Interviews

Even though Brunilda's wariness was pinged, Mattheus really couldn't do much about it but try to be more observant.

The next morning, he woke up early so he would be able to talk to Nina Grant's maids. It would be one of the few times in the day that would guarantee all three to be free since the lady of the house had a tendency to sleep until noon. Maybe sometimes even later.

Dressed in a clean dove-gray suit and dark tie, Mattheus skipped the hat and coat at Brunilda's instructions. He was barely able to hide the annoyed twitch of his lips over the cat's remark about charming the women with his appearance as he met the three maids the housekeeper brought over.

"These are Yvette, Anna, and Gina, my lord," the housekeeper introduced.

The three maids greeted him in tandem, though only the slightly older-looking one spoke. "Greetings, milord."

"Doctor is fine." Mattheus gave a gentle smile to the three women. "Thank you, Mrs. Owens. If you all don't mind, I would like to speak with you individually about your mistress, so I would be better prepared to treat Lady Grant."

Yvette had been the one that spoke. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, roughly the same age as the General's daughter. Brown-haired with brown eyes, the woman was unsurprisingly pretty like most lady's maids tended to be.

(The three maids would be often seen in public with Nina Grant if the lady went out, so had to be pleasant to the eyes. It was very much the same with Vincent, Mattheus Crown's valet. He had been very confused why every servant he saw tended to be disproportionately good-looking until Brunilda explained the cultural quirk of large households with such a system of "presentable" servants in society.)

Anna was blonde-haired and blue-eyed. She looked a few years younger— maybe around Mattheus Crown's age—and seemed like she had a permanent blush to her cheeks on otherwise fair skin.

Gina might be youngest, though Mattheus wasn't completely sure. While she was also tallest, there was some baby fat left on her face. Her hair was a lighter brown than Yvette's and her eyes were a blue that stood out in contrast to her tanned complexion.

Meeting Gina's eyes, Mattheus reflexively smiled. The maid's eyes widened before she ducked her head down in embarrassment.

Ah, how awkward. Mattheus was nowhere near as good-looking as his brother but apparently passed the maids' judgment.

He never understood how anyone could like someone just based on appearance when they didn't even know the person.

Mattheus moved things forward, wanting to get these interviews over with as fast as possible, for everyone's peace of mind. "May I speak with Miss Yvette first?"

…

After Gina was sent out, Rita Owens came back in and inquired if there were anything more Mattheus required.

"Unfortunately, yes. I apologize, Mrs. Owens, since this no doubt has interrupted the schedule of the household work a bit. But if I may ask you some questions?"

"As those three are exclusively assigned to the Lady, you didn't interrupt anything, my lord. Even if it would have, you have traveled all the way from the Capital to see to Lady Nina. That itself is more important than needing to reassign some work to the maids," the housekeeper replied. "Of course, you may ask, Doctor Crown."

"Thank you, Mrs. Owens. First of all, how long have you and those three maids worked for the Grant family?"

A bit later, Mattheus and Brunilda were alone again with the former taking the time to jot down the latest notes. He was recording the information he received from the four female members of the household staff.

"I kind of understand why Benjamin Michaels was one of the interviewees yesterday when he is far from the only administrative assistant in this place. Each of the maids mentions him at least once," Mattheus remarked.

So far, everything the various people he's talked to said aligned with each other. There were, of course, little deviations, but they were to be expected and made the content of their interviews more believable.

After all, if the story was the same for everyone, down to the exact detail, it would be an obvious conspiracy.

"When I asked them about the general atmosphere of the estate, they all mention different things. Yvette brought up the steward after a bit of hesitation, which I get because he's kind of sus. Anna mentioned how it was difficult to talk to the guards. Gina talked about how some of the other maids in the household sometimes gossip disrespectfully about Nina Grant…"

Mattheus tapped the paper with the back of the pen in thought.

