CH 94

CHAPTER 94: EVERYDAY LONELINESS

「Well then, I will be going」

「Yes. See you in a while, Wilhelm-sama」

「Please take care」

After handing over his lunch, we sent off Wilhelm-sama who was going to work.

Until recently, I had been going to the garrison. But for the time being, I was still taking a break from lectures. Though I was on break, I could not just shamelessly show up at the garrison only to visit Wilhelm-sama’s office.

So until I am ready and could resume my lectures, I would be staying at the manor.

There were still many places to clean anyway, so I would not have much time for leisure.

Incidentally, Natalia made the lunch.

Of course, I also made a dish. It was just a salad, though. I just cut the vegetables and arranged them.

「Now then, let us continue cleaning」

「Yes, Ojou-sama」

「I-I am going to draw water! 」

「Yes. Please do so, Mary」

Mary carried two buckets and went to the backyard. In the meantime, I would have to decide where to clean today.

I would also have to prepare materials, so I could resume lecture at any time.

「Thank you for waiting! 」

「Yes. Well, Natalia, let us clean the rooms from the west side」

「Understood」

「Mary, please do the laundry today. We are going to remove the sheets from the west side, so wash those too」

「Yes! 」

Natalia took the two buckets and headed to a room on the west, while Mary went off to do the laundry.

I felt sorry for letting Natalia carry everything. Should I train, too? Like Deborah-san.

Oh, speaking of Deborah-san, there would be no school in three days, so Lilia would probably come to visit. By then, I would have to make this residence suitable for receiving guests.

I would also have to study cooking to prepare Wilhelm-sama’s meals. There were a lot of things to do.

However, considering that they were all for Wilhelm-sama, these were nothing at all.

Now then.

So far, those that were finished were the manor’s entrance hall, Wilhelm-sama’s and my rooms, and the room where Mary and Natalia were staying at.

Then, there was what appeared to be a drawing room, but it seemed rarely used.

The furnishings were covered with dust, and the sheets had a thin layer of it. One could even see dust floating around through the light coming in from the window.

We started after ventilation.

「All right, Natalia. Clean the floor」

「Yes」

Natalia took care of floor cleaning.

I wiped on the furnishings and shelves. The sheets must also be sent to the laundry. Perhaps not that many guests would come, so should I have two or three rooms prepared every day?

Unlike yesterday, the cleaning of the floor shortly finished since it was inside a room. After the floor was cleaned, Natalia was kept busy, and she carried the dusty sheets away.

Sweat formed on our foreheads. Even this kind of everyday work could be quite tiring.

「I have returned, Ojou-sama」

「Yes. Then, may you please change the water? 」

「I understand」

Natalia was really overworked, but I heavily relied on her.

Mary still had a lot to learn as a servant, so she also had to rely on the perfectly capable Natalia. At the very least, it might be better to add a few more servants. Should I ask my mother?

Natalia quickly changed the water, so cleaning resumed.

「Ojou-sama」

「What is it? 」

「I have a suggestion……How about hiring another servant? 」

「I was also considering that just now」

We thought about the same matter, after all.

Two servants were certainly few. Though there might be two of them, they had to be given a break once a week. So on such a day, there would only be one servant around.

I wanted at least one more person, if not two.

「I will ask my mother. But how should we choose people? 」

I did not want to call over the people who were currently working for the Ambrose ducal house.

Like with Richard, there were many people who have been working there for a long time, so my father and mother grew to trust them. They were servants who took care of the personal matters of my busy father and mother. Many of them had been doing so for many years, so there were not many young people among them.

If possible, I actually preferred to have young people who could work for a long time.

「Um, Ojou-sama」

「Yes? 」

「This may be presumptuous of me, but……」

「What is it? 」

「There is one suitable person for it」

Oh my.

That truly saved us the trouble. An acquaintance was better than a stranger, after all.

「I understand. That person can be trusted, yes? 」

「Yes. Definitely」

「Then, I will get my mother’s approval on that. I will hire them as soon as preparations are in order」

「Understood. I will also relay it to them on my next day off」

It was a great help.

With this, we secured one person for now. I would like to have at least one more, but that would also be discussed with my mother. Hiring a servant also costs money, after all.

It would be great if I could earn enough money to hire a servant. Unfortunately, being a temporary lecturer of the Order did not have such a high pay. Therefore, I would completely be reliant on my family for the servants’ pay.

「Now, into the next room. Let us have lunch as soon as the next room is finished」

「Understood」

Afterwards, I cleaned with Natalia until lunch. In the afternoon, I had Mary who had finished with the laundry join us in cleaning some more. As a result, the entire manor was cleaned enough to welcome guests.

After dinner, I made the materials for lecture with Natalia and Mary in preparation for the future. Because it would be easier if I stock up even a little on it.

And so, I stayed in the manor all day like that until I was tired and went to sleep.

Still, Wilhelm-sama did not return.