Hailey had fallen asleep inside. She slept well in the warm and comfortable temperature.

Because there was a delay in getting separate beds, she had been tossing and turning every night, tense from sharing a bed with Axel.

She didn’t know how long she had slept, but she felt refreshed and clear-headed.

“Is something wrong?”

“This child worried that no matter how much time passed, you weren’t coming out, so she opened the door on her own. I apologize, young madam. We should have opened the door earlier. I will make sure to scold her severely.”

“Hmm. Is that so? How long was I in there?”

“About an hour, young madam.”

An hour?

‘Not bad.’

Feeling refreshed, Hailey smiled at Anika while wrapping herself well with a towel.

“It’s alright. No need to scold her. I feel completely refreshed.”

“Pardon?”

Leaving behind the maids who still couldn’t grasp the situation, Hailey leisurely left the room to finish her bath.

* * *

“These people in the mansion are out of their minds!”

Today, the individual beds arrived. Axel and Hailey began their life of sleeping in separate beds in the same room.

‘From today, I’m going to sleep with Grandpa!’

‘So suddenly? Theo, you don’t have to…’

Theo, who had finished his long bath with Roto, suddenly declared to Hailey.

Theo firmly tucked the small child’s pillow he used to sleep between Hailey and Axel under his arm.

Hailey, who became flustered as she would really be sleeping alone with Axel in one room if Theo left, hurriedly tried to stop him.

‘…That’s how Theo’s candy land will appear…’

‘What did you say?’

‘Good night, Mommy Hailey!’

Theo, who had been mumbling and fidgeting, quickly gave Hailey a kiss on the cheek and ran out of the room without waiting for an answer.

‘Suddenly, what candy land?’

Hailey, who had been recalling the earlier commotion, belatedly came to her senses at Axel’s words as he entered the room, fuming with anger.

“Hailey, are you alright? They didn’t throw you into lava water, did they?”

“…Lava water?”

If you had touched lava, your body would have melted without a trace by now.

Hailey, who wanted to add that comment, noticed that he was exaggerating and calmly asked.

“They told me to relieve fatigue by soaking in warm water while catching a cool breeze, but it was as hot as lava water! How can you relieve fatigue in a temperature that would cook a pig!”

“Ah.”

“Don’t worry, though. I was able to escape quickly and survive. The heads of those who recommended it will roll tomorrow. Surely you weren’t subjected to it too?”

Hailey realized from Axel’s explanation that he had experienced a ‘hot spring’.

Axel’s boasting about how he barely survived due to his quickness seemed cute to Hailey, who enjoyed the sauna for an hour.

“Hmm. I wasn’t subjected to anything.”

“That’s a relief then. If those guys tell you that you can relieve fatigue while bathing, avoid it at all costs!”

“Yes, I will.”

Hailey quietly smiled it off, thinking that if she let Axel experience a sauna, he might faint.

“By the way, I don’t see the little one.”

“He said he’s going to sleep with the Lord from today.”

“…Is that so?”

Upon learning of Theo’s whereabouts, Axel climbed into bed with a proud face, as though his own child had won a sword fighting competition.

And Hailey caught sight of that expression.

‘Could it be that man?’

Hailey, sitting on the edge of the bed, asked Axel.

“Don’t tell me it was you?”

“What was?”

“Did you say something strange to the child?”

“What nonsense are you talking about.”

“Like saying you’d make him a candy land or something…”

“I never did such a thing.”

Axel was confident because he had never said he would make a candy land. To be precise, he said that if Theo slept with his grandfather, grandfather could pile up candy for him.

Hailey narrowed her eyes in disbelief.

“Don’t do anything indecent. How could you use candy land to lure an innocent child.”

“Not only did I not do it, but why is candy connected to indecency? You’re the one who seems more indecent than you look?”

“That’s because you used indecent thoughts to drive Theo out…!”

Why did she feel so flushed and embarrassed when it seemed like that man was the one who had done wrong?

Hailey couldn’t even finish her sentence. Rather, Axel, looking more righteous, had an attitude of ‘go ahead and say it all if you can’ with a confident expression.

