The next morning—
Arisa woke up at her usual time, got changed, and headed to the sink to wash her face.
“…Am I the only one awake?”
Had she gotten up too early?
Tilting her head slightly, she finished washing up and made her way to the kitchen.
If anyone was awake, they’d be there.
“…I suppose you have to start this early to prepare breakfast.”
As she got closer, she noticed faint sounds coming from inside.
It must be Ayu cooking.
Thinking she should help, Arisa peeked into the kitchen.
“Good morning…?”
However, the person there wasn’t Ayu.
It was a middle-aged woman—
Not a member of the Takasegawa family, but not a stranger either.
They had been introduced before, and she had been serving dinner the previous night.
“Oh my… good morning, young madam. You’re up early.”
The housemaid stopped her knife and bowed.
At being called “young madam,” Arisa couldn’t help but give an awkward smile.
“Young madam is a bit… premature.”
“Oh my, you’re quite right. Then, if you don’t mind… may I call you Arisa-sama?”
“…Yes.”
Being addressed with “-sama,” Arisa scratched her cheek slightly.
She’d been called “customer” or “Yukishiro-sama” before—but never “Arisa-sama.”
“Are you preparing breakfast?”
“Yes, I am”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
Arisa had woken up early precisely to help.
As someone who would one day marry into this family, being treated like a guest—like she was just staying over—felt uncomfortable.
“Oh no… please, Arisa-sama, do take it easy.”
“I can manage simple tasks…”
At her insistence, the housemaid looked troubled.
“Your feelings mean a great deal to me, but… this is my job.”
“I… see…”
Once it was framed that way, Arisa couldn’t push any further.
“Oh, I know—if you’d like, could you wake the young master when the time comes? I believe he’d be quite pleased if you did.”
“…Yes. I’ll do that.”
And just like that, Arisa found herself gently ushered out of the kitchen.
On the way to prep school—
“So, is it correct to assume that staff are present except on weekends and holidays?”
Arisa asked.
Yuzuru nodded.
“Basically, yeah. Though… they’re not around when we travel.”
“Travel? …Ah, the overseas trips?”
“Right. It’s partly to give the staff—like the gardeners and housemaids—a break. So Grandpa and the others go off to hot springs too. …It really will be just the two of us. So don’t worry.”
“…I see.”
It seemed Yuzuru thought she was concerned about not getting alone time because of the staff.
That wasn’t exactly it.
“…Did something happen?”
Her expression must have given it away.
Arisa nodded.
“This morning… I tried to help, but they refused.”
“Ah… yeah. That makes sense. You shouldn’t help… or rather, it’s better not to. You’d be taking their work.”
“…You’re right.”
She understood that.
With employment contracts in place, even good intentions could overstep boundaries.
Even so, it left her feeling a bit unsettled.
“…Do you want to do housework?”
“I suppose… it’s more that… I want you to eat the meals I cook.”
Naturally, there were chores she liked and disliked, things she was good at and things she wasn’t.
For example, cleaning toilets wasn’t something she’d volunteer for.
But cooking—
She wanted to cook for Yuzuru.
It was something she took pride in, and she was confident she’d already won over his stomach.
“Then how about starting from the second day?”
“Yes. By the way… after we get married—”
“Ah… I see.”
Yuzuru thought for a moment, hand on his chin, then spoke.
“You’ll enter university, and graduate in at least five years. Maybe longer if you go to grad school. After that, we’ll get married… and probably live in an flat or a separate residence for a while. We won’t move into the main house until later. By then, the oldest staff member will likely have retired.”
“…So, I’ll be able to cook?”
If the number of staff decreased, that meant she’d have room to take on those roles.
Yuzuru nodded firmly.
“If you want to. …On the other hand, if you find something you want to pursue—work, hobbies, research—and don’t have time to cook, we’ll just hire more staff.”
“I see… That makes sense. I don’t know if I’ll find something like that, but… I can decide when the time comes.”
“Exactly. …So, can I look forward to it starting in two days?”
At his question, Arisa nodded brightly.
“Yes, of course!”