"The three of them were pretty open. Yvette is hiding something but it's not out of maliciousness," was his friend's input.

"You mean she's hiding something involving Nina Grant. Well, she is the maid that has been with her since childhood."

Brunilda hummed in agreement.

"You still think something is wrong?" Mattheus asked as he put the notebook away.

"Oh, definitely," was Brunilda's sure-toned reply.

"Great," Mattheus sighed.

"What are you thinking about?" the cat asked after a long period of silence from him.

Mattheus turned to the feline, meeting green eyes identical to the human set he recalled. Very seriously, he asked, "Do you think I would get less attention if I wear glasses?"

Brunilda stared at him. "… Idiot."

"What! I'm not used to strangers just… crushing or finding me attractive!" Mattheus still felt a bit bewildered if he thought more about the topic.

His older friend just sighed. "People had crushes on you even before—"

"No, they didn't," Mattheus stubbornly replied.

The cat continued, ignoring his denial. "But you just need to accept it. Consider it a hazard of growing up. You're more confident without venturing into that obnoxious category of arrogance. If it'd make you feel better, just consider it a side-effect of your Aristocrat buffs."

Mattheus opened his mouth to retort before pausing and considering it. "You might be right. Is that what the System meant by Charm?"

Brunilda huffed. "Finish up taking notes. It's almost noon. Also, the glasses would probably increase your attractiveness rather than detract from it. Make you look older." She reminded him of the time before belatedly answering his original question.

He cleaned up his note-taking just in time for lunch.

Mattheus was in the middle of trying to get rid of the beef without actually eating it (he had tried to get Brunilda to eat it, only for the cat to give him an unimpressed look before reminding him about his Inventory), when Nicholas Hart dropped by.

"Sir Hart."

"Professor Crown, I'm sorry for interrupting your meal."

"No, not at all. Is something wrong?"

"I just wanted to ask if you need to speak to any more people?"

"Oh. I just need to speak to the butler," he replied before asking, almost as an afterthought, "Do you know how long members of the administrative staff have worked under the General?"

Nicholas paused and turned thoughtful. "Do you mean Sir Rhodes and Benjamin? Benjamin was recently hired. As for Sir Rhodes, let me see…"

…

The butler eventually dropped by. He gave a similar impression to Roland, to be frank, and the way the older man answered the usual set of questions Mattheus had been asking everyone furthered said impression. There was just a bland, seen-it-all tone to the very polite voice.

"That's all I wanted to ask, Gerald. Thank you," Mattheus looked up from the notebook after jotting down the last reply.

He had been going over the notes when the butler had answered the summons. Considering how the butler was the most senior servant most of the time and tended to have a very calm demeanor almost as a requirement for the job, he had decided to leave it out and openly take notes for this interview.

Then the nineteen-year-old remembered something. "Oh. Mrs. Owens said you'd be the one to ask when it came to the length of time servants had been working in this manor."

"Do you want just the length of employment from the maids that have been assigned to the Lady in any way or everyone, Lord Crown?" Gerald didn't even blink and asked efficiently.

Mattheus was kind of impressed. He also felt as if Gerald might be the only one taking Mattheus seriously despite his apparent youth.

Even Nicholas Hart, who was very polite, seemed to move as if half-humoring Mattheus.

He only thought for a moment before deciding he might as well ask for the information of the entire estate. "The latter, Gerald."

Gerald offered the folder the butler had been holding the entire time while answering questions.

Taking the folder, Mattheus opened it and saw the papers.

Alright, Mattheus was definitely impressed. Even Brunilda gave a whistle at how the butler managed to anticipate Mattheus's request.

Gerald didn't respond to the praise and only blandly inquired, "Should I make arrangements for my lord to meet with the Lady Nina?"

Mattheus hummed. He's done all the preparation he had wanted, so all that was left was to meet the patient in question.

"Only at her behest," Mattheus replied. "I don't want meeting me to be a cause of anxiety if you understand."