Episode 4 - Princess, we will handle that.
It was six o'clock in the morning. Martha opened her eyes. It was still dim outside the window. The dawn light filtered thinly through the gap in the curtains. Martha looked at the ceiling for a moment, then stood up. It didn't hurt. It still didn't hurt. It was the fourth day since she had entered this body. She was slowly getting used to it. From thinking, 'Oh, I don't feel pain today either,' every time she opened her eyes in the morning, she now simply got up as a matter of course.
Martha found that change a little fascinating. As she got up, she naturally organized the tasks for the day in her mind.
The remaining three creditors just needed to be dealt with within this week. Since two were handled yesterday, there was no need to leave immediately today. Regarding the estate manager Felix Holm, she needed to get more documents from Maxim and examine them. She also needed to meet with Young Master Edward soon. But before that, Martha looked around her chambers. Dust had settled on the top of the curtain by the window. From the moment she discovered it, it had been bothering her ever since.
It was seven o'clock in the morning when Lucy arrived at Martha's chambers. She opened the door. Martha wasn't there. Lucy paused for a moment, then looked around. The bed was already made. Thinking she might be in front of the sink, she peered in, but she wasn't there. Where did she go?
Lucy stepped out into the hallway. And at the end of the hallway, she found Martha. Martha was standing in front of the hallway window. She was checking something while looking up at the top of the window. Then she reached out and ran her finger along the windowsill. Dust clung to her fingertips. Martha's brow furrowed.
“Princess?”
Martha turned around.
“Are you here?”
"Excuse me, what are you doing right now?"
“I checked the window frame.”
Martha looked down at her fingers and said.
"It's been quite a while since dust started building up here. It must have been over a week."
Lucy looked at the tips of Martha's fingers, then at the window frame, then at Martha again.
"...Why would the young lady touch the windowsill?"
“I want to check the cleaning status.”
“That’s me.”
"Yes, let's look around together."
Martha was already walking down the hallway. Lucy followed her, taken aback. Martha's patrol of the mansion began at seven in the morning and continued until lunchtime. At first, Lucy thought she was just following along. But she wasn't. As she walked down the hallway, Martha scanned the bottom of both walls with her eyes. She stopped and placed her hand on the wall corner. She ran her palm along the stair railing. She looked up at the corners of the ceiling. And when she found something, she spoke immediately.
"Here's a spider's web."
"Look at how the paint on the window frame is peeling; water has seeped in. I need to check if it's leaking from the roof."
"The edges of this carpet look like that. Since when have they been like this?"
Lucy diligently took notes from behind. Thinking to herself that she was glad she had brought her notebook, she entered the drawing room. Martha looked around at the sofa and picked up and put down a cushion. She pulled at the curtain with her hand. She seemed to be checking the texture.
"How long has it been since you washed this curtain?"
Lucy paused.
“I-I’m not sure.”
"Ask the laundry maid. If it's been more than two months, you have to take it down and wash it."
"All right."
Martha went to the window and opened it. The morning air came in. Martha looked out the window for a moment and spoke.
"The wind is coming from the northeast. I should ventilate the room this afternoon, especially the sleeping quarters."
Lucy asked cautiously while taking notes.
"My Lady, how do you know the direction of the wind?"
"You'll know if you open the window."
“Just?”
“You will know as life goes by.”
Lucy stopped while writing in her notebook again. It was already the second time today that she had heard 'as life goes on.' It was eight-thirty in the morning when she entered the kitchen.
Helena, the cook, was preparing breakfast when she saw Martha and her eyes widened.
"My, my lady? Directly in the kitchen....."
"Is the stove you fixed yesterday working well?"
Helena answered in a daze.
"Yes, the firepower has improved significantly since yesterday."
“Good.”
Martha entered the kitchen. She pretended not to hear Lucy calling from behind, "Princess, the kitchen..." She looked at the shelves. Ingredients were placed there. Martha naturally scanned the ingredients. Onions, carrots, potatoes, a few herbs, and some chicken and beef. And in the corner, there was a bundle of vegetables. Martha picked up the bundle. It was leafy green vegetables with a vivid green color.
"Helena, did this come in yesterday?"
Helena nodded.
"Yes, it came in from the market yesterday. It's in full swing right now, so the price is low."
Martha examined the vegetables this way and that. The leaves were fresh, and the stems were firm. They were good.
"It would be delicious if you blanched it and seasoned it."
Helena blinked.
"Ah, so you're not eating like that yet?"
Martha said as she put the vegetables back down.
"Just blanch it briefly and season with oil and salt. It's simple but delicious."
