“Come to think of it, you learned painting from the Duchess? Have you been working at the ducal residence since you were young?”
Amy asked with a friendly heart, but as if interpreting the question differently, Amy waved her hands and hurriedly explained.
“Ah, that’s not it! They’re not the kind of people who would give work to a clumsy and inexperienced child like me.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. I was just surprised that you’ve been staying at the Winkler family since you were young.”
“Ah, that’s what you meant. Yes! I’ve been staying at the Winkler family the whole time. I’ve been alternating between the Winkler estate and the mansion in the capital. My mother was the Duchess’ wet nurse. Now she works as the head maid.”
To be exact, Amy’s brother, who was three years older than her, was said to be Cassel’s milk brother. Amy also added that her brother, following their father who was a knight, is currently walking the path of a knight.
It seemed that Amy had naturally become close to Cassel like siblings, staying at the Winkler mansion since she was born. Moreover, the Duchess treated Amy like her own daughter.
“The Duchess only had two sons. She always said she wanted a daughter but never had one. Maybe that’s why she cherished me so much.”
It was easy to understand why the Duchess doted on Amy like a daughter. Amy, who was lively and positive in everything, had a charm that drew people’s hearts.
Anyone who talked to her even for a moment would quickly fall for her.
“My mother always told me not to be arrogant and to remember my place no matter how much the Duchess cherished me. She also scolded me every time, saying how someone of my status could be close to the Duke, but the Duke treated me like a younger sister.”
“I see.”
Riena muttered softly and smiled bitterly.
‘It reminds me of Joanna.’
Joanna, who had been with Riena for a long time, was also like a friend to her.
Joanna had lost her parents at a young age and was wandering the streets. Riena, who had gone out with her father to look around the estate, saw Joanna and took her to the mansion.
It was all thanks to that that Joanna was able to work as a maid at the mansion at a young age.
However, there was no work for Joanna, who was not even 10 years old at the time, to do at the mansion. Count Dyke could not order her, who was like a daughter to him, to do rough work, and in the end, Joanna became Riena’s conversation partner.
Although she had coldly abandoned Joanna, her heart still ached when she thought of her betrayal.
A wish settled in Riena’s heart, hoping that Amy would not betray and continue to have a good relationship with Cassel.
“Anyway, my conclusion is that the Duke is such a good person! But that’s not what’s important right now. I’ll give you a brief tour of the room!”
Amy clapped her hands to change the atmosphere and began to explain about the room.
“The place you’re looking at right now is the living room and reception room. If you go outside, there’s also a terrace overlooking the garden. It’s autumn now, so there are few flowers, but until a few months ago, various roses were in full bloom. Whenever you feel depressed, having tea while looking down at the garden will help you change your mood.”
Riena, who had followed Amy to the terrace, exclaimed at the scenery below.
“You’re right. It’s really pretty. It’s well-decorated.”
“The Winkler Duchy is located at the northernmost part of the empire, so it’s not that warm even in spring and summer. That makes it difficult to create a garden. Instead, the mansion here has been lavishly decorated for generations!”
After finishing her explanation, Amy waved her hand towards a young man who was watering the flower bed on one side of the garden.
“Brother Ryan!”
Ryan, who raised his head to check who had called him, ran down to the bottom of the terrace.
“If it isn’t Amy Carrot?”
“Ahaha, I told you many times that my name is Amy Carrot!”
“Since it’s Carrot, it’s Carrot! By the way, what are you doing there? And who is the person next to you?”
Ryan asked in wonder, but soon realizing that the location of the terrace was the Duchess’ room, he quickly took off his straw hat and bowed.
“Greetings, Madam.”
Amy burst into laughter with a “Wahaha”.
“Not yet, brother. She’s not the Duchess of Winkler yet, but the young lady of Count Dyke. You can just call her Young Lady.”
“Then again… Young Lady, hello! I’m Ryan, working as a gardener at the mansion in the capital! From now on, I will be in charge of the flowers in the Young Lady’s room!”
Riena leaned close to the balcony and looked down.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Riena Dyke.”
“Please speak comfortably!”
“Shall I?”
“Yes.”
