Chapter 3

Please note that even though I dumped things in my cart, I didn’t buy them. Why, you ask? Because money! Money, money, money!

“I might have to buy fabric and make the dresses myself.”

I tried to remember how much Mildred’s wealth amounted to. She’d had a little cash, but most of her assets were jewels. She had fired all the workers because she didn’t have real means to pay them.

Jewels could be sold for cash, but Mildred couldn’t bring herself to do it. They were gifts, both from her parents when she had been a Murphy, and wedding gifts from Baron Rivera.

She wanted to save them to pay for Iris and Lily’s dowries.

Mildred used to have more; trinkets that Fred had bought for her, and some she had bought for herself, but Fred sold them all to fund his business.

Hmm... Note to self: hit Fred with another middle finger before I go to bed tonight.

There was also a small piece of property. The income from renting it out was enough to feed the four of us, but more importantly, I was an almighty landlord.

It felt strange. In my old world, I had been a full-time worker paying rent month to month. Buying and furnishing my own house had been my ultimate dream.

Meanwhile, Mildred lived in this huge mansion and had a little building on the side. As long as we lived humbly, we would never need to worry about money. But she might not have appreciated that as much as I do.

I’m not sure. I possessed all of Mildred’s memories, but I didn’t remember her life with perfect clarity. My own memories were blurry, so how could I remember someone else’s any better?

I chewed on a piece of bread. I needed to do laundry today. I also needed to shutter the unused rooms to live somewhat efficiently in this grandiose mansion and block all the places where an intruder could come in.

“It’s not good for only four women to be living here.”

I sighed. More directly to the girls, I said, “Don’t tell anyone that only we live here.”

Iris nodded, while Lily seemed puzzled but agreed anyway. Ashley, though...

“Why?” Her confusion was plain on her face.

“Why?” You don’t think it would be dangerous if some malicious guy found out that four women lived alone in this giant house?

I wished I could respond with sarcasm, but I reminded myself that Ashley was only seventeen. This was a fairy-tale world, and she was the main character. She had no idea about the horror stories I could imagine.

Suddenly, I envied her. Once Ashley got through all of her troubles, her happily ever after was guaranteed.

But not me. Even when I had worked my butt off for my measly salary to pay off my rent and credit cards, I never thought I would get ahead in the world. It just made me more depressed.

But of course, Ashley didn’t know that she was going to marry a prince.

“For several reasons,” I said.

I poked my fork into my salad. It was a good thing that vegetables were cheap. Otherwise, the food here was perfect for causing constipation. Bread and meat were the main staples, while vegetables were used as light garnishes.

Luckily, the mansion had a big greenhouse, but it was mostly there for show. Mildred hadn’t been interested in either landscaping or botany, so she’d never even considered cleaning it up. Fred didn’t seem any different, since it existed but was never used.

As I ate my salad, I explained to Ashley the dangers of revealing our living situation to outsiders. Lily, who also hadn’t seemed to know but had nodded anyway, listened with her mouth wide open.

Maybe this was my job.

Ashley and Lily looked at me as if they were learning something new. Mildred had wanted to marry Iris and Lily off to good men, but in the fairy tale I knew, she never did.

That could very well be why—if this world had a god—that bastard put me in Mildred’s body. Maybe I was meant to save Mildred and her three daughters, but what was I supposed to get out of that?

I sighed and lifted the salad bowl. Only I was eating any of it. Mildred’s memories told me the family didn’t avoid vegetables entirely, but it seemed like it was mostly peasant food.

I mean, I guess meat did taste better.

“Eat some salad too.”

I used tongs to distribute the greens onto the girls’ plates. You all need to eat this.

Iris and Lily frowned. Ashley didn’t look too happy either.

“It’s crunchy. It tastes good.”

My encouragement had no effect. Lily looked openly disgusted. Iris nudged it with her elbow.

I thought about it for a moment before giving them another reason to eat their vegetables.

“It’ll keep you from getting constipated.”

Silence fell over the dining room. Iris and Lily looked at me, wide-eyed with shock.

Hmm... I suppose I shouldn’t talk about that over a meal.

But Lily immediately began to eat the salad. Iris followed.

The sounds of crunching vegetables ensued. I turned and saw that Ashley was eating them too.

Oh? Are you constipated too? I lowered my head and scoffed. Of course.

I’m telling you, the food here was perfect if you never wanted to have bowel movements.

