Who Brought the Head Maid Back? - Chapter 57

The Grand Duke was clearly smiling. Yet, why did Joseph feel a sharp chill crawling up the back of his neck? He quickly ducked his head, practically burying his nose in his bowl, and focused entirely on eating. Amy snapped to attention.

‘I should have been identifying any loopholes or disadvantages for us in the conversation with the Viscount.’

The moment she thought she deserved to be scolded for neglecting her duties and daydreaming, Noah added, “What would happen if I just started stamping seals everywhere? Amy has to be by my side to watch over me, right?”

“Your Grace,”

Amy grimaced. Just as she was about to say that His Grace would never do such a thing, Spencer slammed his hand on the table.

“Your Grace, is this not going too far?”

“What do you mean?”

Noah furrowed his brow. Spencer, looking utterly toxic with rage, pointed a finger at Amy.

“You brought your lover along to discuss a major trade deal?!”

“!”

For a moment, Amy’s face went blank.

‘What kind of nonsense is this?’

Noah was surprised for only a second before his eyes began to sparkle. He leaned his head toward her and whispered suggestively, “He’s a better man than I thought, isn’t he?”

“ ”

The next day, Spencer and his aide, Charles, came to the office to sign the new contract. Joseph and Charles completed the agreement after meticulously comparing it with the previous contract, and Noah and Spencer applied their seals.

Afterward, Noah and Amy went outside to inspect the Black Moon wood Spencer had brought. Joseph invited Charles, who was left alone, to tea.

“I’m so glad everything ended well,” Joseph began.

Charles hurriedly set down his teacup and bowed repeatedly. “Indeed. As you’ve seen, my master has quite a temper.”

Charles pulled out a handkerchief and wiped sweat from his face. Seeing him so anxious reminded Joseph of someone: himself.

“Serving a hot-tempered master is difficult work.”

With a look of pity, Joseph poured more tea into Charles’s cup. Charles held the cup with both hands as if deeply honored and let out a long sigh.

“I must have made a bad first impression; he’s lenient with others, but he’s exceptionally strict with me.”

Wait. Joseph flinched mid-sip. Memories of the time he had been caught holding skewers in the capital’s central market came flooding back.

“I, too, have suffered much because the Grand Duke found me unsatisfactory.”

The two stared at each other in silence. A wave of camaraderie washed over them. It felt as if they had met their soulmate. Joseph pushed a plate forward and said softly, “Please, try some of this. The castle chef is excellent at making jelly.”

“To sprinkle so much precious sugar, this is exactly what one would expect from the rising Grand Ducal house.”

Like most people under high stress, Charles seemed obsessed with sweet desserts. Joseph felt uncharacteristically generous.

‘Thinking that I’ve found my own kind, no, a comrade, really puts my mind at ease.’

Joseph swallowed a piece of jelly and dabbed his mouth with a napkin.

“By the way, Charles, how did you end up in Viscount Burton’s bad graces?”

“Ah, that,”

Charles’s face clouded over as he stammered out the story.

Spencer was secretly in love with a commoner maid working at his manor. However, Charles, who thought they were just being friendly, fell for Count Coleman’s leading questions and accidentally blurted out the maid’s name.

The maid was expelled immediately, and Spencer went on a rampage. The relationship between father and son turned cold instantly, and Charles trembled, thinking he would be fired on the spot.

However, perhaps because Charles was also a commoner, Spencer never kicked him out, even if his anger was terrifying.

This time, Charles cautiously asked about Joseph’s circumstances.

“Um, Aide, what happened to you?”

“Ah, I ate a skewer.”

“Pardon?”

“A skewer.”

“Ah, a skewer. It must have been a very delicious skewer.”

“ ”

Charles was bewildered, unable to see the connection between a skewer and being mistreated, but he didn’t dare press the dejected Joseph further and just let it slide. After a brief silence, the two agreed to write letters to each other to vent whenever work became too difficult.

The Spring Festival began with a flourish. People flocked not only from other parts of the North but also from the Empire, eager to see the transformed North. The jewelers and merchants who had migrated from the Empire to the Duchy couldn’t stop smiling.

Due to the surge in visitors, the village below the castle enjoyed an incredible boom. Even people from neighboring villages came to help out.

“Has the merchant caravan departed?”

“Not yet.”

The amulet sales were a massive hit. Even the backstock was sold out, and a waiting list was created. Despite the high price making them difficult to purchase, they couldn’t sell them fast enough. They even had to hastily sign a delivery contract with a merchant guild.

“Do you have belts?”

“I’m here to pick up a reservation.”

“The silver bracelets are sold out? Again?”

Souvenirs for commoners were also sold as soon as they appeared. In the village square, nine out of ten women were wearing ornaments engraved with the flower that symbolized the Grand Duchy. Along with this, the flax industry flourished, and tapestry sales surged.

Furthermore, each estate sent representatives and guards to stock up on the new Northern currency. The sheer number of people meant that the village’s lodging and food businesses made a fortune.

The castle forge minted coins day and night, and the Grand Duchy began to accumulate a large amount of surplus funds.

