Chapter 19
It was a makeshift rest area that nobody cared about except for the firewood cutters.
There were more than a few inconveniences in using the space, but since it wasn’t essential for their work, they couldn’t even bring in materials for proper repairs. At most, they could hammer in a few nails to tighten loose parts.
“Uh… yeah. We need… to rest, right?”
Grace nodded. If it was a place for rest, it should at least be comfortable enough to actually rest.
“Th-thank you, my lady.”
The servant spoke with a trembling voice. For a noble to pay attention to a servant’s resting area and show concern about it—it was a first for him, something he had never even dared to hope for.
“You understand, Dorota?”
“Yes, my lady. I’ll follow your instructions.”
Dorota also responded with a slightly dazed look. She hadn’t been this surprised even when Grace saved the young gardener and disciplined the head gardener.
At the time, she had simply thought Grace had a soft heart and couldn’t stand seeing a child suffer.
When Grace had suggested walking around the castle, Dorota assumed it was to quickly familiarize herself with the structure. But to think her true reason was to observe how the servants lived…
‘Is she… an angel?’
To the servant, Grace appeared to shine with light. She was completely different from the rumors.
Among the staff, the gossip about the new lady was far from flattering. They said she could barely speak properly, was dim-witted, and basically a puppet who could do nothing on her own.
But here she was, inspecting the servant quarters and rest areas with care, trying to make their lives better.
‘Having someone like her as our lady is actually a blessing.’
His eyes filled with emotion. He felt he had to quickly spread the word to his coworkers and clear up all the misunderstandings about her.
“I’ll never forget this kindness, my lady. I’ll work hard!”
“Y-yeah. Please… do.”
Grace smiled at the servant. It was a gentle and pure smile. The servant’s face flushed. She was the perfect mistress—both in appearance and character.
“L-let’s go, Dorota.”
Leaving the firewood cutter behind, Grace resumed her walk with Dorota. There were still many things she wanted to check.
As she continued around the castle, Grace carefully observed the various spaces where servants worked or stayed—the stables, gardens, lakefront, and so on.
Whenever she saw someone working or walking by, she paid special attention. She didn’t want to miss any signs of higher-ranked staff bullying those below them, like what she had seen before with the gardeners.
“Wh-why aren’t we going… there?”
“That’s the servants’ quarters, my lady. You don’t need to worry about that area.”
Despite Dorota’s explanation, Grace just blinked at her and showed no sign of turning back.
“Oh… are you planning to look over there too?”
“Y-yeah. Let’s go.”
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the servants’ quarters.
It was the middle of the day, so the quarters were empty as most servants were busy working.
Grace was reminded of the maid quarters back at the Duke of Reinheim’s estate. Back then too, the quarters were often empty during the day, and when Emily went out for work, Grace was usually left alone.
She began inspecting the rooms—not just from the hallway, but by stepping inside and looking around, even touching things.
Compared to the Duke of Reinheim’s estate, the rooms weren’t too bad. There were beds, tables, chairs, small stoves, and basic bathrooms. The walls were clean with no visible cracks.
“Huh…?”
Grace approached a stove and touched the area near its entrance—only to recoil from the icy cold.
“I-it’s… cold. Why?”
“Maybe because they rarely use the stove. They’re trying to save coal.”
“Ah…”
No wonder the room had felt chilly when they walked in. Grace’s eyes widened.
“C-coal… why?”
“They need coal to light a fire, and it’s a bit expensive. So a lot of people just try to tough it out without using the stove.”
Dorota explained kindly.
That must be hard…
At the Reinheim estate, Grace had rarely felt cold in her quarters. The southern capital didn’t often experience harsh winters.
On cold days, Emily always made sure the room was warm for her.
But here in the north, it was freezing. Inside the castle, her own room always had a fire going, and she wore a thick coat when walking outside.
“……”
Her gaze moved to the neatly folded blankets on the beds. Were they trying to fight off the cold with just these? Were the blankets warm enough?
Grace walked over, slipped her hand into one, and gave it a squeeze.
“D-Dorota.”
“Yes, my lady?”
“T-this… feels too… thin.”
The blanket seemed far too thin to provide any real warmth. Grace looked up at Dorota and asked,
“D-does everyone… use this?”
“You mean the other servants?”
“Yeah…”
“I think everyone has similar blankets in terms of material and thickness.”
“T-too thin…”
Grace’s face darkened. She fiddled with the blanket with a serious expression. If they kept using such thin blankets without lighting fires, the cold would be unbearable.
“Should I have new blankets distributed to all the staff?”
“Yes. I-it looks… too cold.”
“Understood. I’ll take care of it.”
Grace nodded quickly, as if she’d been waiting for that. Dorota bowed respectfully.
“A-and also… um…”
Grace pointed at the stove.
“Make sure… they can use fire… often.”
“You mean, provide coal?”
“Yeah…”
She really pays attention to everything.
Blankets were one thing—but offering coal was a bold move. Supplying coal would require a notable budget for the servants. Of course, it wouldn’t bankrupt the duchy, but it wasn’t a trivial cost either.
“P-please… do it.”
“Of course. Your orders are my command.”
Even after leaving the servant quarters, Grace continued reminding Dorota, who responded faithfully each time.
“Oh, r-right.”
On the way back to her room, Grace saw a group of maids passing by and let out a small sigh, pausing in place.
“I… should’ve looked more closely…”
“Looked at what, my lady?”
“W-wondering if anyone’s… being bullied…”
She was worried—perhaps there were other cases like the gardeners, with some servants abusing their authority over others.
“My lady, I’ll look into that separately.”
Dorota spoke up.
“I’ll do a thorough investigation among all the staff to see if there’s any unfair treatment or bullying. If there’s anything wrong, I’ll report it to you and take appropriate action.”
“Y-yeah…”
Grace nodded.
After returning, Dorota immediately followed Grace’s orders.
All the blankets in the servant quarters were replaced with new, thicker ones. Enough coal was distributed to each room to keep the stove lit every evening for two months.
“The lady gave these to us herself.”
After the distribution, word about Grace quickly spread among the servants.
“Wasn’t she supposed to be a fool?”
“Doesn’t seem like it. How could someone like that think of these things?”
Many had been suffering through the brutal northern winter, unable to afford coal. Grace had seemingly read their minds and solved the problem.
Not long after, rumors began spreading about how Grace had punished the head gardener for abuse. People also learned that Dorota’s investigation into bullying among staff had been ordered by Grace herself.
“I’ve never seen anyone like our lady.”
“She actually cares about us.”
“She’s so thoughtful. We had no idea… She’s like an angel.”
The more people talked, the more Grace’s reputation improved. Soon, everyone began calling her the “angelic lady.”
Servants who had met Grace in person added to the praise. Even though her speech was slow and childlike, she was always kind and smiled warmly even to the lowest-ranking workers.
The fact that her personal maids, Annie and Lena, only ever had good things to say about her became further proof of her character.
“Since the lady arrived, the whole atmosphere in the castle has changed.”
