TVIMN 54

Chapter 54

It had been a month since their wedding and since Elaina had begun living in the Grand Duke’s mansion.
During that time, the mansion had undergone a remarkable transformation. All the old furniture had been replaced with new pieces, and the aged wallpaper and floors had been repaired.
Yet, despite these changes, the residence was still far from being called a beautiful manor.

The main reason was an absolute lack of manpower.
No matter how much care was put into the decorations or furniture, the lack of servants to clean the ever-settling dust made it impossible for the improvements to truly shine.

“How many people came for the interviews?”

“A total of thirty, madam. Of those, you’ll need to hire around twenty.”

“Hmm.”

Elaina nodded at the butler’s report.

“You filtered out everyone connected to that family, correct?”

“Yes, of course.”

Elaina recalled what Diane had told her a few days earlier. Before leaving for Hennet, Diane had stopped by her father’s estate to say goodbye — and happened to overhear a conversation between her half-brothers. She had secretly shared what she’d heard with Elaina afterward.

“What are they thinking…”

According to Diane, the Marquis of Redwood’s household had been trying to get their long-time servants hired into the Grand Duke’s mansion.
When Elaina checked through the butler, several forged applications had indeed been found — and every one of them was linked to the Redwood family, just as Diane had warned.

Nox would be late returning that day, and Lyle had gone out as well.
It was the perfect opportunity to handle the servant interviews in peace.

“Send in the next applicant.”

Elaina looked up from the stack of applications at the sound of the door opening — and frowned slightly.

It was a face she was sure she’d seen before.

“Have we met before?”

“N-no, madam! This is our first time meeting.”

The young woman quickly shook her head.

Elaina glanced at her application. Anna.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied the girl’s thickly braided gray hair — and then it struck her.

“Do you have a brother, by chance? You look quite similar to someone I know.”

“I, um, have two older cousins, actually.”

“Would one of them happen to be named Colin?”

Now it was Anna’s turn to look surprised.

“You know my cousin?”

“I’ve met him once before. That must be why you looked familiar. Is Colin doing well?”

Anna nodded hesitantly.

“Ah…”

“Something the matter?”

The girl seemed to debate whether to speak, then finally confessed,

“My cousin Colin’s younger brother is very ill right now… We’re in desperate need of money. The income from the tavern isn’t nearly enough to cover the cost of his medicine.”

She explained that it was the reason she’d applied for a maid’s position in the first place.

Elaina frowned.

“If it’s money he needs, wouldn’t joining the knight order be a better option? Why is he still running a tavern?”

It didn’t make financial sense — but Anna’s next words made Elaina realize she’d been too naive.

“No knight order will accept a commoner, madam. He’s submitted applications to several, but none would take him.”

“…I see. How much are the medicine costs?”

“Pardon?”

“Sir Colin is a close acquaintance of His Grace, the Grand Duke. If he’s in trouble, I’d like to help.”

“Ah, that’s… well…”

Anna hesitated, eyes darting nervously, but her desire to help her cousin soon won out. She gave the amount.

“Butler.”

“Yes, madam?”

“Prepare the money and give it to her.”

“Th-thank you! Truly, thank you so much!”

Anna’s face brightened with relief and gratitude.

“How can I ever repay such kindness? I never dreamed you’d offer such a large sum without hesitation.”

“By working diligently here at the mansion — that will be repayment enough. I have other applicants to meet, so we’ll talk more another time. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of chances in the future.”

“Yes, madam!”

Anna’s tone shifted naturally — she was already calling Elaina madam with ease.
Once the overjoyed girl left, the next interviewee entered.

By the time Elaina finished interviewing everyone, the sun was already high in the sky.
She’d met with all the applicants that morning and had selected a list of promising candidates, which she handed to the butler.

Perhaps because she’d met so many people after so long, her body felt weary.
Leaving a note that she’d be resting, Elaina went upstairs to her room.

Even after lying down, she couldn’t get Colin out of her head.
Ten years was far too long a time for a war hero to end up as little more than a tavern decoration.

The medicine cost Anna had mentioned wasn’t even that high — an ordinary knight could easily afford it.

But because he was a commoner, even a capable warrior like Colin couldn’t join a knight order.

“Is that really right…?”

Unlike Lyle, who had been forced into war under the charge of treason, men like Colin had volunteered — all to make a living.
They had risked their lives fighting the enemy, only to receive no real reward afterward. Who was going to compensate them for those ten lost years?

“Haah…”

Surely Colin wasn’t the only one with such a story. The thought weighed heavily on Elaina’s heart.

“Madam, you look quite tired. Shall I cancel your afternoon appointments?”

Sarah, noticing Elaina’s pale complexion as she rested, asked carefully.

Starting tomorrow, twenty new servants would begin working in the mansion.
They needed to establish supply contracts with shops that would regularly provide food and household goods. Normally, the butler could handle such arrangements alone, but since Elaina had been so deeply involved in managing the mansion lately, Sarah had suggested going together.

“No, let’s go. You’re right — I’ve been cooped up here too long.”

Besides, the butler would manage most of the practical details.

“I’ll take a walk and look around while we’re out — I need a bit of fresh air anyway.”

Elaina rose to her feet, brushing off the lingering heaviness from the morning’s bitter interviews.

When she returned from the market later that day, Lyle was already back.
Perhaps because no one else was around, he was lying on his bed fast asleep.

Elaina quietly closed the door behind her, not wanting to wake him.
But Lyle, a light sleeper, stirred almost immediately at her presence.

“Ah, you’re back.”

Elaina gently pushed him back down when he tried to sit up.

“Just stay lying down. You look exhausted.”

She had actually been meaning to bring this up soon.

“Since we’re talking about it — from today onward, you should just sleep in the bed.”

Lyle blinked at her, as if unsure he’d heard correctly.

“I mean, stop sleeping on the sofa. It looks terribly uncomfortable — and frankly, it feels awkward to keep taking the bed for myself.”

“Why would that bother you? I’m fine with it.”

“Well, I’m not. So no.”

She had even planned to tell the butler to stop arranging the sofa that way.
Though she understood the butler’s desire for them to share a room, honestly, this strange living arrangement had gone on long enough.

“The bed’s plenty big — even if we both sleep here, it won’t be uncomfortable. As long as we stay on our own sides, of course.”

When they had stayed at the villa for their honeymoon, simply sharing a room had been unbearably awkward for her.
But now, she no longer felt that way. In fact, she thought she could even share the bed without issue.

“If you’re comfortable with it, I don’t mind.”

“Then it’s settled. You’ll sleep in the bed from now on. I couldn’t stop thinking about your legs sticking out over the edge of the sofa.”

Lyle raised an eyebrow and gave a faint, amused huff.

“Hah. That’s quite the reason.”

“Then it’s decided. You should rest for a bit before dinner — you look really tired. I’ll have Sarah bring you a warm eye mask.”

Elaina called for Sarah, who soon returned with one of her own creations — a soft, flower-pink mask covered with ruffles, embroidered with colorful flowers, a white rabbit, and a tiny squirrel.

When the imposing Lyle put it on, he looked so comically out of place that both Elaina and Sarah had to bite their lips to keep from laughing.
Lyle, blissfully unaware of how ridiculous he looked, simply relaxed and settled back down, wearing the frilly pink mask with calm composure.