Chapter 30. Winter walk

When I woke up the next morning, I was surprised to find that Rachel was no longer there.

Still sleepy, I looked around the room, but there was no girl in it either. Did she really leave so early on business?

After lying in bed for some time, I was able to cheer up enough to ring the bell and call the maid. She appeared before me in a couple of minutes.

It was the maid who showed me the mansion last night. Duke Cassius appointed her my personal maid for the duration of my stay in this house, and I didn't mind. Melinda turned out to be a pretty nice girl, with whom we quickly got along.

She helpfully asked what was required of her.

— What time is it? I yawned, stretching in bed.

— It's almost eleven, lady.

Eleven? So it's very early. Considering that we were not at the academy, where you have to get up early to study, I assumed it was quite acceptable to sleep right up to lunch. After all, isn't that allowed during the holidays?

— I scratched the back of my head, thinking about the prospect of sleeping for a couple more hours, — And when do we have breakfast there?

«Lady, you're already late for breakfast.»

— what?

«The Duke and the young lady get up at seven in the morning, so the general breakfast is held at this time,» she said, «But don't worry, our chef has already prepared a separate portion for you. You can have breakfast at any time.»

I was very surprised by this information. Okay, the duke, who has a lot of work, and such an early rise could be understood. But what about his daughter? Getting up at seven in the morning on vacation… yes, Rachel is a real monster! Even at the academy, classes didn't start until nine in the morning.

When I found out that I was the last one in this house who had been sleeping until now, I experienced some awkwardness. I didn't want to look lazy and irresponsible in everyone's eyes.

Therefore, one way or another, I had to get up.

Having informed Melinda of her intention, she immediately prepared everything necessary for the morning procedures. Five minutes later I was sitting at the dressing table and yawning while the maid combed my hair.

— Lady, you have such beautiful hair! — she cooed while making a decent hairstyle out of them.

I let out a chuckle.

— Thank you…

In the reflection of the mirror surface, you could see all the untidiness of my appearance after sleep. Oddly enough, despite the fact that I was terribly worried before the first night with Rachel, I eventually fell asleep soundly like a baby. Even in the usual dorm room, I was not so comfortable.

It looks like some kind of black magic really works in this house.

As if guessing what my thoughts were occupied with, the maid asked:

«You must have slept well, lady.»

— Yes, not bad… — I answered indistinctly.

«I'm glad the young lady is treating you well.»

«Doing well?» Hmm… is that so?

However, I didn't ask her about it again.

While I was still half asleep, Melinda had already managed to turn the rags on my head into an elegant bun, and was also going to help with the dress. Although at first I refused, because being at the academy, I was already used to dressing myself.

Having put all the necessary «marathon» for the lady, the maid escorted me to the common dining room, where all the family members dined. Now, there was no one else here but me, but the cooks still went out of their way and offered me a wide selection of menus from different dishes.

Deciding not to lean on heavy things in the morning, I got off with just ordinary oatmeal. I also had breakfast in complete silence, which turned out to be completely unusual for me. Even the presence of a sullen Rachel was better than being completely alone and unable to talk to someone. It is possible that I will even reconsider my plans and start getting up earlier.

While I was eating oatmeal with a bored look, thinking about the upcoming plans for the day, Melinda decided to ask:

«Lady, would you like to take a tour of the duchy's territory?»

— Hmm? I looked at her thoughtfully.

— Since you're staying with us, I thought… You will be interested to know about this place.

Melinda said all this with a shy look, clearly afraid that I would refuse. I was probably the first guest in this mansion for a long time, and therefore she tried her best to please me. She even volunteered to show the area, although this was not part of her direct duties.

Meanwhile, looking at the confused expression on the girl's face, I thought that the idea was not so bad.

After all, I'm not going to sit on the estate for a whole month, am I? This excursion could be useful even from the point of view of being able to go for walks on my own afterwards.

— Of course, — I smiled, — A great idea.

Melinda immediately beamed, and began to prepare everything for our exit. While I was finishing my porridge, the girl prepared all the necessary set of clothes, and then began to dress me like a little child.

