The Survival Strategy of the Contract Duchess - Chapter 33

“Ugh, I feel so unmotivated.”

The reason I had been pushing myself here was… At first, it was definitely for my own survival. So why is my energy draining away like this?

Is it because I can’t live unless he lives properly?

That reason doesn’t sit well with me either. The truth is, I was genuinely worried about that man from the other night. I kept wondering if something might have happened to him.

But when two of his closest aides, Rose and Pavon, so clearly shut down any talk about him, the motivation I had felt just disappeared.

“Um, Lady Sasha, did you enjoy the gathering?”

I was sitting on a bench behind the boxwood hedge in the back garden, looking up at the sky and avoiding people, when a careful voice called out from behind the hedge. When I turned around, I saw Connie holding a simple tea set, hesitating as if unsure whether she could come closer.

“It was nothing special,” I replied, giving her a faint smile that signaled it was okay to approach.

Connie seemed to understand and smiled shyly before stepping around the hedge. She placed the teapot and teacups on the table.

As I watched her small, diligent movements, I rested my chin on my hand and asked,
“Were you curious about the social gathering?”

Connie, who had been focused on pouring the tea, looked up in surprise at the question.

“Of course. We’ve never accompanied you to a social event before, so we all admire those kinds of things. Um… if it’s possible, could you take us along one at a time next time?”

Her eyes sparkled with excitement. I had no problem bringing someone along. In fact, I had been thinking that it might be good to build connections with others.

Even while lifting the cup she handed me and inhaling its fragrance, I could feel her eyes still watching me.

I took a sip and looked at her more closely. The aroma was lovely. She always measured the tea leaves perfectly, and the taste was so clean and fresh.

“There won’t be any gatherings for a while, but would it be too difficult for you all if I invited a few young ladies here instead?”

I asked because it felt like she had some dreamy idea of noblewomen chatting together.

Besides Lady Lada and Lady Rosehill, there were a few others who had spoken to me. Not everyone was friendly, and not everyone was hostile either.

If I could persuade some of them and bring them closer to my side, maybe it could be a good strategy. I wasn’t sure yet if they would truly be helpful, but even small support could make a difference.

“A party? Here at the Duke’s estate? Wow…”

I wasn’t exactly sure what Connie expected from a social event, but I knew I couldn’t make a decision based on just her excitement.

Honestly, I had been thinking of inviting a few young ladies. But considering how hard the maids would have to work to prepare everything, I thought I should ask their opinion first.

“Are you sure you should be answering that quickly? You’ll be the ones doing all the work.”

I said this with a light smile. Connie’s once-bright expression slowly faded. Even her awkward laughter died down, probably imagining how the other maids would react.

“Then, Connie, let’s do this. If you really want to host a gathering, could you bring Sarah here? It would be even better if the head chef could come too.”

“What? Yes, of course!”

Connie answered loudly, as if she had received a mission, and quickly ran across the lawn.

The negative feelings that had started to rise after hearing Rose and Pavon’s responses, mixed with the fatigue and pain from lack of sleep, were gently pushed back down again when I saw Connie.

I still didn’t know whether those noblewomen spoke to me just to gossip about the Empress, or because they were genuinely worried about how she treated me. Either way, I learned they were quite chatty and well-informed.

For now, I felt safe keeping them nearby. I just needed to be careful with what I said around them, since they would likely spread any information, I let slip.

Soon, Connie returned with Sarah and the head chef. He was carrying a tray of freshly baked scones, likely meant for the Duchess, who was having her tea.

“I’m sorry for calling you here even though you’re both busy.”

As they approached and greeted me, I spoke first. The chef, Jeff, smiled warmly and placed the scones on the table with care.

“Not at all, Lady Sasha. Thanks to your recent tea breaks, I’ve been completely enjoying the art of making desserts.”

He spoke with a slightly dramatic tone and looked at me fondly with his deep-set eyes.

Sarah watched him with a sigh and then turned to me.

“Connie didn’t explain much. May I ask why you called us here?”

It wasn’t like I had asked Rose to pass along a message, so calling them directly felt unusual. Though they acted calm, I could see that both Sarah and Jeff were a little nervous.

