Love Tickles 05

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She never rode on someone’s back before. In addition, Adrienne viewed Yella differently. Could she even lift her up? It seemed hard.

Adrienne forgot that her body was dwarfed and was now that of a 10 year old’s.

‘Even walking makes me feel like I’m dying…-‘

She would rather be carried than stumble all the way back, though.

She awkwardly stretched out her arms and held Yella’s shoulders. Yella then lifted her legs up and bounced her a few times to position her correctly.

“Do you want to go back now?”

Adrienne was comfortably seated on Yella’s back. With Adrienne on her back, Yella walked back to the room.

They returned to the room and Adrienne realized that Adrienne Trudy’s state was not as good as she had thought. She only moved for a while but she was now unable to stand.

“Why didn’t you speak up until your feet became like this?”

“We should have paid more attention. I’m sorry.”

Yella was more upset at her injured food than she was at her, and Merrill was rather sorry for Adrienne. But Adrienne felt more downcast than those two.

She was surprised to see her feet. She knew she was sick, but she didn’t think it would be to this extent. She realized once again how weak and fragile Adrienne Trudy’s body was.

Merrill and Yella, who were upset, immediately applied medicine to Adrienne’s feet and massaged her legs to prevent them from cramping.

In the end, the day ended and she could not survey the garden in detail because of her lack of stamina. But she had no intention of giving up.

She was going to have to get some stamina. So she could explore the (back of the) mansion.

It was impossible to properly check the size of the house if she could not walk. Adrienne worked hard to become healthy.

She continued to move in the room and worked out when Merrill and Yella were not watching over her.

After a few days of preparation, Adrienne began to explore the mansion.

Merrill and Yella were worried about her leaving as soon as they finished their meal.

“Don’t overdo it. If it’s hard, you have to come back.”

“Yes, I will.”

“The soles are soft, so it’s going to be a little more comfortable.”

Adrienne wore protectors (lit. rainboots) on her feet, out of fear that her legs would cramp up.

She thought it was better than returning to the room after all the time she had spent exercising in order to get the chance to go out in the first place–even if it was only for a while.

Adrienne, who finally got to explore the mansion, decided to change goals.

On one day, she would come to the library and on another, she would go to another location. Utilizing this method, she was able to divide the area into sections and look around.

During the times Adrienne wandered around freely, she didn’t encounter her family. Jeremiah, the Duke, and Adrienne lived in the main building. But her room was far away from theirs, so it wasn’t likely that their routes would overlap.

What she had gathered from her observations was that the Duke’s garden was very well managed. The same was true for the greenhouses. They needed extra care but were splendidly attended to.

Behind the main building was the servant’s wing, and a little further from there was the stables.

She had a high chance of encountering the duke or Jeremiah near the garden, so Adrienne went around and returned to her room.

The place Adrienne spent the most time visiting was the garden. The garden she saw on the first day was nothing but a small portion of the whole thing.

The garden, which used all the large space behind the main building, was divided into several sections.

There were several entrances to the garden, some examples being near the main building and the entrance to the mansion. And every time, the place changed. The flowers blooming in the garden were now completely different, and felt new.

At the end of the garden, there was another space. The space was a greenhouse with plants that had to be kept at a certain temperature.

Large-scale gardens tended to be neglected in parts where everything was less visible, but it looked like it was perfectly managed everywhere.

Adrienne was impressed with the people who worked in the mansion, not the mansion itself.

She felt that the mansion employees deserved more dignity than the emerging aristocrats she worked with at the Ophelia shop. Most emerging aristocrats gained their status by obtaining enormous amounts of wealth; notably from discovering mines by chance. But it wasn’t long lasting and couldn’t be obtained at anytime.

The clothes that the employees wore were cheap. It was the kind of clothing that the relatively poor people of the Middle East region would wear.

Their clothes were poor compared to the nobles that they served.

Clothes held a significant effect on one’s first impression. All aristocrats, no matter how poor they were, invested in clothes. Thus, the employees got the short end of the stick.

Adrienne also did business and hired people, so she could analyze the mannerisms and the talents of her employees.

She made sure to examine the performance of their work for a day or two to make sure they were perfect.

The Trudy household’s employees had years worth of service.

They were aligned with the family.

When she saw the face of the gatekeeper next to the mansion’s entrance, she could determine what the Trudy family had.

The Trudy family was definitely the best in the empire in terms of their employees’ treatment.

