Beneath the Surviving Princess's Joyful Facade - Chapter 25

As usual, he left the office to have lunch with his wife. Because Miesa often got distracted and left the dining table in disarray, she frequently skipped meals.

“What is a lover?”

Left alone with him, his wife asked the question that had been on her mind.

“What did you do today to hear such a thing?”

“They say it changes one’s feelings.”

His gaze shifted to the book on the side table. Such words wouldn’t be found in the history of the Kingdom of Esquillir, but he explained smoothly.

“It refers to a special relationship between a man and a woman. Depending on the context, it can change one’s feelings.”

Miesa seemed somewhat confused. Even as he cut a large meat pie and handed it to her, the questions continued.

“Are we in a special relationship like that, Eirik?”

“No. We are husband and wife, not lovers.”

“Can you be married and have a lover too?”

“There are cases where a married person forms a separate ‘relationship’ with someone else.”

He paused as he was about to correct her while cutting his own piece of the delicious pie.

Concerned that his wife might misunderstand, he added, “But not me. There can be no special woman beside you, and I hope you also do not keep a lover apart from me.”

“Ah.”

Miesa looked relieved, but he continued with a sigh, “I simply cannot understand such things. Not being able to keep faithfulness, and fundamentally, it’s an act of betraying trust.”

Perhaps he was still agitated over his father’s actions, leading to his lengthy explanation. Eirik took a small breath and resumed cutting the meat pie with his knife.

“By the way, who exactly said such a thing?”

“Is it okay to bite between couples?”

“You need to answer the question first before moving on to the next.”

Somehow, his tone felt more like he was coaxing a child rather than addressing his wife.

“The Pointy said about the lover, and Gella about the bite,” Miesa replied obediently.

Eirik shook his head. “They all talk nonsense. And Gella, of all people…”

Should he replace her? However, finding someone as suitable as Gella among the men surrounding him wouldn’t be easy. Unless he borrowed his mother’s maid, Edil.

***

Miesa and Gella had been wandering around since early morning. Curious to see places she hadn’t visited before, Miesa headed towards the room where the maids rested during their breaks.

Edil, worked every other day, and the other two maids took turns working a day each. Today, Edil was off, and a young maid with a fresh face was sitting there.

As Miesa peeked through the door and stepped inside, the young maid glanced up and greeted her. “Young Madam Miesa, you’re here,” she said.

When the maid greeted Miesa, Gella, who had entered alongside her, also cheerfully greeted the maid. “Hello, maid,” Gella said brightly.

The maid nodded briefly in acknowledgment.

Then, she acted as if nothing had happened, closing her eyes and sitting on the sofa. Even when Miesa dramatically pulled the curtains and shouted, the maid didn’t move an inch.

After some time, a servant knocked on the door, informing them that it was time to wake up the great madam. Only then did the maid stand up and politely greet Miesa. “Young Madam Miesa, I’ll see you later then,” she said with a bow.

Thus, the maids of Margravine Cladnier treated Miesa with clean indifference, never skipping formal greetings. It was a novel experience for Miesa.

Even after that, Miesa roamed the mansion incessantly. Today, she ventured beyond the maids’ workroom, just as she had done the day before.

Further down the corridor, she found the kitchen. It was bustling with lunch preparations, with sounds of pounding, clashing, and even shouting echoing everywhere.

Gella fidgeted nervously beside her. “Margravine Cladnier said not to come here. There’s fire and big knives…” she warned.

At the mention of knives, Miesa flinched but remained stubbornly at the kitchen entrance, thinking that the knives wouldn’t fly all the way to her. Eventually, she sat down on the floor in defiance.

“You’re not supposed to be here…” Gella sighed deeply and then lifted Miesa up.

“Aaah!” Miesa cried out in displeasure.

The cook, who had been conversing loudly with an assistant, turned her head at the noise.

“Well, well, who do we have here!” she said with a warm smile as she approached. “My, Gella, you’ve grown! Do you remember me?”

