Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Lady of the Small House

“What a lovely house!”

Three days had passed since Sandra and my stepsister’s unwelcome intrusion, and early in the morning, we arrived at a small house in the residential area of the downtown of the royal capital.

The building had cream-colored walls and a brown roof, while the premises were enclosed within a wooden fence. In the small garden with flower bed, the autumn flowers swayed in the breeze.

“Let’s experience the life of the commoners here for a while. It shall serve as a good experience for Cedric, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as well.”

Lord William walked inside, and I followed suit, holding his hand. Cedric, walking a little ahead of me, also seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Elsa and Frederick had been there since last night, making preparations. They’d be living as a young married couple in the smaller house to the right, which happened to be vacant. Elsa would be our housekeeper. Since this house was on the corner, the road was on the left.

As a matter of course, I was surprised when Lord William told me two mornings ago that we would be assuming the lives of commoners. Nevertheless, seeing how ecstatic Cedric was made it all worthwhile. 

Cedric was so traumatized by his mother and sister that he refused to leave my side. He clung to me all the time except when we were taking a shower or going to the bathroom. The fact that I had a fever and collapsed that day only add to his anxiety.

Moreover, for some reason, we couldn’t go back to the mansion for a while. Since I was sleeping in the guest room of the conference tower most of the time, I was a bit tired.

“Bro—ah, uhm, Father, the door isn’t locked, no, I mean, it’s locked…”

With a bashful look on his face, Cedric called out to William. Amused, William fished out a key from his pocket and handed it to him. Cedric beamed as he inserted it into the keyhole of the front door. After he heard a ‘click’, Cedric excitedly went it.

“Wow! The hallway is short! Everything is so small!”

Cedric set foot inside the house, squealing with excitement.

“Cedric, be careful not to break anything since we’re going to be living here from today.”

“Yes! Father, can I explore?”

“Of course. Just don’t do anything dangerous.”

“Okay!”

Like a good boy, Cedric replied and ran up the stairs that were right after the front door.

“Oh, Ceddie, you mustn’t go into the locked room. That’s Al’s room.”

“I know, I know…!”

Another lively reply came from above.

That day, Cedric, Lord William, and I were all dressed like commoners. I hadn’t seen that many commoners, but I recalled that at the orphanage bazaar, everyone was dressed similarly to how I was dressed now: a blouse, a skirt, and an apron. My husband was also donning a pair of black trousers, a white shirt, and a cotton navy-blue vest. My hair was also tied up in a pigtail.

“Lina, this way, come here.”

“R-right.”

I nodded awkwardly at the alias I wasn’t accustomed to, and started walking again, led by William.

The small house was shabby and exuded a warm atmosphere. The house that seemed to be Al’s secret residence had a warm interior that appealed to women.

“This house belonged to Al’s grandfather. He and his grandmother would come here occasionally. After his grandfather died, Al inherited it. When we were still at the academy, the three of us—Al, Mario, and me—would sometimes sneak out of the dorms and come here. We asked Freddy, Caddock, and Mario’s servant to stand guard.”

“Weren’t you scolded?”

“Only if we get caught, Lina. Otherwise, it’s fun and game.”

I was infected by Lord William’s boyish smile and laughed.

I glanced around the living room, where the quilted sofa was placed. There was a small deck that led out to the garden from the living room, along with a large, South-facing window overlooking the little garden. Next to the fireplace, there was a cozy-looking rocking chair, and above it hung a lovely landscape painting.

“Lord William, that’s—”

“Hey, Lina, that isn’t right?”

 As he gently scolded me, I was trapped within his embrace. I looked up at Lord William, feeling embarrassed and troubled.

That morning, I was told to use aliases. I was Lina, and Cedric was Ceddie. I was also told to address Lord William as ‘Will,’ whereas Cedric was told to call him ‘Father.’

Cedric was so adorable when he shyly called me ‘Mother’…

Ah, no, I was starting to avoid reality.

I needed to make Lord William, who was holding me captive, understand.

“B-but, calling my husband by his first name…”

I don’t think I can do such a thing no matter what. It’s bad for my heart.

“But then they’ll find out, won’t they? No one will get angry at you. Besides, I was the one who asked for it. Say my name, my beautiful Lina.”

He kissed my eyelids.

My head was going to explode.

It’s impossible—!

There was no way I could call Lord William by his first name!

I thought hard. I thought and thought, and suddenly I remembered a bit of knowledge from a romance novel. In a heartwarming romance novel about a cute town girl who married her childhood friend, she didn’t refer to the boy who became her husband by his name, nor did she call him ‘husband.’

“—Honey!”

His bright blue eyes blinked.

“Is ‘honey’ okay?”

I looked up at Lord William, almost crying, and asked him. For some reason, Lord William’s cheeks gradually turned red. After releasing me, he covered his face with both hands and began to squirm as usual.

“H-Honey?”

“O-of course it’s okay, just hold on a second.”

“Thank you, Honey.”

What could be possessing Lord William? Ah, maybe a lot of memories from his time at the academy came flooding back to him. After all, Lord William was always brimming with life when he was with Al and Mario.

“Ms. Lina, have you arrived?”

At Elsa’s voice, I turned around and saw that she was also wearing a blouse and a skirt. Nevertheless, her frilly white apron was the same. Next to her was Frederick, who was dressed similarly to William.

“Elle, what do you think? Ariana helped me into this.”

I showed Elsa my outfit. After circling me, Elsa fixed my hair a bit.

