The Grand Duchess’s Household Affairs
"Well, of course! To His Grace, the Grand Duchess is the most beautiful woman in the world!"
...As if anyone would actually say that.
Chloe's prediction was spot on. The man's lips curled into a smirk, and he swept his gaze up and down her figure with an expression of utter disbelief before replying, "Well, she is pretty."
"Oh, Your Grace! You really haven't lost that mischievous streak of yours since you were a boy," Julia grumbled.
Well, it wasn't as if Chloe hadn't expected this. Scratching her chin awkwardly, she turned to Curtis. "But can't we just stick to mediating? It's not like Crown Princess Beatrice particularly likes me anyway."
"Do you not want to go?"
"To be precise, it's a bit of a hassle."
"How can you call a tea party hosted by the Crown Princess a hassle? We can all hear you, Your Grace," Julia whined, fake-crying. Beside her, Curtis let out a low chuckle.
"Setting aside the fact that I deeply sympathize with that sentiment, I must agree with Julia that it's hardly fitting for the Grand Duchess to say aloud."
"I'm saying I'm busy to death just trying to get this household in order." Chloe smacked her lips in annoyance.
Purging the household spies using Philippe Deltang as a pretext was no small feat. Drawing on advice from Julia, who had kept a close eye on the maids and junior butlers, Chloe had managed to dismiss a significant number of staff suspected of being the King's eyes and ears.
Of course, Philippe Deltang was not among those dismissed. Isabelle la Glintland's advice had played a part, but Chloe also knew that if she simply kicked him out, there was no telling what kind of grudge he would harbor or how he might strike back. Instead, she demoted Philippe to a common servant and banished him to the laundry room. Specifically, he was assigned to handle the lye—a chore everyone in the laundry room avoided like the plague.
Furthermore, as punishment for his past transgressions, she placed him under strict orders never to set foot outside the estate.
"Isn't that basically everything sorted, then?"
Spoken like a man who didn't have a care in the world. Curtis's clueless remark made Chloe glare at him.
"That sounds exactly like the sort of thing someone would say after dumping it all on me, claiming marriage would solve everything."
"When hiring people, you can't expect every single one of them to be to your liking." As he spoke, Curtis reached out, gently brushing a stray lock of hair back over her shoulder.
Chloe instinctively flinched away, her shoulders tensing. Curtis glanced at her reaction, then leaned in to whisper softly in her ear, "Spies will always find a way back in anyway, so don't stress yourself over it."
As if I don't know that. But before she could snap back, he quickly pulled away and asked, "I believe Crown Princess Beatrice sent over some maids from her maiden home?"
"Yes. But we can't keep using them forever." Chloe glanced over her shoulder. Behind Julia, the maids busily moving about were all those sent by the Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess had sent more than twenty maids to assist in the "mediation." Every single one of them was a veteran servant who had served the Crown Princess's family for years. Though they had been sent to help, their presence was merely a temporary measure to fill the sudden void around the Grand Duchess; they would return to their original posts once the time was right.
'I have personally selected maids skilled enough to tend to the lady's bedchamber.'
At first, Chloe had worried they might be spies sent by the King, but Crown Prince Frederick's reassuring message had put her mind at ease. To be skilled enough to tend to a bedchamber meant they were exceptionally tight-lipped. The fact that he had specifically highlighted the "bedchamber" was a bit bothersome, but still.
Surely he doesn't know something...
Pushing the thought aside, Chloe continued, "Madame Brun and Viscountess Tornier have been putting in a lot of effort to help as well."
Indeed, those two had been her greatest pillars of support when it came to selecting and hiring new staff. Chloe had absolutely zero experience in recruiting household servants, and without their assistance, the process would have been an absolute nightmare.
Viscountess Tornier, in stark contrast to her eldest daughter Theodora, was an incredibly sweet and gentle woman. During their first tea time together, Chloe had cautiously explained her situation and sought her counsel. Seeing how calm, tight-lipped, and subtly supportive of the Grand Duke Theodora had always been, Chloe figured her mother would be a safe bet.
Sure enough, the Viscountess was absolutely thrilled to be of assistance.
"A person must have a good countenance. As we age, our character begins to show on our faces, you see."
With those words, the Viscountess had gone so far as to help interview the prospective maids. Since Chloe had fired everyone down to the head maid, this was an immense help.
Madame Brun had also offered her fair share of advice.