Ryan had an appearance more suitable for a stable boy or a knight than a gardener. His skin was moderately tanned, he was quite tall, and had a good physique.
Judging by his appearance alone, it seemed like he wouldn’t be suitable for the delicate job of handling plants, but his attitude toward Riena was unexpectedly attentive.
“I thought there would be few flowers since it’s autumn, but there are more than I expected. This must also be Ryan’s ability, right?”
“Haha, I’m embarrassed to hear you say that. I just diligently took care of the plants as I learned.”
“I know well that nurturing plants isn’t something that can be done simply with diligence. I also tried planting and taking care of wildflowers in a small pot, but they always withered.”
“That’s not your fault, Young Lady. There must have been other problems, like not enough nutrients in the soil or the pot being too small. By the way, do you like flowers a lot?”
“Yes. I like them.”
“There’s a greenhouse over there, although it’s small. You can see more flowers there. Even in winter. If it’s alright with you later, please come visit the greenhouse. I’ll guide you.”
The building with a translucent wall that Ryan pointed to looked quite large in size, despite his words of it being “small”.
“Okay, I got it. I’ll come visit soon.”
“Just let me know in advance through Amy. Ah, and I’ll find some brightly blooming flowers, trim them, and send them up. It’s my welcoming gift.”
“Thank you. I’m already looking forward to it.”
At that moment, Amy, who had hurriedly intervened, quickly took Riena inside.
“Phew, if I hadn’t cut it off there, he would have kept you occupied. Brother Ryan becomes talkative when he sees a beauty. Anyway, like this, if you go out to the terrace, you can see the garden.”
Amy walked briskly and pointed to the door outside the living room.
“This is the door I mentioned earlier. If you unlock the latch like this and open the door…”
When she opened the door wide, another door was visible. Riena, who was worried that Cassel’s room would be immediately visible, was inwardly relieved.
“Like this, a door leading to the Duke’s room appears. As I told you, if you lock it from this side, the door can’t be opened without breaking it. The same goes for your side, Young Lady.”
“Won’t the Duke find it strange if I lock this door?”
“He won’t particularly think that way. I heard that people who had political marriages and didn’t get along well actually kept the door locked. The previous Duke and Duchess were like that too.”
“I see.”
“I think that’s enough for the living room.”
Amy, who closed the door and locked the latch again, this time headed to the door on the opposite side.
The interior was just as expected. There was a main bedroom, and a dressing room and bathroom attached to it were as large as the bedroom, decorated in dark tones similar to the living room.
The bed was large enough for five adults to comfortably sleep in, and on one side of the bedroom, there was a tea table where one could sit and do various things.
“Ah, I should bring you clothes to change into right away.”
After asking for permission and opening Riena’s luggage, Amy realized there were no clothes inside and quickly said,
“You must be uncomfortable wearing outdoor clothes? I’ll prepare a bath for now. The other girls will help you bathe. In the meantime, I’ll find some clothes for you to change into and come back.”
With the help of the three other maids called by Amy, Riena washed her body. The bathtub she soaked in was luxurious beyond comparison to the one at the Dyke estate.
‘I thought a bathtub was just for bathing.’
Since there was no need to show it to others and it only needed to fulfill its basic function, she had used a plain one.
Riena, who was slightly wiggling her toes out of the water, newly realized that she was really at the Winkler mansion.
When she was looking around with Amy a little while ago, she was tired and distracted, so everything felt like a dream, but now that she was soaking in warm water and relieving her fatigue, she finally felt a sense of reality.
To escape the influence of the Dyke family, she would soon have a fake marriage with Cassel.
But more important than that was uncovering the truth behind Count Dyke’s death.
‘If someone really deliberately made Father’s horse go wild, and that’s how Father passed away like that, what should I do?’
What if the other person was someone she knew well?
What if she was unnecessarily opening Pandora’s box?
Wouldn’t it be more comfortable to just think that Father died in an accident?
‘No, I shouldn’t do that. I will definitely clear Father’s unfairness.’
But before that, there was something she had to do first.
‘I should try contacting Aunt Letitia. That’s why I came to the capital.’
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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