IOBTML 22

“Sir Kane, so this is where you went after leaving us earlier?”

“You all should find another place. There’s no room here.”

“What do you mean, there’s no room? Look how spacious it is!”

“Exactly. And didn’t the mistress—no, the Baroness—say we were welcome to rest here anytime?”

Two younger knights retorted defiantly. They had already experienced the bliss of the ondol and couldn’t bear to part with it.

For those who hadn’t yet visited, ignorance might have spared them. But for anyone who had felt the heavenly warmth even once, there was no turning back.

Despite Sir Kane’s sharp glare, the knights paid no heed, barging into the room like a herd of boars.

The treasurer, caught in the surge, was pushed further inside. If not for the steward grabbing his arm in time, he might have fallen in an unceremonious heap.

“What… what is the meaning of this…” the administrator stammered, too overwhelmed to finish his sentence.

The treasurer, however, wasted no time.

“First, lie down and warm your back.”

Warm his back?

“My back is not some pancake to be cooked! What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Just lie down already!”

The treasurer raised his voice, and the administrator, almost against his will, found himself lying flat on the floor. The treasurer, without hesitation, draped his blanket over the administrator.

Aaaah~.

He could almost hear angelic music playing above his head.

A wave of warmth enveloped his entire body, melting away the cold. At the same time, a profound drowsiness washed over him.

If heaven existed, surely this was it.

The administrator was certain—there could be no other form of paradise.

While the heating construction was underway, Penelope temporarily moved her office to the gardener’s house.

She ate, slept, and worked there. Ahwin also spent his days in the same space.

The bedroom was designated for Penelope’s use, while Ahwin occupied the living room.

The vassals often stopped by Penelope’s makeshift office when they felt like it, and the maids and servants came by frequently, taking turns staying there.

Knights occasionally visited as well, resting in the living room.

The gardener’s house had unofficially become Halo Castle’s communal lounge.

Fortunately, the house was spacious enough to accommodate visitors in shifts.

On particularly bitterly cold nights, the maids would crowd into Penelope’s room to sleep together, a necessary measure to avoid freezing to death.

On those nights, Ahwin shared the living room with the servants and knights.

“How many more people are planning to come in? At this rate, this house is going to burst,” Ahwin complained, but no one paid him much attention. It was hard to think about propriety when your back and hips were basking in such comforting warmth.

“To think we could sleep this warmly in the middle of winter! Even the knights are saying they’d sleep in summer pajamas!”

“Honestly, I get a little hot at night.”

“If I return to the castle, it’s like stepping into an icebox. It’s so cold I can’t wait to come back here.”

“I know, right? I don’t know how we ever survived there.”

The maids, their cheeks flushed, chattered away happily. Their foreheads glistened with sweat, as though they’d entered a sauna.

Those maids preparing to return to the castle bundled themselves in layers of coats, mentally bracing for the cold.

‘If only the bedroom were large enough to accommodate all the maids,’ Penelope thought.

But the gardener’s house was far too small for that.

Even so, those heading back to the castle would return here within a few hours to warm up again.

“The dwarves said my bedroom’s heating will be finished soon, so you’ll be able to use this place fully. Once the vassals’ bedrooms are equipped with heating, we’ll gradually extend it to the servants’ quarters too,” Penelope reassured them.

“Just the thought makes me so happy!”

“If that happens, I’d be fine living in the castle forever!”

The maids giggled gleefully.

As they chatted, Giselle and Laura arrived, ready to take over the next shift.

“Milady, we’ve brought roasted sweet potatoes, just as you requested. And we brought milk to go with them too!”

“Thank you. Did you offer some to the wizard in the living room?”

“The wizard said he wouldn’t eat.”

Ah…

Penelope fell silent.

It seemed the wizard was being picky again, something she’d learned since they began living in the same space.

Ahwin never slept well at night. Instead, he often lazed about or napped during the day, seemingly enjoying lying in the warm ondol room and watching the snow fall outside.

