Recruitment Request

In between meals, I sampled a small barrel of ale that had been bought for me, but the unique acidity and faint musty odor made me put down the mug after just one sip. It wasn't moldy; probably just a fermented yeast smell, but I couldn't help but feel a sense of rejection first.

Rudd, Cliff, Ed, and even Cedric were drinking it with unconcerned faces, so it wasn't that the quality of this ale was bad; it was probably normal in this world.

Melfina, who has memories of her previous life, wonders if it's okay for servants and guard knights to drink alcohol during the day, but in this world where water isn't safe, it's normal to drink ale to stay hydrated. Because it is fermented in wooden barrels, the alcohol content is low, and since people have been drinking it since they were children, they don't seem to get drunk.

"Ma'am, would you like me to prepare some hot water?"

Marie called out to me discreetly. Apparently, she knew that I thought it tasted bad.

"It's fine after dinner. I'm not used to ale, so I was just a little surprised."

Ale is a drink widely consumed by commoners, while aristocrats mostly drink tea or wine. The wine is often extremely sour, and now that I have remembered the memories of my previous life, I feel that it is of poor quality.

--If you think about it, your previous life had a very luxurious environment.

I've never seen a tap that provides an endless amount of drinkable water, and I've never seen food where you couldn't tell if it was spoiled until you opened it. The bed was soft, and there were plenty of things to keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Although I miss it, there is no way I can go back just because I wish for it. We will have no choice but to adapt to this environment and make our way through it.

"Umm, ma'am. I heard you were looking for a new servant here."

After I finished eating and took a breather, Rudd asked me timidly.

"Yes, we need a maid who will clean and cook, and a male servant who will take care of the garden and carriage."

If you live alone, you can get by with a small house, but if you live in a feudal lord's mansion, even if it is relatively small, you will need a servant to manage the house. I can't have my maid, Marie, work as a maid, and I can't have my escort knight, Cedric, work as a male servant either.

This is not a matter of what can or cannot be done; it is the master's role to uphold the terms and conditions of employment, and the more specialized the job, the more pride the employee will have in that role.

If the Lord commands them strongly, they will not disobey. But that would be disrespecting their pride.

"If you don't mind, could you hire us here?"

"We can not only be the driver, but also take care of the horses, maintain the garden, and even act as gatekeepers!"

"I can do most of the heavy lifting besides carrying cargo, so you can also leave me to work as a messenger and do simple repairs on roofs and walls."

It was said so ambitiously that I flinched. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cedric raise his eyebrows and open his mouth, and he clapped his hand away in panic.

"Uh, I'm happy! But is that okay? Don't all three of you have homes and families in the capital?"

"All three of us come from the same hometown, and we don't have any family in the capital, so we can easily move here."

When I asked him about it, he said he had been thinking about changing jobs for a while because he had to do a lot of other demanding chores because the only time he had to do a lot of work was in the early spring, and especially in the winter when the snow gets deep.

"But there aren't many jobs available for the second and third sons of farmers like us who came from the countryside to the capital."

It seems that there are many migrants like them from rural areas, and although they come to the city, they are required to do harsh labor for low wages, and sometimes suffer abuse from their employers. Ed was only twelve years old, and though he was slurring his words, it seemed like he had been forced to do something wrong.

"My wife is a good person, and if you hire me, I will work hard!"

"Please!"

I didn't talk to them much during the five-day journey, so I only had contact with them for half a day today, but I could tell that they were hard workers. They offered to help me, and when I asked them to do something, they did it without making a bad face.

Above all, the person who eats the food and says it's delicious is a surprisingly important factor. You can tell that all three of them are simple and good-hearted, and since servants are absolutely necessary, this offer may be just a way to go.

"Well, since I came here as the feudal lord, I will be doing a lot of things from now on, and I will be working a lot. Of course, I won't let you do any unreasonable work, and I will make sure you get enough time off, but there will be busy periods. Maybe."

"I don't care, as long as I don't get beaten so hard that my teeth break, or have me stand outside with water poured on me in the middle of winter."

