Chapter 18
“Yes, my lady.”
“I… in the garden.”
“The garden?”
“Y-Yes. I… I was on my way…”
Grace explained that while she was walking in the garden, she saw the head gardener mistreating a young boy, and she intervened.
She used hand gestures to help explain the parts that were hard to describe in words.
“If it weren’t for you, my lady, he might’ve really gotten hit.”
“H-He was… bad.”
Grace’s expression fell. She still couldn’t stand the thought of how fiercely she had glared at the gardener and raised her voice. Just remembering her hand raised in anger made her shudder.
“Oh, that guy’s pretty infamous.”
“Yeah. Lots of gardeners have quit because they couldn’t stand his abuse. I heard if you get on his bad side even once, he’ll torment you endlessly.”
“O-Oh no… then what should I do…”
Annie and Rena shared more about the head gardener. Grace grew even more worried.
Then how could she stop him? If he kept abusing young gardeners when she wasn’t around, how would she ever know?
“Are you really worried? Do you want to stop him from doing that?”
“Y-Yes!”
Grace nodded firmly. If there was any way to stop him, she wanted to do it.
“You’re a good person, my lady.”
Rena smiled warmly at her. But Grace still looked unsure.
“Wh-What should I do? Do you know?”
“Hmm… let’s see.”
Annie tilted her head, thinking.
“You could call the head gardener and talk to him directly, or maybe if you told His Grace the Duke, he might help.”
“Hi-His Grace?”
Grace’s eyes widened. Annie nodded.
“Yeah. I’m not sure, but if you ask him, he might listen.”
“Oh…”
“If there’s anything you need, let me know.”
Frederick’s words came to mind.
He had told her to speak up if she needed anything. He was blunt, but he seemed to treat her with a certain kindness. Maybe, just maybe, he would listen if she asked—like Annie said.
B-But…
But Grace wasn’t used to asking others for help. She wasn’t confident. She had only just gotten used to being in the same space as Frederick—could she really ask him for a favor now? What if his reaction wasn’t good? She would be so embarrassed.
A small sigh lingered on her lips.
“F-Frederick.”
“Hm?”
“I… I have something to say.”
That night, Grace spoke to Frederick in their bedroom. Since he had gone out early and returned late, it was the first time they saw each other that day.
“Go ahead.”
“A-About the… gardener…”
“The gardener?”
“I saw something…”
Grace spoke slowly. Since she had already told the maids once, it was a bit easier this time.
Frederick listened quietly until she finished.
“Please… please stop… him.”
“You mean you want me to stop the head gardener from bullying and hitting the others?”
“Yes…”
Grace nodded. No matter how she thought about it, she felt too sorry for the gardeners being unfairly mistreated.
Frederick found her words unexpected. What she said made sense. If a senior gardener bullied the younger ones, morale would suffer, and the garden might not be taken care of properly.
But it wasn’t common for nobles to concern themselves with servants’ troubles. It was even more surprising coming from Grace, whom he had thought to be emotionally immature. This was something he himself hadn’t considered.
“I didn’t know about that. I’ll handle it properly.”
“Th-Thank you.”
When Frederick readily accepted her request, a natural smile appeared on Grace’s face. The fear and awkwardness she had once felt toward him had faded quite a bit.
Even though she still wasn’t fluent in speaking, she had managed to explain everything over several sentences—a clear sign of progress since she first arrived.
“You can handle anything inside this castle however you wish. You’re the lady of this house, after all.”
“L-Lady… of the house?”
Grace’s eyes widened again.
“From now on, there’s no need to ask me for everything. Just give orders to Dorota. She’ll take care of it.”
“Yes, Fr-Frederick. Really… thank you again.”
Grace’s face lit up. This wasn’t even about her personally—yet she was genuinely thankful. It was like she was the gardener’s family.
How curious…
At the time, Frederick simply thought Grace was a bit more thoughtful than he had expected. But this was only the beginning.
The day after she told Frederick about the head gardener, Grace heard through Dorota that he had been given a warning and a pay cut. That afternoon, a potted poinsettia was delivered to her.
“Wh-What is this?”
“It was sent by the young gardener who received your help, my lady.”
“Wow, my lady! It’s so pretty!”
Annie admired it from the side. Grace gently touched the red petals and smiled quietly.
“Th… Thank you. Thank you.”
She remembered the young boy’s innocent face as he nervously accepted the candy. She could feel how thankful he was, and her heart swelled.
This is… wonderful…
It was different from the joy she felt when the servants treated her kindly, or when Frederick subtly showed her care, or when she had delicious meals and a warm bed. This was something fuller, more meaningful.
I’m glad I came.
Realizing she was in a position where she could help people in need, Grace began to truly enjoy being “the lady.”
Even though there were people like Selina who gossiped about her, and other servants who said unkind things behind her back, there were also those who liked and needed her.
“I… I think I should look around… more.”
“Look around what, my lady?”
“Not just… the gardeners…”
Grace swallowed hard.
“There… might be other problems too…”
She started to worry—maybe there were others in the castle like that young gardener, struggling silently.
So that afternoon, Grace called Dorota and began walking around the castle grounds.
“Wh-Where are we now?”
After wandering for a while, Grace stopped in front of a large tree stump, with piles of chopped firewood next to it.
“This is where we split firewood, my lady. We work here and stack the wood there.”
One of the workers holding an axe answered.
“Oh, I see… And this?”
Next to the wood-chopping area was a small, shabby hut made of hay and wood.
“It’s a resting spot. When it gets too cold or we’re tired from work, we take shelter from the snow and wind or get some sleep here.”
“Mm… Resting…”
Grace stepped closer to inspect it. The wooden shelter was old, with visible cracks and many loose nails. It looked like snow or rain could easily leak in through the ceiling or walls.
“There’s a… a crack here.”
“Yes, it’s been like that for a while. We sometimes try to patch it up, but it doesn’t hold well.”
“Do… Dorota.”
“Yes, my lady. What is it?”
Grace called Dorota, who stood right beside her. Dorota answered with hands politely folded.
“P-Please fix… this. So the… water won’t get in.”
“F-Fix it?”
The worker’s eyes grew wide when he heard Grace’s words.
