TVH 22

chapter 22

The number of people working and the result aren’t always proportional.

If I clean half-heartedly, he’ll definitely get stressed about it. In the end, he’ll end up having to do the job twice, making it even more exhausting.

That’s right. It’s not physical exhaustion I’m giving him, but mental fatigue!

As expected, I could see Dante’s face gradually hardening.

“No, Master. Please don’t.”

“Aw, don’t refuse. I’m doing this because I want to.”

I knew very well that this wasn’t just a polite refusal—he was rejecting me in earnest.

His tightly pressed lips moved slowly up and down, his throat bobbing, and finally a voice like a sigh slipped out.

“Master.”

“Yes?”

“…Nothing.”

He turned his head away, letting out sigh after sigh.

Seeing how tired he already looked—I guess it worked.

By the time the sun had set completely and a deep stillness spread through the night, we arrived at the mansion and stepped into the garden.

But… something felt completely off. This didn’t feel like my home at all. That long-abandoned gloom and dreariness was gone.

“…Huh?”

The moment I saw the scene before me, I couldn’t contain my shock.

“They did all this in just a few hours…?”

The enormous garden had been transformed into something like a grand theme park you’d have to pay admission to enter.

Kilian, who had been petting Toto among topiary animals shaped like rabbits, cats, puppies, and even dragons, turned to me.

“Master, there’s something I want to show you.”

The moment he finished speaking, the garden, which had been swallowed by darkness, suddenly bloomed with dazzling light.

Under the brilliance of the lamps that lit up the entire garden, my shock quickly gave way to awe.

Tiny bulbs strung along the animal-shaped topiary twinkled like constellations. Even the broken streetlamps and garden lights had been repaired. At night, the garden had once looked like a deserted graveyard, but now it was cloaked in a mysterious glow.

Somehow… it felt comforting.

“These are lights that plants like. They help with growth as well.”

As I looked around the enchanting, star-strewn garden, I rubbed my forehead and let out a helpless smile.

I had no choice but to admit it. That man truly was a genius gardener.

“I love it. It feels like one of those inspiring true stories, you know? A once-shunned place transformed into a breathtaking world attraction by a brilliant gardener. So many tourists visit that the local economy flourishes, and eventually they even build a statue in honor of his great achievement.”

I wasn’t good with words, so that was the best praise I could manage.

Inside Kilian’s helmet, his silver eyes gleamed.

“I never expected such lavish praise from Master. I’m delighted.”

His voice carried nothing but pride and joy—no hint of fatigue at all.

While I was smiling warmly and looking around, I suddenly noticed Mathias sitting on a nearby bench in a sharp suit. He was staring at the garden with a strange expression.

Why does he look like that?

It didn’t seem like he disliked it, but there was something wistful, almost sorrowful, in his gaze.

I tilted my head and walked over to him.

“You don’t like it? I thought you liked cute things.”

“I told you I don’t.”

With his usual haughty, aloof expression, he glanced at me, idly flicking the tip of his shoe where his legs were crossed.

Hmph. Denying it like some thorny rose that refuses to admit it’s lovely.

Then I suddenly remembered that old letter from the mailbox, and asked him,

“Mr. Mathias, I found a letter from 150 years ago in the mailbox. Was it meant for you?”

He ran a hand through his sleek, neatly combed black hair and replied,

“No.”

“It feels wrong to just throw it away since it isn’t mine. What if it has something important inside?”

“Doesn’t matter. Whoever it was, they’re no longer in this world. Don’t tell me you’re planning to make me read it aloud?”

…How did he know? Ugh, this is why I hate quick-witted men.

Maybe I should just ask Dante to read it instead.

It could even be something trivial like overdue utility bills. Who knows how many centuries they’ve been piling up.

With a sigh, I sat down next to Mathias.

“Fine, then not the letter. I just have something else I want to ask you.”

“Am I some walking encyclopedia to answer all your questions? Too lazy to look things up yourself?”

“They say this mansion has a Philosopher’s Stone.”

“And?”

“That means—tell me what it is?”

Leaning an elbow on the bench’s backrest and resting his chin in his hand, he wore an expression of boredom.

“It is something inherited. Even if you kill the owner and take it, if you’re not chosen, you can’t use it.”

…What? I didn’t understand a single word of that.

But if I asked again, he’d just scold me for being a “question-mark murderer.” So I decided to let it slide.

“Oh, so you must have it then? You’re the master of the mansion.”

Barely five seconds after my “no more questions” resolution, I slipped again. Mathias tilted his head slightly, looking annoyed.

“No. I don’t have it. Stop worrying about useless things and go eat.”

…Did he lose it? Tch. Would it kill him to be a little nicer when he talks? I pouted openly as I stood up.