"There are plenty of spies with pleasant countenances, so you would do well to take only half of Viscountess Tornier's words to heart."
"Oh, my!"
The two older women, despite their clashing personalities, bickered back and forth while working in tandem to guide Chloe.
Madame Brun, drawing on her long tenure as the Palace Affairs Director, even praised Chloe's selections, saying, "You possess a fundamental eye for character, Your Grace."
Chloe couldn't help but feel a swell of pride.
Of course, involving Madame Brun—a trusted confidante of the King—in the recruitment process had required careful deliberation. Even Madame Brun herself had asked with utmost gravity:
"Your Grace, even after everything you have endured, do you still intend to accept my assistance?"
In other words: You almost got ruined because of the King's spy, and you're really going to let me, the Palace Affairs Director, have a say in your household affairs?
Chloe had simply shrugged.
"Well, if you choose to prioritize the state over me, Madame, then I suppose it cannot be helped. It would simply mean that my own eye for character—which you so kindly praised—has failed me this time..."
Through her various clashes with Madame Brun, the skill Chloe had perfected above all else was the art of elegant sarcasm. When it came to subtly getting under the older woman's skin, Chloe was second to none.
But Madame Brun was no amateur either.
"...I find myself thinking this every time, Your Grace."
"That my rhetoric is exceptionally refined?"
"No. They say those who love each other grow to resemble one another, and you are becoming remarkably like the Grand Duke."
"Ah! Madame!"
I'd rather you just insult me! How could you say something so horrible?
In any case, after their little spat, Chloe had candidly admitted that she respected Madame Brun as someone who took immense pride in doing her job properly. Though Madame Brun was a noble and dignified woman, she was exceptionally weak to flattery. Chloe could easily tell that beneath her stern, expressionless facade, the older woman was secretly delighted.
Ultimately, Madame Brun had huffed, "Hmph! You have His Majesty the King to thank for assigning me to you!" before playing her part in selecting the new staff for the Grand Ducal residence.
But out of everyone, the one who suffered the most was Julia. Originally a seamstress, Julia possessed an excellent eye and a high level of skill in styling noblewomen, thanks to her mother, who had been a lady-in-waiting to Queen Mildred. However, she had never personally served a high-ranking lady before, and her knowledge of current trends was slightly outdated.
"I am Lady Lotted."
Thus, when Lady Lotted—renowned as the most discerning of the Crown Princess's ladies-in-waiting—paid a visit, Julia had cast aside her shoes and run out to greet her, tears welling in her eyes from sheer joy. For Julia, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
As the Crown Princess's closest confidante, Lady Lotted could not afford to be away for long, so she put Julia through an intensive two-day crash course. Chloe suspected they had barely slept a wink.
Yet, seeing Julia beam and say, "How could such an opportunity ever come to someone like me? I am nothing but grateful," Chloe decided it didn't matter.
On the other hand, amidst all this grueling work, Chloe couldn't help but wonder why she was putting herself through this. No matter how hard she worked to recruit and train these people, the truth was that her time to enjoy the privileges of being the "Grand Duchess" would not be very long.
But then again...
Well... the contract did mention something about 'all duties associated with the title of Grand Duchess'...
This was a ten-million-sing job. A whopping ten million sing. Murmuring that figure to herself once more made her feel a bit better.
Recruiting personnel was, in a way, just another form of work. They did say it was always better to gain whatever experience you could in life. Though a storm of tasks had descended upon her the moment she moved out of the aide's office and into the Grand Ducal residence, she was fine with it. Having work to do was actually more comforting.
Of course, it was highly ironic for her to think this way, considering she had signed the contract to become the Grand Duchess in the first place precisely because she hated working overtime.
I should never have signed that contract...
And just like that, Chloe found herself right back at square one.
These were the thoughts she wanted to avoid most lately, yet they inevitably crept back into her mind without fail.
Vroom...
The faint hum of the automobile tickled her ears, accompanied by the floating sensation unique to vehicles powered by mana stones.
Before she knew it, she had been dressed and adorned in a seamless blur and was now on her way to the Royal Castle. The seats of Curtis's automobile, painted in a beautiful shade of beau bleu, were as plush as ever. This sensation of her body sinking almost to the floor was something she could never quite get used to, no matter how many times she sat there.
Chloe squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them. She parted her lips.
"Curtis."
"What is it?"
The reply came instantly, as if he had been waiting for her to speak.