ASDEF 25

Chapter 25

I brought up what I had prepared to say, so that no complaints about各自的 roles would arise.

“Actually, I’ve been thinking about what roles would suit each of you.”

At the mention of assigned roles, both of their eyes turned serious.

“First, I’d like Lucy to handle bringing the instruction sheets every morning and receiving guests. Lucy is quick and clever, so I trust she’ll handle those external affairs well.”

Lucy, who was to take charge of external duties, broke into a broad smile at the corner of her mouth. As I expected, she preferred the position of being the face of the household.

Of course, that was also what I wanted.

Since the Duke would know about external matters anyway, I planned to prove through Lucy that I was a daughter-in-law with nothing to hide.

I also intended to entrust Lucy with the nominal position to escape the surveillance network, even if just a little.

“Yes, of course. I’ll do well.”

Leaving behind the beaming Lucy, I turned my head toward Isabel.

“Isabel, I’d like you to stay with me and teach me all sorts of things about this place. Since you’ve worked here for a long time, you’d know more about the servants here too, right?”

In other words, it meant to stay close by my side. Isabel calmly nodded.

“Yes. It’s not much, but I will do my best to serve you.”

I lifted the corners of my mouth as I looked at her.

‘Even if Isabel happens to discover my secrets, she’ll keep her mouth shut. Because Isabel needs my help more than she needs Duke Benson’s.’

While I was briefly lost in thought, an excited Lucy asked me.

“Then who will be in charge of the Young Madam’s grooming?”

“Oh, that.”

Snapping out of my thoughts, I smiled brightly at the two of them.

“I’d like both of you to help with grooming. As you can see, I’m from the countryside, so I’m not as refined as the young ladies of the capital. I’ll need both of your perspectives.”

“I’ll make you more beautiful than any young lady in Vurston. This is an area where I’m more of an expert than Isabel. Hoho!”

Lucy, with a resolute gleam in her eyes, answered confidently, as if recalling what she used to do in the past.

Soon, while the two of them went to look over the dressing room, I looked down at the account book spread out on the table. Sipping my jasmine tea, I muttered to myself.

“Hmm, if I just copy last month’s account book as is, wouldn’t that cut the work in half?”

But if I did that, it was obvious how Duke Benson would react.

—

*’How regrettable. After I went through the trouble of assigning you two maids, all you can do is copy? I cannot acknowledge someone as incompetent as you as the daughter-in-law of the Benson family! Leave immediately and get out!’*

*’Wh-what?! Daniel, say something!’*

*’This is your fault for not handling things properly. And because this disrupts the plan, I’m suffering great losses as well. You should be grateful I’m not demanding compensation.’*

*’What? How can this be! You fraud! Give me back my money!!’*

—

“Yes. Given the Duke’s personality, he wouldn’t have handed me the answer key so openly. If I copy this outright, who knows what he might hold against me…”

Perhaps because the tea was already bitter, my heart was about to turn bitter as well when—

“Young Madam, Young Madam!”

“Eung?”

I looked up to see Lucy with her brows furrowed deeply.

In both her hands hung all the dresses Daniel had bought for me.

“Young Madam, these dresses are strange!”

“Strange? They look perfectly fine to me…”

“No, the colors are different, but they’re all the exact same design!”

She laid each dress down on the sofa one by one as she spoke.

“The design is the same, but this one’s red. This one’s orange. And that one’s yellow? Look at this, look at this. There are exactly seven of them, lined up by color. Good heavens.”

Seeing Lucy’s dumbfounded expression, I awkwardly scratched my head.

Kids, that’s… not my taste, but the eldest son of this house’s taste.

—

*’I’d like these dresses in every color, Madam.’*

—

That was how I had contributed to all the sales at *Madame Jeanne’s Atelier*.

I turned my head to look out the window at Daniel’s garden, faintly visible in the distance.

It was a garden that had been mentioned in the original work as well, so whenever I took walks here, I always observed it carefully.

