The Duchess of the Attic

"Hello, Trevor. You look good."

"It's been a while, ma'am. Congratulations on your marriage this time. Sorry I couldn't pick you up yesterday."

Opal, who entered the study, gave a bright greeting to Trevor, the land administrator who was working.

Then, he often raises his burnt face in the day, and Trevor laughs with a wrinkle in his eye.

"It's okay, because I'm the one who's suddenly back. Then when it comes to marriage, thank you. I just want to say..."

"Is there a problem?

"It's huge."

"Oh, well."

Trevor also moved his seat across from Opal, who was not even recommended for the reception couch in the study.

Trevor always gives calm and accurate advice.

The same goes for Orton, the butler, and Marcia, the housekeeper, but only a little - no, I can't talk about this because it makes me pretty opal.

At that time, a knock sounded and Marcia prepared the tea and brought it to me.

"Thank you, Marcia. That's my favorite muffin with orange peel!

"That's right. If you don't serve this, the lady won't leave the cooking area."

"I'm not a kid anymore."

"I'm glad the Duke thought so."

That said, Marcia leaves the study.

Trevor, watching the two of them interact, sighed, man.

"If you reveal to Mr. Marcia that there is a problem, he will take you to the Duke's residence instead of the servants here. Hey."

"Shit, don't be scared. I'm really gonna do it."

Opal, shaking deliberately, laughs, drinks tea and eats muffins.

Trevor also waited for Opal to start talking, then silently sipping tea.

"You know, this marriage was decided between your father and the Duke of McCloud."

"Well, it's called political marriage."

"Yeah. I had no objection. Well, so I rushed to the ceremony, and I married the Duke's house... Duke - my husband, of course, the servant of the mansion, no one. He treats me like an intruder. Besides, there was another woman in the master bedroom, so you'd have to get mad now, wouldn't you?

"That's terrible. As much as I'd like to go yelling at the Duke's mansion without a glance."

"Trevor did?

Even though it was a pale answer, the statement didn't seem like Trevor, and Opal laughed unexpectedly.

Trevor raises a single eyebrow just because he's out of his mind.

"I still care about your daughter."

"... thanks, Trevor. It's just that I've been in that master bedroom with a distant woman who lived in the Duke's Mansion since I was a little girl, and she can't live much longer."

"- Was it like that? Nevertheless, the Duke has already been married, so it's unthinkable in common sense."

"Yeah...... Well, that's enough. I just didn't know it at first and said," Are you a mistress? 'I asked and pissed off my husband and everyone. The woman is very well cared for at the Duke's residence. But isn't it worse if you don't tell me? So I decided to live in the attic so I wouldn't show my face anymore. "

"How are you comfortable living?

"Fair enough."

It's supposed to be a tragic story, but Opal's tone doesn't make me feel that.

Of course, there's no such thing as Opal not hurting, and I guess I'm worried about Trevor.

There's just no way Opal needs Trevor's time just to say stupid.

So Trevor inquired with a serious face.

"So what's the biggest problem for the lady?

"... as I said earlier, this marriage is a political tactic - a contract. With my money, my husband will pay off his debts and cover his immediate living expenses with a wedding gift from your father."

When Opal revealed, Trevor opened his eyes.

Apparently it was too unexpected.

"Does the Duke make bets?

"I don't think so. Because your father didn't say anything. Just say 'sweet' about your husband"

"Hmm. That's still weird. If there is a territory owned by the Duke of McCloud that I know, it shouldn't be strange to be a tremendous fortune teller rather than a debt......"

"There was a big drought a few years ago, wasn't there?

"Yes. That did hit the whole country hard. But the Duke's house would have had a solid stockpile, and we could have gotten enough back in a year."

"It looks like the next year there was water damage, then pest damage"

"In the Duke's Land? I am always attentive to work patterns, weather not only in the Earl Territory, but also in other territories, although pest damage due to water damage has occurred elsewhere, you have not heard of it near the Duke's territory."

Trevor denies Opal's words one after the other.

So Opal still thought, putting the two record books he had brought on the table.

"What's this?

"Refrain from the records of territorial control found at the Duke's residence."

"Are you sure you want to bring out something as important as that?

"My husband said, 'This is like you bought it, so you can take whatever you want'"

"Oh, well."

Seeing Opal say with his chin up, Trevor grins.

The strength of my heart is the same.

Trevor was also interested in managing the territory of other houses and did not hesitate to take the older of the record books.

And it's easy to look through.

Sometimes my hands stopped paging, but I didn't spend so much time working on another book.

I know you really want to read it carefully, but now you seem to be in a hurry because you're keeping Opal waiting.

But the movement also changed from as much in the record books as it did.

I look between my eyebrows, return to the page a few times, move on again, follow the letters with my fingers, and sometimes I think about it.

In the meantime, Opal patiently wanted to pinch his mouth and waited for a cup of tea.

Eventually Trevor put the record down and exhaled heavily.

"You're being wronged."

"After all?"

"Has the lady seen this and been noticed?

"No, not at all. I just thought it was strange somehow. That's why I wanted to talk to Trevor."

"Hmm. To know exactly, you must also check the weather records from past years. Can I have a moment?

"Absolutely. I'm sorry, Trevor. I got a lot of extra work."

"What do you say? As I said earlier, I care about my daughter with all my heart. But with the administration as it is, the Duke's house will be torn down again. I'll make sure to expose this injustice so the lady doesn't have to struggle."

"... thanks. Well, good to see you."

"Yes, leave it to me"

You shouldn't cry here, you should laugh.

Yes, I told myself, Opal laughed at me, suppressing what he was going to put in, and left the study.