Chapter 152 Dreaming Of Tomorrow, Sleeping Today
As bedtime approached, Sara left the lively party and returned to her quiet room, feeling more relieved than lonely. She didn't dislike the boisterous gathering, but it was a bit exhausting to stay there for so long without a drink.
After taking a bath and changing into her nightclothes, Sara jumped into bed with an unladylike thud. Maria, seeing this, smiled softly and gently covered Sara with a blanket.
"Hey, Maria."
"What's wrong, Milady Sara?"
"Do you want to become a maid in the office?"
"I think it's an interesting job, but I want to be your lady-in-waiting, Milady Sara. I've actually started taking lessons to become an Lady-in-Waiting."
"Really!?"
"Yes. So, if you're moving to a new place, I'd like to go with you too."
Maria smiled and bid Sara goodnight, then turned off the bedside lamp and left the room.
In this world, there's a clear distinction between Lady-in-Waitings and maids. Maids take care of their master's personal needs, while Lady-in-Waitings support their master's work. Since Lady-in-Waitings support their master's work, they sometimes manage multiple maids, which might make it seem like they're in a higher position. However, in reality, they're just in different occupations with no hierarchical relationship.
The Grandchester territory is passionate about educating its servants. Moreover, as a high-ranking noble, they don't discriminate against servants, and even commoners who show talent and excel can be promoted to take care of their personal needs. Therefore, it's not uncommon for maids from commoner backgrounds to be given the opportunity to receive Lady-in-Waiting training.
Actually, most of the maids in the office were educated in etiquette and had high skills in reading, writing, and calculation, thanks to their training as ladies-in-waiting. In that sense, it could be said that the Grandchester estate originally had the soil to nurture office maids.
Or rather, it's possible that it was like that in the past. Because the Marquis family, who live in the capital, have started to follow the example of other houses and only hire people from lower noble families as their Lady-in-Waitings and maids. If this continues, the custom of prioritizing ability over social status, which is unique to Grandchester, will disappear.
'Training people is important, but it's tough...'
Sara was thinking such things and continued to worry.
After a while, she noticed a small door floating near the ceiling, so Sara created a soundproof wall using wind magic and blocked her line of sight with light magic. She thought it was possible that Eliza's family, being ninjas, might be spying on her.
'I wonder when the founder, Kazuya, reincarnated from. Based on the notes I saw previously, I think it was around the same era as me, but why is a ninja?'
As she was thinking this, the small door was knocked on.
"I've been waiting for you to finish setting up the wall. You can come in now."
"Shouldn't you at least ask who it is before entering?"
"I'm not going to bother with Sedrick's fancy etiquette."
"Cold, huh?"
Sedrick deliberately pulled out a white handkerchief and wiped his eyes, making a show of it.
"I'm tired today, so I don't have the energy for that kind of thing."
"I see. In that case, there's no choice. And yet, as always, you're creating unique magic so effortlessly..."
Sedrick suddenly stopped crying and grabbed the back of Rick's neck, pulling him out from behind the door.
"Hey, isn't that child Rick from the royal capital's mansion?"
"That's correct, milady."
With Sedrick still holding him, Rick started talking.
"Today, young Marquis scolded his wife and children for wasting money, and it turned into a huge commotion."
"That's old news, isn't it? It ended yesterday, didn't it?"
"Actually, young master Adam ordered a new carriage on his own. Apparently, he was jealous of his friend, Count's son, who had the latest model, and he wanted to show off his new carriage at the hunting tournament."
"Ugh... But if the kid ordered it without his parents' permission, isn't that a problem for the merchants too?"
Sara sat up and gestured to Sedrick to let Rick go. After being released, Rick bowed to Sara and continued talking.
"The Mrs. young marquis did give her permission, but young Marquis didn't get confirmation."
Even back when Sara was Sarasa, there were people who loved cars and changed them frequently. But for a middle school boy to buy one on his own is just too much.
"So, how much did it cost this time?"
"It was 700 Dallas."
"Seriously! Does he think money grows on trees or something? I mean, it's not like I'd complain if he could afford it with his own money..."
Sara got angry and started punching a nearby pillow repeatedly. Sedrick scolded her, taking her hand and putting it back in its original position.
"The nobles who make the royal capital their center of life have a tendency to look down on the act of 'working to earn money.' To them, money is something that flows in from their territories, after all."
"Huh? Don't lords get appointed by the country to govern?"
Sara was taken aback by Sedrick's statement.
