Chapter 55: Fortress 04

Translator: Blushy
Editor: SenjiQ

It was only when I came here that I learned what a ‘Saint’ really is.

A ‘Saint’ usually displays enough skill to be able to be recognised as a Saint at an early age. As a result, they are immediately taken under the protection of the royal family and are thoroughly educated, so that they can acquire a high level of culture and manners to live as royalty or someone of similar status in the future. If there’s an unmarried Prince around her age, then she will become his wife, if not then she will become the King’s concubine. That’s usually how they ended up.

That’s why the ‘Saint’ in this Kingdom is ‘someone noble enough to join the royal family’.

However, contrary to them, I am quite crude, since I suddenly appeared as the ‘Saint’.

I didn’t know how to bow gracefully. The best I could do was bob my head.

Because of that, the first reaction of the people at the fortress was, “Huh…? That’s the ‘Saint’…?”

Yup, I’m sorry but I’m just a commoner. What is elegance? Can I eat it?

My bow was so unrefined that Lector asked me if I wanted an etiquette tutor, perhaps because he was a little concerned about people’s judgements, or perhaps because he was advised to do so.

I also hated being looked at with suspicion all the time, so I got a private tutor and have been doing my best every day, but unfortunately, I am aware that I’m not quite ready to be a ‘royal’ wife yet.

It’s not easy to learn new things. The habits and behaviours I have acquired weren’t that easy to change.

I know that the habits and behaviours that I have acquired growing up in a country where there was almost no difference in social statuses are unbecoming of a royal in this kingdom, but I just can’t help it.

But I also understand that if I don’t fix it, then they’ll look down on me even more.

So, I’ll master it! I’m royalty!

Nope, impossible…

I’ve never been famous or anything, not even in my old world…

Everything was so overwhelming, and I was so inexperienced that I felt guilty.

I was so undignified that it was only natural that people began to wonder if I was a fake.

After all, I was being scolded by my maids today as well.

“So, Anise-sama, please don’t wake up until I come to wake you up!” She said as she mercilessly scolded. My maid always says, “I’ll be waiting on you, so please don’t do things yourself.”

She’s a good girl, you know. She’s young, energetic and not timid.

Apparently, the senior maids didn’t want to be my maid and were pushing it on each other, but one of them raised their hands and said, “Then, I’ll do it!” She’s a precious ally.

The other maids yelled at her angrily, “You’re not qualified to be her maid!” But her request was approved in the end which showed how much they hated to be my maid.

“Oh, everyone’s jealous. You’re married to that General!! Everyone wants him! The ideal lover! And yet, he suddenly declared he had a wife and brought her home with him. Everyone was in so much shock, and there were even some who couldn’t even eat because of that shock! … Still, it would have been better if it was a beautiful woman or a princess or something,” she said.

He does have that appearance and he’s bright. The perfect man. He’s like an idol so it’s not hard to imagine women swooning over him. But to have him taken away by an ordinary woman with no distinguishing features who can be found anywhere?

I don’t look like the Saint even if I am one, so it’s understandable that they can’t simply accept that I am the Saint.

It’s hard to believe that they would want to serve me.

“But I’m not going to fall in love, or get married, I’m going to get ahead by working hard! So, I volunteered to be your maid, Anise-sama, then I’m going to change jobs in the future with a background of being the Saint’s maid! It’s a career move!”

In a sense, she had a refreshing personality since she always tells me her honest intentions every day.

I’m constantly being told by this motivated maid that I’m not doing well in every aspect as a noble woman.

Even though I hate it… I’m doing my best to do as she says even if the food portions are extremely small, or the bath is lukewarm.

I can understand that the bath temperature is low since it’s still autumn. It gets cold when I take a bath, but it is a lot of hard work to carry hot water into the bath, so I know they probably wanted to cut corners in their work. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to do it.

But please, don’t put mint essential oils into the bath.

It makes the water get very cold. It’s not summer anymore! It doesn’t feel refreshing, and there’s no need to repel insects since there’s no insects here! What? Am I the bug!?

It’s so cold that I almost shriek as soon as I get out of the bathtub.

I’ve had enough… How popular is Lector?

And just how much do the servants disapprove of me as his wife?

It was apparently my fault when I sneezed, and the servants giggled.

“I’m sorry, but I haven’t finished making the bath yet, but if she doesn’t bathe now then she’ll be late for dinner~!”

When I see my maid being troubled by the other servants, I try to look cool and say, “Don’t worry, the point is to get clean,” but honestly, I’m not happy to hear them giggling behind my back.

It would have been better if I hadn’t known they were doing this, but unfortunately, Lolo is… the opposite of me and is well-loved by the servants, so I can hear what they say…

My, it’s so nice that Lolo gets to eat full meals of delicious food.

I’ve been eating only about a bit of everything lately since they said ladies should be small eaters, so I might have lost a bit of weight since I’ve come here.

Complain? I can’t. I don’t even know how to complain about this.

If I’m going to complain, they’ll probably tell me to do it with dignity, but I don’t have any dignity to begin with, which is why I’m in this situation.

But if Lector tells them off about this, then I’m afraid they’ll resent me even more, so I asked him not to say anything at all with my eyes. It’s a cliché way of bullying someone~. I guess it’s the same in every world. People mercilessly attack weak-looking  people who they don’t like.

Still, I’m happy that Lector quickly found out that I was always hungry and frequently invited me to tea.

When I say tea, I mean tea cakes!

The thoughtful Lector also asked the maids to bring light snacks on top of the tea cakes.

Even if the servants are laughing in the background and gossiping about how embarrassing or undignified it is for me to eat all this food, if Lector tells me to eat them, then I will gratefully eat them. Thank you, Lector. He’s feeding you[1]like an animal? Is that what you call it? Am I supposed to wag my tail?

This is delicious.

I was able to enjoy a hot meal since Lector’s food is always delivered in the best condition. Hot food is delicious.

My meal? It looks just like Lector’s meal at a glance, but it’s always cool. I wonder if noble ladies have cat tongues?

This is a stone fortress, so it’s a pity that the building itself gets very cold.

And I have to take a cold bath with mint essential oils. Say, don’t they usually use roses or something for that?!

Because of that, I’ve actually been catching colds every now and then, but that’s where my skill comes in.

I don’t want anything to happen to Lector while I’m in bed with a fever, so I quickly use my skill to heal myself.

Yes, yes.

“…?”

The servants looked at me curiously when I fluttered my hands around my head and throat, but if I told them what I was doing then they’ll blame me for getting sick, so I pretended not to notice their gazes.

I also believe that they will tell me to leave immediately so I don’t get their General sick if I tell them.

My efforts paid off after a while.

“That person doesn’t even catch a cold or faint. How healthy is she?! This is why people with bad upbringing are the worst.”

“She can lie about being the Saint because she’s really healthy. She’s really shameless.”

They started complaining. Hmm, what should I do?

“Isn’t it fine if I don’t bathe every day? It’s difficult to prepare every day.”

One day, I couldn’t help but whine, and the maids got angry, “What are you saying!? It’s normal for nobles and royals to enter the bath every day! Don’t say something a servant would say!” and told the other servants about this immediately. Then, they gossiped about how bad my upbringing was behind my back, so I’m not going to complain anymore…

Yup, it’s not like this will kill me…

References

References
1 like an animal