“For the time being, Amy will attend to you, Miss. Amy, please greet the young lady.”

As soon as Cassel left, the head butler introduced a maid to Riena.

The maid named Amy had her carrot-like vermilion hair tied in two braids. Her eyes were green, resembling carrot leaves.

Perhaps it was because of the freckles densely sprinkled across the bridge of her nose, or maybe it was her brightly smiling expression, but Amy appeared to be very lively.

“Hello, Miss! I’m Amy Carrot!”

“Carrot?”

When Riena unwittingly asked back, Amy giggled, “Hehe.”

“You thought, ‘A girl who looks like a carrot has a name that’s also carrot,’ right?”

“No, that’s not it…”

Actually, it was true, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit it. However, Amy nodded her head vigorously as if she understood everything.

“It’s okay! Everyone who hears my name for the first time thinks that way! Besides, I really like my name, so I don’t mind. No one forgets me and always remembers me!”

“Amy.”

As the head butler scolded the overly excited Amy, she muttered, “Eek,” and lowered her voice.

“I’m sorry, Miss. I guess I got a bit excited to finally have a young lady to attend to. I’m already quite talkative, but I seem to be talking even more.”

“Amy, stop your unnecessary chatter and guide the young lady to her room.”

“Yes, Uncle!”

“Again.”

“No, I mean, Head Butler.”

Laughing again with a “Hehe,” Amy picked up the luggage bag on the floor.

“The bag is light. Is this all your luggage?”

“…Yes.”

Riena felt a bit embarrassed about the modest bag. Not only the bag but also her own unkempt appearance was shameful.

In fact, during their journey to the capital, Cassel had offered to stop by a village and buy her clothes, but Riena refused. She wanted to reach the capital as quickly as possible without wasting time.

However, if she had known she would meet the people of the mansion in this state, covered in dirt stains and reeking of fish, she would have paid more attention.

‘Regardless of the reason, I will become the duke’s wife from now on.’

Even if it was a sham marriage, she intended to do her best as a member of the Wincler family in the public eye.

That was the way she could repay Cassel, who had told her to use him without hesitation.

However, Amy shrugged her shoulders as if she had no particular thoughts after seeing Riena’s appearance.

“In that case, we’ll need to call a seamstress. You may not know, but the Wincler family hasn’t had a lady of the house for a long time. So there are no clothes for you to wear. There might be a few dresses left from the previous duchess, but I’m not sure how they’ll be. I’ll take a look and come back in a bit.”

“Mm, thanks.”

It seemed that the only thing on Amy’s mind right now was worrying about clothes for Riena to wear immediately. Thinking it was fortunate, Riena carefully followed behind Amy.

“Please understand if the mansion is a bit messy. Usually, around this time, the duke stays at the estate, so we don’t prepare to receive guests here. But suddenly, the duke said he was coming with a guest and told us to prepare a room. What can you do?”

“So?”

“We were naturally going to prepare the guest room, but he told us to empty the duchess’s room, so everyone was really surprised.”

“The duchess’s room…”

Although it was natural since she was engaged to Cassel and would soon marry him, Riena was a bit taken aback. She had vaguely thought she would stay in a guest room.

“The duke didn’t show any signs at all. We thought he was only interested in work and war, not women. We even said he probably couldn’t get married. Ah, this is a secret from the duke.”

“Okay.”

“Anyway, when the duke, who was like that, suddenly told us to prepare the duchess’s room, imagine how surprised everyone was. Not just me, but the other kids were also waiting for you. And to think such a beautiful and kind person would come!”

“How do you know I’m kind when we’ve met for less than 10 minutes?”

Amy, who was walking ahead, turned back and grinned.

“It’s my intuition! I have a good eye for people. I’m also quick-witted.”

When Riena smiled awkwardly, Amy added,

“And since you were chosen by the duke, I don’t think you could be a bad person. The duke is a really good person, so he must have recognized a virtuous person.”

“I’ll have to try not to disappoint then.”

“Don’t feel pressured and just treat us comfortably. We’ve arrived while talking. This will be your room from now on. Let’s go in.”

The room Amy guided her to was the innermost room on the third floor. The door was more antique than any other door she had seen on the way. Out of curiosity, she glanced to the side and saw a door with the same pattern directly across.

Amy explained,

“The room right next door is the duke’s room.”

“Really? I didn’t know they were attached.”

“They should be attached since they’re the couple’s bedrooms. That way, you can meet often.”

Smiling slightly mischievously, Amy whispered softly,

“By the way, the two rooms are connected from the inside.”

“…!”

Attached? As Amy said, it was a reasonable structure for rooms used by a married couple, but for Riena, who had a contractual relationship and would have no real marital life with Cassel, it was simply embarrassing.

Amy reassured the slightly blushing Riena,

“You don’t need to worry. Although there’s a door connecting to the next room, if you lock it from each room, the other person can’t open the door. Of course, even if you don’t lock it, the duke won’t enter your room without permission.”

“…Yes, I guess so.”

“Well then, shall we go in?”

Riena followed Amy, who cheerfully opened the door, and entered the room. A personal reception room, like a living room, greeted her. There was one door each on the left and right.

Riena slowly moved her steps and examined the overall room.

The interior of the room had an antique atmosphere, just like the door.

Although it was south-facing and autumn sunlight poured in through the large glass windows, the color scheme of the room was generally dark. It was completely different from Riena’s room, which had been cute and bright.

But it didn’t matter. Anyway, it was a space she would stay in temporarily, though she didn’t know for how long, so there was no reason to have major complaints. She was even grateful just for being allowed to stay here.

However, Amy seemed to have a different thought. After placing the bag in a corner of the room, she stammered while gauging Riena’s reaction.

“Currently, this room is decorated according to the tastes of the previous duchess. The previous duchess was in poor health, and perhaps because of that, she disliked bright things. So she had thick and dark curtains installed to prevent light from entering.”

“I see.”

“The duke also gave us very short notice, and we couldn’t arbitrarily change the interior without knowing your preferences. But if you tell us the atmosphere you like, we can help you change it little by little!”

Should they do that for someone who would leave someday? If they decorated it with a bright feeling and the next duchess disliked that style, they would have to change it again.

She didn’t want to unnecessarily trouble Amy and the other servants.

“No, it’s okay. I really like this room.”

Saying she liked it wasn’t a complete lie. Although it was different from her taste, the room itself was very tastefully decorated.

It wasn’t simply dark in color, but the colors of the furniture and decorations were well coordinated. It was immediately apparent that the previous duchess had paid close attention.

“The previous duchess must have had a keen eye.”

“Yes. She was particularly well-versed in the arts. She patronized many artists, painted herself, and played instruments. I have strong memories of her teaching me painting and music when I was young.”

“She sounds like a very kind person.”

“Yes, very much so. Not only me but all the servants who attended to the duchess were extremely sad when she passed away. Everyone still misses the duchess.”

It was rare for someone to be loved by so many people. Moreover, it was uncommon to receive such loyalty from one’s own servants.

It was difficult for relationships to easily improve due to the rigid atmosphere created by the hierarchy.

But for Amy to reminisce about the duchess with such an expression… She seemed to be someone who was truly respected by many.

‘I wonder if she was similar to Father.’

Thinking of Count Dyke, who was still loved by the people of the estate, Riena unknowingly muttered,

“How sad. It would have been really nice if I could have met her too.”

“I know, right? It’s a pity. If the duchess had met you, she definitely would have cherished you a lot.”

Riena, who was nodding in agreement, realized the surprising fact contained in Amy’s words from a moment ago and asked,