"Actually, the bureaucrats, starting with the governor, handle the practical work. They think their job is just signing documents sent by the governor or their representatives."
"Don't you think there are nobles who want to enrich their territories and increase their income, or start new businesses to earn more money?"
"There might be a few lords like Marquis Grandchester who actively manage their territories themselves."
"Eh!? Really?"
"A noble needs a lot of money to maintain their dignity. If their income decreases, they'll do something about it, but they'll try not to show their panic to other families."
"Well, I kind of understand that."
"As we're fairies, we might not really understand humans, but seeing how nobles get excited or worried over documents from the governor, or panic when their income decreases, they're not exactly passionate about territorial management, are they?"
"Uuuuuuh..."
Seeing Sara's puzzled expression, Rick added more to his explanation.
"Moreover, if a noble gets involved in business and earns a lot of money, they won't get a good reputation in social circles. Of course, if they're in a tight financial spot, they might have no choice but to earn money through business, but nobles don't proudly announce that they're earning money that way."
"So, they do business in secret?"
"They often invest in some merchant house and receive dividends. There aren't many nobles who start their own businesses."
"So, they're totally useless when it comes to social gatherings, huh?"
In this country, it's not praised for noblewomen to get involved in politics, territorial management, or business management. Those are jobs for men, and if a woman intervenes, it means the man who's supposed to take care of her has a problem.
It's best to reserve judgment, even if the trend seems absurd, as changing the values of high society is a monumental task that's beyond my power. Discretion is the better part of valor in this case.
"You know, noblewomen shouldn't meddle in financial matters, but isn't this going overboard? Uncle seems to have some unknown expenses that are scaring me."
"Yes, milady. It seems there's an invoice from the jeweler that hasn't reached Lord Marquis's hands yet."
"Ugh, I have a bad feeling about this. How much is it?"
"It's 500 Dallas."
This made even Sara want to hold her head in her hands. They'd already spent nearly 1000 Dallas on the hunting tournament, and now they're saying they need an additional 1200 Dallas.
'They can't return the items, no matter what. It would be humiliating for the Grandchester family to be in financial difficulties.'
"Still, why are they so invested in the hunting tournament? I know it's a big deal for the Grandchester family, but..."
Sedrick replied to this.
"It's probably because of Lady Orson."
"My mother?"
"She's your governess, Miss Sara, so she'll definitely be on the hosting side this time. She's probably worried about being compared to her, who's bringing Lady Chloe."
"Eh, what a hassle!"
"By tomorrow, the news of Sir Robert's engagement will surely reach the capital. It'll probably get even more complicated, don't you think?"
"Why?"
"Milady Orson is a famous socialite in Avalon's high society. She's known for her rare light-based healing magic, so she's treated like a saint. Even her past misfortunes were caused by her beauty, and it's well-known that the queen herself taught her etiquette as part of her preparations to marry into a neighboring kingdom. Can you compare her to the lady of the Grandchester family?"
"Ah, I see... That's a bit tough. But still, it's amazing that such a woman would marry my father. It's not like she had a choice, anyway."
Rebecca was actually very popular. She had abilities, beauty, and the elegance of a noble, as well as wealth. Because the king said, "You can live freely until you find someone you want to marry," she was able to live life on her own terms.
"Wait a minute. I have a bad feeling about this."
"What's wrong?"
"If Mother gets that much attention, won't I be noticed too?"
"Haven't you realized that?"
"Yeah. I'm just a child, so I thought it was okay to stay in the shadows."
"Haha. Milady Sara, that's absolutely impossible. Right now, many servants, including the head maid, are preparing your outfits under Sir Robert's orders."
"Aaaah! I'm the one who's being pampered too!!"
That's right. The preparations for Sara's social debut were quietly moving forward without her knowledge.
It's not just that. Chloe, Sara's cousin who knew her appearance, couldn't help but stand by Sara's side, and desperately bought dresses and jewelry. In that sense, the lavish spending of the young Marquis's wife and Chloe towards the hunting tournament was undoubtedly caused by Sara and Rebecca as well.
After receiving the report, Sara felt down and decided to kick Sedrick and the others out to get some sleep.
'I'll believe I'll meet a wonderful person tomorrow, so I'll sleep for now.'
To be honest, Adam's purchase of the horse carriage was also because of stupid thoughts like "I'll get off this carriage with a cool pose and make Sara fall for me".
Sara: Are you stupid or something?
Author: Yeah, that's right.
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