Chapter 7

Pesha woke up early the next morning. With the help of the maids, she washed her face, changed her clothes, and headed to the dining room for breakfast.

The building had already been old when Owen was first granted his title.

Even though it had supposedly been renovated, that fact had not changed.

Cracked windows, faded still-life paintings in plain frames, and wooden stairs that had slightly sunk and creaked whenever she stepped on them were scattered throughout the castle and made her uneasy, but Pesha deliberately pretended not to notice.

When she opened the dining room door, Owen Namoi was already there.

He was sitting at the far end of a long dining table covered with a white tablecloth, drinking tea while reading a newspaper.

In the gloomy dining room, which did not even have a chandelier, the only things that really caught Pesha’s attention were the unusually white tablecloth and Owen’s striking appearance.

‘This is a count’s castle in name only. Can they really live like this?’

Ahem.

Pesha gave a small cough and sat down. Owen folded the newspaper he was reading and handed it to the butler.

“You’re up early.”

It was an odd thing to say when he had arrived even earlier and had already had enough time to leisurely read the newspaper.

“Was there anything uncomfortable about your room?”

‘Anything uncomfortable?’

Of course there was.

Early spring nights, before winter had completely disappeared, were chilly from the moment the air touched your skin.

Her room had at least been furnished somewhat better because it belonged to the lady of the house, but it had not retained heat properly throughout the night. She had been cold, and she felt as though she had not recovered from her fatigue at all.

The opening of the fireplace had even been completely covered with wooden boards.

But Pesha was still cautious about everything in this castle. She could not bring herself to order a maid to remove them.

‘Maybe they just ran out of dry firewood. Or maybe people in the eastern region stop using heating as soon as winter ends. I don’t want to seem like someone who makes a fuss over every little thing.’

Complaining from the very beginning would not change anything.

Pesha simply shook her head.

“No. The room was clean and quiet, so I was quite comfortable.”

It was only a little cold at night. Once the weather warmed up in a few days, it would be fine. As for the heating problem that would come next winter, she could think about it when the time came.

When Pesha brushed aside his question so calmly, Owen raised one eyebrow as if surprised, then took a sip of his tea.

“That’s good.”

Meanwhile, the butler, who had been sneaking suspicious glances at Pesha, ordered the servants to bring out the food.

The door at the back of the dining room opened, and the servants began carrying in breakfast.

Pesha had barely eaten a proper meal since the day before the wedding, so she had secretly been looking forward to breakfast.

Her judgment had temporarily become clouded by food, despite having already experienced how unusual this castle was.

Normally, when she thought of breakfast, she imagined golden croissants steaming fresh from the oven, sweet raspberry jam, fresh milk, or fragrant seasonal fruit.

But the food the servants brought out completely surpassed her expectations.

Potatoes.

It was potatoes.

Roasted potatoes with green beans.

Mashed boiled potatoes mixed with paprika.

Stir-fried cabbage and potatoes.

Potato pancakes…

Anyway, it was all potatoes.

‘Did I marry into the Potato Kingdom?’

No matter how delicious spring potatoes were supposed to be…

Despite the shocking potato-based appetizers, Owen looked completely unfazed, as though this were perfectly normal.

“Let’s eat.”

He casually picked up his cutlery and started eating, leaving Pesha no chance to ask about the potatoes.

Thankfully, by the middle of the meal, dishes other than potatoes appeared, such as thick stew and meat pie.

But even the meat in those dishes had all been heavily salted or dried for long-term storage, so it was extremely salty and tough.

‘This is serious…’

They had probably made an effort because it was the first breakfast for the new lady of the house.

If this was what they considered a special meal, Pesha could already imagine what they served ordinary guests.

Even if the lord was frugal and normally ate nothing but potatoes, carrots, and cabbage, guests were supposed to be served an abundant meal.

Food was one of the basics of hospitality, and an aristocratic family’s reputation could change dramatically depending on how well they treated their guests.

It might seem like empty formalities, but those very formalities were what kept noble society running.

Pesha chewed on an undercooked carrot from the vegetable stew while carefully observing Owen.

‘How am I supposed to explain this to him?’

‘Your castle’s food is terrible?’

That would be even more rude than the terrible food itself.

‘Rather than pointing out little things one by one, I should first inspect the overall condition of this castle.’

It seemed unlikely that the problem was limited to the meals.

As Pesha became lost in thought and barely touched her food, Owen, who had been eating silently, spoke to her.

“…This is your first day in Swap. Do you have any plans?”

“Plans?”

‘I was thinking of looking around this entire castle.’

But there was no way she could say that honestly.

Pesha rolled her eyes around before awkwardly answering,

“Um… sightseeing?”

“Then I’ll assign someone to accompany you.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I can take my maids with me.”

“You don’t know your way around.”

“And… there are many dangerous places in Swap.”

“Dangerous places?”

Pesha’s eyes widened at the word dangerous, even though she had not been planning to leave the castle immediately.

Seeing her reaction, Owen flinched and quickly clarified with a frown,

“I don’t mean dangerous in the sense of crime-ridden areas. It’s just that a noblewoman like you can become a target wherever you go.”

“I’m planning to look around inside the castle today.”

“There won’t be much to see in the castle…”

Deep wrinkles formed between Owen’s brows.

Apparently, even he was aware of how barren this place was.

“That’s fine. I just want to walk around and get used to the place.”

Owen was silent for a moment before speaking.

“…Do as you please.”

After saying that, he finished his meal and left first, saying that he had work to do.

Even though they were only a couple because of a political marriage, his departure was remarkably cold.

Pesha suddenly lost her appetite, put down her utensils, and stood up.

After leaving the dining room, she slowly toured the count’s castle, starting from the basement.

After roughly inspecting the important areas and places that caught her eye, she could not help but be horrified.

‘How on earth has this man been managing his household?’

There were obvious signs of unfinished construction all over the castle. On top of that, the number of servants was far too small for such a huge castle, so even basic cleaning had not been done properly.

And the food supplies?

She had wondered why the meals were unbelievably frugal, and sure enough, most of the stored food consisted of rough, ordinary vegetables that commoners would normally eat every day.

If a guest happened to arrive in this state, they would have difficulty even preparing something suitable to serve them.

Alcohol was the same.

Alcohol was essential in times of need because it could even be used as medicine, and people also needed it to warm their bodies during the coming winter.

Yet the wine cellar was practically empty.

The garden, meanwhile, was so overgrown that it looked as though it had been abandoned for about ten years.

When Pesha asked about it, she learned that they did not have a gardener because the salary was too expensive.

In short, the household was a complete disaster.

“Why on earth does a household with both a butler and a head maid not have a gardener?”

Pesha desperately wanted to march straight to Owen and ask how much the count’s castle spent on its annual budget.

But she had only been married for one day. It was not a matter she could casually interfere in.

Besides, he might easily take it as an insult.

“This is difficult.”

Strictly speaking, household management should be handled by the lady of the house or senior servants who were responsible for administration.

‘And considering that man’s circumstances, he spent years being called away to fight in one war after another.’

If that was the case, there was only one person she needed to meet now.