The Lady seemed distant again. I knocked on the door multiple times, but she wouldn't respond.
It reminded me of the Lady from months ago. And it's all that prince's fault.
I knew the Lady didn't have good mental health, but that guy must have triggered something that deeply reminded her of something from the past. A thunderbolt came crashing from the outside window as rain poured heavily.
I wiped the mist-covered window and saw the prince still standing where I had kicked him, silently in the rain.
'Of course, I'd feel bad for him, but...'
He was undoubtedly one of the reasons that made my Lady's life miserable.
I opened the door to the outside mansion and grabbed an umbrella. "Get inside."
But of course, I wouldn't defy any of my Lady's orders.
He remained motionless as the rain dripped from his body.
"It's her order. I know that we hate each other, but do not make my Lady suffer any longer with your stubbornness." He flinched at my words. Although I couldn't see it, he seemed concerned about what my Lady might think of him.
I guided him inside the mansion and handed him a warm, dry towel. He didn't say much because he was quiet, but he followed my instructions as soon as he heard that it was my Lady's command.
After making him take a shower and feeding him, I proceeded to treat his accumulated wounds.
'He really looked like a dog waiting for his master for sure.
It was awkward because he couldn't speak, and his expression hadn't changed from earlier. He wouldn't even flinch as I treated his wounds.
Then I noticed him staring at the painting above the fireplace.
'Ah,'
I quickly put down what I was doing and uncovered it.
The prince, who had an unchanged expression until now, looked at me with confusion. I paid no heed to his gaze and continued treating his injuries, but after a while, the atmosphere grew thick.
"That was the painting of the current Konrow family." I covered it back up for him. "You were probably looking at Lady Adele, right? But Lady Nephi hates this painting more than anyone else."
He silently listened to my ramblings. "Lady Nephi always wanted her family to notice her, but no matter what she did, she was always met with disappointment. Mock me all you want, but all her life, she devoted her efforts towards gaining their affection, only to never get what she desired, especially if there was an illegitimate child receiving it instead of her."
The prince suddenly grew angry at my remarks.
"Yeah, be angry at me, but it's the truth. Aren't you all the same?" He bit his lip in frustration.
"I know that much about the imperial family. That's probably why my Lady also liked you, because she looked up to you like a role model, someone who achieved what she could not."
I gripped harder at the cloth. "But what did you do? Not only did you shatter her hope, but you also crushed her hope of reconciling with her family." The prince stood up but returned to his seat after he couldn't say anything.
"No matter what you think of my Lady, I will always think of you as a scumbag." I wrapped up the bandages on his body tightly.
"So when this is all over, get the hell away from my Lady." Then I opened the door to the living room.
"Get some rest for now. Well then, I hope you don't have a nice night." I closed the door firmly behind him.
—
It seemed the Lady was still not feeling well.
Usually around 4 am, she would wake up, exercise a bit, then eat breakfast. But now, she still hadn't come out of her room.
After preparing her meal, I hesitantly knocked on the door of her room. "Lady, are you awake?" After a while, there was no response. As I'd expected, I knew very well she wouldn't leave her room.
After waiting for some time, I heard a knock on the mansion's door. It was more or less an unwelcome guest, but nevertheless, I still had to respond to it.
I gently opened the door. It was the messenger of Marquis Jhake, an ugly pig.
"Is Lady Josephine von Konrow available?" he said in an otherwise arrogant tone. "
"She is not currently, she's not feeling very well."
"I see," he furrowed his brow in contemplation. "Well then," he handed me a piece of scroll, "Tell your Lady the Marquis sends his apology for not meeting her and..."
From his pocket with great difficulty, he pulled out an invitation letter, "tell her to come to the Marquis' party this week. Buhihihi!"
Disgusting bastard, even his laugh is annoying. I accepted the letter, bowed, and the messenger left.
The lady won't attend this as usual; the lady is just that kind of person. While she respected the boundaries between the two families, she would not overstep beyond what is set. That is why at most, she would only act as a fiancée as a "formality."
