Chapter 189

I was surprised to hear the underlying strength in Mina's indifferent voice.

I remembered that when I was asked about the feast in the imperial capital, she asked me if I wanted to make a new dress, and I told her that the dress I wore at the visit would be fine. I remembered having many dresses made at the Duke's estate, but they didn't suit me very well, and when I casually mentioned it... the color of Mina's, Graham- san's, the maids over there, and other key members of the Imperial Duchess's eyes changed, which scared me.

Camilla, the dress designer, was immediately called to create a new gown and deliver it to the Duke's Residence. My suggestion that I could just use the dress I had made before was politely brushed off.

Everyone knew that was a danger signal.

"Young Lady, is Anna in the way?"

Ah...it's been a while since I had seen my maid in an enraged state.

But it couldn't be helped, Mina was a fighting maid. That's why she picked up on Anna's subtle hostility right away, and I was able to warn her.

They had withheld or omitted a lot of information, but Anna seemed to have a connection with my useless father, so she had mixed feelings about Big Brother, who looked exactly like him but was different on the inside.

Ivan, her cousin, told me about this. And she was annoyed with me, who resembled my mother, my father's wife, and was adored by Big Brother. This is Mina's opinion.

Good grief, why do I have to be harassed? How could they have come up with such elaborate methods of harassing someone?

I had it easy thanks to Mina, who was 100% trustworthy and dependable. I'm sure I'll be able to relax.

"As long as Big Brother is not harmed, I'll leave her alone for a while, since she's doing a good job as the head maid. With Mina around, Anna won't even be an obstacle. Thank you for everything."

As Ekaterina said this, the hint of rage disappeared from Mina's face and a slight smile appeared on her expressionless face.

***

"Young Lady, may I speak with you about the preparations for the feast?"

It was Laiza, the housekeeper who was in charge of the female servants, who came to Ekaterina's room.

"Of course, it's fine."

Laiza placed her books on the table and sat across from Ekaterina. She did not look at Regina, the huge hound dog who was looking up from her feet, and put on a pair of glasses she had brought.

The silver bezel of the glasses glinted.

Oh, it was a fake.

That's what I thought when I saw it.

What she presented was,

The number of guests and the predominant figures.

The type and quantity of food and beverages to be served.

The grade, type, and preparation procedures for the tableware. Especially silverware. The manpower and time needed to polish the silverware in advance.

The hospitality and its arrangements.

Which rooms will be opened for the feast, and how will the other areas be guarded?

How many carriages are scheduled to arrive, and where will they wait?

Where will the guests' attendants wait?

How many servants will be assigned, how many temporary workers will be hired, and where will they be placed?

And the cost of each. With an explanation of what would be reasonable.

It had become a marathon! A light sprint! All right, let's do this!

Maybe it was because I had this kind of personality that I had died of exhaustion in my previous life.

"Laiza, wait a minute. Our guests' attendants have been on standby all the time, but you are telling me that you stopped serving them food and drinks eight years ago?"

"Yes, because they were replaced by Lord Alexandre to avoid incurring such unnecessary expenses."

...I guess this was one of those embezzled expenses. On the financial books, I guess they were supposed to have been provided.