Chapter 195

“I was educated, including reading and writing; I learned manners; and at the age of fourteen, I went to work at Yurinova Castle again, this time as a maid. Lord Sergei had already become the Duke. At that time, it became an open secret that I was the illegitimate daughter of the previous heir. I was careful not to confirm or deny it because Lord Sergei did so to protect me.”

Ah… the old hag, I understand.

I heard that she once kicked out a gardener who worked in the rose garden by insinuating that a lowly person was not allowed to be in her sight. I could not begin to imagine what she would do to a former laundry maid if she came into her sight. He set it up so they wouldn’t treat her that way.

At the age of twenty-three when he met Laiza, he should have been already married. Grandfather…I wonder what happened…why did he have to marry that woman? They are such a contradictory couple.

“Prince Sergei was busy with his work as a duke as well as the affairs of the country. He was travelling back and forth between the imperial capital and the dukedom. Master Isaac also went around the Imperial Palace researching for his studies, so even though I was his maid, my main job was to write letters here and there and make various arrangements for the two of them, rather than carry trays.”

You were more of a secretary than a maid. I wonder if she has been bespectacled since those days, an intelligent and beautiful secretary. It was so moe!

“In addition, Lord Sergei asked me for many unusual favors at that time… It was a dizzying, joyful time. But when I was eighteen, I got married and moved out of the castle to raise my children.”

I’m curious if, as a celebrity matchmaker hobbyist, he casually introduced Laiza to a man he considered a potential match.

Grandfather was fifteen years older, while my great-uncle Isaac must have been ten years older than her. I wonder if he adored her…but she was supposed to be his unofficial sister, and there seemed to be nothing she could do about it, I guess.

“After that, I often came to assist him on some occasions, and when I finished raising my children and left them to my adopted parents, he asked me if I would be interested in serving him again. That was about 10 years ago. The Grand Mistress and Monsieur Alexandre were the only guests at the castle, and I kept a low profile, helping the housekeeper at the time with her work and keeping him informed of what was happening at the castle. Then, after Prince Sergeis’s death, the housekeeper was dismissed.”

Laiza’s voice trailed off. But she quickly continued.

“When Prince Alexandre became the Duke, the housekeeper was replaced by someone who had been introduced by another family, and soon I was no longer allowed to come and go.”

Introduced by another family….

So, in my father’s time, Laiza was excluded.

“But about five months ago, I heard that the housekeeper was no longer available, and the butler, Novarus-san, asked me if I would like to be the housekeeper.”

Ah, there were others that went missing other than the former treasurer!

I knew it, the former housekeeper was probably sent by Magna to initiate the fraud. Big Brother said he had weeded out the major players, one of them being the former housekeeper.

Come to think of it, one of the duties of a housekeeper was to take care of food and goods. To cover up the embezzlement, it was necessary to seize this place, I guess. I remembered hearing that in Victorian England, the housekeeper was in charge of keeping the keys to the pantry and other rooms where valuables were stored, and that the bundle of keys was a symbol of authority.

“So I am now the new housekeeper. And this banquet is my first big job.”

“For what it’s worth, I thought you seemed quite adept at it.”

“Even when I was serving Lord Sergei, the housekeeper was old, so I gradually took over for her.”

If that was the case, then Laiza was really supposed to be the next housekeeper. No wonder she was ousted.