Helena hesitated for a moment and then spoke.
"I'll give it a try."
"You should eat plenty of seasonal food while it's cheap and delicious. From now on, I'll focus on buying seasonal vegetables when I go to the market. It's much better to buy seasonal ingredients with the money you would spend on expensive imported spices."
Helena nodded, then spoke as if something had occurred to her.
"Princess, here is the list of ingredients that arrived this month. Would you like to take a look?"
“Give it to me.”
Helena brought the list. Martha stood and scanned it. Her eyebrows went up.
"Is this spice twenty gold a bottle?"
"Yes, because it's an imported spice..."
"Can't you cook without this?"
"W-without that, the flavor is a little..."
“Do you have a replacement?”
Helena thought for a moment and then said.
"You can get a similar scent with local herbs, though. The price difference is more than tenfold."
"Then use that. You won't know once you eat it anyway."
Helena froze for a moment, then smiled softly. Lucy, who was diligently taking notes in her notebook beside her, wrote 'replacing imported spices with local herbs' before looking up at Martha. The Princess knows the prices of the ingredients.
They left the kitchen and went toward the laundry room. Two maids in charge of laundry were soaking clothes in a basin when they saw Martha and were startled.
"My, my lady!"
Martha looked down at the basin. A white linen sheet was submerged in the water. Soap bubbles were rising. Martha looked at it for a moment. Then she picked up the hem of her skirt. Lucy let out a sound that was close to a scream.
“Princess!!!!”
"If the dirt doesn't come off easily, you have to step on it with your feet. Your hands aren't strong enough."
"No! Absolutely not!"
Lucy stood in front of Martha, blocking her path. She spread her arms wide and literally used her body to block her. Martha looked at Lucy. Lucy had a desperate look on her face. There were even tears welling up in her eyes.
"My Lady, I will do this. I will do it. Please."
"It gets cleaner if you step on it..."
"It's a silk dress! I'm telling you, what you're wearing right now is a silk dress!"
Martha looked down at her dress. It was a light mint-colored dress. Lucy had picked it out for her yesterday. It was silk. As she put it on yesterday, Martha wondered if she should just wear something this expensive, but Lucy had strongly insisted that she should wear it because she was a Princess.
"Even silk, if you lift the hem..."
"If you lift the hem of your skirt, water will get inside! And even if it doesn't get in, that is not allowed! Why are you stepping on the laundry, Princess!"
"I told you it works better if you step on it."
"There are laundry maids, you know!"
Martha looked at the two laundry maids. They were frozen in front of the basin, watching the situation. With her eyes wide open, Martha sighed.
"Yes, yes, I won't step on it."
Lucy let out a sigh of relief. Martha looked at the laundry maids as she lowered her skirt.
"You have to lather up well, rub it in, and then rinse with water at least three times. If you do it twice, the soap scent will remain."
One of the laundry maids nodded.
"All right."
"Linen needs to be hung in the sun to be sterilized. It's going to be windy this afternoon, so spread it out widely in the yard."
"Yes, Princess."
Martha came out of the laundry room. Lucy followed behind, muttering softly.
"I seriously thought my heart stopped earlier."
Martha said as she walked.
"It's no big deal."
"It's a big deal! If the Duke of the Valois family steps on the laundry, it's a big deal!"
"It gets cleaner if you step on it."
"That's not the important thing!"
They left around ten in the morning. Bruno, the gardener, was pulling weeds in the west flowerbed with two day laborers who had arrived yesterday. Bruno paused when he saw Martha coming out.
"You are out, Princess?"
“Is everything going well?”
"Yes, it looks like everything will be sorted out by this afternoon."
Martha looked around the flowerbed. About half of the weeds had been cleared. The soil was exposed where they had been pulled out. Martha gazed at the soil and fell into thought.
“Mr. Bruno.”
"Yes."
"What are you planning to plant in this flower bed?"
Bruno scratched his head.
"Well, I don't really have any plans yet..."
"What season is good right now? Not flowers, but among houseplants."
"Herbs grow well at this time of year. Things like lavender and rosemary. Because it is a place with beautiful stars."
Martha nodded.
"I plant lavender in that row over there in the picture. Rosemary in this row; herbs can be used in the kitchen too, so it's practical."
Bruno's eyes widened slightly, then he nodded.
"That's a good idea. It's not difficult to manage, either."
"And plant something small at the bottom of that wall. Moss keeps growing, so it needs some light; something short would be better than something tall."
Bruno thought for a moment and then said.
"How about hydrangeas? They grow low and thrive at this time of year."
