Chapter 9 - The Count's Fief
"Oh my! Goodness, gracious me! My lady! If only you had sent word that you were returning, we would have prepared a much grander welcome for you all!"
As soon as the carriage bearing the ducal family crest arrived in front of Count Holloway's estate, a footman came rushing down the steps in a fluster to open the carriage door. As Opal stepped out of the carriage with the footman's assistance, the butler and the housekeeper, Marcia, came flying out of the main entrance, looking equally flustered. Marcia threw her arms around Opal, nearly causing her to lose her balance, but a practiced footman was there to steady her, and disaster was averted. The ducal coachman watched the scene, dumbfounded.
In truth, the ducal coachman, Cayve, had never been outside the Royal Capital before. He had set out from the ducal estate early that morning with a sense of unease. With the notoriously wicked duchess and a small amount of luggage in the carriage, he had driven the horses with great tension, following the route he had carefully reviewed the day before. He had managed to enter the Count's fief without issue. But after proceeding a short way down a forked road, a signal came from inside the carriage. When he stopped, he was told he had taken the wrong path. He quickly apologized and was about to turn back when the duchess ordered him to let her out of the carriage. As the coachman, fearing the worst, opened the door and lowered the step, preparing himself to be yelled at, he was shocked when the duchess announced that she would ride with him in the coachman's seat.
"I know the way, after all. It's better than giving directions from inside, isn't it? Besides, look, the weather is so lovely. It's much nicer than being cooped up in there."
True to her word, the duchess sat in the coachman's seat and guided Cayve, pointing out various things about the fief along the way. She did not seem to mind sitting next to the low-born Cayve, nor did she care that the wind was messing up her hair. For Cayve, who had previously worked for another noble family, this was astounding.
Cayve had come to work for the ducal family after being dismissed from his previous post for supposedly looking at the young lady of the house with lecherous eyes. Lord Northem had taken him in. Of course, he had not actually looked at her in such a way. He had simply happened to witness the young lady's dress being blown up by the wind.
Ever since then, he had believed that noblewomen were arrogant, self-conscious, and selfish. The only exception was Stella, the angel of the ducal house. That being said, as a coachman, Cayve had never met Stella, who never went out, nor had he ever spoken with Lady Northem, so he only knew of her by reputation. But since all the servants praised her without reservation, he assumed it must be true.
Amidst all this, he had heard more than enough over the past few days about the wicked woman who had taken advantage of the financially struggling Duke, forced him into marriage, and installed herself as the duchess. The content of those rumors was the very image of the noblewomen Cayve knew so well. For the sake of the kind Duke and the innocent Lady Stella-sama, all the servants had sworn an oath to unite and protect them from the wicked woman. Because of this, he had received a great deal of sympathy and encouragement from everyone for this assignment to the Count's fief. They told him that if he successfully delivered her to the Count's estate, the ducal household would be free from the wicked woman for a while. Cayve had shouldered this mission, yet the journey had been completely different from what he had expected.
Most surprisingly, the people of the fief had joyfully welcomed the duchess sitting in the coachman's seat, and she, in turn, had waved and smiled back at them. As the sun began to set, the duchess returned to the carriage, saying she would be scolded otherwise. Cayve wondered who could possibly scold a duchess, and continued along the path she had shown him. And now, he was witnessing the storm of a grand welcome unfolding before his eyes. As Cayve stood there gaping, the stable hands from the estate came to relieve him, telling him he must be tired and that they would take it from here. Left stranded in front of the entrance, Cayve was guided by a footman to a back entrance, into the mansion, and was warmly received in the servants' break room behind the kitchen. What's more, the dinner he was served, on the assumption that he must be hungry, was more luxurious than anything he had ever eaten before.
"This is too extravagant! I'm just a servant, you know?"
"Ah, I know. I used to work somewhere else before, so I was surprised at first too, but this is our meal here. The young lady, no, she's the Duchess now. The Duchess, ah, this is a pain. Anyway, the young lady improved our meals for us."
Cayve looked at the food before him and desperately swallowed the lump that was rising in his throat. One of the servants misunderstood and laughed.
"Come on, don't be shy, eat up. This isn't food we just carry and aren't allowed to touch. Eat well. There are seconds too."
At these words, Cayve tentatively picked up his spoon, took a sip of soup, and then devoured the rest in a flash. Seeing this, everyone laughed, but then one of the maids' faces clouded over with worry.
"Hey, are the servants treated poorly at the Duke's estate? Even though our young lady married into the family?"
"It hasn't been that long, has it? The Duke's estate is probably too vast for her to have gotten her hands on everything yet."
"But isn't it strange for the young lady to come back here in such a state?"
"That's true..."
The bright atmosphere of the meal instantly fell silent. Cayve, too, found that the bread would not go down his throat.
"Oh, but from what I heard just now, Marcia-san said the young lady told her she came back because there was something very important she needed to confirm."
"Is that so? Well, that can't be helped then."
"Ah, you're right. Hey, Cayve-san, the young lady is living happily at the Duke's estate, isn't she?"
"W-well... I... I'm usually outside... I rarely go into the mansion... but, I imagine she is..."
Questioned by one of the footmen, Cayve answered hesitantly. In reality, he rarely entered the mansion, so he didn't know the internal affairs well. He had only heard from fellow servants that the duchess was living in the attic room. They said it was out of spiteful retaliation because she was angry that Lady Stella-sama was using the master bedroom. So, Cayve had no choice but to lie.
"Don't worry, the young lady is fine. After all, those false rumors ruined her reputation, but the Duke still chose her, didn't he? And she said she had no intention of marrying anyone, yet she did. It must have been a grand romance."
"That's right. Of course it was!"
"Anyone who actually talks to the young lady would know right away that those rumors are lies!"
"Yeah, no doubt about it!"
The servants of the Count's household, unaware of the circumstances, convinced themselves that it was a love match. With this bright conclusion reached, the lively atmosphere returned, and everyone continued their meal in good spirits. Amidst them all, Cayve alone sat, feeling terribly uncomfortable.