Chapter 311
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From early morning, the great mansion was in an uproar.
Duchess Bayern might be away from home for fifteen days, perhaps even longer than that.
At that news, from the butler who managed the estate’s affairs great and small to the head maid and all the staff under her.
Everyone had been bustling about since dawn.
This was the first time she would be away from the estate for so long since the last charity event.
While the workers loaded the luggage onto the carriage, Melanie said to Marsha, who was holding the Duchess’s personal bag,
“…Miss Marsha, this is lemon honey tea. I heard it’s good for preventing colds, so please don’t forget to serve it to the Madam every morning. Ah, and have you properly checked the winter items?”
“Of course, there’s nothing I didn’t pack, from the sheepskin robe and wool coat to the hat and boots, socks, scarf, and earmuffs. I checked twice starting from last night, so you don’t have to worry.”
Marsha answered crisply.
Because she knew very well that Melanie’s nagging was rooted in affection for the Madam.
And Melanie was hardly the only one worried about the Madam, who was setting off on a long journey in the cold weather.
“Marsha, I packed some ginger tea too, just in case.”
“This is called a red bean pouch, and they say it’s good to warm it and massage the eyes or abdomen with it. Please make sure the Madam uses it before she goes to sleep.”
Jessie and Yona, perhaps also worried about the Madam leaving on such a long journey, each pressed a gift-like bundle into Marsha’s hands.
“Don’t worry, everyone. I’ll take good care of Madam.”
Marsha smiled brightly at her coworkers.
Until the Madam suffered… that… incident, the concern from coworkers who had once shunned her made her heart feel warm.
It was cold enough that even if she pulled her collar close, the chilly wind still pierced through, but her heart felt warm.
How could she not be happy when it was clear that others also respected and liked the person she served?
“Miss Marsha has surely prepared everything well, but perhaps because the weather is bad, I keep worrying.”
Melanie looked at Marsha loading the things she had received from her coworkers into the carriage, then lifted her head toward the dark sky.
The area around Bayern territory had well-maintained roads, so there were no rugged paths, but one never knew when or where a winter accident might happen.
At least, one fortunate thing was that perhaps because he was concerned about that, His Grace had decided they would depart early.
‘…Still, the Madam’s health has been worrying me lately.’
Was it because their relationship had been long and difficult for two years?
As though he were trying to make up all at once for the marital duties they had put off until now, the Master had been overworking the Madam every single night.
This was something everyone in the estate knew.
Even if the servants kept quiet, if one couldn’t notice that the food served at every meal had shifted mainly to nourishing dishes, then one had no qualifications to be head maid.
And lately, wasn’t there also a strangely sweet atmosphere between the Master and Madam, like lovers who had only just begun courting?
How could she not know that this meant the wall that had stood between the two of them had come down?
‘…But it’s still not enough to feel at ease with just this much.’
Unlike the ordinary servants, Melanie was one of Ash’s closest aides.
The third wedding anniversary.
She knew that when that day came, they had agreed to ‘divorce’.
“I don’t know how long I’ll stay here, but I want to be remembered as not having ended my term as Duchess badly. Even if it’s selfish.”
Hadn’t the Madam, too, indirectly revealed that she was envisioning that divorce?
Melanie was anxious that their relationship might reach a turning point on their wedding anniversary.
After all, the one who had brought change to the bleak House Bayern was none other than the present Madam.
In her judgment, there was no one who could replace the Madam.
‘His Grace really must do well…’
Melanie’s eyes fell on the man and woman crossing the lobby.
The Madam, with her ears hidden by earmuffs and half her face covered by a scarf.
And the Master, escorting the Madam while wrapping her shoulders in a thick coat.
…Even though the two of them had now grown incomparably closer than in the past.
Melanie believed that one must not let down one’s guard until the very end.
The wrinkled line of Melanie’s mouth softened into a gentle curve for only a moment.
“Miss Marsha, come to think of it, didn’t you say the Madam’s tent was omitted on the last trip to the capital?”
“Ah, that’s right! At that time, our Madam… yes, she really went through a lot.”
Marsha’s brown eyes turned hazy with emotion.
