My Engagement Got Broken, But I Don’t Remember Getting Engaged in the First Place - Chapter 63

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“Today, I’ll have you carry these first. It’s your job, so don’t let anyone help you.”

“Understood. Do these contain food?” At Nora’s feet were gunny sacks, large enough to carry using her hands. She could see that they were filled to the brim, but she couldn’t be certain for sure what’s inside just by looking at them.

“Yes, those are potatoes inside. Take eight sacks to the larder and two to the kitchen. But don’t pass through the building and let any of the aristocrats see you. Is that clear?”

“Yes. So, eight sacks in the larder and two sacks in the kitchen. What shall I do after that?” She didn’t ask about her schedule the day before so she wasted a lot of time waiting after cleaning. She wanted to clarify and ask about it this time around.

“Just wait in the kitchen. I’ll come again. Well then, see you later.”

“All right, see you.” After seeing Paula off, Nora stared at the gunny sacks at her feet and pondered over what to do. The fastest way to go to the larder and the kitchen was to pass through the building, but that was prohibited according to Paula. She had no other choice but to detour and go around the long way.

“I have to wait in the kitchen, so I should go to the larder first. All right, let’s do this!” Nora cheered herself and started carrying the sacks.

—

“…Nora, what are you doing?” Paula appeared in the kitchen, her eyebrows wrinkled upon seeing Nora.

“Peeling potatoes.” Nora immediately stopped peeling, put the potato and knife down and stood up with her back straight.

“I told you to carry the gunny sacks, didn’t I? Even if you think you’ve arrived in the kitchen early, that doesn’t mean you can peel potatoes as you please.”

“Yes, I’ve already finished carrying the sacks to the larder and the kitchen as you’ve instructed. I’ve been waiting in the kitchen for a while now, and thought of what I could do while waiting.” So when she asked around in the kitchen, they asked her to help peel the potatoes, and she has been doing so thus far. She didn’t know when Paula would arrive, but she did promise to help and figured it wouldn’t be a problem if she stopped now.

“You couldn’t have carried everything so quickly. Did you ask someone to help you again?”

“No, I carried them alone.”

“Then how could you do it so quickly? Even one sack should be quite heavy.”

“It was indeed heavy, so I could only carry two at a time. So then I borrowed a wheelbarrow from the gardener and used it.”

“A wheelbarrow? That’s sneaky of you.” Paula shouted in a somewhat mocking tone, and a few eyes turned to her, even though she was standing at the end of the kitchen.

“You told me I shouldn’t ask for help, but I figured it was fine to use tools. And even though they were inside the gunny sacks, I thought I shouldn’t let the potatoes stay outside for long.” The bags were porous so there was a risk of being exposed to sunlight. Nora thought it was important that she had to transport them fast.

“Why can’t they stay outside for long?” Surprised by her question, Nora blinked her eyes in confusion.

“If the potatoes were to get exposed to sunlight, the skin would turn green. It’d be dangerous if people were to eat them in that state. A little exposure is okay, but it’s something the nobility eat at the royal castle after all. So, to be safe, I borrowed a piece of cloth and a wheelbarrow to transport them.”

When she bought potatoes downtown, she would notice that some potatoes had turned green. She was once about to buy them, but the shopkeeper she was familiar with warned her about it.

“Paula is the daughter of a famous merchant. She’s never bought potatoes, so she didn’t know much about them, let alone know how to manage them.” A man, who seemed to be the cook in the kitchen had stood by her side without realizing it, said with a laugh.

Paula’s cheeks flared up in anger, glaring at the cook and Nora.

“All right. Peel off a hundred potatoes then. Finish it before lunch. Then prepare the carrots and onions. Ask that person for more details.”

Seeing Paula speak with spite, the cook laughed even harder.

“It’s all done. The potatoes as well as the carrots and onions have all been cut. Actually, you’re good at what you do and you’re polite, so I could really use your help every day like this.”

“T-That can’t be true. She’s still peeling.” She pointed to the potato and knife Nora had put down.

“That’s for the evening. Speaking of which, that is such a clean cut… Is that your own knife?”

“No, it’s from here, but it was a little rusty and dull so I sharpened it.”

It was probably a knife they didn’t normally use. If the knife wasn’t sharp enough, it would delay her work and the cut wouldn’t look good either. She had spotted a whetstone so she used to lightly sharpen the knife.”

“You sharpened the knife? Aren’t you a nobility?”

“I was born a nobility, but I think I’m more like a commoner in terms of upbringing.” She spoke sincerely, but the cook’s eyes widened in surprise and then he burst into laughter.

“Lots of aristocratic young ladies often come for training, but most of them are selfish and look down on other servants… She must’ve thought it was the same again this time, so she asked you to peel a mountain load of vegetables. You’ve lost this time, Paula.”

Paula smiled but immediately turned her face away, her lips pouting.

“Um, Paula.” Nora called out. When Paula turned around, her face had a tinge of redness.

“Okay, fine. I’m sorry. I thought another selfish young lady from the nobility came for a matchmaking. I also heard that she used her connections with Lady Melnes to come here and I was jealous. I’m sorry!”

Nora blinked her eyes in confusion as she watched Paula huffing and puffing as though she had screamed at the top of her lungs.

“That button’s about to fall off.”

“What?”

The button on the sleeve of Paula’s dress was dangling from a loose thread, seemingly about to fall off.

“Oh, seems like it. So, what about it?”

“If it’s fine with you, I can fix it.”

“You can? Like now?”

Nora took a small pouch out of her pocket as Paula furrowed her eyebrows deeper.

“I carry a sewing kit with me for emergency purposes.”

Paula’s mouth dropped in shock as Nora smiled. The cook clapped his hands in hysterical laughter.