Doomsday Wonderland

"The Great House on Sighing Hill"

Jess raised the wide brim of his hat and admired the three-story house in the sun for a while.

It is indeed a large house built by the Marquis family from the time of King Baisha. Although it looks old and tired due to its age and lack of repairs, the momentum in its bones from another era still makes people awe-inspiring when looking at it. Respectfully.

When Jess rang the doorbell, she couldn't help but think of the dinner at her friend's house before leaving.

"Marquis,"

As a way to congratulate her on finding a new job and to see her off, Manli cooked a lot of dishes and said while setting the table, "Even if the Marquis is not as good as he used to be, he is still a nobleman. I have never seen such a living person in my life." The nobles."

"I wonder if it will be more difficult to deal with than Little Pete," Jess couldn't help but shuddered as she thought of her last employer. "I have never met such a disgusting child... Isn't it bad for me to say this?"

"Governors are human beings too! Why can't you complain? However, the family tradition of the Marquis' family should be different," Manli comforted, "Remember to call me more often. When your work is on track, I will go there when I have time. It’s up to you.”

Jess nodded, paused, and then said: "You...you don't have to worry about me. That other mansion is far away."

After knowing each other for many years, she could tell at a glance that Manli was pretending to be relaxed when she answered: "Who is worried about you? I just want to see the count's summer residence."

As the door lock turned, one of the heavy wooden doors was opened, and Jess's thoughts were brought back to the present.

A very neatly dressed man, probably in his thirties, with a narrow face and a narrow chin, looked at her and raised one eyebrow in confusion.

"Hello," she smiled, putting down her suitcase and holding out a hand. "I'm Jess. The Marquis asked me to come in advance -"

"Oh," the man smiled apologetically, "You're looking in the wrong place."

Jess was stunned. Did the driver put her in the wrong place? Maybe it's because the private land outside is too big and there is no road? In remote rural areas, many roads don't even have names at all.

"Isn't this the Marquis' Mansion?"

"No, people often misunderstand this." He said, "You walk out of this green grassland and pass through a forest. The Marquis's house is about two kilometers away."

Jess thanked him blankly and picked up the suitcase again. The car she hired had already left, and she had to make a phone call to get another one from the rental company - "Can I borrow the house phone?"

"No problem," the man said enthusiastically as he led her into the corridor. The interior of the house was unexpectedly dark compared to the sunlight outside; upon entering the porch, a telephone sat on a small stand, its dial wiped clean like the furniture floor.

Jess took out her notepad, found the phone number of the local car rental company, and dialed it. After telling her the destination and fare, when the operator asked her where to pick her up, she asked the man in a low voice for the address, and then said into the phone: "I'm at the back of West Wind Village, on the west side of Sighing Hill. Big house."

The operator paused. "are you sure?"

"Yes……"

"Is this a joke?" The operator's voice sank a little unhappily, "Miss, you are at the Marquis Mansion."

"What?"

"The other name of the Marquis Mansion is the Sighing Hill House——"

Before Jess could hear the last part of the operator's words clearly, the man beside him suddenly burst into loud laughter. He laughed so hard that he wiped away tears and reached out to press the phone button.

"I'm the Marquis' butler, White," he said out of breath. "I've known for a long time that you were the tutor who was coming. I didn't expect you to be so easy to deceive! I'm kidding, we don't have that kind of tutor here. Restricted... eh, it made me laugh..."

Jess felt blood rushing to her face. She didn't find it funny at all; but she also didn't want people to think that she took herself too seriously, couldn't take a joke, and could only stand there for a while, feeling like a fool.

She came to work, she warned herself twice. Colleagues could be any kind of person, and she had to ensure that every move she made was professional; but even so, Jess still couldn't get rid of that uncomfortable feeling of stiffness.

"I've been waiting for you all morning," White didn't notice at all. He enthusiastically took her suitcase and said, "The Marquis and his family will arrive in two days. I will take you to your room first and wait until you are ready. Please go downstairs and let’s talk about the work you should do in the past two days.”

...Maybe the other person is not bad, but just has no sense of proportion.

Her room was located at the end of the corridor on the second floor, on the same floor as the Marquis's daughter's room, just at opposite ends of the house. The room was quite spacious and attached to a bathroom, but it had not been used for a long time and there was a thin layer of dust everywhere. After Jess took out her few luggage and put them away one by one, she changed her clothes and went downstairs.

"The cook and gardener are both temporary hires from nearby villages. The cook comes and leaves twice a day, and the gardener comes once a week." White sat with her at the kitchen island and said, "So it's mainly you and me. , responsible for cleaning the house before the Marquis and his family arrive. The cook won't come in the morning, so we need to take turns preparing breakfast. In addition, there is also some repair and purchase work..."