“I’d like to hear specifically what those indecent thoughts are?”

Hailey, with her face flushed red, finally stopped talking and just lay down on the bed, pulling the covers over herself.

Axel looked at Hailey like that, then got off the bed and walked towards her.

“D-Don’t come! If you try anything funny…!”

Hailey’s heart was about to burst as Axel’s footsteps got closer.

While Hailey was holding onto the blanket tightly, her heart trembling, a large palm was placed on top of the blanket she had pulled over herself.

Then, bending his head close to the blanket, he said,

“See you in my dreams, wife.”

Axel’s hand that had touched the blanket immediately lifted.

Hailey’s arrhythmia was ongoing today too.

* * *

Usually, most noble ladies would wake up late.

However, due to the habit Hailey had developed since childhood at the baron’s residence, she would open her eyes at 7 AM. This was a bit troublesome for the servants who needed to be more diligent than the mistress.

“Really, you don’t need to worry about it. I usually don’t eat breakfast. Just a cup of tea is enough.”

“Understood, young madam. I’ll have them bring up some light snacks or bread with the tea.”

Even though neither snacks nor bread were necessary, it seemed they might feel it was neglecting their duties. Hailey nodded.

As Anika left the room saying she would bring up tea and light refreshments again, the butler Dora, who had been waiting behind, approached.

Hailey reviewed the duties she had to perform as the mistress of the grand ducal castle.

Generally, the most important duty of a noble lady was hosting parties. Sorting out the guest list for parties and planning menus and budgets was about all that noble ladies in the inland did.

However, in Winchester, there were more responsibilities for the mistress.

She had to take on the role of overall responsibility and supervision of the inner castle’s affairs. When the Grand Duke allocated the budget, she had to decide how to divide and operate it over the year, then break it down into detailed plans for the first and second half of the year.

Winchester had to endure long and harsh winters, so it was especially important to prepare for cold waves and winter food supplies.

Until now, the Grand Duke had been involved in not only the territory’s affairs but also the inner castle’s management with Dora’s help, but now it was Hailey’s responsibility.

“Is this all the ledgers?”

“Yes, young madam. The second half’s budget has already been executed, and plans are already in place. But since it’s now your authority, you can change anything as long as it doesn’t exceed the costs.”

With Dora’s help, she carefully examined how the inner castle’s affairs were specifically carried out and how they had been managed.

The budget seemed well-planned, there was little wasteful spending, and it seemed excellent overall, but in Hailey’s view, there was one problem.

“Honestly, what do you think of these ledgers?”

“Have you found any errors in the content, perhaps?”

“No, that’s not the issue. I mean, are these ledgers easy to understand? Are they easily comprehensible at a glance by anyone?”

Originally, dealing with ledgers was a difficult task. Not just anyone could handle them, and you needed to know at least the basics of accounting to read or create them.

Dora pondered, wondering if the young madam was finding it difficult. She was in a dilemma, as a servant trying to help might be seen as trying to teach and offend her.

“It’s not easy. Even the Lord’s advisors find it difficult.”

“Yes, that’s the problem. Money matters should be understandable at a glance by anyone. Is there perhaps much larger paper available?”

“We have parchment used for posting notices. If that’s acceptable, I’ll bring some.”

“Anything is fine. Just bring it for now.”

Although she wasn’t sure what the young madam was trying to do, Dora had a feeling that she was about to do something interesting.

Hailey had memories of working an office job in her past life.

From the perspective of an experienced person, the ledgers here were actually a mess. It was suffocating to see content that could be neatly summarized on a single sheet spread across 10 pages.

She decided to reorganize it into a table that anyone could easily understand and recognize.

Since Hailey herself would need to refer to it most frequently, it was better to set up a framework in advance, even if it took time.

“Young madam. I’ve brought it here.”

Hailey, receiving the large parchment, boldly picked up the pen and began creating a table with neat skill.

Dora silently watched the entire scene by Hailey’s side.

‘Amazing.’

Dora’s eyes widened in surprise as she witnessed this marvelous sight in real-time.