They crossed the gardens of the duke’s estate, and at last arrived before the front entrance.
Kael took my hand to help me down from the carriage, making sure I wouldn’t step on my dress. I quickly smoothed out the fabric he had so thoroughly crumpled.
‘A deep breath.’
I was nervous. I had visited a few times before, but this was the first time I’d arrived officially, with all the household staff lined up to receive me.
For the size of the estate, the number of servants seemed rather modest. Whether it was a reflection of Kael’s hatred of anything complicated or cumbersome, the place appeared to run on a skeleton crew.
But then.
“……”
Every single one of them was staring at me.
The servants — men, women, young and old alike — watched me with expressions that were blank, though ‘blank’ was perhaps too generous a word. They looked more frightening than anything else. Unable to withstand the heat of all those eyes, I ducked behind Kael’s back. I buried my face between his shoulder blades and grabbed the hem of his jacket.
He turned his head slightly and looked back at me.
“Why?”
“It’s, it’s just — everyone’s staring so much.”
What on earth were they thinking?
I cast my mind back to the original novel. In the story, the household of the Hardeion Duchy was filled with cold, cynical people — not just the immediate family, but the servants too. The staff were tightly bonded among themselves, yet deeply closed off to outsiders. They had little tolerance for anyone who didn’t belong.
The contract lover in the original story had suffered no small number of indignities under this roof. Subtle harassment and blatant contempt had been her daily lot. And Kael — her supposed partner, even if only by contract — had done nothing to protect her. He had simply left her to fend for herself.
The only ones who had shown her any warmth were Hugo and Mr. Brown, the gardener.
‘And I have to last a whole month in a place like this.’
That was exactly why I’d never wanted to come. I wished Emily would hurry up and arrive.
Still hiding behind Kael, I peeked out at the assembled staff.
A few of them were watching me with eyes that gleamed strangely, the corners of their mouths stretching into odd little smiles. A few more moved their lips, barely perceptibly, like ventriloquists mouthing words.
‘Oh no.’
Were they reciting curses?
* * *
“Good heavens. Is that a baby rabbit?”
“She’s absolutely adorable.”
“She’s hiding behind the master — you can’t even see her tail.”
‘Ah, the future mistress is really something, isn’t she.’
The servants gazed at her with barely concealed adoration — this one small ray of light that had somehow found its way into the bleak halls of the Hardeion estate. It took everything they had not to let their smiles break wide open.
The future mistress’s brilliant golden hair caught the sunlight and shimmered. Her green eyes, deep and dewy as new leaves after rain, sparkled with life.
She was glowing from head to toe.
And look at their master — the man who usually radiated cold air in every direction. Right now, watching his fiancée burrow behind his back, he looked completely at a loss.
Could there be a more adorable, lovable couple?
Truth be told, the servants had been quietly worried for quite some time.
The master had taken over the title long ago, and had shown absolutely no interest in producing an heir, let alone getting married. He had been particularly popular with the princesses of neighboring countries, but he had turned down every last proposal — and then, seemingly overnight, gone and plucked this lovely, beautiful, precious creature out of thin air.
And the two of them seemed positively smitten. The little rabbit future-mistress had been visiting the estate nearly every other day, by all accounts.
Everything that happened within the walls of the Hardeion estate was kept in strict confidence. There was even a direct order from the master that all matters pertaining to the future mistress be kept absolutely secret.
So very few of the servants knew much about the particulars of their relationship — save for the handful of chambermaids who had helped the young lady with her bath on one of her visits.
According to what had trickled through from those few, every time the future mistress came to the estate, the two of them had been holed up in the master’s chambers together, wholly absorbed in each other’s company.
‘Perhaps the question of an heir might be resolved even before the wedding.’
The servants began pouring themselves a very generous helping of wishful thinking. They had already mentally combined their master’s and the future mistress’s features and assembled several candidate faces for the next generation.
* * *
“How do you do. I am Mary, the head housekeeper of this estate.”
“Oh, h-hello there…”
“Please, feel free to call me Madam Mary. From today, I shall see to it that you want for nothing during your stay.”
Madam Mary. She was Kael’s former nursemaid.
She had raised him from the time he was a newborn, caring for him as though he were her own child. In the original novel, she was described as one of the very few people Kael — who rarely allowed himself to grow attached to anyone — genuinely trusted.
