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Chapter : 16
“Is it good? I only put in the fruits you like, miss, so please eat a lot.”
“The chef really put some thought into it. He must have been happy to get praised by Father.”
She’d always been able to eat well enough, but today it was obvious that extra care had gone into the food. That was how much the praise from the marquis had affected things.
Freya once again realized the authority Marquis Valche held in this household. No matter how kindly she treated the chef or how well she got along with him, a few words from the marquis changed the way she was treated.
Everything here was decided by the head of the family, Marquis Valche—her father. She hadn’t known at first, but as she saw and experienced more of this household, she gradually came to understand.
This place barely played the role of “home” or “family” for Freya.
That was why she insisted on remaining single and so strongly desired independence. No matter how hard she tried, she could never truly become a member of this family—so what was the point of staying?
Even on days when she wasn’t busy, going to work at the imperial palace office might be because it made her feel that sense of alienation and loneliness less.
At least when she focused on something, she could forget her situation for that moment.
Putting down her fork, Freya took a bite of the smoked duck sandwich and muttered,
“I should hurry up, eat, and go process some documents.”
She quickly finished one sandwich, then nibbled at the other. The crisp lettuce, refreshing tomatoes, the smoked duck as the main filling, and the harmony of savory cheese, bread, and mayonnaise sauce were perfect.
After finishing even the remaining orange juice and wiping her mouth and hands with a napkin, Freya stood up.
“Thanks for the meal, Greta. Could you tell the chef it was really delicious?”
“I will. I’m also happy to see you clean your plate for once, miss.”
“I must’ve used up a lot of energy today. I didn’t even realize I ate it all.”
Normally she wouldn’t have managed even half. She must have been so tense all day that her stomach had been empty.
“You’re going to the office, right? Shall I bring you some tea?”
“Yes, please. I have today’s workload and what I couldn’t finish yesterday, so I think I’ll be there a while.”
“You’ll be sleeping late again today. You have work tomorrow too—at this rate you’ll collapse, miss.”
“Don’t worry. I’m used to it, so I’ll be fine.”
It had been five years since she took charge of managing the household, three years at her job, and already half a year serving Astella.
Though it had only been about three months since she possessed this body, she had inherited its memories, so everything felt as vivid as if she had experienced it herself.
‘At least that’s something to be grateful for. If I didn’t have these memories, I don’t know how I’d handle all this alone… It would’ve been at least three times harder than now.’
She was also lucky to adapt quickly. Otherwise, she’d still be floundering around.
“Please don’t push yourself. You know I’m always worried about you, miss.”
“Of course, I know. Having you here gives me strength too. Thank you.”
“Miss…”
Greta drooped her eyebrows and looked at Freya with moist eyes. Our kind, pretty miss. If only she could take on her work for her.
But that was beyond her. So Greta did everything she could for Freya—making sure she ate better food, wore good clothes, and serving and supporting her with all her heart. That was the best she could do for her.
Seeing Greta on the verge of tears, Freya patted her back to soothe her. Holding back her tears with effort, Greta cleared the dishes and loaded them onto the trolley.
“I’ll bring the tea soon, miss.”
“Okay.”
After Greta pushed the trolley out, Freya changed clothes to go to the office. Since she planned to return and sleep right away once she was done, she put on comfortable pajamas and draped a thin shawl over them.
Turning off the light and leaving her room, she found the hallway half-dark.
‘Looks like Greta left these lights on.’
Only a few lights near Freya’s room were on—probably left for her return. Thanks to that, she could safely make her way to the office on the third floor.
The lady of the house’s office was on the third floor, in the middle, next to the marchioness’s bedroom. Freya climbed up quietly and carefully opened the office door.
“It’s the same as yesterday… no, there’s even more.”
Turning on the light, she saw piles of documents stacked on the desk—what she’d left unfinished yesterday plus new ones that had come in today.
How long would it take to get through all that?
“I won’t get more than a few hours of sleep again today.”
Letting out a deep sigh, her steps toward the desk felt heavier than usual.
“Yaaawn…”
Arriving early at the administrative department, Freya couldn’t stop her yawns.
She’d ended up pulling an all-nighter to finish all the documents, so she was severely short on sleep. This was bad—she shouldn’t be like this already.
‘There’s also the department meeting today, and a mountain of work to handle for the newly proposed policy.’
On top of that, she had to go shopping with Astella after work. Today looked like it would be just as tough as yesterday.
Slapping her cheeks with both hands to wake herself up, Freya hurried her hands along. To leave on time, she had to work as fast as possible.
“Let’s start the meeting.”
“Yes, Director.”
“We’re ready!”
As she came out of her office, the waiting staff stood and gathered. They all sat around the large table at the far end of the department and began the meeting.
“…And that concludes everything. Please review today’s matters and take care of them.”
“Yes.”
“Good work!”
Thanks to everyone’s focus, the meeting scheduled for two hours ended in an hour and a half. Gathering her papers, Freya quickly returned to her office.
No sooner had she sat down than she began moving her pen again. An hour and a half until lunch. She had to push a little harder until then.
With each tick of the clock’s minute hand, the stack of documents on her desk rapidly dwindled. In that hour and a half, Freya managed to clear nearly half of what had been piled up.
Cuckoo— Cuckoo—
“Phew…”
From the clock on the opposite wall, the cuckoo popped out to announce noon. Only then did Freya set down her pen, turn her head, and stretch.
“Lunch… what should I do.”
Maybe because she’d been concentrating too hard and her head hurt, she had little appetite.
But if she didn’t eat, Greta would scold her.
Just as she staggered to her feet reluctantly, the door burst open and someone came in.
“Freya, unni!”
“…Astella?”
Why was she here now? Freya’s eyes widened slightly at the sudden appearance.
“Didn’t you say you’d come around the time I finished work?”
She was sure that’s what they’d agreed on. When Freya asked, Astella smiled brightly and replied,
“I wanted to go shopping with you sooner, unni. And since it’s lunchtime, I thought we could eat together and then go.”
“What? What if I already had lunch plans?”
“Do you? You always eat alone, unni.”
She’s awfully blunt.
“…I don’t have any plans, but if my morning work had run late, even if you came, we wouldn’t have been able to go together. Next time, contact me first before coming, Astella.”
Today she could make lunchtime because she’d worked fast, but usually she ate late or skipped it altogether.
Astella often showed up without warning, but today hadn’t they set a time? She wished she’d at least stick to what they agreed on.
She said it thinking of the other person’s situation too, but Astella’s reply left Freya speechless.
“Since I was going to borrow time anyway, I didn’t see the need to wait until you got off work, unni. But you’re right—if your morning work had piled up, I might’ve come for nothing.”
“…Right. So next time, please be sure to contact me beforehand. Otherwise you might end up having to make two trips for no reason.”
“Okay. You really think of me the most, unni. Thank you.”
How could she be so consistently self-centered? Freya found Astella’s bright smile absurd, but she simply nodded and got ready to leave.
If she added anything more here, it would only make things more troublesome for herself.
