"Should we ask that child to come here? If you ask me to tell you about the man looking for Isabella..."
"Postponing calling the child until two days later."
"Yes?"
"I plan to be away from the mansion for about two days. We will meet the child later, so until then, please stay still and do nothing."
Aileen, who was looking at him blankly, spoke cautiously.
"But, I finally got a clue, but right now..."
"Lady Aileen Vernon Baroness."
Aileen stiffened when she was called by her full name.
Alfred, who called her, spoke firmly in a dry voice.
"Do nothing."
"..."
"I never expected anything like that from you, but if you do something needlessly, you will end up with bad consequences for Madqm like last time."
"Well, that's..."
"I didn't cover up that sin because you were a better person. I was just worried that if you was not careful, dirt would get on my entire work."
Was the cause of the problem the fact that he did not want to disturb Madam Mancini, who was in poor health, so he cleaned up after her?
"If I hear that even the slightest accident occurred while I was away from the mansion, Lady Aileen will be held responsible. At that time, I will come forward and report everything you have been doing in this mansion and how you have been behaving poorly by selling Madam's name behind her back."
Aileen's face turned pale at his cold words.
"Do you understand?"
Aileen nodded as Alfred asked again with an expressionless face.
Alfred glanced at her distrustfully for a moment, then turned and left the room.
***
After making various excuses to get Charlotte away from me, I headed to Aileen's room.
She was looking out the window with a half-fazed expression.
A weak voice came out of Aileen's mouth as she glanced at me as I opened the door and entered.
"I spilled the story about that boy in front of Alfred, just as the Lady told me to do."
"What was his reaction?"
"They showed interest. However, he said he was planning to vacate the mansion, so he asked me to postpone it for a while."
"Is he emptying the mansion?"
"He'll be back in two or three days at the most. He was always away around this time."
Now that I think about it, I heard that when the Viscount's death anniversary comes, the mansion will be temporarily vacated.
However, I didn't expect that he would leave his seat even when there were guests from outside like now.
'It was rather good.'
I can turn it over without him noticing.
I was wondering how to make quick-witted humans take the bait 'naturally'.
If you do something so bad that you can't even come to your senses, it won't be easy to come back and clean things up.
I tapped my fingers on the armrest to assess the situation, then realized that this was Aileen's room and stood up.
"Great job. Please continue to take good care of me."
She lowered her head at the words spoken to her while holding the doorknob, then hesitantly opened her mouth.
"Well, my hairpin..."
Are you asking for it back?
If I had brains, I would have asked about the 'words I Instructed Alfred to spill' rather than the hairpin.
I grinned and shrugged my shoulders.
"I heard that's not Aileen's hairpin?"
"..."
"Do not worry. If you help me, it will no longer be Aileen's hairpin."
There was still more work to be done, but there was no reason to pass up such a good weakness.
I returned to my room, leaving Aileen biting her lip at my words.
By now, she's probably killed me hundreds of times in her head.
I lightly threw and caught a hairpin that gave off a bright light and called out to Windy.
'I don't think there's any need to monitor Daniel anymore. Go after Alfred. Go and listen carefully to who he is in contact with and what he is talking about.'
[I get it.]
I looked at Windy, who passed me by and flew in the direction where Alfred left and then rang the bell to call the maid.
Jingling jingling.
The bright sound of the bell filled the room.
My capable and faithful maid answered my call.
"Did you call me, Lady?"
"Yes."
I said to Charlotte with a kind and friendly smile.
"I was up early and I was hungry. Can you bring me some light snacks?"
She bowed her head deeply and headed toward the kitchen.
For an 'accidental' meeting with a young boy carrying groceries.
***
Indeed, Alfred was a very capable commander-in-chief.
Just by looking at the Charlotte he personally sent me but even when he was away from the mansion, he neglected nothing.
In particular, today's dinner was so good that I was impressed as if Daniel and his escorts were conscious of it.
While everyone was busy eating, Madam Mancini looked at me and opened her mouth.
"Isabella, you don't look good."
"Actually, I rode a horse in the morning and took a lap around the area. After that, I was hungry and ate a snack, but I guess I felt sick."
"Oh my."
Madam Mancini squinted her eyes as if she felt sorry for me.
"It was uncharacteristically careless of you to fill your stomach when a dinner was promised. On days when I have a meal plan, I should only eat small amounts of soup or soft foods that are easy to digest."
With a light scolding, she called the waiting-maid and gave instructions.
"Take away the food in front of Isabella. Just bring her some soup to lighten her stomach."
"Yes, Ma'am."
In an instant, the colorful and neat food in front of me disappeared.
I looked down at the fragrant-smelling grain soup and lazily lifted my spoon.
Madam Mancini looked at Aileen as if she was very satisfied with the quiet meal time.
If it were her usual self, she would have been busy asking Daniel various questions, let alone eating..
'I wonder if I can even see the face of the man in front of me.'
You may not be able to tell whether food is going into your mouth or your nose.
"Ma'am, there is only one last dessert left."
"Hmm."
Madam Mancini, who was looking at Aileen, who was unusually quiet today, and me, who had a bad complexion, shook her head.
"I think it would be a good idea for everyone to eat their own dessert in their own rooms. I also plan to spend some quiet time today."
"Yes, Ma'am."
She wiped her mouth with a napkin, looked at us with something more to say, closed her mouth, and stood up.
It was likely that she would spend the anniversary of the Viscount's death quietly alone in the small prayer room on the lower floor of the mansion.
I urgently called out to her who was just about to leave the hall.
“Ma’am.”
The eyes of everyone present were focused on me.
I shyly lowered my gaze slightly, fiddled with my fingers, and opened my mouth.
"If possible, would it be okay if l invited the new ladies I met here at the mansion tomorrow?"
"...Here?"
"They are all well-educated, wonderful ladies. They wanted to see the Viscountess a long time ago, but I couldn't muster up the courage."
"Isabella, I..."
I smiled slightly at the hesitant Viscountess.
"I know you don't like making a lot of noise. However, after reverently honoring the Viscount who can no longer stay here today, I hope you will have a pleasant day tomorrow."
She looked at me with a somewhat surprised face at my words.
Aileen looked at me and with a very pale face then opened her mouth in an urgent voice.
"Sur, my aunt doesn't like noise."
You must already be heartbroken over your deceased uncle, so why not invite the young ladies to a tea party?
"It's too much!"
I laughed at how nervous I was going to bring up the story about the riding club when the ladies were gathered together.
At Aileen's reaction, Madam Mancini seemed to be displeased and raised her hand to prevent her from saying any more.
The head maid next to me looked at me with a warm face and nodded.
As someone who had been by Madam Mancini's side for several decades, she knew how lonely Madam felt on the anniversary of the Viscount's death.
"I think Lady Isabella's suggestion would be good. I'm not suggesting that the mansion be opened to the public every day, but if lively young ladies come by every now and then, the gardener will feel rewarded for taking care of it."
The Viscountess laughed as if she were dumbfounded by the gentle invitation.
"You seem to be getting better at talking to people as the years go by."
The Viscountess looked at Aileen, who was speechless, with her mouth twitching, at Daniel, who was smiling, at his escorts, and finally at me, and nodded slowly.
"Do you want to do that?"
"Yes. Thank you, Ma'am."
***
On the way to the room, urgent footsteps were heard from behind.
It was difficult to find any room to relax as the hand jerked and pulled my arm.
Innocence is seen at the first meeting on Aileen's distorted face.
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