“Greetings, lady Vandreik-Hoffen.” An elegant man, well into his forties, with long black hair pulled in a ponytail and rectangular glasses, came to open the gate for us.

“Thank you. You must be sir Royen. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.”

“It is pronounced ‘Rooyen’, or Rouan, if you are keen on using Kelvic nomenclature. Sygen Rooyen. And the pleasure is all mine. If you will allow me to guide you to your chambers, I believe a general tour, as well as a meal, are both in order, as soon as you change into indoor clothing.”

The man bowed before guiding me into the mansion. Although my new home was gorgeous, in addition to being huge, something was bothering me about the head butler. It was the way he talked to me as if he were the boss and not the other way around. And although I, as a reincarnated person, or whatever my situation actually was, was by no means deserving of his respect, Leticia Vandreik-Hoffen, the duchess of this land, was not someone to be looked down on, least of all by him. Although perhaps, I was looking too much into this.

As the head butler invited me inside the building itself, I was greeted by fifty or so people. They all wore uniforms of some sort, with most of them being maids and kitchen staff.

“Is it customary for me to make a speech?” I asked, slightly unprepared for the task.

“If you so wish.” Rooyen replied.

“Well then,” I made my way through the crowd, towards the large staircase which led upwards. I stood on the first step, so as to be able to see everyone, although that wasn’t really needed considering my height.

“Greeting everyone. As you all probably already know, I will be the one running things around here from now on. I believe that the foundation of any good professional relationship lies within teamwork. So if you have any issues, be it personal, related to some of your co-workers, or factors outside of your control, feel free to come and find me or my assigned representative. I’m afraid I am still somewhat unfamiliar with the local customs, due to my time … abroad … so I apologise in advance for any misdemeanour on my part. In light of our future relationship, I do expect you to be on your best behaviour and give your all. And I myself of course will do the same. From now on, I am in your care. So I hope I will get to know all of you on a personal level.”

I nodded to signify that I was done talking, and the crowd quickly dispersed. I didn’t manage to memorise any of their faces, but I was sure I would have plenty of time in the future to get to know their roles, names, and work efficiency.

Two women did stay behind. One of them was older, perhaps in her late fifties. She had a similar build to me but was significantly shorter. Judging by the fact that she was the only woman in a maid’s uniform not wearing a bonnet, I assumed she was the head maid. The other woman had dark skin and curly black hair. She was noticeably younger and held herself rather awkwardly. Either my speech had been extremely weird, or she was intimidated by me.

“I would like to introduce you to Emilly, our head maid, and …” Rooyen trailed off.

“And Margaux. She will be your personal maid for the time being.” The older woman intervened. “And please, call me Emmy.”

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Both of you.” I smiled and, out of habit, almost extended my hand. But since neither of them made any signs that they were expecting a handshake, I assumed this wasn’t a custom in this place.

“The pleasure is all ours. May I guide you to your room? We haven’t had the time to unpack all of your belongings yet, but, as your personal maid, I have taken action and have prepared a few sets of clothes. I hope you will find them to your liking.” Margaux said very quickly. It seemed as if she was still somewhat nervous.

“Of course. I am in your care.” I answered.

Up to this point, I hadn’t considered my wardrobe a priority of any sorts, but now that I was filling the role of a noble in a medieval-like world, I guessed I couldn’t be seen walking around in the same three outfits.

Margaux led me up the stairway and down a large corridor. It had bay windows on one side, and doors on the other. At that time, neither my maid nor I had thought about a need for a proper tour of my new residence. We arrived at the end of the corridor, where it took a sharp turn to the left and ran into a heavy set of wooden doors.

“This part of the residence is for your personal use only. We haven’t set up all the proper barriers yet, we can do that once you’ve bathed and dressed. Did you have of these mana-locked doors at your old estate?” Margaux asked.

I wasn’t sure what to reply. I wasn’t sure what she was going on about either.

“Sorry if I came off as rude. I didn’t mean to imply anything by it. It’s just that Alliarè has more advanced – that the great kingdom of Ashkimmer – Aargh!” Margaux exclaimed in frustration and covered her face with her hands.

“Um, it’s alright, I get what you meant-”

I reached out a hand to pat her shoulder in an attempt to comfort the girl, but I decided against it at the last moment.

“I’m sorry miss.” The girl seemed to finally have regained her composure. “I just wanted so bad to make a good impression, that I didn’t think before I spoke. I’m sure the kingdom of Ashkimmer has many other great things, other than magical tools-”

I couldn’t refrain from laughing. She was at it again. Maybe I only found this situation funny because I hadn’t fully entered my role as Leticia, but this girl spoke with so much honesty, all the while trying her best not to rub salt in the wound by insulting that kingdom with an unpronounceable name, that I just couldn’t help myself.

Margaux’s face turned red and I took it as my queue to stop laughing.

“Sorry, I’m not laughing at you, I promise.” I tried to reassure her. “Let’s just go inside, shall we? And then you can explain to me how this barrier works, alright.”

Her face brighten up and she nodded enthusiastically before pushing open the heavy doors.

My new permanent accommodation was a giant studio flat of sorts. The floor space itself was large, maybe a hundred or so square meters. I wasn’t that good with measuring distances within enclosed spaces, but I was certain that a helicopter could have easily landed in here, had there not been a roof or furniture, or had helicopters actually existed in this world.

