Betrothed to My Sister's Ex

The gardener girl… or rather, the mud-covered, ragged baron’s daughter Marie Shadelan apparently doesn’t always look like this.

However, the bath and changing rooms were located deep within the fortress, in the courtyard. So, she decided to guide us there while still in that state.

We followed Marie through the castle on the way to the bathhouse.

“Oh… it’s bigger than I thought…”

Richard kept blushing and looking around in awe. When our eyes met Marie’s, he quickly looked away in embarrassment.

Seeing his reaction, Marie seemed to misunderstand something and gave a wry smile, lightly bowing her head.

“I truly apologize for the surprise. I understand that it might be considered improper for a countess to do gardening work.”

“...Was there some special festival or occasion today?”

“No, I do this as a hobby regularly. I was happy that the tomatoes grew well this summer… The gardener, Johan, even complimented me on how much better I’ve gotten at making furrows.”

Marie said this with a smile, dusted with sand.

…No, that can’t be.

I was stunned. Why would she even lie about that?

Sure, I was raised in the royal palace and just recently debuted in society, so I might be naive. But I’m not so immature as to fall for such an obvious lie!

Frowning, I walked alongside Richard, who muttered quietly.

“Hmm, that’s a rare hobby for a woman… Ouch!?”

“You idiot, Brother Richard, that can’t be true!”

I whispered angrily, and Richard gave a dissatisfied look.

“Why not? The Chadelan Territory is rural, and it’s not strange for the lord’s family to have some basic skills.”

“This isn’t a poor baronial family though. This is Granado Castle, the residence of the country’s wealthiest family. There’s no way they’re so poor they have to be self-sufficient.”

“But she said it’s a hobby. Plenty of nobles enjoy gardening.”

“That’s usually men! A lady running a household might do flower arranging or small gardening, but potatoes and tomatoes? Who would want to touch those?”

“I told you, it’s rare for a woman! If it’s not a hobby, then why get so covered in mud?”

“W-well…”

I hesitated.

Because... I am the second daughter of a poor baronial family... so I was oppressed and forced to work…

Thinking this far, I shook my head firmly. No, Lord Cyrus would never do such a thing. Even if it’s a loveless arranged marriage, I can’t believe he’d stoop to such cruel bullying as to cover his countess in mud. At worst, he’d just neglect her.

It must be something beyond Lord Cyrus’s knowledge, the servants’ doing. They probably resent a lower noblewoman acting like the lady and are bullying her together!

Just after reaching this conclusion, a broad-shouldered cook suddenly popped around the corner.

“Milady, haha, you’re covered in mud again today. What were you harvesting?”

“Oh, Toppo. I was digging up potatoes. I delivered plenty to the kitchen too.”

“Wow, I’m so happy! Toppo loves potatoes! Boiled? Baked? Fried?”

“I’m not sure. Johan says it’s best to eat them simply to taste the flavor.”

“Then let’s steam them and make them nice and fluffy with salt and butter. Yay, Toppo’s looking forward to it!”

“The best, I’m excited too!”

Marie clasped hands with the cook and happily bounced around with a beaming smile.

Watching this, I tilted my head. Hmm…?

After parting with the cook, we continued on. Along the way, we passed several maids and footmen. They all bowed to Marie but smiled warmly, or expressed concern at her being covered in mud. Marie always responded cheerfully. She seemed to know the names and faces of all the servants.

…Hmm…?

“…You seem to get along well…”

“Yeah, this is the first time I’ve seen such a close master-servant relationship.”

Ricky agreed. Is that so? I wasn’t sure what “normal” was. At the royal palace, servants and I barely spoke. The nobility I met were the same. Servants couldn’t even raise their heads without permission—it was their place.