Chapter 6

After that, even though no one had nagged him, he started to tidy up the garden on his own.

The housekeeper, after asking him various questions about the garden, returned to the kitchen, looking somewhat resigned.

"Hmm."

Standing inside the kitchen, the housekeeper looked out the window at Ryou with a thoughtful expression.

Meanwhile, Ryou was having a close conversation with a contractor he had brought in from somewhere. From the words like "garden trees," "fountains," and "koi," it seemed he was planning a major renovation.

A gardener hired to tend the garden was calling in professional contractors to tear it up?

'Envious.'

Suspicious, good-looking, and rich, with a house to boot. I, who have dedicated my life to world peace, barely make ends meet as a maid.

'That guy didn't drive the assassin out of the house, did he?'

Could Ryou be the client who commissioned the surveillance of Sir Weatherwode? It needed to be confirmed.

I, unable to do anything, pointed at Ryou and declared:

"Fire him."

The housekeeper turned to look at me.

"Who? Mr. Ryou?"

"Suspicious person."

"Are you talking about yourself?"

Myself? ... No matter what, I'm not as bad as him.

"Of course, Mr. Ryou is not an ordinary person. In the years I've been doing this job, I haven't seen anyone as unique as him. Except for you, of course."

"So, fire him."

"There's no need to rush him out, Miss Daisy. If there's a dangerous person in the mansion, Sir Weatherwode will drive them out. Don't worry too much."

How can a non-existent lord drive out that man?

The housekeeper is too complacent.

I was about to explain, "An assassin sneaked in at dawn, and I beat him up and locked him in the next house. But when I saw him today, Ryou had the assassin by his side. They are definitely spies sent to watch Sir Weatherwode," but I closed my mouth.

If I say that, I'll seem suspicious too.

I don't know how I appear to others. But if the housekeeper is the housekeeper of the Weatherwode mansion, my position changes.

'Only a family as strange as the Weatherwodes would accept me.'

If I get kicked out of this house, I'll have nowhere to go.

Money is so dangerous. It even prevents me from clearly revealing the existence of a spy threatening the master's daily life!

"Besides, it would be a loss to fire a gardener who is willing to renovate the garden for half the salary. The Weatherwode family is short on money. Let's keep him for now."

The housekeeper was a true slave to the capital of this era.

Money is so dangerous. To let a potential spy stay in the mansion so easily!

"Then, shall we start our work?"

Today's task was to clean the second-floor windows. It's the cleaning I hate the most. It's the second most tiring after cleaning the ceiling.

As a loyal maid of this era, I didn't forget to keep an eye on the spy while cleaning the windows. If I can protect my only precious job, I can do anything.

The spy was lazily pulling out dead weeds in the garden.

Even the act of pulling weeds was suspicious. So, I watched him even more closely.

'In such a situation, you should start a quarrel over something trivial, have a physical conversation, and then lead to a heartfelt confession.'

Like I did with the assassin at dawn.

But with Ryou, I never got such an opportunity. Surprisingly, Ryou showed no weakness at all.

It's unbelievable. Good-looking, rich, and with a house, and no weakness?

'What's his purpose?'

Then, Ryou, who had been organizing the weeds he had pulled, suddenly lifted his head.

"Do you have something to say?"

His voice was ordinary, but it rang clearly in my ears.

Dressed in a white shirt and a light yellow vest, he looked very... fitting for tending the garden. After all, what wouldn't suit a handsome person?

Even if I can't have a physical conversation, I can pretend nothing happened in front of the housekeeper.

Leaning on the window, I asked him:

"Who are you?"

"If you're asking for a name, I introduced myself as Ryou earlier, Miss Maid."

Miss Maid. I know he's teasing me, but it still annoys me.

"Your name, not that."

Ryou's eyes narrowed. He was trying to look happy, but he didn't seem very happy.

"Are you saying you want to know more about me? I don't think we're that close yet."

"Stop being evasive and answer. Who are you? Why are you here?"

It had been so long since I had spoken so much that I was out of breath.

"I'm your fan."

What?

He tilted his head and looked up at my face, then chuckled.

"Last night, you caught some pervert and tied him up in my house. The way you boldly locked up a stranger was quite impressive to me. I'd like to give you a brave citizen award of Midwinter, but..."

"Are you saying you came to the mansion because of that?"

Again. It was so unbelievable that I couldn't help but speak at length.

My voice sounded so unfamiliar that my shoulders trembled, while Ryou shrugged with a nasty smile.

"Of course not."

He's not going to open up easily, is he? Then, I have to interrogate him thoroughly face-to-face.

I jumped out of the open window into the garden.

"You."

