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Extra Chapter – Birds of a Feather [Part 3]
Rose’s Handmaid, Meg’s POV
“Yes. If it isn’t Rose-sama, it won’t look stylish. No matter how beautiful the mats are, they will only end up looking rustic in our hands.”
“Excellent! Rose-sama, let’s begin preparing, shall we! C’mon, Meg, you too!”
My seniors would usually be in a bad mood on days the three Stuart siblings came to visit, but they worked very efficiently today.
This was supposed to be a good thing, but somehow I only got uneasy feelings about it.
Despite that, I still headed to the hill behind the mansion with Rose-sama, who had finished choosing the mats happily.
“I will stay at the mansion to receive the guests from House Stuart. Come back here when you’re done setting up the picnic on the hill, okay?”
Was I overthinking when I thought my senior’s smile when she saw me off felt a little creepy?
“Let’s go, Meg. Let’s set it up so splendidly that it will surprise the Stuart children.”
Even while reluctant and uneasy, I followed behind Rose-sama.
“Oh my, is that a guest coming? But that’s not the Stuarts’ carriage, is it?”
On the way up the hill, Rose-sama spotted a carriage parked at the mansion. Even from afar, we could tell it was a luxurious carriage different from the one the three Stuart siblings usually rode on.
“Marquis Valerie is also away today… Is there urgent business?”
I was struck by a bad premonition with a chill up my spine.
“I will go check up on the situation…”
“It’s alright, Meg. It’s not like no one is in the mansion, so let’s leave it to the guys on house-sitting duty. We have it tougher here, you know? We will have to make Rose-sama‘s stylish picnic castle from here on out after all.”
My senior hurriedly stopped me when I stood up.
That carriage’s crest… I seemed to have seen it somewhere before… I couldn’t confirm it because it was too far, but I was sure I knew that crest from somewhere…
“Meggg, let’s go. We have to hurry so Emma-chan can come straight here when she arrives.”
Rose-sama and Jadwiga-sama went up the hill while holding hands happily.
Not to mention the time we were in the Royal Capital, I hadn’t seen the two like this until a few days ago. As I couldn’t bear to throw a wet blanket on this harmonious sight, I shook my head to get the carriage I was curious about out of my mind and headed for the hill.
End of Rose’s Handmaid, Meg’s POV
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“We’ve been looking forward to your visit, Carne-sama.”
The senior maids who stayed in the mansion were welcoming a young man with flashy clothes.
The king’s messenger would visit the Marquisate of Valerie periodically to inquire about Rose-sama‘s wellbeing. The messenger came with a personal letter from the king, but those letters had never reached Rose’s hands.
Rose splurged on dresses and jewels to vent her irritations to the extent that she was given the cold shoulder by the king. Because of her squandering habits, the senior maids could secretly slip in their own orders for dresses and jewels.
The larger Rose’s order, the easier they could mix in theirs, so even when it was decided that Rose would go to Valerie, they took the initiative to follow her here. And yet…
After House Stuart’s tea party, Rose’s shopping came to a halt.
Now not only expensive stuff like dresses and jewels, but they also could no longer buy even the small accessories like ribbons, handkerchiefs, or pouches.
‘Just what did we come to this countryside far from the Royal Capital for?’ The senior maids’ irritation reached its peak.
The letter from the king came at such a time.
The king’s messenger this time was the second son of the House of Marquis Lombard, Carne Lombard. Upon getting this notice, one maid thought of an evil idea while grinning.