I'm An Uncouth Lady, But I Helped The Villainous Young Lord But He Ended Up Liking Me

Chapter 30 – The uncouth lady interviews (First Part)

The next day, Mr. Henry recovered.

We asked him to do some simple work at the mansion, as he was not yet ready to push himself too hard.

The date for the inspection of the seedlings had been moved up.

Lord Nazel took him to the garden and gave him a detailed explanation about the seedlings.

Mr. Henry was just amazed, and it seems that they are talking about the practical use of the seedlings.

They talked about many things together.

"... However, those who have dared to go out to the sea and mountains to get food, knowing the danger, will complain. Their business was profitable."

"And it is thanks to these people that you have managed to keep your people from starving?"

"Yes, there were people who specialized in this kind of business. Of course, the price of their products rose because of the risks involved."

"We could compensate them by giving them part of the harvest rights to the crops from the seedlings..."

Kelly and I looked at each other behind their backs as the conversation seemed to be going on.

"But then again, I didn't know seedlings could grow so big in Sutrena's territory."

"It wasn't just me. I had Agnes help me. Even if we plant them in other places, we need her help."

"With your wife's help? Could it have something to do with her magic?"

"Yeah, Agnes' magic seems to accelerate the growth of the seedlings. Only when the two of us, Agnes and I, are together can we grow crops. Once the seedlings have grown, no additional magic is needed."

"I understand. Let's talk about it."

"Oh, I'd like to get on with it while I'm in this mansion. Also, if there are any duties that I can take off your shoulders, please throw them to me. It would take some of the burdens off your shoulders."

They are delicately distant from each other, but I hope this will be an opportunity for Henry to open up to Lord Nazel.

I thought about that while I was strengthening the flower beds in the garden, as I had nothing to do.

A few days later, Mr. Henry was back, and he and Lord Nazel were discussing the reform of the estate. His complexion is a little better and he will be able to go to work at the fort tomorrow.

The two of them seem to have accepted each other as partners in their work.

"Now, I have to work hard, too. I have interviews for a servant today."

I changed into a maid's outfit and walked out the door of the mansion with Kelly.

I decided to go to the interview dressed as a maid because I wanted to look like a friendly interviewer.

So today I am the head maid and Kelly is the lady in waiting.

For some reason, Lord Nazel thinks I look "cute" in my maid's uniform.

"Ah, I am so nervous."

Outside the gate, there must be all the people who came for the interview.

"Kelly, I'm so glad we are finally doing this interview."

"Yes, Lady Agnes. Perhaps we find a few potential servants."

"I don't know...... but we've done what we can do. All we can do now is to hire the best we can."

When the two of us left the gate, there were more people there than we had expected, despite the early morning hour. The good conditions seemed to have worked.

The servants we are looking for this time are cooks, maids, and gardeners. We would like to gradually recruit other positions in the future. As for the butler, I have to ask Lord Nazel's opinion.

I addressed the people who had come for interviews.

"Thank you for your patience. Thank you for gathering here today. We will now be conducting interviews for the hiring of servants, so please come inside."

The first round of interviews consisted of a rough self-introduction for each type of job, followed by the second round of interviews to find out more about the person.

The gathering was about sixteen people who wanted to be maids. No one wanted to be a cook or a gardener...... how unfortunate.

I had set up two vacant rooms, one as a waiting room and the other as an interview room, and asked four people at a time to enter these rooms.

"Let's start with the first person, please introduce yourself."

Kelly and I sat side by side at the interviewer's table. Then the woman on the far right as we were facing began to speak.

"I am Mocca, and I used to collect medicinal herbs in the forest. I am 18 years old and can do household chores and simple medicinal preparations."

"My name is Patti, and my family is in the cattle business. I am 16 years old and can do household chores and take care of livestock."

"I am Meyza and I used to work in the kitchen of a diner. I'm 32 years old and a good cook."

"I am Laurie and I am a housewife. I am 40 years old and can babysit and take care of the house. I have experience as a maid."

I will ask each of them a few simple questions, but I do not find any of them to be bad options.

Meyza looks like she could be hired as a cook. They all pass the first round.

"Okay, let's call the second group of people."

"Understood, Lady Agnes."

The second group seemed to be going as well as the first, but there was one grumpy woman in the mix. She was wearing fancy clothes and had a fancy haircut. She stood out from the others.

"Hey, how long are you going to make me wait?"

She was quite upset, so I apologized to her for the time being.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting."

"You're not very considerate, are you? I want to be a lady-in-waiting, and I'd like to have a waiting room separate from the others."

She seems to be the daughter of a respectable family if she wants to be a lady-in-waiting.

"But ...... this is a maid interview?"

Since I have Kelly, I was thinking of recruiting the rest of the ladies-in-waiting to follow her or promote them from the hired maids.

"Um, we are not looking for a lady-in-waiting today."

When I told her so, the woman replied, "I know! I know!"

...... this one, doesn't understand.

"There are no lady-in-waiting for the lord's wife, are there? So I thought I'd become one."

"No, we have a head lady-in-waiting here."

Kelly has only recently become a lady-in-waiting, so the information the woman has may be out of date.

"Lady-in-waiting...... so you're a noblewoman?"

When asked, Kelly honestly responded, "I'm a commoner".

Then, the woman began to speak in a bossy manner.

"Then, from now on, I, the baroness, will be the lady-in-waiting! You know, they used to call your lady "Potato Lady", didn't they? Now that I'm here, maybe things will be a little better. I mean, it's not like I'm a potato like her."

"...... I see."

I was horrified but continued to act the part of a head maid.

"Besides, isn't the lord here super-hot! I'm trying to be his mistress, you know! I'm going to use her as a pretext to get close to him."1

...... You're going to say that here?

I am at a loss for words in the face of this shocking announcement.

It's true that when I came to the frontier, I had thought about stepping aside maturely and not intruding if Lord Nazel found someone he liked.

But ...... now that the crisis has come, there is a part of me that doesn't want to do that.

I have spent comfortable days with Lord Nazel so far.

In the meantime, I had developed feelings for Lord Nazel.

―― I love Lord Nazel so much that I don't want to ...... welcome a mistress.