Since Isis usually had her clothes custom-made, the designer had personally visited the mansion.
Well, since they made clothes for nobles, I had expected the place they operated to be extravagant, but…
I never imagined it would have such a dazzling exterior.
I wandered around inside the luxurious boutique, looking around so frantically that my jaw nearly dropped, while Ridden began shopping as though he were completely familiar with the place.
Could it be that by bringing me all the way here, he had developed at least a little human affection for me?
After all, it was common for nobles to bring their attendants to high-end boutiques like this.
I hoped that was the case…
There were countless clothes inside the boutique, but to me, they all looked pretty much the same.
Aside from slight differences in color, they didn’t seem all that different on the outside. Apparently, nobles didn’t see them that way.
Ridden carefully examined everything, starting with the buttons and checking each and every pocket on the jackets.
The designer would then think for a moment before quickly sketching something again and showering Ridden with praise for his excellent eye for aesthetics.
But I couldn’t tell what was different at all.
After several hours had passed, Ridden bought a huge number of identical-looking clothes. Then he picked up the clothes he had ordered last time.
“Carry these.”
“Yes!”
With both hands full of packages, I hurried after Ridden. Since the clothes were quite heavy, there was a considerable difference between our walking speeds.
Ridden, who had been walking far ahead of me, unexpectedly stopped for a moment. Then he slowed down and matched his pace to mine.
Just when I was surprised by this unexpected consideration, Ridden casually draped his right arm over my left shoulder.
He was treating me like a walking armrest.
His arm was quite heavy, and supporting it was difficult. On top of that, I was carrying a huge pile of packages, making it almost impossible to bear the weight.
…Was I really supposed to walk like this the whole way?
As I sweated profusely, Ridden spoke.
“Charles, how is your work as a servant?”
At his question, I smiled brightly and answered as if I were someone who would die on the spot if I couldn’t continue working as a servant in the ducal household.
“It’s so much fun! And the other servants have been teaching me everything so well that I was able to adjust really quickly.”
“That’s good. I want to keep seeing you for a long time.”
Seriously?
As he patted my shoulder, I rolled my eyes nervously.
Judging by the fact that he was even saying things like this, I had managed to make up for my mistake from last time… at least a little, even if not completely, right?
What a relief.
Whether I liked Ridden or not, I had to serve him until Abel left the ducal household.
Ridden curled the corner of his lips upward.
“I’m curious about what exactly is inside that head of yours.”
“My head…?”
“I’m curious, but I can’t exactly get an axe right now and split your head open to take a look, can I?”
So much for making up for my mistake. Apparently, his impression of me hadn’t changed at all.
Ridden casually threw out such a frightening remark and lightly knocked his fist against my head.
He didn’t lower his arm until we got back into the car. Thanks to that, by the time we arrived, I was drenched in sweat and panting as I loaded all the packages into the back seat.
The journey back to the mansion was short.
After arriving at the mansion, I watched Ridden turn off the engine and began to think.
…This might be my chance.
I think I went through countless thoughts in that brief moment.
After much deliberation, I pulled out the chocolate I had wrapped the night before.
Perhaps the rustling sound caught his attention, because Ridden, who hadn’t even looked at me once since getting into the car, turned his head toward me.
Strangely enough, when our eyes met, Ridden seemed somewhat wary of me. Of course, that might have just been my imagination. No matter how much I thought about it, there was no reason for him to be wary of me.
But then again, he wasn’t wearing his usual constant smile either.
The atmosphere completely froze. In the tense silence, I could barely manage to breathe.
However, Ridden soon noticed the bag in my hand and began to look unsettled.
When I noticed his eyes wavering slightly, I carefully spoke while watching his reaction.
“I wanted to apologize once again for the mistake I made on my first day, Your Grace… I was truly sorry about what happened.”
“……”
Whatever had made him uneasy disappeared, and Ridden glared at me as if he could devour me alive.
Unable to meet his eyes, I stared elsewhere and continued.
“It’s nothing special. They’re just Velosan chocolates, my favorite kind. You can have one whenever you get bored while looking over your paperwork…”
Because I was so nervous, the pitch of my voice kept going up and down on its own. The more I spoke, the more I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
…Still, I hoped he would at least see that I was being sincere.
Ridden still didn’t answer. He simply stared at me.
But that lasted only a moment.
Ridden smiled brightly and took the bag of chocolates from my hand.
“Thank you.”
“No, I’m the one who should be thanking you.”
At my words, Ridden let out a small chuckle.
So I smiled along with him.
Being a servant in the Akarut household was no easy task. There were countless little things to do besides attending to the master.