I put the letter on the lady's room as usual and heard another knock on the mansion's door.
'Tsk. It was rare for the Lady to have a guest, but twice now? Could this day get any worse?'
I slowly strode towards the door as the knocking became more consistent. I opened the door quickly in frustration. "Who might it be—Oh."
"Is this where Lady Josephine von Konrow resides?"
It was a bunch of priests and paladins.
"Uhm... yes?"
"Is the Lady available right now?"
"Uh... no, she's not. She's not feeling well."
I knew what they wanted after all. The Lady told me that there was an accident in the cathedral a few weeks ago. "A new revelation has appeared—"
Suddenly, a priest with a more intricate robe butted in and the other priest bowed and moved away.
"Your Lady is one of the potential witness as she was inside the cathedral when the revelation has appeared" he told me.
"Has your lady had any changes as of recent? Like her hair color changing?"
"No, my lady always had black hair."
"I see…"
"Pfft, as if a villainess would become a saint—"
Before the paladin could continue his insulting remark, the high-ranking priest grabbed the paladin's head and crushed it on the floor.
"Insolence is not required in the divine presence of our gods." The paladin was immediately knocked unconscious. The priest smiled at me. "I'm sorry for the rude behavior, my—"
"Enough," I said with an irritating tone. "How much more do you intend to mock my Lady?"
The other priests tried to intervene, but the high priest stopped them with a wave of his hand.
"We deeply apologize again for the rude behavior. We will come back another day once things have settled."
He bowed his head, which the other priests were surprised by, but I also bowed my head in return.
"Well then, if you'll excuse me." I closed the door immediately. After waiting for a while for them to leave, I immediately went to check the surroundings of the mansion to see if they left anything.
That usually was the case, but this time, it seemed that they were not interested in my lady.
"Good,"
When I came back to the mansion, it was already close to lunchtime, so I had to ready the meal.
To my surprise, I found the prince peeling potatoes in the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, who asked you to peel the potatoes?" No response. He simply continued peeling them.
'He's skilled. I saw him already preparing the other ingredients,' I sighed again.
"Fine, I'm not that stubborn to ignore help. Let's see what you got."
Today's menu was shepherd's pie with mashed potatoes. I already had the recipe open on the counter.
"First, the pastry." although he looked like an amateur, he kneaded the dough meticulously. "The lady likes it flaky, though," I told him.
He added too much flour though.
Next, the filling—shepherd's pie is mostly made from lamb meat, but my lady is particularly inclined to a mix of beef, lamb, and pork. The demi-glace sauce that was supposed to enhance it was already prepared.
He prepared the Bolognese sauce with extra acidity, just the way my lady likes it.
'I didn't even include it in the recipe...'
Next, constructing the pie itself. He chose a simple design for the casserole, and while it lacked complexity, there was a certain charm to its simplicity.
"It's fair enough, I guess,"
He just had to let that bake over low heat for an hour and it would be done...
Next was the mashed potatoes. As he began boiling them, he mashed them with great intensity while adding butter. "No, no," I took the bowl he had and directed him on the correct consistency.
"My lady likes it to have a smooth and creamy consistency." Now that I think of it, it was the Lady who taught me all of this. I smiled in reminiscence.
"You don't know how to mash? Well, I'll teach you," her words echo through my head.
I made a lighthearted joke. "Make my lady angry again, and I'll kill you!" Though he couldn't express it in words, he added an expression that conveyed he wouldn't do it.
"Is breakfast ready yet?" we both immediately turned our eyes to where the voice came.
There she stood, Lady Nephi, with her long flowing locks of white hair cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall of moonlight. Her eyes, a radiant yellow hue, seemed to hold the wisdom of ages, shining with an otherworldly glow.
As she entered the room, she exuded an aura of serenity and grace, her presence commanding attention like a goddess descending from the heavens to walk among mortals.
The moment we saw her, we were both dazed. She was wiping her eyes and looked confused at her hair. After staring at it for a while, she suddenly realized something and rushed back to her room at an unbelievable speed.
I could do nothing but watch in a daze.