“You passed. You’ve transformed into a lovely commoner’s wife.”

“You seem like a capable housekeeper, Elle. How wonderful.”

“Thank you.”

“Ms. Lina, please accept this. I prepare it so you can match my wife.”

Frederick handed me a frilly white apron that matched Elsa’s. Elsa always wore crisply ironed outfit, making her appear like a capable woman, and it was something I secretly admired.

I immediately put on the apron. Just by putting it on, I felt like I had become a capable wife.

“Mr. Fred and Ms. Elle have arrived.”

I turned around and told Lord William that we had visitors, but for some reason, he was still in agony. Apparently, the memories of his school days were just that strong.

Cedric came down from the second floor, dashed into the living room, before leaping into my arms. My adorable little brother looked so overjoyed, I tilted my head, wondering what was going on.

“You see, there were only two rooms on the second floor! And one of them is Brother Al’s, right, leaving us with one room. It has a bed, albeit smaller!”

“Really? …I wonder if all three of us can sleep on it.”

If we couldn’t, I didn’t mind sleeping on the sofa. Actually, I was small, so the sofa might be perfect for me.

“It’ll be fine! If Father holds Mother and me tight like he always does, we can all sleep there!”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Cedric nodded with a wide smile, looking as cute as an angel. Lately, I’d become convinced that my little brother might be able to take over the world with just his cuteness. When I confided to Elsa, she didn’t only listen attentively to me, but also said, ‘it’s very likely.’

I was too preoccupied with Cedric’s cuteness at the moment that I didn’t realize Lord William was gasping for breath while reminiscing about his past. However, I noticed that Frederick and Elsa were smiling, and felt a bit embarrassed.

***

“Elle, I want to try cleaning too.”

After Lord William recovered from his emotions, he gave Ceddie and me a big hug before going to work.

However, Frederick, who usually accompanied him, was staying behind to escort us. He repaired the garden fence and plucked the weeds. Ceddie was outside, clinging to Frederick, so it was just me and Elsa inside the house.

I was told to do some embroidery, so I did as I was told in the living room. Then, it occurred to me to ask Elsa. Since I was going to live as a commoner, I wanted to try doing something.

Elsa, who was sweeping the hallway, thought for a moment, then put a rag over my head to protect it from dust and covered my mouth with one too. Then, she handed me a clean dish towel.

“Could you please wipe the living room and dining table?”

“Of course!”

I went to the living room first, feeling excited about getting the job.

There was a vase on the small sofa table, so I put it down on the floor a little away so as not to spill it, and carefully wiped the table from the corner. I always watched Elsa and Ariana work, so I tried to imitate them.

After wiping, I put the vase back as the finishing touch. It was already beautiful, but I felt like it was even more so now.

Next was the dining table. The dining room was right next to the living room and was connected to the kitchen through a counter. It was a small room, but it was refreshing with white walls and light green curtains.

The dining table could seat six people. I wiped it carefully as well. Elsa came in at the right time as I finished wiping.

“You pass. As expected of Lina. You’re good at it.”

It was just wiping the table, but it was nice to be praised. When I tried to help more, it seemed that we were finished for the day. As expected of the excellent Elsa, she cleaned very quickly. Still, it was somewhat disappointing.

When I left the dining room and returned to the living room, Frederick and Cedrick had returned from outside. Cedric was a bit sweaty from helping with weeding, but he seemed satisfied.

“It’s almost time for lunch, Lina. I’m not as good as Phil, but I’ll be in charge of cooking for the time being, so please be patient.”

Frederick winked mischievously. Frederick was a good-looking guy, and the wink only enhanced it. Nevertheless, I was surprised when I heard that Frederick was going to cook.

“Fred is going to cook? I thought Elle would…”

“My wife isn’t good at cooking.”

Elsa awkwardly averted her gaze.

I was surprised because I thought there was nothing Elsa couldn’t do. Come to think of it, whenever I baked sweets to send to the orphanage, Ariana and Melissa would help out while Elsa just stood there watching. I thought Elsa was supervising the two, but it turned out that wasn’t the case.

“For some reason, no matter how much I practiced, I never got better at cooking. Phil even banned me from touching anything in the kitchen. I still feel bad for blowing up the oven.”

What kind of food did she make?

“Did you make a bomb?” Cedric asked innocently, and the answer he got was, “Gratin.”

I had no clue…

So, failed gratin can explode. How dangerous.

“But I’m good at cooking, so it’s not a problem.”

“It’s wonderful that the two of you are married.”

“Thank you. I’ll go prepare lunch then.”

Frederick smiled and left the living room.

“Hey, Elle.”

“Yes?”

“Is there anything Fred can’t do?”

“Let’s see… Before we got married, we were childhood friends, so we’ve been together since I was born, but… Neither Will nor I know of any of his weaknesses. In fact, does my husband have any?”

“Does he?”

Elsa was seriously pondering about it, and Cedric adorably imitated her. Elsa suddenly relaxed her expression and laughed, which prompted Cedric and I to do the same.

Then, as we waited for Frederick to prepare the meal, I did some embroidery while Cedric read. Elsa helped with things that didn’t involve cooking, like putting out and arranging the dishes.

Let’s ask Frederick if there’s anything I can do to help during dinner later.

Frederick made us pasta with tomatoes, cheese, and bacon.

“It’s a simple dish,” Frederick said modestly.

The salad and bread that came with it were also delicious.

And so, until Lord William returned, I was able to spend the time relaxing for the first time in a while, doing some embroidery and observing the flowers in the garden.

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