CH 28

Chapter 28 – Uncouth lady, first errand

Later, Lord Nazel told Mr. Henry about the seedlings, and it was decided that he would be coming to the mansion soon.

With the appearance of the plant to save the food crisis, it seems that he could not ignore us as he has done so far.

I hope this will be an opportunity for Lord Nazel to be recognized by the people on the frontier.

As for the management of my mansion, I have found a vendor who buys unwanted items, and I am beginning to see hope in my plan to hire servants.

The vendor was found by Kelly from a reliable source.

She brought in a man named Belle, a young merchant who was doing extensive business in the neighboring territories. In appearance, he was the same age as Lord Nazel.

He is a very fresh person with blond hair and green eyes, and his white teeth reflect the light.

Also so gorgeous that just by being there, you feel as if your surroundings are being overshadowed.

...... but, isn't he a bit, uh, suspicious-looking?

He said he buys unwanted items and sells them to those who need them, so I quickly invite him into the mansion.

Belle also brought along a lot of people to carry out his belongings, and they all worked briskly.

He seems to be accustomed to giving instructions to people.

"Hmmm, the lord's mansion you mentioned...... It's an amazing place in so many ways. I didn't realize it was in such poor taste."

Belle replies while appraising the lion-like and turtle-like ornaments in front of the house.

This guy was honest enough to say it, "Poor taste", huh?

"But it's worth it. The gem embedded here is very rare."

"What about the ornaments?"

"Huh? All those weird objects are worthless. Rather, they are a negative factor that seriously detracts from the beauty of the gemstones. I doubt the aesthetic sense of the person who designed them."

"..... You're right~ Please take these paintings with you too. They're creepy."

The merchant, who for a moment appeared to reveal his true colors, laughed briskly and then returned to his polite tone and responded.

"Certainly, madam. There is an aristocrat who collects all these paintings, so I will introduce you to him. There's a lady over there who likes that kind of interior design, too."

"They have very unusual tastes, don't they?"

"Yes, they do. It's hard to understand."

Can...... a merchant say that?

His demeanor was very elegant, but he was strangely fishy and somehow not very merchant-like.

I looked at Belle with this impression, and he laughed at me as if my thoughts had leaked out from my mind.

"I'm not fishy, don't worry, I'm not fishy. I'm a proper merchant."

"..... Of course, right~"

My aesthetic sense aside, I guess he was not suspicious since it was a merchant recommended by Kelly, who is a reliable person.

And so we looked around the mansion.

Belle seems to be rather open-minded and knows about the affairs of various nobles. It was fun to listen to his stories, even the ones that were not very interesting.

"I see you are a friendly person, Lady Agnes."

"Am I?"

"I'm sorry, you're very different from what I expected. The lord is lucky to have such a beautiful and interesting wife."

"I certainly hope so."

Does this person also know about the Potato Lady rumors?

Having finished appraising the dubious artwork, Belle gives the hauler some instructions about this and that.

This should make the mansion look nicely refreshed.

Belle was an unusual merchant, but he paid me well, so he was not a bad person to deal with. After seeing them off, I ask Kelly to do a quick cleanup.

I was so busy dealing with various matters that by the time I realized it, it was already dark.

"Kelly, I'll buy dinner for you today. It's close by, so I'll just dress up as a maid and I should be good to go."

"No, Agnes, you can't do that. If anything happens to you, I will not be able to face Lord Nazelbert."

"I'm going to go to the nearest store, it's right outside the mansion...…. or do you want me to clean up instead of you?"

"I've cleared out a lot of furniture and odd ornaments, so there are piles of dust everywhere. You mustn't go near it, Miss Agnes."

"..... That's why I'll only stop by the neighborhood store. Then you should be fine, right?"

It is almost time for Lord Nazel to come back to the mansion. I would like to prepare a meal.

I prevailed with my plan to go out on the condition that I would definitely not make any side trips.

The store I wanted to go to was very close to the mansion, though.

I was very excited to be running an errand for the first time alone. I'm so nervous.

I put the money in my bag, pushed aside my feelings of anguish, and ran out of the mansion in my maid's outfit.

"If I don't hurry, the stores will close."

The stores close early in the outlying areas, so I rush through the garden of the mansion and open the large gate to the street.

The mansion was a bit far from the center of town, so there were few pedestrians.

Even so, there were a few stores nearby that sold food.

There was "Sunny Hall", a store selling nuts and mushrooms from the forest, "Coin of Ham", a stall selling simple prepared foods, and "Floral Mole Pavilion", a small diner offering takeout.

I headed for one of them, the "Floral Mole Pavilion".

I believe it had the latest closing time.

I opened the wooden door, illuminated by a warm lamp, and heard the tinkling of a bell.

There were a few customers and a middle-aged husband and wife in the quiet store.

"Welcome, you're working late into the night. Are you having a bad time at the mansion?"

The husband and wife were worried about me.

They seemed to remember me because I had visited there with Kelly.

Maids aren't something you see very often around here.....

The previous lord was apparently a terrible employer as well, and Kelly and I get worried looks everywhere we go shopping.

I have to correct this, don't I?

"The work environment isn't bad. Food, clothing, and shelter are guaranteed and the wages are more than most. Oh, right...."

I rummaged in my pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

This is the job application poster that Kelly and I had been working on for some time.

―― Now that we have the money, we can finally put our plan to hire servants into action!

"Look at this. Here's a recruitment paper for servants in that mansion."

I'm sure the servants around here are treated better than the ones in the royal capital, of course.

"Oh, dear! I've never seen a job offer with such good conditions around here."

The lady raised her voice, and her husband nodded his head in agreement.

"Guaranteed food, clothing, and shelter, with commuting allowed, three or more work days per week (negotiable), various benefits, bonuses, and little overtime. ...... isn't this too good to be true?"

To their amazement, I told them, "We are currently looking for an initial member."

I also made a strong effort to promote the fact that the Master has an excellent and generous heart.

These days, I have been going around the city spreading the word of Lord Nazel's excellence in various parts of the city.

"Um, if you don't mind, I was wondering if I could put the job posting on the wall of your store."

There are many other job postings on the walls of the store. The husband and wife readily agreed. They are good people.

"Thank you!"

I returned to the house feeling satisfied with the food I had purchased.