I Don't Know the Original, I'm Too Busy Trying to Make a Living-Chapter 169

“...Milady?”

“......”

Penelope flinched. She stiffly turned her head to see five maids assigned to her bedroom standing there, staring blankly at her. More precisely, they were staring at Penelope, who was being carried into the room in Ahwin’s arms as if she were a princess.

In an instant, Penelope’s face turned as red as a tomato.

“Well, it’s just... my legs hurt, so... Ahwin...,” she stammered, her voice faltering.

Realizing her words were going nowhere, Penelope clamped her mouth shut. Meanwhile, Ahwin was visibly shaking, trying to suppress his laughter. She could feel his body trembling against hers.

“Is this really something to laugh about?”

“You’re just too cute, PePe. I think I finally understand what you meant by ‘cute.’ It’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“......”

Penelope decided it was better not to respond.

Giselle, who had been silently observing their exchange, couldn’t help but mutter under her breath.

“...Unbelievable.”

“Right?” Laura agreed.

The other maids quietly nodded their heads.

***

The next day.

Penelope woke up with dark circles under her eyes, her face looking utterly drained. Despite having slept, it felt like she hadn’t rested at all. In fact, she felt more exhausted than after spending three days and nights reviewing stacks of documents.

She had kicked her blanket off countless times in the middle of the night. The embarrassment from last night had pushed her to her limit.

Just thinking about getting caught by the maids made Penelope feel like her face was on fire.

Of course, there wasn’t a single person in the castle who didn’t know about her relationship with Ahwin. (At this point, if anyone didn’t know, their intelligence would need to be questioned.) But knowing something and seeing it with their own eyes were two entirely different matters.

In truth, Penelope had no intention of openly flaunting her relationship with Ahwin.

‘I’m not a celebrity. Why would I flaunt that?’

In her mind, a relationship was something sweet and private, meant to be cherished between the two people involved. There was no reason to announce it to others.

Besides, she had no desire to make others cringe. After all, nothing was more irritating than someone else’s over-the-top romance.

‘As a role model, it’s already bad enough that I showed such an embarrassing side to the maids.’

Burying her burning face into her pillow, Penelope let out a muffled groan. The more she thought about it, the more humiliating it became.

At that moment, Giselle’s voice sounded from above her.

“Milady, are you still in bed?”

“No, Giselle! G-Good morning!”

Without realizing it, Penelope stammered. It was the first time she had ever stumbled over her words with Giselle.

Unfazed, Giselle began tidying the table and replied casually, “As you said, the weather is lovely this morning. It’s going to be quite warm during the day. Even in the northern regions, summer is finally here. Still, it’s much cooler than the capital, so we’re fortunate.”

“That’s true.”

Avoiding Giselle’s gaze, Penelope got out of bed. Giselle, ever composed, helped her put on her robe as usual.

Penelope kept sneaking glances at Giselle, who finally asked with a curious look, “Do you have something to say to me, Milady?”

“Well... I mean... Giselle, could you forget about what happened yesterday?” Penelope squeezed her eyes shut as she made the request.

“...Ah.”

For a moment, Giselle was at a loss for words.

Ever since the rumors of the Lord of Halo’s love life had made the papers, Penelope’s privacy had been virtually nonexistent. Yet here she was, showing such an innocent side of herself.

‘She’s just too adorable, even for our Lady.’

Giselle barely managed to suppress her laughter, maintaining a composed expression.

The incident from last night had already been rehashed multiple times among the maids—twice, thrice, even four times—until it had been thoroughly exhausted by bedtime. By now, there wasn’t a single person in the castle unaware of what had happened.

‘She must be really bothered by it. Well, she has always been surprisingly conservative when it comes to romance.’

Though the castle’s atmosphere was entirely supportive of the Lady no matter what she did, Giselle answered shamelessly, “I’ve already forgotten about it, so there’s no need to worry.”

“...Really? Do you think the others feel the same way?”

“Of course.”

Penelope nodded meekly and retreated into the bathroom. Giselle quietly stifled her laughter as she attended to her duties.

Breakfast Time.

As usual, the maids prepared Penelope’s breakfast in the drawing room.

Ahwin was already there when she arrived. Meeting his gaze, Penelope felt her ears burn.

Ahwin’s face was brighter than the rising sun.

“PePe, good morning!”

“Good morning.”

Penelope mustered her courage and replied, overcoming her embarrassment. Shortly after, Sain entered the room with Rub and Katherin.

“Good morning, Milady.”

“Good morning, Sain. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, I slept very well.”

Sain beamed and took a seat, followed by Rub and Katherin. It seemed that after yesterday’s events, they had silently agreed to join her for breakfast regularly.

Sitting across from Penelope, Ahwin asked, “PePe, why do you look so tired?”

“I didn’t sleep well.”

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“Then drink a potion.”

Penelope groaned involuntarily. She could see the maids barely holding back their laughter.

Feigning annoyance, she deliberately made her tone sharp.

“No, thank you. Why do you insist on wasting such expensive potions on trivial things?”

Ahwin, undeterred, tilted his chin up confidently.

“It’s not a waste.”

“Indeed, it’s not a waste in the slightest. By my estimation, Milady’s contributions to maintaining world peace must be at least fifty percent,” Rub interjected.

“I’d say it’s closer to eighty percent,” Katherin added.

World peace? Out of nowhere? Penelope was stunned, her gaze darting toward the mages, unable to ignore their ridiculous remarks.

“What are you even talking about?”

“We heard that the two of you entered the bedroom together yesterday,” Rub explained nonchalantly.

“And in quite an intimate position, at that,” Katherin added with a grin.

“......!”

Penelope’s spoon clattered to the plate as she froze in shock. Her face flushed as if it might burst. The fact that the Tower mages—who supposedly cared for nothing but magic—knew about last night’s events was horrifying.

‘If even these mages know, doesn’t that mean no one in the castle is unaware?’

She was right.

At present, Penelope was the most popular figure in the Halo estate. No matter what she did, the staff paid close attention. Whether she smiled, frowned, or left food on her plate during meals, every action sparked lively discussions.

Lately, the servants’ favorite topic was her romance. Even the maids who had once been staunch supporters of the “Lianel faction” had shifted to rooting for Ahwin. Whenever Penelope and Ahwin exchanged glances, internal cheers erupted.

Thus, Rub and Katherin—who were frequently dragged into the maids’ chatter—had learned every detail of last night’s incident.

Overwhelmed by the absurdity, Penelope stomped her feet in frustration.

Ahwin, ever composed, asked casually, “Shall we have breakfast and then take the potion?”

“I said no!”

Penelope managed to calm herself.

What was done was done; there was no undoing it. Dwelling on it would only add to her mental strain.

‘There’s no point in obsessing over something that’s already in the past.’

With that resolution, she sipped ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) a strong cup of coffee and banished the events of the previous night from her mind.

After finishing her tea, she attended the morning meeting.

The retainers, carrying hefty stacks of documents that were daunting just to look at, filed into the conference room.

The sight of those papers instantly erased any thoughts of last night. Only a few days ago, she had waded through a mountain of approvals, yet the workload seemed to have doubled.

Today’s meeting was chaired by the treasurer, who led the proceedings with an air of ease.

“It’s been a while since you’ve joined the regular meeting, Milady. Let’s begin.”

The meeting moved quickly. With numerous items on the agenda, there was no time to dwell on any single issue.

Topics included preparations for establishing a local branch of the Tower, updates on the railway station platform construction, and proposals for additional public restrooms. The retainers shared their findings and consulted opinions, while Penelope made the final decisions based on their reports.

As the meeting drew to a close, the treasurer spoke up.