บท 48: The Madam (1)

After the occasion had come to an end, Nicolaus and Sir Daelan made the decision to stay a while longer at the port.

As they headed back to the estate, Mikael was pleasantly surprised to find from Aurel that Madam Isabel was the mastermind behind the welcoming party.

It was such a warm welcome that it touched Mikael's heart deeply, making him feel like an honored guest.

The friendly faces of the people in the crowd brought back fond memories of the servants at his family's mansion. He could not help but miss the familiar faces and the camaraderie they shared.

But, even with all this kindness around, this nagging anxiety wouldn't leave Mikael alone. He was acutely aware that he was deceiving these people.

"My lady," Beth's voice broke through his reverie, bringing him back to the present. "We've arrived."

Mikael blinked, shaking off the remnants of his thoughts. He found himself standing at the front of Madam Isabel's room, which was tucked away in the west wing of the estate. Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, painting the corridor a golden glow.

"Ah, sorry about that," Mikael apologized, his voice sounding different than usual, a bit higher.

That was because he had taken that voice changing potion specifically for this event. It was a necessary measure, since he was intending to express his heartfelt thanks to Madam Isabel after the wonderful welcome she had given.

"Should I go ahead and tell Madam you're here, my lady?" Beth inquired.

Mikael replied casually, "Yeah, go ahead."

Before anything else, they made sure to inform the head maid in advance that they intended to visit Madam. After all, they didn't want to startle her with a surprise visit. So, Beth went off to let the head maid know.

Just as Beth was about to announce Mikael's arrival, the doorknob slowly turned, and the door creaked open.

"Huh? Sis-in-law?" Aurel, looking rather surprised, blurted out. She looked pretty puzzled as she stepped through the door, like she wasn't expecting to see Mikael and Beth at all.

Mikael shared her astonishment, his eyes widening in response to her unexpected presence.

"What are you doing here?" Aurel inquired, her curiosity piqued.

Cautious and a bit awkward in his manner of speaking, Mikael responded, "Uh, I… I wanted to meet and, um, thank Madam Isabel personally."

His words hesitated, as he was still testing the waters of his new voice. This was the first real chat with someone other than testing it out with Beth, so he stuttered here and there.

And just like he thought, Aurel's eyes widened as saucers when she heard his voice for the first time. It was understandable because, until now, Mikael had relied on Beth to convey his thoughts and opinions, using her as a conduit.

"You can actually talk." It slipped out before she could think twice. It hit her like a ton of bricks when she noticed right after what had just come out of her mouth. "I mean, I didn't say it to, like, offend you or anything."

Mikael hurriedly added, "No worries. I was just a bit hushed lately because, well, I've been adapting to–"

"Honestly, at first, I thought you didn't want to talk to me or something."

Aurel furrowed her brows slightly, creating a small crease in her forehead. Her lips formed a subtle pout, and her arms were crossed loosely, with one hand gently tugging at her own elbow.

Mikael quickly shook his head like he was trying to set things straight. "No, not at all. I've just always been kinda shy."

For a moment, the room hung in silence. Then, out of the blue, Aurel just burst into laughter. She waved her hand dismissively, as if to say, "Ahh, my bad for messing around with you like that. It was just a silly joke, really."

With a smile, Aurel pushed open the door, revealing a larger space. "You wanted to have a chat with Mom, right? So, what are you waiting for? Get in here."

"I was just about to let her know I'm here."

"...Oh." Aurel shrugged and said, "Nah, you can totally just swing that door open. Only nobles are all about that fancy entrance stuff."

Then she added, "I mean, sure, I would holler before barging into your room 'cause I ain't going to be rude to you again like that. But usually, we kick doors open, no knocking or any of those complicated things."

Meanwhile, Aurel, who had been watching Mikael's puzzled expression, couldn't hold back anymore. She shouted at the top of her lungs, "Sis-in-law is here, Mom!"

From inside another room, a voice shot back, loud and clear, "Aurel, you're making enough noise to wake the dead!"

As Aurel's yell faded away, the footsteps from the room started to get closer, like someone was marching to put an end to this ruckus. Shortly, the door to the room creaked open, revealing none other than Celia, the head maid herself.

Celia's eyes fell upon Mikael with a visible sigh of relief, and she greeted her with a friendly smile. She said soothingly, "Ah, there you are, my lady. We've been waiting for you. Madam Isabel is all set and ready to see you."

Afterward, she motioned for Mikael to come inside. As Mikael stepped through the door, he caught Aurel giving him a wink.

Celia, the kind of person who never let anything slide without a comment, turned her attention to Aurel and started, "And you, Miss Aurel."

With a quick move, she reached out and pinched Aurel's ear while dragging her back inside.

"Ouch! Ow, ow! Hold on a sec!" Aurel could not help but let out a little yelp as she winced from the pinch on her ear. She squirmed, doing her best to pry Celia's fingers away, and grimly added, "That hurts, you know!"

But Celia wasn't cutting her any slack. She shot Aurel a serious look, saying, "No need to be so loud and boisterous. That's not how young ladies behave." She kept up with her lecture, tone firm, "You've got to learn some manners, Miss Aurel."

Aurel, feeling her ear burning up like a tomato and probably turning as red as one too, tried to reason, "Can we, like, maybe talk about this later? I would rather not make a total fool of myself… right now."

Celia raised an eyebrow, looking kind of surprised, "Feeling embarrassed, are we? Well, that's a first." Then she turned to Mikael and added, "I'm really sorry about all this fuss, my lady."

Mikael hesitated for a moment, thinking it over before finally responding, "Um, I'm fine with it."

As he said that, his mind wandered off for a second. Looking at Celia somehow made him think of his nanny, Miss Lea, for some reason.