In addition to the cape that Rachel gave me, the maid additionally put on a fur hat, a thick scarf and a vest. After all these disguises, I became like a cabbage.

However, considering that the temperature outside the window was at least thirty, I did not argue and resigned myself to this circumstance. Melinda herself dressed easier, because she had lived here for a long time, and was used to sub-zero temperatures.

Coming out of the estate, fresh frosty air hit me in the face.

Still, even though almost everything here was covered with snow, nature still remained incredibly beautiful. A real winter fairy tale, only without a Christmas tree.

Melinda took me around the estate, which was located next to the main estate and had many residential buildings. It was there that most of the servants and other handymen lived.

During the tour, I got acquainted with the local stable, winery, garden, grain plantation, and even the wing where the mercenaries of the Cassius family trained. However, we were not allowed to go to the last place for obvious reasons.

I realized pretty quickly that this place was so huge that it was impossible to get around it in one day. Even after spending a few hours, we explored only a small part of everything that was here.

What can I say, unaccustomed to such a long walk, I quickly got tired.

Noticing that I began to walk slower, the maid asked anxiously:

— Lady, do you want to go back?

The offer, to be honest, sounded tempting. Although the walk was quite entertaining, I felt that my limbs were getting numb by the second. The idea of being by a warm fireplace with a mug of hot tea warmed my thoughts more and more.

But I didn't want to upset Melinda either. After all, she tried so hard, showing and telling me about this place, and I didn't want to come back in such a hurry. Therefore, after hesitating for a while, I decided to stay a little longer.

— It's okay,» I shook my head, «maybe we can go somewhere else?»

The maid was delighted.

«Of course, lady! We still have a menagerie.»

«A menagerie?» I asked.

— Yes, — the girl nodded, — There live species of animals from all over the empire. The duke personally collected them and brought them to the duchy as a gift for the young lady.

Hmm, so these animals belonged to Rachel? But during our acquaintance, I have never seen her have any interest in this topic. It seems that Duke Cassius tried in vain, hoping that such a gift would please her.

However, do not waste the same good in vain.

I even wondered how rare breeds could be found there. So, I decided to give the go-ahead to Melinda.

After I agreed to look, the maid immediately said:

— Lady, please wait here! I'll ask the overseer if we can come in now.

— Yes, well.

The girl quickly ran away, while I was left standing alone in the middle of a blizzard. In order to somehow warm up, she began to turn around, doing a kind of charging.

Along the way, thinking about taking a walk around the duchy with Rachel next time, if she, of course, agrees to it.

Judging by the behavior of Melinda and the rest of the servants in the house, they were very happy that a new person had appeared on the estate. It was for this reason that the maid tried so hard to please me, in the hope that I would come back. Obviously, the usual gloomy atmosphere in the house was straining them.

I was going to use this walk to convince Rachel to reconsider her attitude towards servants. After all, it is unlikely that on a normal day, she often comes here. Therefore, the girl needs to see with her own eyes how people are trying for her. Isn't that supposed to help her get better?

At least, that's what I hoped.

Exhaling, a whole ball of steam came out of my mouth. It seemed that he could very well freeze and turn into a piece of ice.

While I was warming up and waiting for Melinda, I accidentally noticed a pair of blue eyes in a snowdrift. A little later, the creature jumped out of it, and I saw a snow-white rabbit.

It was a very beautiful animal, because it was the first time I had seen a rabbit with such an elegant eye color. And he himself looked more like a toy.

Is it worth saying that I melted in an instant…?

It has long been clear that I had a special weakness for this kind of animal.

Having stopped studying, I stared at this creature with loving eyes. The rabbit twitched its ears and began to jump around me, but it wouldn't give in to my hands when I wanted to pet it.

— Baby, come here!

I thought he had probably escaped from the menagerie. Because such beautiful animals simply could not be found in the ordinary wild.

I felt it was my duty to return it, because people were probably looking for it right now. And for sure the beast itself will not last long in this weather.

— Fyr-fyr! Come here!

I tried to call him as best I could, but the rabbit wouldn't listen. Instead, he kept running further and further away.

In the end, I forgot about my promise to Melinda to wait for her, and rushed after the rabbit.