The New Mistress of the Taylor House is Full of Enthusiasm (1)

“Is it to your liking, Madam?”

“It’s lovely. You’ve done well.”

Giselle looked at herself in the mirror and complimented the maid who had done her hair. The maid bowed her head quickly with a pleased expression.

At that moment, the head maid standing to one side cleared her throat softly and spoke to her in a careful tone.

“Madam, may I say something?”

“By all means.”

Giselle glanced at her reflection in the mirror again, still feeling awkward in her daily dress, then turned her head towards the head maid.

“Please speak comfortably, Madam. It’s too much for us servants to hear you talk formally.”

“Ah…”

She let out a single sound at the head maid’s words and closed her mouth. She had received a similar request during her previous visit here.

At that time, she said she would gradually change her way of talking, citing unfamiliarity, but now it was really time to change her way of speaking.

It wasn’t that she was unfamiliar with speaking casually to employees. She had always spoken comfortably to her nanny since childhood.

It was just difficult to act comfortably in front of unfamiliar people in this suddenly changed situation.

‘Still, I should change it.’

If she became fixated on this state, it would be even more awkward to change her speech later. So it would be better to just close her eyes and change it now that the topic had come up.

“Hmm… Yes, I mean, alright. Thank you for the advice, head maid.”

“Thank you, Madam.”

The head maid smiled slightly at the shy Giselle and bowed. Seeing this, Giselle tried to correct her awkward expression again, looking around, and then suddenly spoke as if she had just remembered something.

“Oh, come to think of it, I don’t see my nanny…”

Her nanny was supposed to come to the Taylor house along with her marriage. It was strange that she hadn’t come to see her yet.

“Ah, Mrs. Beryl is in the kitchen right now.”

“My nanny is in the kitchen?”

Giselle frowned even more at the head maid’s answer. There was no particular reason for her nanny to be in the kitchen.

‘Honestly, I know my nanny’s cooking skills aren’t that good.’

At the Anticia residence, most of the employees had quit and left, so there was no chef. So the head maid and the nanny had to take turns cooking, but neither of them had much experience cooking in the kitchen, so their cooking skills couldn’t be good.

Her nanny’s skills were especially worse than the head maid’s.

Although she ate her food with enjoyment because of the care and love she put into it.

‘It’s no comparison to the chef here.’

Giselle recalled the amazing dishes she had tasted here. It would be no exaggeration to say that not only the taste but also the skill of beautifully plating the food had reached a pinnacle.

What on earth could her nanny do in such a kitchen?

“She said she wanted to get along well with everyone, so she went to the kitchen early in the morning to help with various tasks.”

“……!”

“It seems Mrs. Beryl is acting this way out of concern that there might be talk of favoritism since she’s the only person you brought with you, Madam.”

At the head maid’s words, Giselle slightly opened her mouth and then closed it, nodding her head. Somehow, her eyes felt hot.

“She’s getting old, it must not be easy for her to work…”

“Don’t worry, Madam. Given her kind and gentle nature, she’ll adapt well.”

“That’s right, Madam! I went to the kitchen earlier, and it was bustling with laughter and conversation.”

The maid who had been quietly listening to Giselle and the head maid’s conversation quickly chimed in.

“Is that so? If what you say is true, that’s a relief.”

Giselle’s expression softened, seeming more at ease with the maid’s words.

Just then, there was a knock, and the door opened as Lucas entered. His hair was slightly damp, suggesting he had washed in another room’s bathroom and returned.

“Lucas.”

She stood up and turned to look at him. The man approaching her was neatly dressed, not the one who had teased her when she was naked.

The change felt novel, and she found herself unable to take her eyes off him. He seemed to sense this too, as he gazed at Giselle intently.

“Um, what is it? Do I look strange?”

She asked with an awkward expression as his gaze refused to leave her.

Only then did Lucas look into Giselle’s eyes, chuckle, and then gently take her hand and kiss the back of it.

“You’re beautiful.”

“…There are other people here.”

Giselle quickly pulled her hand away from him and turned her head. A blush began to spread across her face, as if red paint had been dissolved in water.

She put on a deliberately aloof expression and fiddled with the hem of her dress before letting out an “Ah!” and moving somewhere. His gaze naturally followed where she was heading.

And Lucas’s lips curved up slightly as he saw her stop in front of the painting he had gifted her.