Jess wrote down her assigned work in her notebook and added, "I need to decorate a room for classes."

"No problem," White said with a smile, "The room has been reserved for a long time, and there are textbooks and materials for grades four to six."

"Isn't Mona only eight years old?" Jess asked.

"She has always been homeschooled, so she learns the content quickly." White lowered his eyes and said in a tone that was almost endorsement. "She may have additional requirements for you... No, she definitely has additional requirements, quite a few."

It doesn't sound like a worry-free job... Jess sighed in her stomach, thinking about what to say to Manli, and then remembered another thing she wanted to ask: "About making phone calls, there are What are the rules?"

"Nothing special," White said. "Try to call during breaks and don't occupy the phone for too long. That'll be fine."

*

When the Marquis and his family arrived, Jess saw the Marquis himself and his daughter for the first time. During the interview, she discovered that the Marquise was the type of person who felt that her responsibility as a parent was only to find a qualified nanny, wet nurse, or tutor for her children—once this task was completed, she would be free.

The paunchy Marquis didn't really bring glory to his aristocratic image; he always seemed to have part of his mind on some distant matter. He hurriedly said "I'm sorry" to Jess and disappeared into the house.

"Hello," Jess stretched out his hand to the little girl with a yellow braid in front of him and said with a smile, "When I am you..."

"I know, Jess." The little girl interrupted. "I want to make it clear to you, my name is Mona, and my friend's name is Lisa, but I'm tired of that boring Mona Lisa joke, so don't say it."

"Your friend?" Jess was startled.

"Yes, here," Mona pointed to the air around her, "She is the same age as me and doesn't like math, so you have to take her into consideration when teaching math class."

Oh... During the interview, the Marquise did say something vaguely that her daughter was special. It is common for children who have been educated at home instead of going to school to imagine an imaginary friend for themselves when they feel lonely.

*

"Let me just say, kids are really puzzling creatures,"

After a hectic day at work, Manly's voice sounded particularly friendly on the phone. "No, it's not confusing. Although it's normal to have imaginary friends, I still find it a bit creepy! I haven't had imaginary friends since I was a child."

"That's because you are popular, or maybe you have forgotten." Jess smiled and replied, "I was very introverted when I was a child, so I imagined that my toys were my friends."

"That's better than imagining that air is a friend," Manly muttered. "How was it? Your first day?"

"It went well," Jess rolled up the phone cord, looked at both ends of the corridor and saw that there was no one, and said in a low voice, "As I told you, the housekeeper is a bit, um... imprudent. And there is no phone in my room, which is quite good. inconvenient."

"Don't let him hear you talking bad about people behind their backs," Manli laughed.

*

Mona is a girl with strong ideas. During class, she insisted on bringing two chairs, one for herself and one for her friend Lisa. During class, she would also stop in a dignified manner, turn around and ask the air on the chair next to her: "Lisa, do you understand this part? Do you want Jess to tell it again?"

It's obvious that I didn't understand it, I'm sorry to say it - this child is quite cute in some ways.

Mona seemed to quickly discover that "Jess is the adult I like", so the two became very close within a few days, and they were inseparable even when eating and walking.

Because Jies has to take care of and educate the children, UU Reading www.uukanshu.net, so no matter who prepares breakfast or cleans up every day, it is left to White to do it. Logically speaking, the housekeeper does not need to be so hands-on, but it is a pity that the Marquis family is not like before. , couldn't afford to hire too many people, so both of them took on a lot of extra work. This morning, as usual, Jess took Mona out for a walk after breakfast.

"You see, this is what we have learned, plants perform photosynthesis through their leaves..."

Jess said while stroking a large wall-creeper. At this time, they walked behind the big house in Sighing Hill. The entire wall was covered with dark green leaves. She happened to find a lot of poison ivy from the wall-creepers, and quickly called out to Mona who was a few steps away. : "Come and get to know this -"

The little girl didn't respond to her. She just turned her head slightly and stopped. Only her long brown hair flashed past.

Jess's words were stuck in his throat.

Next to her hand, someone tugged on her sleeve. She looked down and found Mona looking at her and saying, "I'm here."

Jess squatted down next to her. From the corner of his eye, he could see the back of the little brown-haired girl still standing quietly a few steps away.

Even she didn't know why, but she heard herself ask in a hoarse whisper: "Lisa...where's Lisa?"

Mona shrugged her shoulders and flicked her yellow braid. "I told you, Lisa didn't get up today and was sleeping in the house."

Jess wanted to say something, but she couldn't even get angry.

A few steps away, the little brown-haired girl didn't move.

Mona's eyes swept over the place where the little girl was several times, but she obviously didn't see anything. Instead, she asked, "Jess? What's wrong with you? What are you looking at?"

No... You must not let the Marquis family know your past.

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