As I approached Ryou, he, who had been watching with his arms crossed, suddenly shouted towards the mansion.

"Housekeeper, Miss Maid keeps slacking off and pestering me. Is this allowed? Does Weatherwode not protect the human rights of its employees?"

There was only one reaction I could show to such a despicable act.

I walked straight to the back door of the mansion and entered the kitchen.

I was seething.

'Suspicious and despicable.'

Why did he have to mention the housekeeper?

I worked hard on the window cleaning like a thief with a guilty conscience. I worked so hard that I broke a window, but the housekeeper didn't scold me much. My salary for this month was just slightly reduced.

Thanks to that, I was in a very bad mood during dinner. As usual, only the housekeeper and I were at the table.

"Where's the cook and gardener?"

"He says he'll have dinner separately. Our mansion has a formal schedule, so we have dinner after work. From now on, he will have his dinner separately."

Not seeing him after sunset is a relief.

I pushed the tasteless vegetable stew down my throat.

The next morning.

After finishing my morning chores, I met Ryou in the hallway leading to the kitchen. He greeted me as usual, looking like a gardener (or rather, like the mansion's owner) in a neat appearance.

"Good morning, Miss Maid."

I ignored him and entered the kitchen. I heard a small laugh from behind.

Ryou explored the kitchen and said:

"Has today's ingredients not arrived yet?"

The housekeeper, who had already come down and was sipping tea, answered for me.

"We don't order ingredients, we buy them directly from the market, Mr. Ryou. Today's ingredients are still there."

Ryou looked at the potatoes, carrots, and onions scattered in a wooden box under the table and exclaimed.

"Oh, I thought they were leftover food scraps."

For the first time since he was hired, he showed a look of hardship. I felt a sense of kinship with him for the first time.

Yes, this family is only famous for its name and is actually quite poor. You came here to work hard.

"Can't be helped. Let's make do with this for lunch today. At least we have enough butter, pepper, salt, herbs, and milk. Miss Maid?"

He smiled and pointed at the box.

"Peel them."

I peeled the ingredients without a word.

After living like a beggar for a month, I realized that it's best to follow the person who feeds you, at least while they're feeding you.

I peeled the potatoes slowly and watched Ryou.

He took out a square container and a seasoning box that I had never seen before.

'Is there such a thing in this kitchen?'

He cleaned the dusty container and slowly melted the butter he had cut from the paper over the fire. After wrapping the butter in the container, he skillfully used a kitchen knife to thinly slice the potatoes.

He neatly stacked the potatoes in the container, seasoned them with pepper and salt, and covered them with milk.

His cooking skills were so proficient that I couldn't help but watch in awe.

"Miss Maid."

Ryou, who was crushing dried herbs, called me.

"Do you see the mouse on the wall outside the window?"

Suddenly? I looked out the window. As Ryou said, a small gray mouse was jumping on the wall.

"That mouse can peel potatoes better than you. Your peeling speed is terribly slow."

"..."

He's a cook. At least for now, he's a cook, not a gardener.

The only way to escape the housekeeper's hellish cooking is to not upset him.

I peeled the potatoes faster. Ryou, without a word, waited until I finished peeling the remaining potatoes, then repeated the same cooking process in two more containers. All that was left was to bake them in the oven.

And finally.

"Enjoy."

The moment I put the perfectly fragrant potato gratin on my tongue, I couldn't help but stiffen from the intense, delicious sensation that penetrated my mind.

'How can it be so delicious?'

Indeed, unbelievably, Ryou was a skilled cook.

He knew exactly how to use good and bad ingredients. The potatoes, which were about to die, were transformed into perfect potato gratin in his hands.

It was a taste that couldn't be compared to the housekeeper's cooking.

"It's good."

Ryou, who had been staring at me, left for the garden with those words.

Is he not hungry? I finished off Ryou's portion of the potato gratin.

A comfortable life and a satisfying meal are inseparable. The housekeeper, wiping his mouth, sighed in admiration.

"I haven't had a more satisfying breakfast in recent years. Mr. Ryou's cooking skills are truly remarkable. I feel guilty for hiring him at half the price."

Seeing the housekeeper, who was in love with the potato gratin, my sense of crisis flared up again.

'No. If I keep this up, the housekeeper will fall for this fraud completely.'

Because the other party is who he is, even this delicious meal feels like a clever trick.

'What a sly guy.'

Working with such a troublesome person in the same house doesn't suit my temperament.

'And the fact that he's radiating his suspiciousness all over his body is even more annoying.'

He's so confident, isn't he?

I have two theories about Ryou's identity.

One, he sneaked in to spy on Sir Weatherwode, like the assassin.

Two, he knows about my past and is chasing me.

'...How likely is the latter?'