‘His sleep schedule seems completely reversed. But still, he should at least eat properly.’

Getting the lazy wizard to eat was more challenging than revitalizing the entire territory.

“I’ll go myself. Hand me the sweet potatoes.”

“You will, milady?” Giselle looked surprised at Penelope’s offer.

When Penelope stood up without hesitation, Giselle looked even more startled.

But Penelope couldn’t ignore how thin the wizard was becoming. Coming from a culture where missing meals was unthinkable, she saw feeding him as a basic necessity.

Skipping meals was one thing, but starving to death? Absolutely not.

To be useful for work, he needed to at least maintain some weight.

When Penelope opened the bedroom door, the knights seated on the floor immediately turned to look at her.

Before they could all stand, she waved her hand dismissively.

“There’s no need to get up every time I walk in.”

“But how could we remain seated when the mistress is standing?”

The knights awkwardly rose halfway from their seats, looking flustered.

“You’re already lounging comfortably, aren’t you? There’s only a wall separating us; it’s still the same space.”

“Well, yes, but… uh…”

“Just sit down. Don’t mind me.”

At some point, the knights had begun calling her “mistress.”

Penelope had corrected them several times, but they only pretended to listen and repeated the same behavior afterward. She had grown tired of pointing it out.

Ignoring them, she moved toward where Ahwin was.

Ahwin lay sprawled under a blanket, looking like a bear in hibernation.

Since discovering the wonders of the ondol room, Ahwin had spent every available moment lounging about. He truly seemed like a hibernating bear.

Penelope didn’t bother hiding her exasperated expression.

From under the blanket, Ahwin’s voice came muffled.

“If you’re looking for the bathroom, just keep going straight.”

“Get up and eat some roasted sweet potatoes,” Penelope said.

The knights, watching quietly, froze in shock. They hadn’t expected Penelope to address the wizard so casually.

Ahwin grumbled, “Sweet potatoes? That’s food for starving peasants. There’s no way I’m eating that.”

“These aren’t just sweet potatoes. They’re roasted sweet potatoes.”

“That just means you cooked the sweet potatoes, doesn’t it?” Ahwin muttered. Penelope clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Roasted sweet potatoes with milk were the perfect winter-night combination. How could he not appreciate that?

Too tired to explain further, Penelope broke off the top of a sweet potato and shoved it into Ahwin’s mouth. The knights collectively gasped again.

“Gah! What—what is this? Did you just feed me a sweet potato?”

“You might not know this, but people die if they don’t eat. If it’s stuck in your throat, drink some milk,” Penelope replied matter-of-factly.

Ahwin coughed and shot up, choking slightly. She handed him a glass of milk without a word.

Glaring at her, he gulped it down in silence, leaving a white mustache on his lips.

“What are you doing? Do you have a death wish?”

“Tastes good, doesn’t it?”

“What are you—”

Ahwin couldn’t finish his sentence.

Penelope puffed her cheeks slightly in annoyance.

“Sweet, creamy, and melts in your mouth, right? There’s more, so eat.”

“….”

Ahwin glared at her, his face flushed red.

How could someone be so pushy and overbearing?

Despite his grumbling, Ahwin couldn’t help but smack his lips, the lingering sweetness and nuttiness spreading through his mouth.

Penelope placed the plate of sweet potatoes on the floor without a word, carefully peeling each one to reveal its golden, tender flesh. The warm steam wafted up invitingly.

Ahwin, saying nothing more, popped another piece into his mouth.

Chew, chew.

He washed it down with milk, the rich flavors filling his senses. It was unbelievably delicious.

Penelope silently ate her own share of sweet potatoes.

After devouring two roasted sweet potatoes, Ahwin wiped his cheek with the back of his hand, leaving a dark smudge across it.

“So, uh… are there any more sweet potatoes?”

“There aren’t, but I can roast some more.”

“You? Personally?”

Penelope shrugged. Ahwin blinked, genuinely surprised.