Chapter 4
“What? Did you say the mistress wants to go out and greet the duke?”+
Good heavens! Eep!+
The maids, who had been huddled in small groups whispering, flushed bright red and squealed excitedly among themselves.+
Seeing the two—once not even as close as strangers, let alone husband and wife—had secretly filled me with pity and exhaustion, yet now the mistress herself wanted to go greet him.+
Each of them instantly began dreaming up sweet images of the couple together.+
But there was one person—+
One who couldn’t bring herself to smile.+
“…It probably won’t be as romantic as you’re imagining…”+
At Mari’s mutter, those lost in sugary fantasies snapped their eyes wide open in shock.+
“What nonsense! Of course it’ll be sweet!”+
“Yeah! Exactly! The mistress has clearly decided to open her heart to the duke—she’s definitely broken that tightly locked bolt on her heart!”+
“That’s right, that’s right! Don’t jinx it now…”+
“She even said she’ll bake him cookies.”+
…+
At Mari’s words, the mood turned suddenly solemn.+
“…You don’t mean the mistress’s healthy cookies, do you?”+
“Yep. Those ones.”+
Well, that certainly won’t be sweet.+
Not sweet at all—more likely bitter, strange, and astringent.+
“S-Shouldn’t we stop her?”+
“How can we stop her when she looks so proud? I couldn’t possibly do it.”+
“…Let’s just… cheer her on, then.”+
Hopefully, the duke’s palate is as strangely unique as the mistress’s.+
One thing was certain: the romantic reunion they’d envisioned, straight out of a novel, was now thoroughly ruined.+
[This is the timeline separator]
The day my husband was due to return.+
“Good morning—strong and energetic!”+
I sprang up vigorously before dawn.+
There was plenty to worry about today, given how special the day was.+
Above all, this was my chance to take the first step toward erasing that pathetic first impression and all my past misdeeds.
My first stop was my small, adorable herb garden.+
Already, the sprouts had grown more than a finger’s width tall.+
Some even bore two or three tiny leaves the size of a fingernail—so cute and adorable I once tried to kiss one and ended up eating a mouthful of dirt instead.+
Blech.+
Just remembering it made my tongue feel gritty.+
“Mistress, here’s the watering can.”+
“Thank you.”+
Sienna was doing well fulfilling the role she’d promised to take on.+
Thanks to her, the watering cans never ran dry, and the spades were always neatly cleaned.+
“No, Mistress! It was me who cleaned the spades! Markops, that’s who!”+
Once Markops shot Sienna his indignant glare, her duties were effectively over.+
As I watered the dry soil, I watched the two of them silently glare at each other.+
May the best one win.+
Whichever side wins, I’m on their side.+
After enjoying their intense staring contest, I headed back to my room.+
I changed out of my dirt-streaked clothes, washed my hands and feet thoroughly, and then proceeded solemnly to the kitchen.+
“So you really are going through with it.”+
Ena muttered in a tense voice, as if clenching her molars—her expression even sterner than usual.+
Why’s she acting like that?+
Does her tooth hurt or something?+
“What kind of hell—er, I mean, what kind of cookies are you making today?”+
“Chocolate cookies with decan root and mugwort mixed in.”+
“Good heavens.”+
“Pretty amazing, huh?”+
“…Yes. Truly, really… incredibly amazing.”+
Ena squeezed her eyes shut as she murmured.+
Why does she have to sound so dramatically awed?+
Still, I couldn’t help but puff my shoulders up a little proudly.+
Not long after I’d started mixing the cookie dough, Barhan came looking for me.+
“So this is the cookie, then?”+
“Yep. Packed full of healthy stuff.”+
“Heh heh. I see. They certainly look healthy. And as you instructed, I’ve double-checked the cleaning thoroughly. Both the bedroom and study have been arranged to ensure His Grace feels completely at ease.”+
“What about the meal?”+
“I’ve prepared dishes the duke enjoys, but made sure they’re not too oily.”+
Ena interjected firmly before I could answer.+
Just as I was serious about cookies and herbs, Ena clearly took meals just as seriously.+
“You two have worked hard. I’ll give each of you two cookies specially.”+
“…….”+
“…….”+
Huh? Why no response?+
I paused my hands and turned toward them, puzzled by their silence.+
“…Do you… dislike them?”+
“No, not at all. It’s just… we hope His Grace gets to eat plenty of them.”+
“I feel the same, Mistress.”+
What else could I even say?+
These two clearly cared deeply about the duke.+
It was honestly quite touching.+
I, too, reaffirmed my resolve—again and again—to become good friends with the duke.+
My goal? A friendly, Hollywood-style ex-wife vibe.+
“Butler! Mistress!”+
Just as I was stamping out cookies with a pretty mold and sliding them into the oven, Mari came rushing into the kitchen, breathless.+
“His Grace will be arriving very soon!”+
What? Already?+
He was arriving earlier than expected.+
The cookies would need at least another hour to bake and cool properly.+
Ugh. Nothing to be done about it now.+
I untied the apron I’d been wearing.+
“Could you keep an eye on the oven for me, Ena?”+
“Yes, leave it to me!”+
Ena’s brisk reply sounded reliable—but still left me a little disappointed.
My cookies…+
I’d really wanted to hand them over myself. Now it felt as if 2% of my sincerity had vanished.+
But what could I do?+
Ugh…+
“So exactly when is His Grace arriving?”+
I let out a sigh as I asked, and Mari glanced toward the window before replying.+
“Well… probably in 10…”+
“Ten minutes?”+
“No. 10. 9. 8…”+
“What?!”+
Startled by the unexpected countdown, I shrieked and immediately took off running.+
“Oh dear, Mistress! Mistress! Please don’t run! You’ll hurt yourself!”+
“Mistress!”+
I ignored Barhan’s and Mari’s voices calling after me from behind.+
My goal was to greet him with a grand “ta-da!” right at the front door!+
“Wow, damn it—it’s so huge!”+
Normally, I quite liked this cozy-yet-massive mansion, but not today.+
No.+
Actually, now that I thought about it, the problem wasn’t the mansion’s size.+
“Huh… huhh…”+
The problem was my own wretched body.+
My ribs already ached as if they might crack—just from running for a few dozen seconds.+
Still, I couldn’t stop now after coming this far, so I kept going, clutching my throbbing ribs until I reached the main entrance.+
“Ohhh, I’m gonna die… huff.”+
Gasping for every last breath, I leaned back against the door to push it open.+
But somehow, the door opened far more easily than expected.+
In fact, it swung wide open the instant I pressed my back against it.+
“Huh?”+
With a foolish gasp, I landed flat on my backside.+
A pitiful thud echoed through the air.+