We dusted the second floor after lunch, then went out to the city. We still needed to cover the unused furniture with blankets to protect them from dust before we locked the rooms, but if we did that today, we would have to put off our outing.

With invitations out, the clothier and draper’s shops were going to be very busy tomorrow. It was the more urgent thing to take care of.

I got dressed and left the mansion with the children. Our home sat on the outskirts of the capital, and we descended the hill toward town.

We had a horse, but a carriage was required to get more than two people anywhere, and we had no carriage. Mildred had made Ashley fetch a carriage every time they had to leave. It was cheaper than employing a coachman.

“Mother, have you been to the city before?”

Iris walked beside me while Lily and Ashley ran ahead in their excitement. I didn’t know about Ashley, but it had been so long since Iris and Lily had gone out to the city that they were thrilled.

And Mildred...

When did she last go to the city?

I rummaged through Mildred’s memories in a daze. The last time had been before Fred left. My god. So she hadn’t left the house for two whole years?

The mansion was spacious, but even when they had servants, there had been only around twenty people living there. It was a miracle that Mildred hadn’t become bitter and cranky. Just one week of isolation was tough on me.

“It’s been a long time,” I answered absentmindedly as I got lost in thought.

I suppose Mildred may have already been cranky. I only had Mildred’s memories from her own eyes. From the point of view of others, Mildred might seem bitter.

“Mother, look!”

Lily, who was paces ahead, pointed eagerly. Buildings pressed together at the foot of the hill. Further down were the houses lining the market.

In the distance, you could see the castle, but that was a sight you could take in from the mansion. Mildred had memories of watching the castle’s fireworks from home.

I chastised the children for being too excited. “Don’t go off alone. Stay in pairs, understand?”

The year was still young and the days were short. It was dangerous for young women—no, girls to be roaming alone. Ashley and Lily quickened their pace. Iris stayed by my side.

“Fish for sale! Great prices!”

“Fresh vegetables! Take a look!”

The market was at the center of the city. It was past noon, but the crowds were still dense. Tourists were everywhere in the capital, but surely some shoppers were people like us who had rushed out for clothes and fabric.

I spied others like us in the crowd. That is to say, mothers with young women around Iris’ age.

I had a feeling that Mildred wouldn’t like this situation. She had been a wealthy baroness used to summoning seamstresses and tailors to her home. Before getting married, she had gone to shops herself only once or twice.

But I wasn’t here to get anything for myself. I wanted to get clothes made for the girls.

I looked around for my daughters with this in mind. Iris was beside me, but Lily and Ashley were far away.

“Mother, shall I call them?” Iris asked.

I pondered. The four of us would find it hard to walk together in the bustling crowd. We still had a ways to go to get to the street with most of the clothiers and drapers’ shops.

Perhaps it was okay to let them be on their own for a while.

“They’re together, so they should be fine.”

Iris gave me a strange look.

What?

She looked at me quizzically until she finally asked, “Do you want Ashley and Lily to get closer, Mother?”

What’s that supposed to mean? I stared at Iris. At nineteen years old, she was around my height and would soon be taller than me. Hmm, does that mean I’ll need to wear Iris’ hand-me-downs?

I moved to avoid getting elbowed by the crowd.

“If possible.”

“If... possible?”

“They are sisters. It wouldn’t be bad if they got closer.”

“But Ashley is...” Iris paused.

I glanced at her again. What is it?

Iris was clearly unhappy with the idea of Ashley and Lily getting close.

Why? I stopped to wait for Iris’ next words.

Something hit me hard.

“Agh!”

I was shoved to the side.

What is it now?

I was so surprised that I didn’t even feel pain.

Then I heard Iris calling for me. “Mother!”

I heard the sound of someone running.

Hey, wait. I’m pretty far from where I was before. I wasn’t hit by a car or something, was I?

No way. There are no cars in this world. Maybe a carriage. I was suddenly worried that I’d been hit by a carriage.

I tried to think if anyone in this fairy tale could be arrogant enough to ride a carriage through a crowded street when Iris grabbed me, and I yelped in surprise.

“Ouch!”

It hurts. The pain was sharp.

When I had been pushed to the side, my legs and palms had gotten scratched up from my fall. Goddamn it. It hurt so much that I couldn’t move.

“Mother, are you okay?”

In a panic, Iris tried to help me up. We couldn’t stay in the middle of a busy road. I knew this, but my body wouldn’t move.

That was when someone passed by and shouted.

“Pardon me!”