"O-Of course, that is no problem. My Lady can worry me whenever she wants to. I promise I will never find her presence burdensome."
Hobbit stuttered over his words, not being able to look Lady Rui in the face. He kept his face hidden to not attract her attention.
Rui watched the pitiful display in front of her and she could not help but be disappointed in this man. He was someone who had so much potential but he had ended up curbing his talent himself.
'But, oh well. That just means there is less competition for Yohan to get what he wants.'
"In that case, I will take my leave now. You have done a good job until now Hobbit, so I hope you continue to do a good job in the future as well."
Hobbit could not help but feel a flutter in his heart as soon as he heard his lady's words. She had recognized him and his effort. She was letting him know that Hobbit was welcome to work for her.
And to reply to her, Hobbit would have to work even harder in the future. That much he vowed to do anyway.
'I will not let my lady down no matter what. I will do my uttermost to hold her honor in place.'
This was what Hobbit was thinking and he got pumped up to show his worth.
………………
Yohan watched as the servants finally got to work around him. They had been lazing around until he had shown up and then they had kicked themselves into gear.
Hans was currently helping Yohan out in maintaining law and order with the servants while the head butler was suspiciously missing. It did not sit well with Hans to see his father planning something.
"Hey man, are you sure everything will be alright? Our guests will be arriving anytime now and the head butler is nowhere to be seen."
Hans's worry seeped into his voice as he looked at Yohan. He was too worried to even eat properly and he was hungry as a result of it.
"It will be alright for the most part. But if you are still worried, you should keep an eye on your father and report if he makes any sudden moves."
Yohan was not worried since the head butler had a reason to lay low right now. And for Yohan, it was time to increase his influence. His magic was already saturating the house and other servants.
The bell rang in the meanwhile, signaling the arrival of thier guests. Yohan had only been told that it was another noble family who was coming to visit.
"By the way, do you know who our guests are? The head butler never told me the name when he shifted this responsibility to me."
Hans looked startled, not believing that this was the time for Yohan to ask such an important question. But truthfully, Yohan had been too busy to bring it up now.
"What? Our guests are here and you don't even know the name of our guest? Have you gone mad or something? No wonder you were acting so relaxed all this time. It was because you did not know the importance of our guests."
Hans freaked out in a dignified manner. Only his eyes showed the bewilderment and shock he was feeling.
"Listen carefully Yohan. Our guest is called Freshia Wells. Before you ask, yes, that is Freshia Wells. We cannot afford to make any mistakes or the queen might get involved as well."
Hans stressed the second part, almost as if it was enough for Yohan to change his mind about dealing with this situation.
What he did not realize was that Yohan had no idea who Freshia Wells was and what her significance was for the queen to get involved. But it was a topic Yohan would have to ask the resistance about.
'And maybe, this person could be someone I can use for my gain. If I can make use of her and get close to the queen-'
"Stop thinking weird thoughts Yohan. I can tell you already that what you are thinking would not work out. Lady Freshia Wells is incredibly loyal to the queen. She will never bend to your will."
Hans warned Yohan, his voice filled with certainty. It made Yohan almost hesitant to go through with his plan.
'Let's not make any hasty moves. Let's hold on to any sort of plans for the time being and wait for a reply from the resistance first.
………………………
Freshia Wells was a dignified person but she was also someone with limited patience. And usually, she could take a lot of bullshit, but not today. Today she was sick and tired of all the bullshit she had to face.
And the main culprit behind her tired day was the queen and her favor.
'How dare she bring in that foreigner to her bedroom. And after she promised me not to let anyone come between us. How dare she not follow through her own words?'
Lady Freshia Wells, in regular terms, is pissed off at her queen and her negligence. Because of her queen, people in the court were making fun of her as a discarded lover. And that was why she had run away.
Currently, she was on her way to her good friend, Lady Abstel's house. That was the only place that would not find her ridiculous since Ladu Rui was a good and straightforward person.
"My lady, we are here at Lady Abstel's mansion. Shall I go in and announce our arrival?"
The driver who had accompanied Freshia asked. He was someone who was incredibly loyal to her and had come with them despite all the risks. The queen would be livid once she knew what happened.
"Ah, yes. Please go in and announce my arrival. I shall be right behind you."
Lady Freshia was nervous as she waited for her driver to come back for her. Behind him was a very familiar face of Lady Rui's head butler which made Freshia feel better about her visit.
'So I am not an inconvenience if the head butler came out to fetch me himself.'
"Welcome to the Abstel mansion, Lady Freshia. I hope you will have a comfortable stay here."
The head butler looked stressed for some reason but Freshia knew it was not her place to question him about what happened. She had heard the news of the head cook's death on the way, but it had been too late for her to cancel this trip when she had been informed.
In the end, Lady Freshia decided to visit this place anyway.
"I am not an inconvenience, right?"
Lady Freshia questioned. She would hate to have troubled the kind butler and her friend in tough times. But she could also lend her a shoulder to cry on if her friend needed it.
"Ah, no. Nothing is wrong in there. It's just that the newly hired staff members are a little green and it causes small problems. But since they were appointed by Lady Rui herself, I cannot say anything to them. It has caused me some stress."
The head butler spoke softly and in a kind voice. He was likely trying not to blame anyone but Lady Freshia still felt burdened. She wanted to help the head butler who had been so kind to her all the time.
And to do so, she would try to talk with Rui and get her to discipline her new staff. That was the least Freshia could do for the kind old man in front of him.
"I see. So you have it hard as well. But don't worry because I will always be on your side. You can trust me and tell me anything you want to."
The head butler looked relieved at Lady Freshia's words and she felt proud of herself. She had made someone actually happy with her presence.
She entered the mansion where everyone was waiting for her to show up. The only one not here right now was Lady Rui Abstel. Freshia could not help but look around at the servants and her eyes fell on a beautiful white-haired man.
He was beautiful, a little too much and just looking at him was enough to make Freshia's heart skip a beat. She could not believe someone this beautiful could actually exist in real life.
He almost looked as good as her queen did and that made Freshia nervous.
"Don't be taken in by that servant's sweet-looking face. He's a devil who has seduced everyone in this mansion with his face. It has caused me an endless amount of trouble."
The head butler sounded tired when he said that and his face seemed to have aged quite a bit as well. Freshia felt even more sorry for him than before and she vowed to not fall in love with that lovely face.
No matter what happened, she would help the head butler out.
'I shall not fall pray to that sweet face. I know very well how this all ends up in the end. I shall not see my friend fall victim to a fraud like this man as I did with the queen.'
Lady Freshia will allow her friend to have her happy ending.