"I won't do that!"

Cliff's words remind me that they have been through more trouble than I expected. Cedric looked like he wanted to say something, but I guess he thought it was up to me, as his employer, to make the decision, so he decided to stay silent and watch what happens.

"Ma'am, I agree with hiring them."

"Marie?"

"They were sent by the union as manpower, so the duke's life is not dependent on them."

"Marie!"

Cedric raised his voice sharply, and Marie just glanced at him with a cold gaze, and then immediately turned to look at him.

"I'm not under any obligation to say this, but I think the wife who left the duke's residence needs an ally of her own."

I was surprised that Marie would say such a thing. Also, she thinks there's room for thought.

It doesn't really matter to me whether Alexis is breathing or not, but it can sometimes feel suffocating. If you're going to live together, it's better to have people who don't have double hearts.

"Yes... then, please do so from me as well. I'll put the working conditions in writing, so let's confirm it and sign an employment contract."

"Thank you, ma'am!"

"Thank you!"

"Also, please call me Melfina, not Madam. Marie, and if possible, Cedric as well."

"I'm very smart, Melfina-sama."

"Thank you very much, Melfina-sama!"

"I... it's difficult."

"You don't have to force yourself."

Since Cedric is not Melfina's servant but a member of the Knights of Ordland, it can't be helped that his resistance is even stronger than Marie's. Even if Melfina and Cedric are good, if someone hears about it, Cedric's position may be in jeopardy.

"I'm glad that good people came."

The three of them shrugged their shoulders as if they were humbled by the words that came out of their hearts. The gesture was so similar that I couldn't help but burst out into a cheerful laugh.

Ladd and his friends left Enker Village before evening, telling them that they would vacate the room they were currently living in in the capital and return. Before nightfall, they move to the next village and find accommodation there.

When he comes back, he asks for some shopping and gives him a large amount of silver coins. When I told him that he didn't need the change and that I wanted him to use it to help fund his move, he bowed deeply.

Basically, in this world, people eat dinner when it gets dark, spend some time together with their families, and then go to sleep right away. Nobles and wealthy merchants can stay bright at night with magic stone lamps, but even though they are cheaper, candles are not free, and the majority of commoners do not have that luxury.

On the small desk and chair brought to my bedroom, I open a decorative book that serves as a memo.

Paper books are very expensive and are assets in and of themselves, but you can get relatively cheap book-like copies with nice bindings and blank pages for aristocrats to display on their bookshelves. Although relatively expensive, it is still quite expensive.

The book-like memo pad I had on hand had a thick cover with metal fittings, and I chose one that could be locked.

It feels a little too dark to write on, so I increase the light intensity of the magic stone lamp. Unlike ordinary lamps and candles, the uniform light is similar to the battery-powered lanterns of the past.

"I'm glad we were able to move to the village safely. The heroine will appear in two years, and famine will arrive within this year, so we need to set up a food production system first."

I have been writing in this book from the very beginning of what I remembered from my previous life. Since I have memories of Melfina, my memories of the game are from 16 years ago, but perhaps because I only remembered them recently, I remember the contents relatively clearly.

It was a week before the wedding that she regained her memories of her previous life. At that time, a week had already passed since they left the royal capital for the Duchy of Ordland for the wedding.

At first, I was worried that I was going crazy, but in the end, as I remember, my husband-to-be, Alexis, and I didn't get along from the beginning.

In the original game, Melfina immediately moves to a townhouse in the royal capital and lives in luxury to fill her loneliness, and two years later, when the heroine appears in this world and falls in love with Alexis. He was supposed to stand in the way as a villain.

I'm so sorry. That is Melfina's undisguised feeling.

I have no intention of seeking the love of Alexis, who rejected me without even trying to get to know my partner, and I have no intention of living my life being judged by someone for being mean to someone.

--I no longer know the family that didn't love me, and the husband who didn't want to love me.

If you do what you want, I'll do what I want to be happy.