If You're Being Held Hostage, Wiggle the Carrot! - Chapter 70
With a borrowed pair of tongs, they flipped the sweet potatoes around. Ruby watched with her mouth agape.
As the sweet potatoes cooked to perfection, a rich and sweet aroma filled the air. The servants felt guilty about scaring Ruby, so they worked hard to bake the sweet potatoes just right.
“It’s hot, so wrap it in this cloth and peel the skin before eating.”
“…Thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”
As they said, Ruby did get quite chilly from doing laundry in the cold weather. She took the roasted sweet potato wrapped in a cloth with both hands and felt its warmth see through. She couldn’t help but let out a pleased sigh.
Ruby was so focused on carefully peeling the sweet potato that her surroundings got eerily quiet. Curiously lifting her eyes, she caught the gaze of one of the servants who had been silently watching her. In fact, all the servants had held their breaths, captivated by Ruby’s act of peeling the sweet potato with her small hands, and the adorable pink rabbit ears that swayed with every movement.
Ruby was a rare sight on the estate, so she easily drew the attention of the servants. The way they ogled her was blatant and stinging. As Ruby was struck frozen by their silence and stares, one of the servants spoke up.
“What’s wrong? Is it too hot for you?”
“No, sir…”
“Why do you show such courtesy to us commoners? Please, there’s no need for formalities.”
With polite words and a gesture inviting her to eat comfortably, Ruby resumed peeling the sweet potato without worry. The hot steam wafted, and the yellow flesh looked perfectly tender.
She gently scratched it with her front teeth and bit into it, and an exclamation of delight escaped her lips.
“Wow…”
Her tribe rarely cooked their food. Since they mainly consumed vegetables, there were many things they didn’t need to cook.
“This is so delicious!”
Ruby, surprised that cooked sweet potatoes could taste this good, stopped paying attention to the four wolf men.
Of course, she was surprised when they first appeared, but when she realized their true intentions by their demeanor, she let her guard down.
She had been taught to always thank those who gave her food, so she shyly offered a brief word of thanks.
“Thank you, sirs. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Oh my, why do you keep using such formal language? Please don’t, Miss.”
“Yes, you’re our master’s pet, so this is nothing.”
Ruby was so preoccupied with eating that she didn’t fully catch their conversation.
“But why are you doing laundry in such a remote place?”
The servants, exchanging glances, subtly asked. They were aware that some of the maids were deliberately bullying Ruby.
But there was a clear class distinction between the maids and common servants. The maids were from noble families, while they were mere commoners. They couldn’t directly take sides, but they would find a way to discreetly help regardless.
“Oh, Lady Weaver asked me to wash the Duke’s clothes. She said we have to earn our keep.”
Leslie had never explicitly mentioned it like that, but that was how Ruby understood it, and she didn’t think it was wrong.
“…Is that so?”
The servants exchanged glances upon hearing Ruby’s words. Handing her the newly cooked sweet potatoes wrapped in a fresh cloth, they subtly commented.
“But that’s strange, because in the winter, we usually do our laundry in the laundry room inside the mansion, so maybe there was some miscommunication somewhere?”
“…There’s a laundry room inside?”
“Yes, the estate is generally cold all year round. Even now, it’s chilly, but in the heart of winter, it freezes solid. That’s why we can’t do laundry outside. Our Lord graciously built a laundry room. He’s truly a remarkable and kind person.”
“That’s right, a nobleman who cares about the comfort of us lowly folk. It was made for us by a great nobleman, and you have no idea how much the maids praised him at the time.”
They sat down on the floor and started telling Ruby stories about the mansion.