“I’d like to perform in the village square tomorrow evening.”

“Hey now, friend, do you have any idea how long ago the reservations ended?”

Where people gather, merchants seeking their money will follow. Applications for performances from clowns and theater troupes poured in. Joseph, James, and the staff under them were busy beyond belief coordinating everything.

In short, the first Spring Festival of the Grand Duchy was a grand success.

“It’s exhausting, but it’s really fun.”

“I had no idea Eva was so good at jewelry design.”

“I heard a village jeweler asked Eva for an exclusive contract.”

“It makes sense. I even bought a ring for my mother.”

Because Noah supported his staff in planning and executing ideas regardless of rank or status, the chosen employees and villagers were busy enough to need two bodies, but they felt a deep sense of accomplishment. The heavy coin pouches were, of course, a given.

“Who’s going during the day? Let’s meet at the gate and go together!”

The highly encouraged staff of the Grand Duchy decided to take turns going out to enjoy the final day of the festival today. They headed down to the village in high spirits.

The guards and maids, having discovered that Mrs. Weaver and Vernon planned to slip away secretly, dragged them out. Seeing each other in front of the gate, Mrs. Weaver and Vernon cleared their throats awkwardly.

Suddenly, a maid noticed that the sleeve of Vernon’s shirt was torn at the bicep. She gestured to a guard behind Vernon to let him know. That guard made an ‘OK’ sign with his fingers.

‘He knows? Then why hasn’t he changed?’

The moment the maid, Cecil, tilted her head in confusion, Vernon flexed his arm. At the display of rippling muscles visible through the torn fabric, the maids swallowed hard. Mrs. Weaver, seeing the sight, looked flustered and turned her gaze away.

“Aha.”

So that was what he was aiming for. Cecil nodded.

‘The Captain of the Guard is certainly putting in the effort. Well, you have to do something to win. He’s much better than the shameless guys who do nothing and expect a woman to fall into their lap.’

Beside her, Rita clicked her tongue. “He should have pestered her to sew it for him.”

Jack raised a finger and shook it. “No. He should ask her to teach him how to sew so they can spend more time together.”

Bradley added his two cents. “Exactly. He pricks his finger, she makes a fuss while bandaging it, and then affection grows.”

“That’s the one.”

The guards buzzed in agreement. Then Amy, who had quietly stepped out of the gate and was eavesdropping, spoke up.

“If it’s Mrs. Weaver, she’d just make another maid do it.”

The group flinched.

“Ah,”

“That’s true.”

Then Dwayne stepped forward, puffing out his chest. “I knew that, so I taught the Captain a finishing move!”

“A finishing move?”

As Amy looked at him with skepticism, Dwayne pretended to push up a pair of glasses he wasn’t wearing, acting cold and analytical.

“For an eldest daughter type like the Head Housekeeper, you have to stimulate her maternal instincts.”

“Ooooh.”

The crowd stirred at the somewhat plausible advice. Dwayne smugly cleared his throat.

“So,”

Dwayne stopped talking and suddenly went up to Mary. Mary looked at him, bewildered. Dwayne fixed his gaze on Mary and began to whine with a lisp, shaking his shoulders.

“Why are you only coming now? I thought I was going to die because I missed you so much, eeh ing!”

“…Have you lost your mind?”

Mary muttered in disbelief, but Dwayne didn’t bat an eye and turned back to the crowd.

“I taught him how to act cute like this.”

“Would Captain Vernon actually do that?”

While people were muttering in disbelief, they heard Mrs. Weaver talking to Captain Vernon behind them.

“It seems you aren’t standing guard today for once.”

The two spoke formally to each other unless they were alone. Captain Vernon suddenly took a deep breath and stepped up to Mrs. Weaver with a look of resolve.

“I, I wanted to be together, that’s why, eeh ing!”

The noisy crowd at the gate went silent instantly. A shocking silence fell, one so heavy a dropped needle would have sounded like thunder, and finally, Mrs. Weaver spoke icily.

“It seems you are feeling unwell. It would be best if we saw each other later.”

“Ah, no,”

Captain Vernon looked around as if seeking help. But everyone silently avoided his gaze. Realizing his finishing move had failed, Dwayne bolted then and there.

A chilling Mrs. Weaver led the maids out of the gate. Captain Vernon, not daring to block her, stood dazed, watching her back. Bradley, nudged in the side by Jack, reluctantly approached him.

“Captain, want to head out with us?”

“…Go on without me. I need to rest.”

Vernon, who seemed to have aged decades in a few minutes, turned away weakly. People desperately held back their laughter until he had trudged away and disappeared. Amy also bit her lip and stared intensely at the ground.

‘Eeh ing! This is killing me, seriously.’

Rita, likely thinking the same, whispered beside her.

“Honestly, between the person who teaches that and the person who actually does it.”

“I know, right. Does he not know the Head Housekeeper’s personality?”

Just then, someone’s voice came from behind.

“He must have been that desperate.”

Turning around, Amy saw Noah standing there, looking at her.

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