Zester had been in a good mood since morning. It was obvious, seeing as he came to Cassia’s room while she was busy working and wouldn’t stop chattering.
The reason was a letter from Axios territory. He had been planning to slowly send a notice of visit, but instead, Bertol had written first, announcing he would come to Greze. For a poor countryside territory , he was practically their first guest of note.
“I didn’t get the chance to exchange much greeting with him before, and I was worried about that. I thought the invitation was just a formality, but it seems he truly wishes to come to Greze.”
“Haha… ah, yes.”
“What should we prepare? He said he wanted to see the soldiers, so we should show him…”
“Do as you like.”
Zester continued to mutter in an excited voice, rubbing Cassia’s shoulder as she sat at her desk, scribbling with her quill.
“And the food, what should I tell them to prepare?”
“Lucas is a competent chef. He’ll know what to do if you tell him.”
“Oh, yes, haha! It’s been so long since I’ve seen him, I’m nervous.”
“Ah, yes.”
“I’ll get to hear his stories from the coup suppression in the capital. You’ve heard, haven’t you? He suppressed an armed force with just a few words. Count Axios is the greatest man I know.”
“Yes, yes.”
“He’s a true leader, second to none. While there are unworthy lords like me who shame the title of lord, the Count walks the path of a true leader without flaw.”
“…”
“You must have heard about him when you were in the South, right? I’m sure he was famous there, too. The North was in an uproar back then…”
Tap.
Cassia set her pen down rather roughly, and Zester shut his mouth.
“Honey.”
“…Yes?”
“You’ve been in here an hour since morning saying the same things. I know Count Axios is great. Could you stop now?”
“Ah, uh… You’re busy. I’ve been talking too much.”
“No, I like talking with you, even when I’m busy.”
“R-really?”
He noticed the ink splatter on her white hand. Shuffling awkwardly, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it over. Cassia sighed softly as she accepted it.
“But I don’t want to hear more about the Count. It’s not fun, it’s not interesting, and I’m not touched at all. And it’s unpleasant hearing you lower yourself in front of me while praising another man. What kind of fool belittles himself in front of his wife just to praise someone else?”
“No, I just…”
“And if you think you shame the title of ‘lord, you should be thinking about how to become one who doesn’t shame the title. Saying you’re unworthy, what does that make of our people, then? Fools who follow an unqualified lord?”
As she turned to him, wiping the ink from her hand, Zester’s lips gaped soundlessly.
“It shouldn’t be, ‘That person is amazing and I can’t compare…”
“…”
“You should think, ‘I will definitely become a great leader who surpasses him.’”
Putting the handkerchief down, Cassia grabbed Zester’s cheeks with both hands and squeezed. His lips puckered out, and Cassia tapped them with her thumb, sighing softly.
“Understood?”
“…Me?”
“Yes, you. Why not? When you went to fight 150,000 with 50,000, were you certain you’d win? No, but you proved it possible. That victory was yours, made with your own strength.”
Looking at Cassia’s beaming face, Zester almost teared up again. Who else in the world would believe in him, a lacking and worthless person, this much? And a great, wonderful woman who was different from him in every way, at that.
Zester was seized by the heavy worry of whether he could meet her expectations as a husband, but this time, he didn’t voice his weakness. He just sniffled, his nose tingling, and gave a firm nod.
“Good. And one more thing.”
Before her hands could leave his cheek, Zester quickly caught them, holding them in place.
Obviously he wanted her to keep touching him.
His cute gesture made Cassia stifle a laugh as she spoke.
“Maintaining good relations with other lords is fine, but you need to maintain a line. I don’t know what you see in Count Axios that makes you trust and follow him so much.”
“Ah, the Count is—.”
“Shh.”
No matter what Zester said, Count Axios was not someone to be trusted. She knew this well from her past life’s experience.
While Zester had been busy bleeding in battle like a loyal hound, Count Axios had shamelessly made advances on Cassia, his comrade’s wife. He wasn’t ignorant of noble courtesy, so to act so shamelessly, it just showed how much he looked down on Zester and this small territory.
Cassia could never share in Zester’s praise of him as some ‘great man’ or ‘perfect leader’.
“The world is a scary and cold place. You mustn’t trust anyone but yourself. It might sound cruel, but by the time you’re backstabbed and crying tears of blood, it will already be too late.”
“Um, Cassia.”
“Yes.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to believe you’re seven years younger than me.”
Cassia flinched. True, her words carried the sting of an older, wiser life, something her real 18-year-old self would never have said.
“But really, trust no one?”
“Yes. No one.”
“Even you?”
“Huh?”
At the sudden question, Cassia’s expression turned thoughtful.
What was the condition for someone to be ‘trustworthy’? Perhaps someone completely transparent, with no secrets.