"Great."
Bruno's face lit up with excitement. Watching him, Marta thought, 'He really does love gardening. He's not just someone who does it as a job. Seeing how excited he is, it seems he, too, had become lethargic while Serena had neglected him.'
“Mr. Bruno.”
"Yes."
"Let's make the garden pretty. You can talk to Butler Maxim about the budget."
Bruno bowed his head.
"Thank you, Princess."
As Martha turned around, Lucy spoke quietly beside her.
"Princess, tears are welling up in Bruno's eyes."
Martha didn't look.
"It must just be because of the sunlight."
"No, really..."
"Let's go."
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Martha was walking down the east corridor of the mansion. Lucy followed behind, holding a notebook and muttering the list of things she had checked that day. Dust on the window sills, washing the curtains, checking for roof leaks, substituting imported spices, number of laundry rinses, planting herbs in the flowerbeds, hydrangeas on the wall... Just then, Maxim appeared at the end of the corridor. Maxim stopped in his tracks upon seeing Martha. He then looked back and forth between the notebook in Martha's hand and Lucy's.
"My Lady, from morning until now..."
“I inspected the mansion.”
"...All of them?"
"I haven't seen the eastern warehouse or the underground storage room yet."
Maxim's expression became complicated. Martha looked at Maxim.
"Why?"
"No, well..." Maxim chose his words carefully. "This kind of inspection is my job, but since the Princess is doing it herself, I feel ashamed..."
"That's too much for butler Maxim to do all by himself, and it's faster for me to look at it."
"But the young lady herself touched the window frame, went into the kitchen, and even the laundry room..."
Martha waved her hand.
"That's enough. More importantly, bring me the key to the underground storage room."
Maxim looked at Martha for a moment, then spoke quietly.
“...Princess.”
"Why?"
"I think I have misunderstood you, Princess. Or perhaps you have finally pulled yourself together for the sake of the family; I am so confused."
Martha looked at Maxim. There was something in Maxim's eyes. Something like longing. And an attempt not to let it be discovered. Martha looked at those eyes for a moment, then averted her gaze.
“Bring me the keys.”
"... Yes."
Maxim turned around and walked away. Lucy spoke in a low voice beside him.
"Princess, wasn't Lord Maxim acting a bit strange just now?"
“It’s not strange.”
“There’s something about those eyes...”
“Lucy.”
"Yes."
“Have you eaten?”
Lucy stopped.
"...I already ate that this morning."
"Really? Then that's fine."
Lucy looked at Martha for a moment, then jotted something down in her notebook. Martha glanced at it. 'Number of questions about today's meal: 3.' Martha pretended not to see. The underground storage room was in worse condition than expected. It was damp. Mold had grown on one side of the wall. Some of the stored ingredients were spoiled. Martha walked slowly through the room, inspecting it. Maxim followed, holding a lantern.
"How long has this humidity been?"
"It has gotten a bit worse since last year's rainy season."
"It's not ventilating. There should be a vent on that wall over there." Martha examined the wall. "There used to be one, but it looks like it's blocked."
“How did you...”
"Ah, I can tell just by looking."
Martha tapped the wall with her hand.
"It's here. The space behind this wall is empty. We just need to dig out the blocked vent."
Maxim looked at the part of the wall that Martha had knocked on.
“You are correct.”
"In damp basements, the ventilation shafts are usually over there. Builders all build them similarly. Take out all the spoiled ingredients, open the vent, and place a few pieces of charcoal inside; it will control the humidity. Charcoal is cheap and effective."
Maxim watched Martha for a while, then quietly took notes. Lucy also took notes. Martha left the storage room while watching the two of them take notes.
It was lunchtime. When she sat down at the table, Helena brought out blanched seasonal vegetables seasoned with oil and salt, just as Martha had said earlier.
Martha took a bite. It was good. Very good. It had a bit too much oil, but it went well for a first attempt.
“It’s delicious.”
Helena was waiting by the restaurant door when it became bright. Lucy, watching Martha eat from across the room, spoke.
"Can I have a bite too?"
“Try it.”
Lucy picked up a vegetable and ate it. She chewed for a moment, then her eyes widened.
“Oh, it’s delicious.”
"Yes?"
"What is it?"
"It's seasonal vegetables. It tastes the best at this time of year."
Lucy said as she picked up another piece to eat.
"How do you know something like this, Princess?"
"I know because I've tasted it."
“When?”
Martha paused for a moment and spoke.
"You'll have to try it if you live long enough."
Lucy stopped trying to pick up the vegetables and looked at Martha.