“Oh? Hello, Auntie! When did you come to the capital?” Gella responded, surprised.

“I come and go following my master. So, you’re now the maid of Young Madam Miesa, right? Is this the young madam?” the cook asked, looking closely and recognizing Miesa, who was nestled in Gella’s arms like a baby. She grinned widely, “The baby has grown, hasn’t she? Haha!”

“Oh, please, watch your language,” Gella said, a bit embarrassed.

“Come on, in the kitchen, I’m the king. Who’s going to spread idle gossip? Right?” the cook retorted, waving the skewer she was holding.

Disgruntled voices rose from all around in response. The kitchen, like any place with fire and metal, was full of rough and blunt people. But they were also honest and straightforward, unlike the maids. They didn’t hide their curiosity, stealing glances at Miesa. Some even burned their hands, stopping their work to stare.

“Ah, don’t just stand there. Go sit over there,” the cook said, clicking her tongue and gesturing with her hand.

Though Miesa was cradled like a baby, Gella wasn’t that large herself, making the sight somewhat awkward. The cook sighed and pointed, “Here. It’s where we sit, but you can use it for now.”

“I’m not sure if she’ll sit still,” Gella said hesitantly, but she placed Miesa on the large table where the kitchen staff ate.

“Is it alright for me to take up your time like this when you’re so busy?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” the cook waved her hand dismissively. Gradually, the kitchen staff began to gather around.

“Is this the young madam? I’ve only seen her being carried by the young master, but she’s not as tiny as I thought,” one remarked.

“The young master is so tall, that’s probably why she seemed smaller,” another chimed in.

As comments were exchanged, the cook frowned and shooed them away. “Get back to work! Don’t you see the stew boiling over? The pigeon roast is going to burn!”

Then, turning back to Miesa, the cook said, “I heard the young madam is afraid of birds? Make sure to cover everything well when passing through here!” she shouted to the staff, then went to fetch a wooden bowl filled with walnuts.

“Here, young madam, have some of these,” she offered.

“Oh, I can tell these are from our village by their size. Young madam, these are really, really delicious,” Gella said, taking one and cracking it open with a wooden mallet.

She fed the broken pieces to Miesa, chatting away continuously, even though she didn’t expect Miesa to understand everything.

“Young madam, isn’t it tasty? Walnuts from Kazen are the best. Oh, how have you been, Auntie?” Gella asked, turning her attention back to the cook.

“Oh, just the usual. I cut my finger the other day, so bring me some ointment later,” the cook said, showing her finger with an exaggerated grimace before launching into more gossip.

“And how are your parents?” she asked.

“They’re well. I got a letter recently. My sister Laura is getting married,” Gella replied, excited to talk with someone from her hometown.

She turned to face the cook, her hands busy feeding Miesa walnuts, who munched away, learning all about the small village of Kazen in eastern Cladis.

“I didn’t know that! So, what happened then?” the cook asked eagerly.

“Well, that butcher’s son, the idiot, got swayed by sweet talk and promised to hand over the shop,” Gella said, her voice animated.

“Enough chit-chat! Get back to work!” an older kitchen maid barked, interrupting the lively conversation.

The cook stood up sheepishly. “Alright, alright, I’m going! Gella, don’t forget the ointment later.”

“I’ll re-bandage it for you, so keep it dry,” Gella advised.

“Sure, bring the young madam by again. She’s much quieter than I expected,” the cook said as she was pulled away, leaving the older maid laughing.

“Feels like you’re out for a stroll with your little sister,” the older maid commented. Then, wrapping the remaining walnuts, she handed them to Gella.

“Here, eat some too, and feed the young madam. When kids are this skinny, they need to eat things like this. Just eating sweets will make them gain useless weight.”

“Keep your voice down! Everyone outside can hear you,” the cook shouted at the older maid from afar.

Gella, who had been laughing, quickly composed herself and attended to Miesa.