If that was the case, she probably wasn’t a ‘trustworthy person’ to Zester. She had returned ten years in time and made all sorts of plans for her future but she had no intention of telling him. She also had no intention of telling him she was fated to die in ten years.
“Well… yes, not even me…”
“No.”
“What?”
“I said no. If there’s no one in the world to trust, how miserable would that be? So I will trust you. Even if you say you can turn stone into gold, I’ll believe you.”
“Don’t be silly. What if I betray you?”
“I don’t care.”
His grip on her hand tightened. His languid, reddish-brown eyes shone with an intensity that made it hard to doubt his words.
“Even if you fed me poison, I would gladly eat it.”
“What the? That’s foolish.”
“Even if you stabbed me in the back, I’d die gladly.”
“Saying things like that doesn’t make me happy at all.”
“I’m not saying it to make you happy. This is my true heart and my will. It’s my faith and my loyalty. That I will give everything to you.”
The tips of Zester’s fingers, holding hers, gently rubbed her palm. Cassia was left speechless by the tender and affectionate touch.
“I swear it.”
Was this man always someone who could make such an expression, who could say such things?
“I swear I will be loyal only to you, for the rest of my life.”
***
『I swear it』
Zester, who had been chattering all morning, left for the training ground, but Cassia still felt surrounded by the echo of his voice.
“What in the world….”
She had no idea why this hopelessly foolish man had seemed so dependable just then. She’d thought he was a lacking husband she needed to worry about from one to ten…
Yet earlier, he seemed like a reliable partner, even a proper head of household.
『I swear I will be loyal only to you, for the rest of my life.』
And though she found him pitiful, her heart still fluttered every time…
Knock, knock.
“Ack!”
She hadn’t even been thinking anything embarrassing, yet she jumped.
Cassia answered the knock, flustered and Paul’s gentle voice came immediately after. With her permission, Paul entered and bowed with formality.
And he was not alone. At his signal, several neatly dressed maids filed in, curtseying to Cassia. The last one’s face was familiar.
Cassia’s eyes widened, her lips parting in shock and joy as she covered her mouth.
Oh my god! It’s her!
Cassia’s heart raced with both surprise and delight.
‘She’ was one of the few people in Greze who was Cassia’s people. Cassia hadn’t expected to meet her yet. Because in her past life, she hadn’t met this girl until after the territory war.
So why had she come to the castle so early this time?
Well, thinking about it, it made sense. This life was different from her previous one, where they didn’t have a single penny and couldn’t hire many servants.
After receiving hefty gifts from Count Axios and Viscount Varnan after the Viche trip, as well as the support from her father, Count Ruberno, Greze was much better off.
With those funds, Cassia had asked Paul to hire more servants. The castle wasn’t really short on hands, but it provided work for villagers with nowhere else to go.
But to think…!
Cassia was surprised all over again and excited.
Cassia could hardly contain her happiness. She had made the request without much thought, not realizing it would hasten her meeting with ‘her’.
In any case, it was a good thing. Cassia’s face, as she stared intently at the one maid, was beyond just pleased. It was almost a shame she couldn’t laugh aloud.
“Madam, you asked me to hire more servants, so I’ve brought the new maids to introduce them. We’ve hired fifteen people in total: five for the kitchens, two for the stables, three for the messengers’ hall. And these here are the new commuter maids.”
“…”
“Madam?”
Cassia stared straight at one girl, smiling so brightly that Paul, noticing her gaze, quickly added.
“Do you perhaps require an attendant to keep by your side?”
Young nobles often kept attendants of similar age for companionship. It was no different when Paul worked at the Imperial Palace. There were dozens of low-ranking noble daughters assigned as ladies-in-waiting to the young princesses.
However, his young mistress had come to this strange land all alone and had been holding her own quite well. She didn’t seem particularly lonely. There were a few maids of a similar age, but she didn’t get especially close to them, maintaining a professional distance.
To put it nicely, she was adapting splendidly to Greze without relying on anyone, but it still weighed on Paul’s mind. As his mistress was young and a woman, there were bound to be things that neither her husband, Zester, nor he, her much older butler, could take care of. He had been hoping to find a miss who could fill that gap.
As if in answer to Paul’s inwardly excited hopes, Cassia shot up from her seat. She walked up to the maid standing at the very end, met her eyes kindly, and asked.
“A pleasure to meet you. What is your name?”
“M-me? Ah…”
There’s five of us, so why is this beautiful mistress suddenly asking for my name?
Glancing nervously at Paul and the others, the maid swallowed hard and answered.
“C-Clara… my name is Clara Holton, my lady.”
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 56 – 61 - December 21, 2025
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapters 50 – 55 - December 7, 2025
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapters 47 – 49 - November 22, 2025