Chapter 34
Mio’s and Rosa’s eyes turned to the same spot at the same time.
Thud!
The wobbling bag tipped over to one side. As the clasp popped open, a red-furred fox wriggled through the gap and came tumbling out. Rosa shouted loudly.
“I knew it! I thought the bag was way too heavy!”
Mio muttered in disbelief.
“Roy… did you really follow me all the way here?”
Whimpering, Roy ran circles around Mio, as if complaining about being left behind.
“I told you to wait quietly. Then I would’ve—”
She had planned to come back as quickly as possible.
When Mio bent down and lifted Roy up, she saw that tears were actually clinging to the corners of his eyes. Seeing that, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him to go back. As she wiped away the fox cub’s tears, Mio thought to herself.
Still, the fact that he didn’t transform into a human and talk means the training wasn’t completely useless.
Roy kept up his whining, but stubbornly stayed in fox form to the very end.
The most basic part of the training Mio had done with the foxes was to maintain only one form while inside the Moro estate.
If you’re human, think only in human terms. If you’re a fox, think only in fox terms. Perhaps Roy was simply better suited to a different method than Rosa.
Rosa, who had been quietly watching, spoke up for once.
“Um, Master… since he’s already followed you this far, I’ll hide him well in my room. If I share my meals with him, no one will even know Roy’s here.”
As if agreeing, Roy started yipping energetically. Mio set him down and let out a shallow sigh. Trusting the foxes aside, it meant one more thing to worry about.
Well. If those two are together, nothing bad should happen.
Roy was a bit clumsy, but he wasn’t the type to deliberately put himself in danger. Smiling as if she had no choice, Mio said,
“Alright. Just in case, I’ll tell everyone I brought a fox I used to raise. But that doesn’t mean you can run around everywhere. Roy. Got it?”
Having received permission, Roy began bouncing around excitedly. Mio spent some time watching his antics.
“The sun’s setting already…”
When Mio stepped out of the servants’ quarters, dusk had already fallen. Jamie, who had been waiting outside, approached her.
“Starting tomorrow, Miss Rosa will be working in earnest, so today is the only day I get to look after you properly, Mio.”
Jamie joked that it was a shame the day had gone by so quickly.
“Rosa still has a lot to learn. I’ll need your help a lot going forward, Jamie.”
When Mio replied that she might end up being a nuisance, Jamie beamed.
“That’s wonderful news.”
“Oh, right—about decorating the estate. I’ve decided to take full responsibility for that. I want to coordinate the budget and details. Is there a servant in charge of that?”
“If it’s about that, I’ll tell Simon. He handles all the financial matters.”
“Simon really is versatile…”
He handled the butler’s duties perfectly, served as head chef, and even dealt with the headache-inducing finances? A truly enviable talent. Jamie continued,
“Among us, Simon is the smartest. To be honest, it only worked until now because Moro Castle was small. There were only the three of us working here. But from now on, the household will grow… there’s no way the three of us can handle it alone, right?”
Jamie muttered in a serious tone, then added regretfully,
“We really should’ve hired more servants right away when His Grace suggested it. Instead, we wasted days agonizing over finding better people…”
Although Aletheia later canceled the order due to her worsening condition, Jamie said that if people had already been hired, she probably wouldn’t have dismissed them outright. Mio could only respond with an awkward smile.
They don’t need to worry so much about the household growing…
Once the vault issue was resolved, Mio and the foxes would leave this place anyway.
After returning to the main building, Mio spent a long time in the reception room discussing the estate’s budget with Simon. In the process, she learned one new thing: Aletheia was far wealthier than she had imagined.
Inherited assets, rewards granted by the imperial family for going to war, and the domain taxes collected every year…
Since hardly any money had been spent on the Moro estate, the accumulated wealth was staggering.
Is this what being materialistic feels like?
She had always thought she lacked greed, but seeing the number of zeros at the end of those figures made envy bubble up.
Now I understand why Count Duon said there was nothing bad about being rich.
Mio nodded to herself, realizing she’d been worrying unnecessarily. There was no need to feel sorry for Aletheia over being overcharged.
The total cost of the items purchased at Count Duon’s shop that day wouldn’t even make a dent in her finances.
Anyway, it’s a relief that there’s no financial limit to decorating the estate.
Even if it wasn’t a mansion she would live in, nor money coming from her own pocket, she’d furnish it with the most expensive and precious things in the world.
Who knows? If rumors spread that Moro estate is filled with rare treasures, maybe some woman will want to marry Aletheia.
That would solve everything perfectly.
Aletheia would be happy to find someone she truly loves, and I’d be able to leave without regret once the original story ends.
Lost in vague dreams, Mio headed upstairs. Before she knew it, bedtime was near. Until then, she’d had no particular thoughts—but the moment she saw Jamie’s extremely tense expression, she sensed something was wrong. They were standing in front of the bathroom.
“Mio. I did my best to prepare, even though it may not be perfect. If there’s anything missing, please give instructions right away. I’ll run off immediately and get whatever—”
When the door opened, the bathtub was filled with floating flower petals, and the air was thick with fragrant oils. Startled, Mio slammed the bathroom door shut with a bang.
“W-what is this…?”
“Oh come on. You know. Today is the first night for the two of you—”
“No! It’s not like that! Jamie!”
Mio shouted urgently.
I was just planning to pat Aletheia like earlier today and help her fall asleep!
If she didn’t stay beside her, she had no idea how the position-locking might activate, so she planned to sit next to the bed and take a light nap. If, like earlier in the day, she instinctively climbed onto the bed, that couldn’t be helped.
D-don’t tell me Aletheia is expecting something too?!
Damn it. She’d been so focused on the vault that she never once considered how others would see her moving into this house. Legally there was no relationship, but to outsiders, this was practically marriage!
How could I be this stupid…!
She should’ve made that clear before moving in. But now that she was already here, the chance to negotiate was practically gone. What was she supposed to do?
Leaving the frozen Mio behind, Jamie opened the bathroom door wide again. Seeing Mio jump in alarm seemed to relax her instead.
“You don’t need to be embarrassed, Mio. I’ve never attended someone during a bath, but I was excellent at treating wounded soldiers on the battlefield, you know? I think the two tasks are quite similar. As long as you’re careful, no one gets hurt.”
What kind of nonsense was that? Was she going to put her in the tub and treat her like a wounded soldier? Mio shook her head furiously. Lies began pouring out as she tried to escape the situation.
“There’s no need. Let— I mean, Lady Aletheia and I already agreed on this. We’re not married yet, so… this is just… you know, Lady Aletheia is a patient right now. I’m here purely to nurse her!”
“Oh? A nickname already. So soon…”
Covering her mouth, Jamie laughed as if she hadn’t heard a word of Mio’s explanation.
