reached the main gate.
It was really overwhelming in size.
After surveying the fortress that could not be taken in at a glance, I secretly clicked my tongue and asked,
“Do we ever go to the other annexes? Ah, it’s nothing, but you haven’t shown me around.”
Sir Fret stared at me, so I quickly added a defensive explanation. Had I asked something I shouldn’t have?
Fortunately, the answer came promptly.
“You may enter most areas. But aside from the main residence, unless there are special instructions, I’d prefer you avoid entering if possible.”
“Understood. Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Sir Fret. Thank you for today.”
Just as I finished my farewell and was about to leave the gate,
“Ah.”
Sir Fret called me back.
“You’re sharp, so I trust you’ll follow my request carefully.”
His voice, still soft as ever, sounded somewhat chilling this time.
“You must never, under any circumstances, set foot in the basement of the west annex.”
It was as if he were warning me.
A week had passed since I started working at the Schultz ducal household.
The initial excitement of a first day long since faded.
“Sigh…”
I sat at my desk, exhaling deeply, gazing at the parched grass outside. The household staff moved busily over it.
‘I should have asked for some physical work instead.’
That would have been far easier on my mind.
But when the Duke offered me the position, I was rather flustered and certainly didn’t presume to make any demands.
All I had in mind was to do my best in the assigned work.
‘I never imagined it would just be document sorting…’
I glared at the stacks of paperwork I had finished long ago.
When the papers neatly lined at the edge of my desk swayed slightly in the breeze slipping through the window, it felt as if they were mocking me.
In other words, it was unbearably boring.
The tasks I had been assigned were few.
Sitting in my office, my job was to sort paperwork day by day. It wasn’t as difficult as Sir Fret had described.
Having studied pharmacology, I had handled far more paperwork before, so this was easy.
As a result, my reputation among the staff was terrible.
On my first day, while leisurely drinking tea by the window, one of the servants made eye contact with me.
“Miss Prim appears most like the lady of a noble house.”
In other words, my position was enviable. It was out of proportion to my status as a servant.
And it didn’t stop there.
“You even have a private office.”
I was the only one assigned a private office. Knowing this, I was greatly embarrassed.
I also felt awkward receiving such a high wage while doing so little, and I had tried helping other servants with their work a few times.
But each time, the response was the same:
“No. We cannot possibly assign you arduous tasks, Miss Prim. Of course not.”
The voice was sharp, but the attitude was overwhelmingly polite, making it hard at first to tell if they were sincere.
Soon I painfully realized that I had been completely excluded from their circle.
“We cannot possibly dine with Miss Prim. Please, step aside.”
Naturally, they didn’t include me during meals or breaks.
Though I wanted to cultivate some closeness with them, like others who shared rooms, it was impossible.
My father had given me love and kindness, but he would never permit closeness with anyone else.
“Sigh…”
Watching the servants playfully tossing a tangled laundry basket, my expression stiffened.
They had noticed me and hardened their expressions.
I stood up and drew the curtain. The fabric felt unusually rough in my hands.
Their behavior wasn’t exactly territorial. I would have felt the same if roles were reversed.
Perhaps it was uncomfortable for them that there was such a difference in work for the same pay.
And Sir Fret continued to maintain strict formality toward me…
No matter how many times I asked them to relax, the response remained consistent:
“I’m accustomed to it. This is more comfortable for me.”
They spoke with their characteristic smiling faces, yet it no longer felt forced, so I had resigned myself.
In my current situation, there was only one way to work comfortably in this household.
I released the curtain.
I wasn’t sure if it was proper for a servant to meet the master on their own, but I decided it would be best to see Duke Schultz.
Meeting Duke Schultz was not particularly difficult. When I asked Sir Fret, he gladly offered to make the request.
Passing down a long corridor and opening the door, the sharp scent of tobacco, which had lingered at my father’s funeral, first tickled my nose.
Between the arched sculpted walls hung tapestries.
“You said you wanted to see me. Is there a problem?”
A soft voice floated from the ash wood desk in the center.
I folded my newspaper and stared at the man before me.
Duke Schultz’s impression was sharper than I remembered.
Perhaps it was because he had helped me before. He hadn’t seemed this cold back then.
There was a sense of the Dochtelia Navy’s excessive precision, his face emotionless yet with a faintly bored expression that somehow drew my gaze.
Naturally, I had to meet him with a slightly more rigid posture than before, paying proper respect to my employer.
Duke Schultz straightened his posture from the office chair.
“I’ve heard from Fret that you handle your duties well.”
Meeting his gaze, my palms began to sweat. I tried to remain calm and straightened my back.
“The problem is that there isn’t much work to do.”
“Is that really a problem?”
His forehead furrowed. I nodded.
“The workload is far too small compared to my wage. I have an obligation to work more than I do now. That is the problem.”
A subtle crack appeared in Duke Schultz’s expression. His eyebrows rose.
“Obligation?”
He chewed over my words. I felt slightly intimidated but continued.
“I also came in as a servant. Honestly, it’s uncomfortable. The looks from other servants aren’t pleasant either.”
“….”
“Moreover, these days, I constantly wonder, ‘What will be said today?’ Even at home, my mind is never at ease.”
It was truly so.
Even at lunch, I felt self-conscious and often had indigestion. Only a week had passed.
I let out a low sigh.
“You aren’t, by any chance, taking the trouble to give me preferential treatment to ease my sorrow, are you, Duke Myussen?”
I added, unaware of the subtle change in Duke Schultz’s expression.
“Furthermore, Sir Fret treats me like a superior, which is very uncomfortable.”
A smirk escaped his lips, and I couldn’t continue speaking.
At last, I looked at Duke Schultz. He rested his chin on his interlaced hands.
His blue eyes traveled over my dark green dress embroidered with white thread, down my gray silk stockings, to the neat tips of my shoes.
His lips, tightly pressed, finally opened.
