Chapter 7: Under the Western Lamp
Upon entering the house, was some cleaning done? You can see a room illuminated by the slanted sunset shining through the opened window.
The room has a large amount of packed boxes and Alex-sama kneels on the carpetless floor in front of them. There’s a stove and a kitchen for some reason on the left side of the entrance.
There’s a narrow staircase in the back leading to the second floor. There’s a door to the right. Upon opening it, it’s a toilet… with a large washbasin? Is laundry done in the toilet?
The entire building is smaller than Duke’s entrance hall, but that can’t be helped.
“Let’s go up to the second floor.”
There’s no reply. Carefully go up the stairs without rubbing the dress against the wall. There’s a door immediately after going up to the second floor. Upon opening it, there’s only one simple room. It looks slightly wider compared to the cramped first floor due to the small space. The walls of the room have some storage and there’s only one bed as furniture.
I suppose it is an allusion to the fact that the two of us should sleep here. Although the bed is obviously smaller than the one I slept in yesterday, it’s still a big enough bed considering the size of this house, and the bedding is brand new despite the age of the exterior walls.
“Well, what should we do…”
Mumbling, I descend again… these high-heeled shoes are scary on these narrow stairs!
“Alex-sama.”
“A-Ah…”
In his hand are fragments of broken glass.
“You’ll hurt your hand. Let go for a moment.
We don’t have much time until night, so we need to prepare the lights first. Are the Western-style lamps in that box over there? Now that I think of it, there’s no fireplace in the room either.”
“Sorry, I was a little shocked and confused… the Western-style lamps should be there. Let’s search quickly.”
I open the box and look at the contents. There is an avalanche of books and papers that must have been thrown in a messy way, tilted in transit, or otherwise inside the box.
“Commoners don’t have fireplaces in their homes. Because fireplaces are taxed.”
Alex-sama says that while standing up.
“Well, what do you do on cold days?”
“If I have something, I’ll use a brazier(similar to a BBQ grill) or wear a cloth. If not, I’ll endure it.”
He went to the kitchen and bent down, touching the floor with his hand. To his surprise, a part of the floor had come off and a hole was open. He climbed into it and pulled out some things from inside.
“Oh, I guess oil lamps and oil were prepared. It wasn’t magic stone-style, but still.”
A magic stone is produced from the body of a magical beast or from a dungeon, and is said to be a crystallized form of magical power.
The Duke’s territory was also one of the major producers of magic stone, and only magic stone-style lights were available in the mansion, but this seems to be a form of burning oil.
When Alex-sama lit the oil lamp, the light of the red-tinged flame lit up, and then it became dark after a little while. It was a close call. He hung it on the beam so that the room would become bright.
I found several cushion-like things in the box and placed them on the floor.
And we sat down side by side. The sound of sighs overlapped.
Alex-sama put his hand to his neck and untied the white butterfly tie, throwing it onto the box.
“Well, I don’t know what to do. You’re…”
“My name is Vilhelmina. Please call me that.”
“Ah, Vilhelmina-san. What will we do from now on?”
“What do you mean, what will we do?”
“To be honest, isn’t it difficult for a noble lady like you to live here?”
I see, you were worried about my life. Of course, it’s no mistake that it would be difficult for me, who is ignorant of the world, to live here together.
“I think the difficulties will certainly be great.”
“For example, is it not possible to stay somewhere else?”
“You mean living apart?”
Alex-sama nodded. I shook my head.
“There is also the problem of funding to continue living elsewhere, but at least for a while, I believe this house is being watched by His Highness’ people. Neither of us will be allowed to leave this house and live elsewhere.”
There was a clicking of tongues.
Anyway, I have no way of leaving here and living. I have been banished from the Duke’s family and lost my value as a lady. I don’t have the power to live as a commoner and even if I tried to knock on the door of a convent, it would be impossible within the reach of the Cardinal.
“Don’t you mind marrying someone like me all of a sudden? I’m not a noble, I don’t look good, I don’t know how to treat women, I’m a poor and foolish man with a big head.”
Fufufu, I laugh.
“Alex-sama, my former fiancé, was a royalty. He looked good, but he was ignorant, rough, made me do work as a fiancé and cursed at me, he was a foolish womanizer.”
Alex-sama looks around with a startled expression and sighs.
“What if they’re listening?”
“He wants to annoy me to death, but he won’t kill me, so it’s okay. Hey Alex-sama, who do you think is better, you or His Highness Elias?
“…Yeah, it’s because of that prince that we’re being screwed over. There’s no prince.”
“That’s right. I’m an inexperienced person, but please take care of me, my husband.”
