The Tarot Club gathering is in 4 days.
This event has been slowly eating at Amanises' heart, hanging above her head like a guillotine.
Expectations filled her heart.
What if the members were also transmigrators?
What if they already found a way home?
This was hope. Her only hope of returning back to her monotonous life, forgetting what happened and paying a visit to her parents.
But with hope came despair.
What if they aren't transmigrators?
And worst of all.
What if they found out that there was no way back home?
Questions like these continued for the following day.
She woke up to the knocking sound of her personal maid at her bedroom door. She was carrying a laundry basket, looking tired from all the work she was put on yesterday.
And already being tired just from hearing her duties of today.
Amanises felt quite bad. Thorough house cleaning, especially one of such a size is incredibly tiring. However—
She's getting paid for it.
There was no reason to feel bad for making an employee do their job.
It may be a little bit harsh to say, but this was what her job had taught her for more than 10 years in the field.
The fair lady turned to the mirror of her vanity table. Noticing that the dark circles hinder her eyes turned even more pronounced.
Nightmares again.
It was the same one as before. But a tad different, as if she was looking from a different point on the riverbank.
The ghosts wore different robes, their faces just as terrifying. The walking corpses were even more wrecked and decayed, for some she could still hear the cracking of their bones as they walked by.
The vampires, on the other hand, were nowhere to be found. Instead, what replaced them was—curly haired baboons?
No, there were other creatures too.
Creatures only fairy tales could come up with, elves, mermaids, even a mass of fleshy organs with golden ears of wheat coming out.
All that's left was a decayed unicorn to complete the picture.
A tired breath escaped her. These nightmares have been slowly eating at ther sanity. It felt like a lucid dream, but she was stoned in place and couldn't do anything but observe, resembling a prison watchman.
Rather than covering the dark circles with makeup she simply let them be.
There are no visitors for today anyways.
With that, she got out of her room and walked downstairs to have her nutritious breakfast with golden warm tea.
***
In a small room, at the very rear of the Dusk mansion, a woman was diligently sorting the laundry.
Lately, more and more servants were forced to leave the household due to decreasing pay.
Watching from the corner, Amanises noted in her mind.
And many more will leave.
Their financial situation continued to worsen without a stable income. They have already lost their noble status, now they might even lose their house along with the remaining dignity.
If only I could find a suitable job.
There weren't any places to work for a woman in her thirties, especially one without any prior education, other than the general ladylike instructions.
Actually, the knowledge she gained is pretty invaluable, but in no way enough to get a suitable job to manage such a huge house.
And her mother was completely out of the question.
The best we can do is save a bit more.
She approached the laundry woman, barely making any sound.
"These duties should be handled by the other maids, not by the housekeeper."
She made a statement out of the blue.
The headmaid, whose name was Joanna Carp, jumped at the startling voice.
"M-my lady!" A stutter couldn't be helped. Miss Joanna's frown eased up as she dusted her white pinafore apron. "You scared me, my lady."
"Apologies." The younger woman said in a stoic way. Her expressionless demeanor made her seem almost puppet-like.
"There's no need to apologize, my lady! I should be more aware of my sorroundings." The headmaid looked tenderly at Evelyn, remembering the way she would follow her around when in boredom, tugging at her dress and demanding attention.
Nostalgia enveloped Joanna, she dearly missed the naive girl.
After a few seconds of staring into the lady's eyes the housekeeper remembered what she said earlier.
"Ah–ah, n-no the maids have been overworked lately! I just couldn't be on standby while they were cleaning, so I decided to take on some duties myself."
Joanna noticed the small worry in Evelyn's expression so she reassured her in a calming tone.
"I'm just bored and have nothing to do. We will have a guest tomorrow so sitting idly seems wrong. I will take a week off next week either way so a little bit more work does not matter."
"A week off?" The lady asked, not being aware of Joanna's small leave.
"Oh yes! My lady, I was going to ask today to have the next week off. My children are also getting a vacation from school so we thought of spending some time together." She started explaining herself.
Then, her eyes dropped low filled with what seemed like regret. "My husband is also returning from the mines, I was hoping to surprise him."
A knowing smile made itself known on Amanises's lips. It was clear that Joanna was subtly asking for the leave permission.
"There's no need to worry. Just come by my study later and collect your paycheck as well as some extra."
Joanna's eyes widened.
"Extra?! My lady, there's no need! I know the family's situation is not exactly bright. Especially lately." She tried to persuade her into keeping the money for the household.
But Amanises was stubborn, she didn't give the headmaid any room to argue and instead turned around to walk out of the small room while talking in an amused tone.
"It doesn't matter. I have things handled. Besides, what master of the house would I be if I couldn't pay my best employees what they deserve?"
Joanna remained with a folded white blanket in her arms. She looked at the now grown-up Evelyn, murmuring with a worried expression.
My lady...
***
The weather of Backlund has always been moody. But today, some actual rays of sunlight can be observed breaking through the clouds.
The lady of Dusk stared at the window absentmindedly, the weather reminded her a lot of her homeland.
It was quite cold there even in summer, not to mention winters.
Still...
I miss it.
She felt homesick.
A knock sounded from the door of her study room. Amanises quickly gathered up some scattered documents and gave the signal for entry.
The one who stepped in, was her butler—Harold Salmon.
He was a man in his late 50's, who started working around the same time as Joanna.
He was a very upright gentleman, professional, but also warm at times.
"Good afternoon, my lady." He greeted her, by placing his hand to his right chest with a slight bow.
"Ah, good day to you too, Harold." She placed her fountain pen back to its designated place.
"You have been pretty busy lately, my lady." He remarked. "Perhaps you would like to take a walk? It can be calming during such a warm weather"
She smiled, a genuine smile. Harold has always looked after the children of the house.
"Thank you for your concern." She got up from her seat and walked in front of her desk, then faced the window again.
"I agree. A walk would do me good."
The butler nodded again and asked.
"Shall I prepare anything?"
Amanises shook her head.
"There's no need, it's a short walk." She turned away from the window, then walked out of the door.
Another nod. The upright butler walked alongside the woman initiating small talk.
"My lady, are your nightmares still troubling you at night?"
Amanises sighted silently.
"They haven't stopped. I think it's from the shock."
He took a long look at her face, noticing the even more prominent dark circles and pale skin. She didn't apply make-up today.
"They will disappear with time."
She nodded. There was still some distance till the gates so she asked absentmindedly.
"How's your family?"
He looked surprised at her question. Then smiled, being reminded of his dear ones.
"They're alright. My two nephews are staying over for the summer. These two little monsters are giving my wife headaches."
She turned her head in a questioning manner.
"What about their parents?"
He let out a knowing smile.
"The lovebirds are on vacation on Midseashire Coast. They saved up a lot for that trip."
The lady let out a small laugh, covering her smile with a hand.
"Won't you ask for a vacation too? Joanna is already reserved for next week. But I can handle it for you."
He lifted his hand and shook it, signaling denial.
"No, my lady. I am doing alright. Joanna deserves a break anyways."
Reaching the main gate, she opened it and waved goodbye to her butler, silently adding in her mind.
You deserve a break too.