‘These are all pieces made by master craftsmen. They may be used, but they haven’t seen much wear…’
Hoffman only made these excuses to himself.
By Lagos standards, they were indeed excellent pieces of furniture.
It was practical and sturdy.
However, it was clunky and entirely lacking in style.
“H-How could this…?”
Benjamine’s nostrils flared as her breathing grew rough.
“This is only temporary. The proper furniture will arrive soon!” Hoffman said urgently.
“And you call that an excuse—!”
As Benjamine was about to shout, she soon closed her mouth when Cecilia interrupted.
“The room is warm. There’s no fireplace, so how is it this warm?”
This was the bedroom Cecilia remembered.
However, the furniture had not been like this in the past.
She assumed that something had gone awry because she had arrived at Lagos Castle earlier than expected.
Hoffman responded.
“Ah… the heating system in this room is rather unique.”
“Is it the same in all the rooms in the castle?”
“No, not all. Only a few, including this one. Since it’s a special room, we prepared it for you, Madam.”
Cecilia nodded.
During her time at Lagos Castle, she rarely left this warm bedroom.
At first, it was due to her stubbornness, refusing to interact with anyone in Lagos.
Later, she became content with spending her days in the bedroom.
‘Even my room in the grand duchy or anywhere else wasn’t as cozy as this one.’
Cecilia’s third marriage ended in less than three years, just after two and a half years had passed.
In that time, nothing significant had happened.
Yet after that, whenever she felt cold, she would think of Lagos.
The land of eternal winter, Lagos, remained warm in her memory.
‘Yes. At least for the next two years, things will be fine.’
The time when her life began to unravel was after that.
Cecilia felt the weight in her chest lift a little.
‘For now, let’s just rest. Comfortably. Don’t overthink things.’
“There’s a bed in here, so it’s fine.”
“Miss.”
Benjamine looked distressed. Her expression said, ‘You absolutely must not let this slide.’
“Nanny, I need to sleep. I’m tired. Don’t make a fuss.”
“…Yes, Miss.”
Benjamine muttered as though she was deeply wronged.
She glared at Hoffman and raised her voice.
“Thank you for your grace, Madam!”
Hoffman bowed his head.
“Only the two of you stay here. The rest of you, out. Quickly.”
Benjamine pointed to two maids and gestured like she was shooing away intruders, waving the others out.
Those who were ushered out of the bedroom stood awkwardly for a moment.
Hoffman cleared his throat and turned to one of the maids from Lagos Castle.
“Martha, show them where they’ll stay and tell them everything they need to know.”
“Yes.”
And so, Martha led the maids from the grand duchy away.
“Sir Hoffman, what should we do?”
Helen, the oldest maid of Lagos Castle, asked Hoffman.
There wasn’t a structured hierarchy among the workers at Lagos Castle.
If someone was good at a particular task, they were called to handle it.
Helen took care of various household affairs in the castle.
By the continent’s standards, she would hold a rank similar to that of a butler.
“Um…”
Hoffman rubbed his chin.
He had expected the new madam to assert her authority as soon as she arrived.
In preparation, he had selected the brightest maids and had them learn proper etiquette and speech.
But with none of the scenarios he had braced for playing out, he felt somewhat deflated.
“Just do what you usually do for now. If the Madam calls for you, go to her without delay.”
“Yes, I will.”
Hoffman, with a complicated expression, looked at the closed bedroom door before turning away.
‘That damn old geezer, just wait until he gets here. All he ever did was feed me nonsense.’
He grumbled to himself, thinking of the old merchant, who always acted friendly but was not to be trusted.
Ewen Guild, led by that ‘old geezer’, was a major business partner of Lagos Castle.
It was one of the top ten merchant guilds on the continent.
With branches all over the continent, they also served as excellent information brokers.
‘Has the old geezer lost his touch? He’s never given me such bad information before.’
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