“Do you like it?”

“I really love it. I didn’t have time to properly appreciate it yesterday, but seeing it under this bright sunlight today, it feels even warmer and better.”

Giselle glanced at Lucas who had approached her side and nodded. Then, with an awkward expression, she alternately looked at the figures in the painting and pointed with her finger.

“It’s you and me, right?”

“I suppose so? Since I commissioned it as a wedding gift.”

“Hmm…”

She leaned forward to examine the painting closely. It was as if she was trying to show with her whole body what it meant to feel like flying, her joyful feelings vividly transmitted to Giselle.

“I said it yesterday too, but thank you for the painting. I’d like to send a thank you letter to Raoul Puhenna as well, can you deliver it?”

“Of course.”

As Lucas nodded in response, her eyes curved gently. He unconsciously flinched at her sparkling green eyes and rubbed his nape.

It was because he was reminded of her tearful face from last night, overwhelmed with pleasure.

Unaware of this, Giselle was about to appreciate the painting again in a state of exhilaration when there was a knock on the door.

“Master Lucas, Madam, did you sleep well?”

The one who opened the door and entered was the butler. He bowed politely to the master and mistress. Behind him was a trolley that he seemed to have brought himself.

It was a trolley filled with breakfast that the chef had prepared with even more care than usual for the master and mistress.

The head maid and maid, who had been standing quietly to one side, began to set the breakfast table, pulling the trolley back.

“We can appreciate the painting more later, let’s have breakfast first.”

Lucas extended his hand towards Giselle as if to escort her. Giselle made a shy expression before taking his hand and approaching the table.

“Wow…”

As soon as she sat on the sofa, she involuntarily let out an exclamation at the sight of the dishes laid out on the table. Lucas, too, slightly furrowed his brow as he was about to sit opposite her.

“…Bushin, isn’t this a bit excessive for breakfast?”

He gestured with his eyes towards the table that looked like it might collapse at any moment.

Grilled herring, lamb steak, bacon and poached eggs, sponge cake, pudding, and even sweet preserved fruits.

It was too much of a breakfast for him, who usually thought a cup of tea was sufficient.

No, even for Giselle, who was used to having breakfast thanks to her nanny – though not necessarily guaranteed to be tasty – it was an astonishing breakfast scene.

“I thought both of you should have a hearty meal, so the chef paid special attention. After all, you must have had a tiring night… ahem, I mean, you must be tired from the wedding ceremony yesterday.”

Bushin inadvertently revealed his thoughts before clearing his throat and changing his words. But everyone had already understood what he was about to say.

“……”

Giselle’s face, who had stopped eating pudding and put down her spoon, turned as red as a ripe tomato. Unlike her, Lucas’s expression didn’t change, but his earlobes were slightly red.

“Hmm… Everyone, please leave now. We don’t need any attendance.”

He spoke in a deliberately calm tone while stroking his chin.

“…Ahem. Yes, Master Lucas.”

Bushin, embarrassed by his mistake, soon bowed his head and retreated outside the bedroom. The head maid and maid also followed him out with slightly flushed faces.

“Kyaa! Butler! Did you see our Madam’s face turn red at the mention of the wedding night? My goodness, how passionate a night they must have spent…”

As soon as the door closed, the maid’s excited voice, which she had shouted so loudly, came clearly into the bedroom.

“Ugh, I don’t know.”

At the same time, Giselle covered both her cheeks and bowed her head deeply. Lucas looked at her and couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re smiling? You find this funny?”

“Should I cry then? It’s natural for newlyweds who spent their first night together to hear such things.”

“But it’s embarrassing. It’s shameful too.”

She fanned herself with her hand and wrinkled her nose. Lucas chuckled again and picked up his tea. Then Giselle, who had been fanning herself, looked at him intently and pushed her plate of steak in front of her towards Lucas.

“Don’t just drink tea, eat a proper meal.”

“……?”

“You’re not expecting me to cut it and feed it to you, are you?”

At Giselle’s playful words, Lucas sighed and then cut a piece of steak and put it in his mouth. Seeing his Adam’s apple move, she smiled contentedly and picked up her spoon again.

They continued eating in silence for a while. Then Lucas suddenly spoke to her as if he had just remembered something.

“Oh, I told Bushin.”

“Told him what?”