When they entered the communal dining hall, it was already bustling with people.

‘A casual gathering? Nonsense!’

Cecilia quickly noticed that everyone’s attire was different from their usual.

Everyone seemed to have brought out their best clothes and dressed up to the nines.

The interior of the communal dining hall was also different.

The tables and chairs were pushed to the edges of the room, leaving the center wide open, creating a spacious hall.

A new head table had been set up on a platform along one wall.

It was reserved for the lord and lady of the castle.

Even as the lord and lady moved toward the head table, the lively chatter barely subsided.

People gathered in groups, laughing and talking.

Each table was laden with dishes, and some had already started eating.

In front of the head table were two chairs placed side by side for the lord and lady.

In the corner beside the platform, another table had been set up for the nanny.

Benjamine glanced back and forth between her seat and the lord and lady’s seats, then sighed.

The two areas were separated by about six paces.

There was no way she would hear what the lord and lady were discussing.

Russell stood up and gently tapped his glass with a spoon.

The lively noise instantly quieted.

All eyes turned to him.

“Winter has arrived safely once again this year. Thank you all for your hard work and for enduring without anyone falling ill. When spring comes, we’ll be busy preparing for another year. Let’s take these two winter months as a time for all of us to recover, both in body and spirit.”

After finishing his speech, Russell raised his glass higher.

“Berasawn!”

“Berasawn!”

The crowd echoed the word in unison, and the noise resumed.

Cecilia leaned slightly toward Russell.

“What does that last word mean?”

“It means something like ‘may blessings be upon us’.”

‘Berasawn.’

Cecilia silently repeated the unfamiliar word.

At the sound of instruments, she instinctively turned her head.

A group of people holding instruments was tuning together.

‘Musicians? …No.’

She recognized their faces.

She even remembered their names.

Four middle-aged men and three middle-aged women—they were castle servants.

‘The servants can play instruments?’

On the continent, musicians’ status was somewhere between commoners and nobles.

Exceptional musicians lived more lavishly than most nobles, backed by wealthy patrons.

It was a profession unimaginable for the poor.

Once the tuning was done, two men and one woman began playing a violin concerto.

To be precise, it wasn’t a violin.

Cecilia noticed the instruments were slightly different.

‘They look similar to violins, but they’re different. The tone… it’s rough. These aren’t high-quality instruments.’

The first piece was soft and lyrical.

Cecilia slowly enjoyed her meal while listening to the unfamiliar music.

The gentle tunes floated beneath the chatter, occasionally rising above it.

Cecilia felt at ease.

It reminded her of the atmosphere she loved at banquets—noisy yet free, with music that never ceased and complex thoughts that vanished.

‘The people here are nothing like the ones I knew at banquets, but…’

In the past, she might have thought, ‘How dare those servants?’ Or perhaps, ‘How could I mingle with such lowly people?’

From the moment she returned to life, she stopped caring.

In her previous life, the ones who tormented her were all nobles.

The only person who had secretly brought her warm tea in her cold tower was an elderly maid.

When the first piece ended, people clapped.

Someone even whistled.

‘Whistling? How improper.’

Cecilia frowned slightly.

“Request a song!”

“Request a song!”

People raised their hands and shouted song requests from all around the hall, each voice trying to outdo the others.

The crease in Cecilia’s brow deepened.

Once a song was chosen, two performers got into position and began playing.

“Blue skies soaring high.”

Someone started singing along to the music.

Cecilia turned her head.

‘March?’

March was a plump middle-aged woman in charge of the kitchen.

Her singing was exceptional, on par with the professional singers Cecilia had heard in theaters.

Cecilia enjoyed the performance, appreciating the music.

A good ear for music was universal.

When the song ended, the crowd cheered for an encore.

March’s subsequent songs were equally delightful to hear.

As March finished her set, the requests kept coming.

The performers played only the requested pieces, while some of the requesters sang along to the music.