Ch#42
The two sat facing each other in the middle of the eight-person dining table. Having seated her husband in the spot where they could converse most closely, the Duchess spent the entire time talking of nothing but household affairs. It seemed she needed a warm-up before getting to her main point, so Jared played along accordingly.
“There are 412 rooms in the Main Building, but fewer than a hundred are actually in use. Yet even the unused rooms are maintained daily. Even considering the guests who visit, it is far too wasteful.”
Rosalyn had a rough grasp of the Duchy’s housekeeping. Though she had been the Duchess for less than a week, she already carried the air of a mistress of the house. According to his mother, she had been paying close attention to the mansion’s affairs since the time she first arrived as his fiancée.
His mother seemed pleased with the new Duchess’s proactiveness. She appeared to harbor not a shred of resentment about handing over the household authority to her daughter-in-law. No, in truth, there was no reason for his mother to feel slighted. In this mansion, the Dowager Duchess’s authority had already been practically nonexistent.
“It’s an interesting proposal, but if we put dust covers on the rooms, the maids will have nothing to do.”
“That is why I believe it would be fine to reduce the size of the staff slightly.”
Rosalyn caught his words as if she had been waiting for them.
“I’ve looked things over briefly, and quite a bit of unnecessary labor stood out to me. There are as many as three people dedicated solely to fire watch. Perhaps in the days before gas lamps, but I suspect this is the only mansion that still maintains such positions.”
Jared lifted his gaze, a piece of fish still poised on his fork.
It was surprising how natural the flow of this mundane conversation felt—so very much like a typical husband and wife. Even more surprising was the woman’s proposal. Not just the suggestion to fire servants, but the reasoning that labor costs were being wasted. It was a notion far removed from the typical aristocratic mindset.
“Are you suggesting we dismiss the servants?”
“I cannot pay wages to those who do not fulfill a necessary role.”
“Rosalyn. Do you know why this mansion is called Maxville?”
Jared found this unexpected and intriguing.
“No. I only know that the mansion’s origin was as a queen’s villa.”
“Correct. Originally, no one lived in this vicinity, but they say the village formed after that palace was built. Because people were needed to farm and produce the goods that went into the palace. The village formed that way is Maxville, and it became the nickname for this mansion.”
“I see. That is an interesting origin.”
“The majority of the people working at the Duke’s residence and the shops we trade with have had very long relationships with our family. There are many for whom working at this mansion is the family business. As far as I know, the fire watchmen you just mentioned are also people who took over the work following in their ancestors’ footsteps.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“You can know it from now on. Therefore, it is an unwritten rule that once someone is brought into the mansion, their employment is guaranteed unless they commit a grave mistake.”
Aristocrats do not value efficiency. Only justification matters. Jared intended to continue the guidelines followed by his predecessors.
“Fortunately, I am more than capable of maintaining the current employment. However, if the fire watchmen are fired from here, they lose their livelihood. I don’t think that is what you want.”
“You are right. I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
Rosalyn nodded and looked at him. Her calm gray eyes were not merely those of someone who had been persuaded.
“Then why did you replace the Head Butler and the Head Maid?”
At the unexpected question, Jared fell silent for a moment.
“I heard that all the high-ranking servants of Maxville were changed a few years ago. Immediately after you inherited the title, Your Grace.”
Rosalyn was right. It happened about three years ago. It was then that he had replaced the Head Butler, three other butlers, and the Head Maid all at once.
The reason was simple. They had betrayed their master. At that time, Jared had been away from the mansion for a long time as the Duke’s third son, and the servants of Maxville had been unable to let go of their habitual loyalty to the Dowager Duchess. Thus, following his mother’s instructions, they had sent his lover away. They had provided a carriage to a guest without permission.
In the middle of the night. To the train station. So that she would leave him forever.
“They committed a grave mistake and were punished for it.”
“Is that why you dismissed them all?”
“The Head Butler stepped down on his own. The others were sent to different estates. I have twelve other territories and mansions besides this one.”
Rosalyn watched him, still holding her cutlery. Her face looked as though she wanted to ask what that ‘grave mistake’ had been. Jared did not want that question to be asked, so he looked away and picked up his wine glass.
A strange silence hung between the two as he swallowed a sip of wine and set the glass down. He did not want this topic to continue any further.
“Now, let us have our real conversation. I doubt you called me here just to protest the waste of the mansion’s labor costs.”
They had their own business to attend to. The events of the past were none of this woman’s concern.
“Which shall we talk about first? Yesterday morning, or last night?”
He looked at the woman, his hand still resting on the wine glass. Rosalyn seemed a bit tense at the sudden shift in topic. Her face showed she had completely forgotten any curiosity about the events of three years ago. The satisfaction from that caused Jared to relax slightly.
The Duchess lowered her eyes briefly as if to compose herself, then looked back at him.
“Last night… I thought you would come early.”
“I intended to, but I changed my mind.”
“May I ask why?”
“Because we did it in the morning, so I didn’t think there was a need to do it again at night.”
He spoke bluntly because there was no need for metaphors. The only people in the dining room were the two of them and the Head Butler, Sterling. Butlers were people with professional ethics, and after more than three years, Jared knew Sterling to be a very tight-lipped man.
However, Rosalyn seemed quite flustered. After glancing at the Head Butler, who stood as if he had heard nothing, her face flushed as she hurriedly tried to regain her composure.
Jared knew she flushed easily. In social circles, she acted as skillfully as a noblewoman in her forties, but when she was with him, she often failed to hide her inexperience.
It had been the same yesterday morning. She had entered the bedroom with a determined face, only to be completely stiff. To think she had the audacity to advise him to make an effort regarding his husbandly duties, only to look terrified once he actually tried to do so. That duality had grated on his nerves even more. Perhaps that was why he had behaved so poorly.
‘You should take your clothes off and lie down.’
He admitted it. At that time, he had treated the woman more harshly than necessary. He couldn’t distinguish whether that unbearable heat rising in his gut was emotion or lust. He only thought that it didn’t matter which it was. In fact, what did it matter? Him acting out in a frenzy was exactly what everyone wanted.
So it didn’t matter. Whether it was anger or passion that drove him.
“I don’t think I need to make an effort twice a day. What do you think?”
Jared placed emphasis on the word ‘effort.’ It was a useful euphemism.
“Your advice was correct, Rosalyn. Thanks to you, we were successful, and we will continue to make steady efforts in the future. However, I think it would be better to seek a more efficient method. Frequent efforts don’t seem to significantly increase the chances of pregnancy.”
He continued the conversation with an attitude that was neither soft nor hard. He set an example for the woman who was struggling to decide how to act, barely pretending to be calm while hiding her embarrassment.
He wanted this conversation to sound like they were coordinating follow-up measures for a business accident. Discussing the best solution while showing respect and consideration.
“So, my thought is that once a week should be sufficient effort.”
He didn’t want to mix emotions into this matter. He didn’t want to hear sentiments about her being hurt, afraid, or miserable. As Rosalyn had pointed out, this was a duty and a role. Separating himself from official business was a knack he had mastered over the past three years.
When he officially met people or gave speeches, he was not Jared Glan. It was not him who entered the palace every Foundation Day to have an audience with the Emperor. By the same logic, the effort to create the 14th Duke of Windberg was not his either.
“Since yesterday was Tuesday, we can just do it every Tuesday.”
That was why Jared was taking the lead first. To show her the most appropriate attitude for handling this matter.
“What are your thoughts?”
This clever Duchess would surely have understood his meaning.