On top of that, the number of servants in the ducal household was considerably smaller than that of other noble families.
There were plenty of reasons for that.
For one thing, the ducal household didn’t hire many people to begin with. But more than half of the servants who came to work there ended up running away because they couldn’t handle Ridden’s personality.
As a result, the amount of work each person had to handle was enormous.
And with as many events overlapping this year, it was even worse!
“There will be a banquet at the mansion in the fall. The hunting competition is also taking place before then, so things will be a little difficult, but once the banquet is over, you’ll get some time off. So let’s work hard while thinking about our vacation.”
Roel continued speaking as she handed me a large bundle of dried flowers.
“…Time off?”
It was something I had never expected to hear.
When I first entered the ducal household, I remembered Mr. Henry saying that there would be no vacation this year because the hunting competition and banquet were scheduled almost back-to-back.
When I asked again with my eyes wide in disbelief, Roel smiled softly and nodded.
“That’s right. But until then, I’m going to work you as hard as I possibly can, so be prepared.”
“O-Of course! I’ll work hard until then.”
Just hearing about the vacation suddenly filled me with motivation.
It was summer right now… so I only had to get through two more seasons.
I felt like I could do anything well.
Of course, that was probably just wishful thinking.
Maybe because I had made such a huge mistake as soon as I entered the ducal household, my confidence had been steadily declining.
I really couldn’t afford to make another mistake…
“Um… Senior, is it a very large banquet?”
“A little? It’s the banquet that’s held once a year.”
Hearing Roel’s answer made me start to worry.
Perhaps I had shown my anxiety without realizing it, because Roel gently patted my head before speaking.
“You’ll do fine. After all, who taught you how to do your work?”
“…You think so?”
“Of course. And, Chase, you’re doing well.”
At Roel’s words, the restless feelings that had been weighing on me lately seemed to ease a little.
I adjusted the bundle of dried flowers I was holding in my arms.
“Oh, that’s Abel.”
At Roel’s words, I turned my head toward the window.
Outside, I could see Abel resting with Peter while drinking some water. Thankfully, Abel’s expression as he sat beneath the tree looked relaxed.
Perhaps he sensed our gazes, because Peter, who had been talking with Abel, turned his head toward us.
The moment Peter’s eyes met ours, his face brightened.
He called out to us loudly and waved.
“Roel, Chase!”
Unlike Peter, who was happy to see us, Roel simply shook her head quietly.
“Why aren’t you two working?”
“We’re just taking a short break. Right, Abel?”
At Peter’s words, Abel casually nodded.
I gave Abel a small wave.
Abel smiled and waved back at me.
Roel then called out to me.
“Come on, Chase.”
Apparently, she had already walked quite a distance ahead, because there was a considerable gap between us.
“Yes!”
I hurried after Roel.
It was quite hot while we walked to the study.
Fortunately, the moment we entered the study, a cool breeze greeted us.
I wiped the sweat from the back of my hand and caught my breath.
Inside the study, Ridden was busily discussing something with Grandpa Ben.
So instead of greeting them verbally, I simply bowed my head slightly.
Roel and I went to sit at a large table in the corner.
“When I give you an invitation, spray perfume on it and then seal it with the family seal.”
Roel handed me a document.
It contained a long list of guests who needed to receive invitations.
“When you stamp the seal, you need to put wax on a flower in the symbolic color of each family and press the seal into it together. I’ll hand you the invitations in order, so don’t make any mistakes. It’s okay if you’re slow, so check everything carefully as you work.”
“Yes!”
Roel handed me the invitations and the envelopes with the recipients’ names written on them.
Then she began typing the invitations on the typewriter.
The rhythmic clicking sound was strangely pleasant to listen to.
I checked whether the person written on each envelope matched the recipient named in the invitation.
The thought that making a mistake would cause a huge problem made sweat trickle down my back.
I checked everything what felt like a hundred times before spraying the perfume and placing the letter inside the envelope.
Afterward, I made a small check mark with a pen next to the guest’s name on the list.
The first guest was the Ruberstein family, whose symbolic color was blue.
I placed wax into the melting spoon and melted it over the candle flame.
The wax was black, the color symbolizing the Akarut family.
Once it had melted enough, I tilted the melting spoon and dropped an appropriate amount of wax onto the envelope.
Then I placed a dried flower on top and pressed the seal down firmly.
Seeing the beautifully stamped Akarut seal gave me a strange sense of accomplishment.
But before I could enjoy that feeling, I was faced with a huge pile of invitations waiting to be completed.