‘There’s nothing to gain from making an enemy of the staff. However this situation came about, I’m still an outsider here.’
I should try to get along with everyone as best I can.
“It’s only for a short while, but I hope we’ll get on well, Madam Mary!”
“…A short while? You’ll be the duchess here for the rest of your life, my lady.”
“Ah, th-that’s true, isn’t it.”
‘This is not going to be easy.’
“Please follow me. I’ll show you to where you’ll be staying.”
I followed Madam Mary without protest. We left the main house and made our way across the garden.
After about ten minutes of walking, a smaller, tidier building came into view — more modest than the main house, but well-kept and clean. Flowers bloomed neatly in the small garden surrounding it, tended with obvious care.
“This is the annex. It’s where the late duchess resided during her engagement period, before the formal ceremony.”
‘The late duchess. The one who was said to bathe in the blood of young servant girls.’
“Even after becoming duchess, she would stay here whenever she was in the capital.”
Madam Mary explained as she guided me up to the second floor of the annex. The main house had a cold, austere feel to it — and the annex was no different.
Someone had made an effort to decorate, but the flower pots arranged along the corridor and on the staircase contained nothing but black roses. And on the walls hung paintings that were dark, oppressive, and deeply unsettling.
“Lovely, aren’t they? The late duchess has a great passion for art.”
“…I-Is that so?”
‘Lovely’ wasn’t the word I’d have chosen. The paintings were gloomy, disturbing — a haggard traveler sprawled in a dark ravine, mouth open in a silent scream; a blood-drenched sculpture with limbs dismembered and scattered across the frame…
‘I’ll stop looking.’
“This is where you’ll be staying.”
Madam Mary opened the door to the rightmost room on the second floor. At least this bedroom faced south — the afternoon light poured in through the windows, filling the room with a warm, golden shimmer.
The interior was done in pink and white, giving the space a soft, welcoming atmosphere. Everything looked brand new; there wasn’t a single worn or weathered piece of furniture to be found.
‘Did someone redecorate?’
Then, by the window, I spotted a familiar silhouette. That neat, upswept brown hair, that prim and proper back —
“Oh! Emily!”
Emily was in the middle of replacing the blackout curtains with white ones.
I ran to her without a second thought. I grabbed both her hands and swung them back and forth.
“It’s beautiful. You’ve done a wonderful job brightening the place up, Emily.”
“It’s all thanks to Madam Mary’s patience.”
“I love it.”
Madam Mary looked satisfied — a small, rather cryptic smile settling on her face.
“Well then, my lady, I shall take my leave. If there are any dishes you’re particularly fond of, please let me know, and I’ll take note for this evening’s meal.”
“Oh, I eat pretty much anything!”
“No dietary preferences either. As expected of — truly the finest—”
“I’m sorry?”
“Ah — no, nothing. I’ll be on my way. I’ll leave you in Emily’s capable hands.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Emily dipped a polite curtsy.
With Madam Mary gone, the two of us were finally left alone.
“Emilyyy! What are you doing?”
“Changing the curtains. Everything gloomy has to go.”
“Did you do all of this yourself? The whole room?”
“Yes. You like pink, don’t you?”
Overjoyed to have her there, I pestered Emily cheerfully while she focused on finishing the curtains. A few minutes later, she stepped back and gave a small, satisfied clap.
“Phew. Done.”
“Emily, look at this! Someone left strawberry cake and chocolate cake on the table!”
“Oh, a maid brought those earlier. Apparently they’re from a famous bakery nearby.”
“Let’s eat! I’m starving.”
We sat down across from each other at the table.
“Can you believe it? ‘Groom lessons.’ I’ve never heard of anything so ridiculous in my life.”
“I know. And it was surprising how enthusiastically the lady of the house approved of it.”
“Ha. Still, having you here makes me feel like I can breathe again. You know how shy I am with strangers. The thought of spending a whole month here alone — I couldn’t even imagine it.”
“Wherever you go, I’ll go too.”
As she said it, Emily lifted something from beneath the table — a bundle of considerably thick books. Mixed in with them were the volumes we’d purchased at the bookshop not long ago. Books on being a beloved woman, on what it meant to be a proper mistress of the house.
Which meant —
“Starting today? Right now? ‘Operation: Begin?!'”
“Yes. This one is called: Operation Worst Mistress.”
* * *
