10 - Simon's Background

The kitchen had heated up the water, and they led Maria to a dedicated bathing chamber. This floor was lower, making it convenient for the servants to bring up hot water. In the bathing chamber, there was a wooden tub filled with hot water and scattered petals, perfect for a soak.

To Maria's surprise, there was soap in the bathroom, even though she had been worried about how she would clean herself without shower gel or shampoo. Yes, at this time in the West, soap already existed, although the craftsmanship was different from later periods, the cleaning effect was still quite good.

Though, using soap for bathing was also a challenge for Maria. She declined the maids' service and only allowed them to wait outside while she bathed. After washing up, she emerged with wet hair.

The maids immediately surrounded her, and this time, Maria couldn't refuse. They quickly stripped her and one of them massaged her body with olive oil, while the other used a fragrant oil similar to hair oil to nourish her hair.

Resistance was futile, so she just lay back and enjoyed it. It was like having a spa treatment at a beauty salon.

Honestly, they were quite skilled at massage. Out of curiosity, Maria casually asked, and she learned that the two maids were once personal attendants to Simon's grandmother. The lady had enjoyed bathing and massages before she passed away, so they had special training in this area.

Suddenly, Maria realized she could inquire about the affairs of Andalus County from these two maids, even though Simon had told her some things, she still wasn't clear enough. With this in mind, she consciously steered the conversation in that direction.

Being a guest brought back personally by the Earl, and with the obvious attention from the Earl, the maids sent to take care of Maria were naturally very enthusiastic about her, and they practically told her everything they knew.

However, both maids had worked in the castle for many years, so they weren't very familiar with external affairs. But they knew best was still the Montfort and Gonzalez family.

So most of what they could tell Maria was about the affairs inside the castle.

When Simon introduced her earlier, he naturally wouldn't mention his own sad story, so Maria only found out at this moment that he had left his homeland at the age of 18 and came to Iberia to inherit the title of the Gonzalez family from his grandmother, becoming the new Earl Gonzalez.

The Gonzalez family is quite small, with only three members. Apart from Simon and Eleanor, whom she has met, there's also a little miss who's not even two yet, the child left behind by Simon's cousin.

"Lola Miss was born prematurely, and her health is not good. She hardly leaves her room; it's Iris Lady who takes care of her."

Maria was curious about who Iris Lady was. They told her that Iris Lady was the wife of the steward, Pedro, and her usual job was to oversee all the maids and attend to the lady of the house, like a housekeeper.

But both mistresses of the Gonzalez family had passed away early, so Iris Lady spent most of her time taking care of the two misses.

At this point, Julia couldn't help but sigh. She mentioned that the previous Countess had died in childbirth when Eleanor was born, so the previous Count, who was very fond of his wife, didn't quite like Miss Eleanor.

"Lady Tadiana also passed away shortly after giving birth to Miss Lola..."

Lucia saw Julia getting carried away and couldn't help but give her a warning tap and a stern look.

Only then did Julia realize what she had said and shrunk back, shutting her mouth and refusing to say more.

Maria, lying there enjoying the massage, didn't notice their little exchange but couldn't help but sigh inwardly at how difficult childbirth must have been for women at that time.

The massage time passed quickly. Maria enjoyed their service and put her clothes back on before returning to her room.

The servants in the castle were indeed diligent. By the time she descended the stairs, her room had been cleaned, and some items had been replenished. The candles were lit, and there were a water pitcher and cups on the table. There was also a thin robe on the bed, probably for her to use. Maria had learned from the maids that Eleanor was younger than she had guessed, only 14 years old. Despite the slight height difference between them, their faces made them look about the same age.

Declining the maid's offer to help her change, Maria prepared to rest. At this moment, Kin informed her that the steward Pedro had already notified the tailor, who would come to the castle tomorrow afternoon to tailor clothes for Maria. Maria expressed her gratitude for this.

Before closing the door, she suddenly remembered and turned to Julia and Lucia. "Do you both need to stand guard at the door tonight?"

Lucia replied, "Yes, Penny and I will take turns standing guard."

Maria shook her head. "No need. I sleep soundly at night, so you don't need to be outside. Just come wake me up tomorrow morning. You can rest now."

The two maids looked at each other, they had never encountered a noble who didn't require someone to stand guard at night before: "Miss Maria, keeping watch is our duty."

"But there really isn't anything for you to attend to at night, and I'm not used to having people outside my door. If you could get some extra rest, you'd be more refreshed to accompany me during the day, wouldn't you?"

In the end, Maria managed to persuade them both to leave.