I’m the kind of person who has to say what’s on my mind.

“When you talk to me like a stranger, it hurts, you know? I thought we’d gotten pretty close.”

“And what exactly do you want me to do about that?”

He slowly raised one hand, and I flinched, worried he’d seal my mouth shut again.

“Just saying. Anyway, I’ll go eat now, while continuing my delusion of being close to you.”

Inside the mansion, after eating the dinner Ezekiel had prepared (yes, there was rolled omelet again),

I followed my plan—helped clear the dishes, did some washing, and even tied up the trash. I worked hard, in my own way.

“Master, this is tiring for you. Please don’t do it next time.”

Dante’s worried voice came from beside me. I shook my head with a smile.

“It’s really nothing. I’m fine.”

But he looked utterly distressed as he stared silently at the dishes I’d stacked in the cupboard and the trash I’d bundled in the corner.

“I’m the one who suffers. Please don’t torment me.”

Suffers, he says. Mission accomplished.

As Dante began re-sorting the trash from scratch, I spoke up.

“By the way, I’ll come to your room later. I need a favor.”

“Understood.”

I intended to ask him to read that old letter for me.

At that moment, Eluard, who had been checking the leftover ingredients, glanced back and forth between us.

“You even go into each other’s rooms now? And here I thought you promised to marry me. Well, I don’t mind your past before marriage, so feel free to enjoy yourself.”

At his words, Dante stared at me expressionlessly.

Why is he looking at me with betrayal in his eyes?

Scratching my neck awkwardly, I turned to the damn demon butler.

“Mr. Eluard? When did we ever schedule a hundred-year vow of marriage?”

Eluard smiled sweetly, his eyes curving.

“You said you’d make me your husband as a way to solve the property tax problem.”

“…Excuse me? That must’ve been some huge misunderstanding.”

“But promise me this—after we’re married, you won’t see other men. Even demons get hurt.”

What the hell is he saying?!

While he was spouting nonsense, Dante had already finished sorting the trash and washing his hands. He strode over and loomed over me, his face suddenly feeling far too close.

“You’ll regret it. That guy’s hopeless with housework.”

“No, I never planned to marry him in the first place. I’m not even capable of being a breadwinner worthy of a supportive spouse yet.”

“Then are you saying that once you are capable, you’ll marry that demon? That’s troubling.”

His tone was terribly serious. Clearly, he was worried about losing his monopoly on housework.

“Don’t worry. I’ll leave the chores to you for life. You can relax now.”

And with that final declaration, I bolted for my room.

As soon as I sat on the bed, exhaustion washed over me. I collapsed right then and there.

Why does it feel like I’m the only one piling up fatigue?

“…I’ll just ask him to read the letter tomorrow morning.”

The next morning, I looked out at the garden through my bedroom window.

Once overrun with weeds for decades, it now held warm hues of spring. It felt like the mansion’s former glory—when royalty and foreign dignitaries once visited—was being revived.

In the center of the garden, I spotted Dante, staring blankly at a cat, and Kilian, still clad in armor.

From afar they looked like scary kidnappers about to snatch the kittens, but in reality they were just feeding and watching them. Kilian even sat on the grass to serve as a living cat tower for the little ones.

“They look like they’re genuinely doing what they love. Not nearly as bad as I thought.”

I murmured to myself.

If they had really come here to plot rebellion in seclusion, they wouldn’t look this happy.

They didn’t seem like people who would use me and throw me away either.

…Could it be that I remembered the story wrong?

After all, this was supposed to be a dark historical drama.

Yet here I was, reborn as Mia Fortuna—a character not even mentioned in the original. I’d somehow recruited the shadowy male lead as my housekeeper, and was now employing the strongest people in their fields as my chef, butler, and gardener. This was more like a daily sitcom than a tragedy.

Maybe I’d been clinging too much to the original. Stories change completely depending on who writes them.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t even met the heroine. Never even heard her name in my life. If the male lead’s here, then surely the female lead should appear too.”

“Fate always brings people together.”

“Yes, monk, you’re right—ahhh!”

Startled by the sudden voice, I screamed.

Standing behind me in a deep teal suit, Eluard smiled smoothly.

“I’ve prepared a business proposal to make you rich, Master.”

“Already? And why did you come in without knocking?”

“I did knock. You were too busy mumbling to yourself to notice.”

That damn demon—he heard everything I muttered? I scrambled to cover it up.

“I was just thinking about a book I read before.”

“What’s the title?”

“The Last Princess.”

If he were human, Eluard would have rivaled Dante or Mathias in beauty. He flashed a flawless smile.

“Ah, I know that book too.”

…Wait, what? That book exists in this world too?