That place, armed with abundant flowers and trees, was called a garden, but in reality, it was Daniel’s hideout for researching magic.

Daniel Benson, the youngest 8th-class mage in the Phlithium Kingdom.

Moreover, Daniel traveled between the fierce battlefield and home through a dimensional gate set up in a small building within the garden.

‘According to what I heard through Wally, this time the Dimension Gate appeared near the Ross Strait between Caph Island and the mainland. Caph Island is where the nobles’ villas are gathered. The cleanup won’t be easy…’

Come to think of it, over a week had passed since I last saw Daniel at the first breakfast in the Benson household, and he still hadn’t returned home.

Well, thanks to that, the room had become entirely mine.

Daniel’s fierce battles, mentioned countless times in the original work.

Due to excessive magical energy usage, Daniel’s stamina was rapidly depleting as the story progressed toward the latter half.

As a result, by the time of his final confrontation with the head of the dark mages, Daniel’s stamina was already at rock bottom.

‘I didn’t know when I only read about it in text, but now that I see it up close, it’s incredibly pitiful. Fierce battles, a desolate family, and even an unrequited love that can never be fulfilled. When Daniel returns, I should at least be kind to him…’

I nodded to myself, making a firm resolution.

My thoughts continued to stretch toward Daniel. Eventually, I even recalled the kiss I had shared with Daniel on our wedding day.

“Young Madam, at least the colors are different, so that’s a relief. Otherwise, I would’ve mistaken them for the same dress…”

“Snap out of it. Can’t you tell just by looking?”

“…Yes?!”

Lucy’s voice brought me back to reality.

Before my eyes was Lucy, who had begun to tear up as she stared at me.

I hurriedly explained to her.

“Oh, Lucy, Lucy! You were surprised, right? I was just lost in thought for a moment…”

“No, it’s not that. I couldn’t even tell them apart… Surely I didn’t insult these dresses that you went through the trouble of bringing, did I?”

“Oh, no, that’s not it.”

“I’ll pay better attention and distinguish them from now on! I’ll remember them well, so don’t worry, Young Madam!”

Lucy even took out a notepad and scribbled something down. Glancing at it, I saw it said: *’Today: yellow, Tomorrow: green, The day after: blue.’*

I thought to myself, *Am I some kind of rainbow rice cake?* But seeing her burning determination, I just kept my mouth shut.

“Young Madam, first, I’ll inform the head chef that today’s meal menu has been approved as such. Starting with lunch, you should personally check the table settings and taste the food being served first, so there won’t be any faults at the dining table.”

“Yes, that’s right. *Haaam.*”

Isabel, true to her sharp personality, neatly explained what I needed to do.

As expected, choosing Isabel as my maid was a really good decision.

I smiled with satisfaction and changed into the clothes Lucy had handed me.

“Fortunately, I’ve received word that His Lordship cannot join us for lunch as he is attending the royal council meeting, but as you know, Young Lady Alisa is quite meticulous as well.”

“Yeah. I can’t get scolded by the young lady again like last time. *Haaam.*”

Having had tea time on top of a full stomach, yawns kept spilling out.

Quick-witted Isabel hurriedly led me to the bed.

“You should take a short nap first, Young Madam. You look very tired.”

“Eung. Should I…?”

“Yes. I’ll wake you before lunch, so don’t worry and sleep soundly.”

“Thank you.”

As soon as I lay down on the wide bed, sleep washed over me. It seemed that I had been running on light sleep from using my head more than usual.

While Lucy and Isabel were tidying up to leave the room, I groggily thought about my future plans.

‘Daniel will be away from home frequently, participating in numerous battles. In the end, that means I have to endure here alone. Hiring dedicated maids seems to have been resolved decently enough, and now the next step is…’

My consciousness grew more and more hazy. Before I knew it, I had fallen into a deep sleep, unaware that the maids had left.

And then I began to dream a strange dream.