Chapter 7

The party after the graduation ceremony was a small gathering with only Harriet's family and Miles.

When they first met, Harriet's father and Miles were both nervous, but today they were enjoying a drink together.

According to Harriet's mother, her father had been advised by Lady Guinness to seek permission for the arranged marriage and correspondence, and he had written about his gratitude for it. Her father had muttered, "There are limits to being sincere..." and held his head. However, when it came to the letter, Miles had shown that he cared for her, and her father had written the reply with a very complicated expression. Incidentally, both of Harriet's parents had been helped by Lady Guinness when they were young and felt they owed her a great deal.

Before discussing the engagement contract, Harriet's father had asked her about Miles. After she told him about Miles (with his prior permission), her father's eyes welled up and he said, "I can't leave you with a strange man! I'll be his father-in-law!" His attitude softened instantly. The two, meeting for the first time, quickly got along, and now Harriet thinks Miles might even side with him more than with her.

"Two more years..."

The party was almost over, and Harriet and Miles were sitting side by side on a bench, watching their parents and brother's family gather.

"Are you thinking it should have been shorter?"

When I laughed, Miles laughed too.

"No, I just thought it might seem long but will pass quickly."

"I'm sorry, it's my selfishness."

"No, I think it was just right. We decided together, didn't we?"

The timing of the marriage had been a bit of a point of contention between Harriet and Miles's foster mother. But it was more about being too considerate of each other.

The foster mother was worried that Miles was holding back from getting married sooner because of the family.

It was true that more time with his new family was one of the reasons, but there were others. Harriet had argued that a year would be enough to get used to her job and prepare for the wedding, but in the end, she had to reveal her most embarrassing reason: she wanted to enjoy the dating period a bit longer. Thanks to this, the distance between Harriet and her future in-laws had greatly narrowed.

"It's just a little sad that we have to leave soon."

Miles gently held her hand, and Harriet blushed, speaking a bit faster.

"There's the welcome party soon, and then your birthday party, and once we start working, we'll be together at the office."

At the word "welcome party," Miles grimaced.

"I won't leave your side at the welcome party."

"It's fine, but... is it that scary?"

"In a way..."

Seeing the distant look in Miles's eyes, Harriet decided not to ask. She would find out anyway. Changing the subject, she asked,

"Once we're married, will the new servants join us in our games?"

"It should be fine. The marquess's family enjoys fun things. I'm more worried about my own success rate."

When Harriet was young, she had dressed up as a maid to surprise her father, but he had told her not to interfere with the people doing the job. Later, Harriet seriously learned how to be a maid and, for fun, dressed up to match the height and build of one of the maids and fooled her father for a whole day. Her father enjoyed this so much that he made it a biannual game.

They would set a range in the city and have the disguised or casually dressed servants walk around. Of course, this counted as work time, and the necessary props were provided by the earl's family. If the servants weren't spotted by the lord's family, they received a bonus, making it quite popular among the disguised side. Harriet found everyone every year, but she thought the lord's side had a significant advantage because high-end clothing was banned as it increased the risk, and they only had to find people dressed in lower-class clothing.

"I don't think I'll be able to spot everyone before we get married."

"Even your father didn't spot everyone every year."

"I want to get better, even if not as good as a noble lady."

With that, Miles smiled and told his father they were leaving. They made plans for their next meeting, and Harriet watched Miles's carriage go, ending her graduation day.

***

At the welcome party, Miles, who had been warned by his stepfather in the knight's order, wasn't approached much by the members. However, this was only within the knight's order. The talkative senior maids who wanted to chat about love were being chased away by Miles. Harriet was indeed grateful for Miles's presence, but she suspected that 70% of them were probably just there to see Miles protect her. Harriet appreciated that this discouraged her peers from trying to get closer to Miles.

The day before starting work, there was a birthday party for Miles at the Warrington Marquess's residence. There, she met Brian, Miles's best friend, for the first time. Brian noticed that the cake tasted the same as when Miles had brought it as a gift and called the cook. Despite being strangers, the two cried together. It turned out that the Earl of Clayton had been paying too many fines and was gradually reducing his staff. Miles had arranged for the marquess's residence to hire the gatekeeper and head chef who had taken care of him. When Harriet heard that they would move with them when they got married and set up their own household, she agreed without hesitation.

That night, in bed, Harriet thought about the days ahead. There would be many new things and challenges, but she felt that they would have wonderful days. With this hopeful feeling, she fell asleep.