The ceiling over one-half of the room was made of glass and was accessible via a metal staircase. I was told it was sturdy enough to be used as a veranda in summer, and mechanical shaded had been installed by the previous duke (who, according to Margaux, did not have enough mana to manipulate the shade of the glass). A wooden staircase led downwards, towards a private library, storage room, kitchen, and dungeon. All of those rooms were completely separate from the main building, and only the kitchen was linked to the main building via a dumbwaiter.

Margaux also assured me that several protective runes had been placed outside of every panel of the bay window that made up the wall opposite the entrance.

Most of the room was occupied by empty space. It seemed its previous resident had led somewhat of a minimalist life. The wall by the staircases was covered with a double row of sliding bookshelves, and the opposite wall served as support for a large bed, a semi-enclosed bathroom and fully enclosed toilet, and a wardrobe that separated the two.

“It’s gonna need some interior design, but I can work with that …” I mumbled to myself.

“Should I fetch some more maids to help you bathe?” Margaux asked as she started running a bath.

“No, that won’t be necessary, thank you.” I answered.

Truth be told, I didn’t want anyone helping me bathe. I had had my fair share of that during my first day in this world. But I was afraid it would look too suspicious if a duchess chased her maids away out of nowhere.

While Margaux was busying herself in the bathroom, I decided to take a look in my wardrobe. To my surprise, it was filled with various gowns and dresses. It really did seem as if I’d have the opportunity to wear something new every day.

“Margaux, do you happen to know what happened to the belongings of my predecessor?” I asked.

It’s not that I disliked wearing dresses, but I liked having the choice to wear something else.

“They have been stored in a different part of the house, miss. Should I order to fetch them or throw them out?”

“No. Leave them in storage for now. I’ll decide what to do with them later.” I replied, remembering that I didn’t know what the previous duke looked like and that I probably had enough money now to buy proper clothes anyway.

As I browsed through the dresses on display, I noticed that they were all very similar in design, despite varying in both material and colour. They were all floor-length, with the neckline either being ‘sweetheart’, or rising all the way up to the neck. Those dresses that did have sleeves systematically left the shoulders exposed. Leticia definitely had a favourite style.

“The bath is ready, miss.” Margaux called out.

“Wonderful, could you help me undress?” I asked.

Truth be told, I was a tad embarrassed at the fact that I had no idea how to put on or take off a corset. I had actually slept in it the night before, which might have contributed even more to my sore back. I always imagined corsets would have ribbons at the back that the wearer could easily untie, but this one had a series of small hooks, half-hidden by fabric folds, which I struggles to reach and interact with. Thankfully Margaux didn’t comment on the situation. She helped me to undress, with a satisfied smile on her face.

“Thank you. While I bathe, could you go tell whoever’s in charge of the meals to set the table, and fetch the butler and the head maid for me as well, please. I know it’s not exactly polite, but I would like to start discussing matters during the meal. I was told they both had a lengthy list of issues to cover.”

Margaux, who had grabbed a sponge and some soap while I was talking, seemed extremely disappointed at my request.

“Of course, miss.” She said, with a sour voice.

I wasn’t quite sure what she was all about; either she really liked being a maid, or she looked up to Leticia for one reason or the other. My stomach, though a series of cramps, let me know that this issue could be tackled later.

“Oh, and is there a resident lawyer, and, or, accountant on-site? I would like to speak to them after the meal.”

“I will ask about the whereabouts of Mx. Scott, but I haven’t seen them in the residence in days. Your accountant, or rather the accountant of the previous master, has been fired for embezzlement. I think Sygen might have a replacement in mind.” Margaux explained as she helped me into the bathtub.

“Sygen, the head butler, right?”

Names, especially exotic ones, did not stick well in my memory.

“Yes. We, staff, all call him that, but if you wish I could call him Sir. Rooyen as well.” Margaux explained. For a brief moment, a corner of her mouth twitched upwards. It didn’t look as if she wanted to call the head butler that.

“It’s all right, call him whatever’s more convenient for you. It will just take me some time to adjust, so I will be relying on you to help me with everyone’s name, if that’s alright with you, Margaux?”

The girl’s face brightened up.

“Of course miss, I will be on my way then. Will you require my assistance to dress afterwards as well?”

I nodded. I didn’t think her smile could grow any wider, but it did. I would definitely have to question her about her motives sometime soon, I thought.

“Then I shall return promptly!” The girl exclaimed before running off.

I waited for the door to shut behind her, before submerging myself up to my chin in the warm water. So many thoughts were going through my head; part of me was still questioning the ‘how and why’ of my current predicament, while another part of me felt bad for using such manipulation techniques on such a nice and helpful girl. Then there was also the issue of me deciding to fake an accent for absolutely no reason. I was too far into it now to stop though.

And after all, I was British by birth, so it wasn’t even cultural appropriation. Although, having worked on-site for as many international firms as I had, it didn’t really make sense to consider myself British.

“Maybe I died and this is God giving me a chance to experience all the things I never had, money, an interesting job, a permanent home … parents …” I thought out loud.

But then again, if I had died, why didn’t I remember my death? Why didn’t I remember anything in the days before my arrival here? Surely I was doing something, waiting in an airport, digitising data, wandering around some fields in search of my survey drones that never landed properly. In the past fourteen years, ever since I had graduated from university, there were very few periods of time where I wasn’t busy. And those times I did take time off, it was either to attend a funeral or a wedding.

“Oh well…”

I tried to submerge my head as far as I could without getting my hair wet. This bath was so nice that I was starting to consider taking a nap in it. But the idea of being washed by six people, again, was enough to stimulate me to actually wash before my maid could come back.