“Let’s do something, Yuan. If we become useful people, they won’t kick us out!”

It was a time when I didn’t know the power of Peliesse was in me.

My aunt who took over my mother’s bedroom.

Regina who took over my bedroom.

Yuan, who had even the things she received as birthday gifts taken away before her eyes, was acutely aware that there was no place for her to stand in Peliesse.

Yuan followed Louise in cleaning the mansion, serving her aunt, and helping her uncle with his work.

Whether it was due to the uniqueness of Peliesse as a working nobility or the desperation not to be kicked out of the mansion, she had adapted like that.

“My lady, what are you doing?”

“I’m trying to help with some work. Earlier, Miss Hille and the kitchen seemed quite busy.”

“Oh my, I told you to speak casually! I’m really going to get scolded by the butler, you know? And what do you mean by helping with work?”

Hena asked with wide eyes.

With bandages still wrapped around her slender hands under the rolled-up sleeves, what on earth could she help with?

Moreover, someone who should be ordering the maids around, talking about work?

“The mansion is big, but there seemed to be few servants.”

“That may be true, but… My lady, are you saying this because you still have a high fever?”

Hena placed her hand on Yuan’s forehead and asked worriedly.

Yuan’s large eyes blinked a few times and then naturally curved.

“I’m serious. Hasn’t the former imperial prince become a commoner now without any inherited title?”

Hena’s mouth fell open. Her expression was as if she couldn’t believe what she just heard.

A wife innocently asking if that terrifying Your Highness hasn’t become a commoner.

“The Peliesse mansion, which isn’t even a quarter of this mansion, has over thirty servants.”

“W-What?! Is that really true?”

Excluding the guards sent down from the imperial family for surveillance, the Black Mansion didn’t even have twenty servants.

The owner of the mansion didn’t like having many people, and the financial support from Marquis Lev’s family wasn’t abundant either.

Moreover, due to rumors about the former imperial prince, everyone was reluctant to work in this mansion.

The old servants were mostly people who had been working for a very long time, or their families and relatives.

If not that, it was also a place where servants who had moved from one noble house to another and had nowhere else to go flowed in, thinking of it as their last place of exile.

“B-But still… for you to do our work, my lady, is a bit…”

“There must be somewhere I’m needed.”

Yuan answered firmly.

For Yuan, solving household matters was a very familiar situation.

If she could manage the house in place of the mansion’s owner who never stepped out of the bedroom.

Or if she could fill in the gaps left by the insufficient servants.

Perhaps she might not be kicked out.

[This is the timeline separator]

The enormous mansion, which could be mistaken for a castle of some small principality, always needed helping hands.

It was unimaginable to clean the countless rooms daily like other mansions did.

Although the surrounding lands owned by Clard sent taxes and crops directly to the Black Mansion thanks to the consideration of Marquis Lev, the feudal lord, the amount was woefully insufficient as it was a poor region.

The servants seemed to struggle even with the daily task of salting or drying food to survive the cold winter.

Yuan, heeding Hille’s warning not to let water touch her hands now that the precious ointment on her skin was gone, helped with cleaning that didn’t require water, tidying up, and assisting Hille with small tasks.

Thanks to this, Hille’s face regained vitality with each passing day.

Also, butler Gustav, who initially insisted that no matter how soon the lady would leave, she absolutely shouldn’t work, began to rationalize once Yuan started helping with his miscellaneous tasks.

Isn’t it right for the lady of the house to oversee household matters?

The butler had been at his wit’s end, handling not only all of Clard’s affairs, who had withdrawn from everything, but also the household matters.

Yuan helped the maids while avoiding Gustav’s eyes, and when he was holed up in the butler’s room wracking his brains, she would enter on the pretext of needing something and subtly help resolve his concerns.

“The uninvited guest in my mansion. Seeing you walking around, it seems you’re ready to leave on your own feet now.”

So Gustav could only open and close his mouth silently at Clard’s words.

Considering that Clard’s original intention was to ‘send her back to her family in a carriage as soon as she recovers’, this was already far too late.

“Um… Your Highness. I’m sorry to say this, but.”

“Don’t say anything you need to apologize for, Gustav.”

Clard’s face was cold.

His expression was still indifferent to the world, but he couldn’t hide the intense rejection and wariness in his eyes.

Gustav had seen a working noble for the first time in the past few days while staying with Yuan.

It was behavior unthinkable for the companion of Clard, an imperial family member, but as a mistress who mingled comfortably with people and eased the tense atmosphere of the mansion, it was even somewhat admirable.

Her efforts despite her poor health were praiseworthy and impressive, enough to develop good feelings in a short time.

However, there was a clear distinction between developing personal good feelings and official situations.

Even if the ninth bride had, very rarely, adapted well in this mansion, it was right to kick her out if the master disliked her.

Butler Gustav bowed his head deeply, regretting that he had condoned something that would have been unimaginable in a normal imperial or noble household.

After Gustav left, Clard closed his eyes in the rocking chair for a long time, then listened to the kind voice seeping in from outside.

[This is the timeline separator]

“How nice would it be if every day was like today?”

“The atmosphere of the mansion has definitely changed since the lady arrived. This is why they say a house needs a mistress.”

“That’s right, look at Miss Hille. She used to complain about feeling like a useless freeloader or a painkiller-making machine, but now she’s full of life while treating the lady.”

“She must really like working. Hehe.”

Yuan listened quietly to the young maids’ chatter with a slight smile.

The maids giggled among themselves, making up stories, and hurried their steps as the untidy dirt ground began to turn red with the setting sun.

“Is it already this late?”

“My lady, please don’t touch the bedding tomorrow morning, okay?”

“That’s right. The butler warned us too, and we feel more comfortable just doing our work.”

Yuan said she would look around the garden more and saw off the maids who quickly disappeared into the mansion.

As soon as the sun set, everyone retreated to their rooms.

It was the rule of this mansion.

Yuan had been wanting to meet Clard, the master of the mansion, to plead her case.

To let her live even in a corner of this vast mansion.

She also wanted to express her gratitude.

If he had acted according to his infamous reputation, he should have killed her or thrown her out naked, regardless of her illness.

Every time she waited in her room, hoping he would summon her, but he still showed no reaction.

As she was looking around the garden with a troubled mind, she heard the sound of a window opening above her head.

It was from the second floor, where Clard’s bedroom was located.

Yuan stiffened her spine in tension and slowly turned to look up at the upper floor.

Slightly faded golden hair was fluttering in the wind.

Yuan carefully moved back to stand at a point where his face was visible.

But the inside of the window was shrouded in shadows, and Clard didn’t fully reveal his face.

“Hello.”

Yuan greeted the man looking down at her, pretending to be nonchalant.

The man, only his eyes gleaming in the darkness, had an expressionless gaze that was impossible to read.

“Um…”

“You look fine now, so why don’t you leave?”

Yuan stiffened her lips that were trying to force a smile and stood looking up at him.

His half-exposed, intact face was still pale and shadowed.

Unlike his sorrowful face, his words were relentless.

“Don’t try any tricks.”

Tricks!

Such a rude word.

Yuan hesitated at Clard’s much fiercer appearance than she had imagined, then barely mustered up the courage to answer.

“But I am Your Highness’s wife.”

She felt ridiculous even as she answered.

How long had it been since she was told to return to her family?

It felt like she could hear the sound of mocking herself.

“I don’t need a wife.”

Clard was merciless even to the words she had uttered with all her heart and courage.

Yuan crumpled her skirt like paper, clutching it.

No. No, I don’t want to be kicked out.

“I’m sure I can be useful. I’m good at cleaning and preparing meals. Once my hands heal, I can do laundry well too. It doesn’t have to be as a wife. Just please let me stay here. Please…”

“We don’t need any more maids.”

Only then did Clard’s icy lips crumble slightly.

It was a twisted, shadowed smile.

“Cleaning. Laundry. Meal preparation… Ha.”

The window closed without hesitation, as if it had never been opened.

Yuan, who had been looking up with her head tilted back, was too shocked to do anything.

She didn’t think she was asking for much.

Over the past few days, she had naturally come to understand Clard’s reclusive nature.

She thought it wouldn’t be bad to secretly annul the marriage and live as a maid in this isolated mansion.

If she were driven back to Peliesse like this, Yuan would have to be caught by her uncle and endure another terrible hell in the side room.

Not only that, but Louise’s body, temporarily entrusted to the chapel, would also have to return there.

If Duke Kompani tried to confirm it, they might have to burn it.

‘This can’t go on.’

I need some kind of method.

I must become a more useful person somehow.

Yuan bit her lower lip hard, staring for a long time at the tightly closed window.

[This is the timeline separator]

An unexpected solution came from outside the very next morning.

Just as the maids were starting to clear the breakfast, footsteps were heard from the open doorway.

“May I come in for a moment?”

Standing at the doorway was butler Gustav with a dark expression.

“Doctor Hille said that my lady’s condition has improved a lot. It’s regrettable to say this to someone who is still unwell, but…”

Does this mean I have to leave right away?

Yuan, not yet mentally prepared, listened tensely.

“The imperial family has sent a communication demanding proof of the wedding night and urging you to form a bond as a couple quickly.”

Hena’s hand, which was clearing the meal, paused, and Yuan also couldn’t hide her surprised look.

“We’ve never received such urging from the imperial family for previous residents, but did you hear anything separately from Peliesse? This is the first time we’ve had a case like this.”

Gustav scratched the back of his neck with his hand, seemingly bewildered even as he delivered the news.

The main purpose of noble marriages is to produce heirs, so it’s right to prove the wedding night and be recognized as a true couple.

She had known this since she was very young from books.

The imperial family wasn’t making an unreasonable demand.

The butler continued, observing Yuan who had momentarily frozen.

“Principally, without proof of the wedding night, the marriage would be nullified… Anyway, it’s my duty to inform you… Don’t worry too much about it.”

The imperial family is urging, so I’m telling you.

But you won’t be able to prove the wedding night anyway, and you’ll return to your family, so don’t worry about it.

That’s how it sounded to Yuan.

Yuan wiped the momentary confusion clean from her face and replied.

“What if we consummate the marriage?”

Gustav’s steps, about to turn away, stopped for a moment.

“If we consummate the marriage, does that mean His Highness can’t drive me out even if he wants to?”

He looked at her with round eyes, as if wondering how she could think of such a thing.