The Substitute Bride Is Adored by the Clumsy Margrave

Chapter 32, part 1

After returning to her room, Mary wondered what Sid’s true intentions were as she held the wrapped sweets in her hands. He probably doesn’t know that she used to be a noble, so was he just trying to get his hands on a rather unusual maid? She is aware that she is a bit peculiar and even called “fierce” among the servants of the Viscount Farenheit family, but she also knows that she doesn’t look that bad. 

There was a time when she even had a lover after becoming a maid, though she is sure that Clarisse doesn’t know this. However, he was taken aback by Mary’s too Clarisse-centered life, and the relationship soon came to an end. 

Nevertheless, if the third son of a viscount took an interest in the maid and messed around with her …

‘At best…a mistress? At worst…just a flirt? But would he do that kind of thing?’

In the first place, he is a popular guy, so even if he was not interested in her, there would be plenty of women who would want to be his girlfriend….

As she got to know Sid, she found it hard to believe that he could be such a carefree person, and Mary was unusually troubled by this thought. As she opened the packet of sweets, she found a beautiful blush-pink bite-sized baked confectionary with something similar to a cream filling inside.

‘Cute…’

Despite her appearance, Mary was surprisingly fond of pretty things, and she enjoyed them very much. When she gently brought them close to her face, she could smell their appetizing aroma, and she smiled as she devoured one of the sweets.

…

The lake in early winter was even more magical than she had expected.

According to Jean, it was a few hours’ trip by carriage from the residence to the lake, and based on its location close to the borders, she thought it might be cold, but surprisingly the temperature was not that low. However, since it was near the water, the wind was slightly chilly, and strong winds would deprive the body of warmth. 

The lake was very large, and she wondered if this was similar to what the ocean was like, although she had never seen one before. When she mentioned this briefly to Jean, he told her it was true that the lake had waves and fish living in it, but that it was completely fresh water and that this was not the same for the ocean.

“The water is slightly cold, but it’s quite pleasant to swim in, and because it’s fresh water, you can wash your body and even drink if you want to.”

After listening to Jean’s typical comments, they took a leisurely stroll around the lake. In the center of the lake, there was a small detached island with trees, making her wonder if there were animals living there, too.

“Not to ask the obvious, but of course you can swim, right, Jean-sama?”

Clarisse asked, holding his arm as they walked along the shore.

“Yeah, I think I mentioned that to you before, but my father is from here, so I used to play in this lake when I was younger, and in the summer, we used to come here to swim all the time.”

She observed his strong, athletic physique and realized that it was probably because he had been playing near nature since he was a child that he had grown into such a fit and well-built man. Although this can be partly due to his training as a knight, it is most likely that he had already developed an excellent physique from an early age.

“When you say we, you mean you, your father and Lotte-sama as well, right?”

She heard that Lotte was Jean’s father’s younger sister.

“Yes, that’s right. She grew up here with us for a long time, and met the Marquis of Ainsworth in the royal city, where she had her debutante ball.”

‘So many wonderful stories…’

If Jean’s words are true, their origins do not appear to be that influential nobility, so the fact that she fell in love with a marquis and married him must have happened only after overcoming various, probably unthinkable difficulties, and they are still happily married. Clarisse decided that the next time she saw Lotte, she needed to know everything.

“All right, let’s head for the mansion before the sun goes down.”