“Well, I was thinking about the young ladies who were kind to me at the last gathering. I thought maybe I could invite a few of them here for a small event.”

Their eyes lit up at my words. Their reaction was almost identical to Connie’s, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“But hosting guests would be a lot of work, so I wanted to ask for your opinions. There aren’t many staff members working in this large estate.”

“Oh no, not at all, Lady Sasha!”

Sasha stopped herself from speaking further and looked at Sarah, who had suddenly raised her voice. Just as Sasha began to feel confused by Sarah’s urgency, the head chef, Jeff, let out a chuckle and responded.

“Inviting guests is certainly a lot of work, but honestly, we’ve been living here like the house had no master. Only recently, since you arrived, Lady Sasha, have we had real tasks to do each day.”

“That’s right. It gets boring cleaning rooms that never collect dust or show signs of anyone using them. Sure, sometimes it’s nice to work at an easy pace, but still…”

Sarah stuck her tongue out playfully as she spoke, and Connie nodded along beside her.

Sasha had assumed that the limited number of staff would mean everyone was extremely busy, especially considering the size of the duke’s estate. But it seemed that wasn’t entirely the case.

In larger noble households, hosting social gatherings and parties is usually common. Yet, despite this house being one of the most powerful and historically significant families in the entire empire, there had been none of that.

“I doubt even the head chef has ever done one before. Maybe Lady Rose has, but the rest of us have never even seen anything like that.”

Now looking truly eager, Sarah looked up at Sasha, her expression full of hope, as if silently cheering her on for suggesting something so unexpected.

The maids seemed even more enthusiastic, watching Sasha as if urging her to go ahead with it. Even the chef nodded with a warm smile.

“Then you’re telling me there’s nothing to worry about?”

“Not at all!”

“Hmm, good. I suppose I should start practicing how to prepare proper banquet food.”

After the group, full of energy, left, Sasha sat down near the small fountain and took a bite of the scone Jeff had brought along with a sip of the remaining tea. She thought to herself that she should try everything that seemed worth doing. If she could become more useful, more dependable, perhaps then people would start to trust her even with things left unsaid.

Relaxing into her seat with a tired body, she continued alternating between bites of the scone and sips of tea. Gradually, her body felt more at ease.

As she listened to the sound of the water with her eyes closed, she heard quiet footsteps approaching through the grass. The sound was soft, but clear enough that even someone without a soldier’s sharp hearing would have noticed it.

“Rose? Is something wrong?”

Sasha spoke first, seeing her approach and checking to see if she was asleep. Startled, Rose gasped and took a breath before finally calming herself and speaking.

“Lady Sasha, you’ve been outside for quite a while. I came to check on you.”

“It’s not even cold out.”

“It may not be cold, but the sunlight is very strong today. It could damage your skin.”

Her voice was gentle, filled with concern. Sasha figured Rose was still bothered by how she had brushed off her earlier question. That was likely weighing on her mind.

“Rose.”

“Yes? Yes, Lady Sasha.”

Just as she thought. The way Rose flinched when her name was called showed she was worried Sasha might be angry. She might come off cold, but she was actually someone with a warm heart.

“I’m thinking of hosting a small gathering. I want to invite a few of the young ladies I met at the last social event.”

“A gathering… here?”

At Rose’s surprised response, Sasha slowly opened her eyes. Even though she had been in the shade, the sunlight was still intense, and she squinted as her eyes adjusted.

Rose was staring at her in shock.

“I was worried it might be too much work since we don’t have many staff, so I checked with Sarah, Connie, and Jeff earlier. They all seemed happy about the idea. Are you… against it?”

Rose, now back in her usual working mode, looked surprised to hear Sasha had already spoken to the maids and the chef.

“You were thinking of the staff when planning a gathering. That’s unexpected.”

“I just didn’t want to make them suffer for it. If it’s too much, I can always just go out to other gatherings instead.”

“That won’t do. If anything, it’s much better for you to host it yourself. A gathering held by House Ignote needs to be handled properly.”

Rose’s reaction wasn’t very different from the maids earlier. In fact, she seemed even more determined.

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