“Princess.”
"Why?"
"The Princess keeps saying, 'As you live on..."
"So?"
"Why does that sound so much like an adult's speech?"
Martha took a sip of the broth.
“Because I’m old.”
"You're nineteen."
"... Yes."
Lucy was about to say something when she took a sip of the soup. Then she muttered softly.
"Weird."
Martha pretended not to hear. After lunch, she sat by the window for a moment. She mentally reviewed the things she had looked around that morning. Window frames, curtains, the roof, the laundry, the kitchen, the garden, the storage room—three things needed repair. Five things needed improvement. Six things that could be fixed immediately. It wasn't bad. This is what happens when an old house is neglected. It doesn't collapse all at once, but deteriorates little by little. Fixing many small things frequently was the way to maintain a house, rather than fixing one big thing. People were similar.
Martha looked at the garden outside the window. Bruno was busy pulling out work groups with the day laborers. It was much more organized than it had been in the morning. Martha imagined what that flowerbed would look like once lavender and rosemary were planted in it. She thought it wouldn't be bad. Lucy came and sat down beside her.
“Princess”
"Why?"
"I used three pages of my notebook today."
“You wrote a lot.”
"Those are all things the Princess said."
Martha looked at Lucy. Lucy was holding a notebook. It was densely packed with meticulously written notes.
“Why do you write everything down?”
"I plan to use it later."
Martha looked at Lucy for a moment, then looked out the window again.
“Good idea.”
Lucy hugged the notebook tightly to her chest. Then, a little later, she spoke.
“Princess.”
“Why again?”
"Everyone among the employees is talking about the Princess today."
Martha looked out the window and said.
“What story?”
"The Princess will personally go around and take care of everything."
Lucy paused for a moment and added.
"Helena said she was so delighted that the Princess came into the kitchen and talked about ingredients. Bruno has been sketching since this morning because you asked him to make the garden pretty."
Martha didn't say anything.
"Mr. Karl reportedly cleaned the security area again this morning after hearing the news that the Princess would personally check the cleanliness. He said that the Princess must not find any dust in his area."
Martha made a tsk tsk sound.
"You made me worry for no reason."
"No, everyone likes it."
Martha looked out the window. Bruno, who had been pulling weeds, straightened up and looked up at the sky. He then laughed while muttering something to himself. He was probably designing the garden in his head. 'They've all lived so long in silence,' Martha thought to herself. It was now clearer how Miss Serena had run this house. She hadn't taken care of anything. She hadn't cared. The employees were just background figures. But people change when they receive attention.
Martha hadn't done much today. She told them to wipe the window sills, talked about vegetables, and asked about garden plans. That was all. Yet, that did something to the people in the house. It wasn't a big deal, Martha thought. You just have to see people as people. That was all there was to it. Lucy spoke up again from the side.
“Princess.”
“Why again?”
"You were really busy today; did you have a meal?"
Martha looked at Lucy. Lucy was looking at Martha with a serious face. Martha looked at that face for a moment, then let out a soft chuckle. Laughter came out. It was so brief that it was hard to tell if it had even come out of her face, but it did.
“I ate.”
“A lot?”
"Enough."
Lucy nodded. Martha looked out the window again. The afternoon sunlight fell upon the garden. A pile of weeds Bruno had pulled was stacked to one side. She wondered how it would be if lavender and rosemary were planted there; it would be nice. Martha thought quietly. This house was getting better. Slowly, one step at a time—that was enough.
[Lucy's Secret Shock Journal - Episode 4]
Today, I spent the whole day wandering around the mansion following the young lady.
I used three pages of a notebook.
Shock No. 1: The Princess put her finger on the windowsill to check for dust. At seven in the morning.
Shock No. 2: The Princess lifted her silk dress and tried to step on the laundry. I blocked her with all my might. My legs were trembling.
Shock No. 3: She knew the prices of ingredients in the kitchen. She calculated on the spot how much imported spices cost and whether Mom could save money by substituting them with local herbs.
Shock No. 4: He located the clogged vent in the underground storage room by tapping on the wall. Something even butler Maxim didn't know.
Shock No. 5: The Princess said "You’ll understand as you live" four times today. I counted. But...
I heard Helena, Bruno, Karl, and the laundry maids all gathered in the kitchen talking this evening.
The Princess has changed.
"Maybe she was always like this."
"No, you've definitely changed. But I'll give it to you."
I'm not sure. I don't know if the Princess has changed, or if she has always been like this and we just didn't know.
But I do know one thing.
This house was alive today.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment