The Maid's Contract Marriage - Chapter 24

Reina put the hand she had been fidgeting with under the covers on her knee and smiled awkwardly.

“Did you have a good talk with the knights?”

Arthur smiled brightly.

“I’m sorry for leaving you alone.”

“No, it’s okay. Thanks to that, I was able to rest comfortably by myself.”

Arthur came close and sat by the bed.

For some reason, it felt strange to have him sit next to her.

…Was that a dream at dawn?

If only she had the courage to ask.

Reina shook off that thought and asked about something else.

“Um, did you… meet all the bereaved families?”

“You seem concerned.”

Reina felt that even if she said she was concerned, there was nothing she could do about it, and it might seem hypocritical, so she just said softly, “Just…” trailing off.

Arthur chuckled.

Then he lightly patted Reina’s head with his hand.

As if to say thank you for caring.

“…”

The setting sun cast its light on Arthur’s handsome face as he smiled gently.

“How are you feeling? I heard you couldn’t eat anything because you felt sick. Shouldn’t you at least have some light soup?”

As it happened, she was hungry.

After hearing Arthur’s words, she suddenly felt her hunger.

Perhaps thanks to the medicine she had taken earlier, her stomach felt much more comfortable.

“Yes, I’m hungry…”

She hadn’t eaten anything all day, being sick until the sun was almost down.

She wanted to have a proper meal, not just bland soup.

And then Sir Arthur would eat something delicious too, right?

Since he always eats with me…

Reina cautiously gathered her courage and said,

“…I want to eat something delicious, not soup.”

Arthur laughed.

“Let’s do that. I’m glad you seem to be feeling much better.”

Reina smiled.

Arthur pulled the bell cord to request a meal.

“Something tasty and easy to digest. Bring soup as well.”

A knight who looked like Arthur’s subordinate, not a maid, came in to take the order and left.

After the knight left, Arthur added as if he had suddenly remembered,

“Ah, and from now on, when I’m away on business, knights will stand guard outside the door. When doctors or maids come in, they’ll come inside and stay with you.”

“Ah…”

Reina responded with a small exclamation.

He continued,

“Pull the bell cord once and a knight will come. If you need to call a maid, pull it twice. I’ve instructed that no one else is to enter freely unless there are specific orders from above, so keep that in mind.”

“Yes.”

Reina felt a grateful sense of comfort.

Why? Even though she knew it was just necessary surveillance for Arthur, it made her feel protected.

Perhaps it was the thought that the Marchioness wouldn’t be able to enter freely.

Reina unknowingly smiled a shy and grateful smile filled with sincerity.

“What about the handkerchief I gave you?”

Reina smiled and lifted her wrist to show him.

The handkerchief, tied like a bracelet inside her sleeve, was visible.

The setting sun dyed the white lace of the handkerchief with a sunset hue.

“Hmm. Should I use it to tie my hair?”

Arthur smiled.

“As you like.”

Suddenly, Reina covered her mouth with a surprised look.

“Oh, come to think of it, I borrowed a handkerchief from Sir Tristan.”

And she looked around in confusion, searching for it.

Arthur grinned.

“I returned it.”

[This is the timeline separator]

It didn’t take long for the meal to be brought.

Reina didn’t refuse Arthur’s support and took his hand to get out of bed and sit at the table.

While the food was being set out, Reina couldn’t hide her excitement. She placed a napkin on her lap, repeatedly pressing it with her palm, and stared intently as the plates of food were brought and placed on the table.

Arthur watched her with an amused smile, finding her cute, but Reina didn’t notice and just kept looking at the food.

As her appetite returned with her hunger and recovery, she felt eager to eat.

The hearty and delicious meals that could be summoned at any time just by pulling a bell cord were what Reina felt was the best luxury while acting as the young lady’s stand-in.

But such luxurious meals inevitably made her think of her grandmother.

…I wonder if grandmother is eating well?

I know the caregivers are looking after her meals too, but…

She won’t be able to have such good meals.

‘There’s always so much left over… It would be nice if grandmother could eat together…’

She thought that when she met Taylor, she could ask about her grandmother’s usual meals.

—Knock knock.

Just then, a knight entered through the door that had been left open to bring in the meal, making his presence known, and reported something to Arthur in a lowered voice.

“…”

Reina couldn’t hear it.

Arthur gestured to Reina for her understanding and told her to eat first as he got up and left.

Reina watched his retreating figure in confusion.

[This is the timeline separator]

The Marquis, who was on his way to meet Arthur in his private reception room, was stopped by the knights guarding the hallway at the top of the stairs.

The Marquis looked at the knight with raised eyebrows, incredulous.

What is this…?

The Marquis had never been stopped like this in his own mansion, not once in his life.

You dare stop me in my own mansion?

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The knight answered without blinking an eye.

“We were instructed not to let anyone in unless pre-approved.”

Who? Arthur?

Pre-approved? Am I not pre-approved?

Bewildered, he asked,

“If I’m not pre-approved, then who is? Who’s on the approved list?”

The knight replied,

“One or two maids after waking up in the morning. The personal physician at 11 AM. And His Excellency’s closest knights. Other than that, there was no prior approval.”

The Marquis stared at the knight in disbelief.

I’m not included? Me, the master of this house?

The knight continued,

“But since you are the Marquis, I will inform the Commander of your visit and ask.”

The knight jerked his chin briefly to the side to call a lower-ranking knight.

But before his head could turn back to the front,

Slap—!

The Marquis suddenly struck the knight’s cheek.

“Are you mad? Whose house do you think this is!”

The Marquis bellowed.

“…”

The slapped knight licked his split lip corner while looking down at the Marquis.

Then he grinned and exhaled a… sigh.

In an instant, all the surrounding knights drew their swords.

“…!”

The Marquis was stunned, beyond bewildered, seeing the knights with drawn swords.

But at the same time, he suddenly felt strange and odd about himself, not having brought any guards in front of this armed group.

There had never been a time when he needed armed warrior escorts like this inside the mansion.

What on earth is happening in my mansion right now?

“You bastards…! Did Arthur order you to do this!”

The Marquis shouted in rage.

The knight calmly opened his mouth.

“Marquis Julius.”

The gaze of the soldiers pointing their sharp weapons focused on the Marquis.

Feeling a sudden sense of threat, he shouted desperately.

“This is my house! I am the lord of this land! You are conscripted soldiers of my land…!”

“Marquis.”

The slapped knight interrupted his words, smiling politely and calmly.

The Marquis’s body stiffened at the sight of his expression.

“Since the noble Marquis has never been a soldier, you seem not to know, so I will explain. We are soldiers, and our superior who is responsible for us, commands us, and feeds us is Commander-in-Chief ‘Arthur Julius’. Not you.”

The knight’s eyes were cold beneath his restrained smile.

“You, Marquis, have no authority whatsoever to command us. Whether this is your mansion or not is of no concern to us soldiers. What matters is that our authority lies with Sir Arthur, this is the guard area Sir Arthur ordered, and you are intruding upon it.”

The knight continued,

“The reason I’m not summarily executing you right now for using hostile force against a soldier is not because you’re the lord of this land or the owner of this house, but because I respect Sir Arthur. Withdraw immediately. If not, I will summarily execute you by my own authority, even for the sake of Sir Arthur’s honor.”

They had just been standing still, pointing their swords without wavering.

But as the knight’s words continued, the soldiers’ aura surrounding him began to overwhelm the Marquis.

The Marquis stumbled, barely managing to take a step in place rather than backward.

With an angry face, he swayed as he shifted his weight between his feet.

“Summary execution? This isn’t a battlefield, and the war is already over, what…”

The knight laughed mockingly.

“You don’t know. We will be demobilized under His Majesty the Emperor’s orders only after going to the capital for the official victory ceremony, and until then, we are soldiers under Commander-in-Chief Sir Arthur. We are not people who are swayed by the orders of a civilian like you.”

“!”

Just then, the hurried sound of footsteps rustling against a dress echoed from behind.

“Antonio!”

The Marchioness, who had rushed up with the head butler, grabbed him with a pale face.

“What are you doing to the knights!”

“Let go. These bastards are now…”

Seeing the handprint on the cheek and split lip of the knight standing in front of the Marquis, the Marchioness hit his arm in shock.

“Are you crazy!”

The Marchioness hurriedly pulled on the Marquis’s arm.

Though the Marquis protested, “Let go of this, let go!” he began to be dragged helplessly by the Marchioness’s arm.

After pulling him to the landing, the Marchioness shoved him from behind, throwing him to the head butler, then turned around again and walked up to the knight who seemed to have been hit by the Marquis.

“I’m sorry, Sir! The Marquis made a big mistake. He’s been under a lot of stress lately. I’m sure the Marquis didn’t mean it. I don’t know what happened, but…”

This crazy man…!

Just when Christina had finally gathered her wits and was trying to work things out nicely with Arthur, he causes an incident like this!

Not wanting to blow things out of proportion, the Marchioness apologized sincerely, even bowing her head.

“We will come back to apologize later. If you could tell me your name, I will personally…”

A low voice rang out.

“Lionel.”

“!”

Everyone’s gaze in the space, including the Marquis and the head butler who were two-thirds down the stairs, the knights and the Marchioness, focused upwards.

Arthur’s smiling face, appearing with knights in tow, clearly showed a chilling displeasure.

A silence filled with tension.

“…”

Arthur looked around the situation with cold eyes and then moved his steps.

Thud, thud.

And Arthur, stopping in front of the knight, looked at his injured face once, and then at the faces of the Marquis and Marchioness in turn.

Arthur’s gaze slowly returned to the knight.

“What happened here?”

As soon as he saw Arthur, the Marquis’s face hardened as he recalled the purpose of his visit.

Inadequate supplies…!

He needed to talk about the issue of inadequate supplies?

The Marquis suddenly became flustered and looked at the knight he had struck.

The slapped knight, as if not wanting to show such an appearance to Arthur, turned his head the other way to hide his face with a slightly stiff expression.

However, Arthur lifted his chin to check his face.

“Who did this?”

“…”

The knight, as if not wanting to trouble Arthur, did not answer.

But Arthur’s gaze moved, searching for the culprit.

First to the Marchioness, who was apologizing in confusion in front of him.

And then to the Marquis, who was being held by the arm by the head butler, going down the stairs.

Arthur’s moving gaze stopped.