Nevertheless, it seemed so clear to Adrienne that the employees were satisfied with their life here.

She worked for many aristocrats, so she could see more than anyone how rare the Duke Trudy household was.

The size of the mansion’s interior, the colorful décor, the garden that gave off the illusion of a fairy tale, and working conditions you could be proud of… By looking closely, one could tell that the Trudy household excelled in all aspects.

Her prejudiced views of the Trudy house changed in just a few days.

Duke Trudy was clearly a great family.

The duke gained Adrienne’s high respect. Which seemed to prove that his famousness had not been accumulated overnight.

I wish I had been born and loved in this place. This thought came to her mind.

Adrienne Trudy had everything but was thoroughly alone. For her, the household’s background was meaningless.

What a child needed was the love of their family.

She continued this cycle of exploring the duke’s for a few days when she realized something new about Adrienne Trudy’s situation.

Adrienne Trudy was outcasted from the Duke’s because her mother had passed away giving birth to her.

So naturally, everyone thought that they hated Adrienne. When she left the room, she noticed that people looked at her with burning gazes.

But not at all of them.

She just glanced at them for a moment and went on her way. No one looked at their enemy righteously. They ignored and ridiculed them.

The problem was that no one was interested in her. When she encountered someone, they turned away from her. It was only Merrill and Yella who gave her affection and paid attention to her.

The perfect word to describe Adrienne Trudy’s situation was “neglect.” They didn’t care about what she did and that counted as neglect.

There was another thing she learned. She was the abandoned daughter of the Duke but she was still connected to the house.

Her room was maintained. The maintenance costs were almost the same amount as the household’s annual budget.

No matter what Adrienne was to her family, she was Adrienne Trudy. The Trudy household’s mansion showed just how powerful they were.

In addition to the fame he acquired from his accomplishments, the Duke was infamous for his incredible looks.

The Archduke, Jeremiah, and the deceased Rachel, were known throughout the empire for their dazzling looks.

Adrienne never met Adrienne Trudy in person before and never heard any descriptions about her appearance, either. So she checked her self in front of the mirror.

As proof of being a member of the Trudy household, she had a striking appearance; a small face and beautiful features. So much so that it would not be an exaggeration to call her a living doll.

In particular, her eyelashes resembled butterflies because every time she blinked, they fluttered. It felt somewhat mystical.

Furthermore, because she was young, her cheeks were chubby and she looked as cute as a doll.

So it was sad. If it hadn’t been, no, if Trudy and Jeremiah had cared more…

She wouldn’t be alone like this and she wouldn’t have to work this hard.

She got sad thinking about Adrienne Trudy’s childhood.

‘What does Adrienne’s family think of her?’

Perhaps nothing happened between her, Trudy, and Jeremiah? Still, she was a member of the family. Shouldn’t they at least have some exchanges with each other?

The only people who could tell her about this were Merrill and Yella.

Adrienne chose her questions carefully when she asked about those times. At her inquiry, the two of them couldn’t hide their anxiety and they struggled.

According to Merrill and Yella, their ‘poor lady’ was abandoned as soon as she was born.

Even as she was endangered by the flu, and even as she cried for three days and three nights for unknown reasons, the mansion’s employees did not respond.

At first, Merrill tried to change their minds. Merrill tried to convince them that even if they were grieving, they could not neglect the lady. Merrill continued to try and convince them in other ways but they all failed.

Adrienne, who was ridiculously young at that time, was a gentle child who didn’t cry. Merrill said that the mansion’s employees just couldn’t see that.

In Merrill’s eyes, Adrienne was a whimsical being. Merrill thought that it was a shame that the Archduke and Jeremiah could not see this.

Merrill looked at it this way and was convinced that the Duke would also love her.

Merrill took up the responsibility of showing the adorable child to the two and brought the Archduke and Jeremiah to where Adrienne was.

When Merrill shook the rattle in front if Adrienne, she laughed.

But as soon as the Archduke and Jeremiah approached, Adrienne became terrified and began to cry unrelentingly.

She stopped crying only when the Archduke and Jeremiah were far away. It was then that an uncrossable line was formed.

Merrill regretted it. The Archduke and Jeremiah punished people for just standing apart from them.

Merrill was not scared at first because she knew the baby was apart of their family.

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t/n: employees can also be servants. i know i used servants in the previous chapters but… i think employee sounds nicer… yknow