TMLAM 15

Chapter 15

“Why don’t you just quietly turn yourself in and prepare for marriage?! How dare you crawl out here and interfere in men’s affairs! You—did your father teach you like this? That’s the kind of family you come from, so no wonder you turned out this way! Your Grace, you must not be swayed by a woman like that. I’ll send you a capable child instead—!”

“Hmm… You must be Count Sroil.”

“That’s right! You wench, we’re not even of the same status to begin with. Do you understand now? Hmph, there’s nothing more to say, Your Grace. My niece has just returned home after graduating from the Academy with excellent grades. You should use her instead. She’s quick-witted and knows how to listen. That thing over there is only fit for the bedroom.”

Aidan and Jaiman tried to stop him, but I stopped them instead.

What kind of damage could words like that even do? Tch. I’d never lost a verbal battle in my life. Even under that trash of a superior, I’d managed to subtly mess with him just enough that my coworkers cheered me on every time.

The House of Sroil, huh.

Did he really think I only spent three years organizing ledgers? To create a proper report, you have to know who spent the money, how it was used, and exactly how it was siphoned off. That was only natural if my claims were to carry weight.

“Count, over the past two years, you’ve interfered with the suppliers providing food ingredients.”

“What nonsense are you spouting! Your Grace, remove that woman at once! What could a woman possibly know to speak like this—honestly!”

“I heard that instead of assigning the work to a fair contractor, you gave it to your wife’s family and doubled the prices. I personally went to the head chef to confirm this, Your Grace. The prices clearly doubled, but the quality of the goods dropped. When I asked the supplier directly, they said they had ties to House Sroil.”

“W-What?! How dare you frame me like this! Those were clearly top-quality goods! Are you just going to sit there and listen to the ramblings of an ignorant woman, Your Grace?!”

“Sigh. It seems the Count has been scammed by his in-laws, Your Grace. Otherwise, how could he truly know nothing? Even I could tell inferior ingredients were mixed in. You really should rein in your wife’s family, Count. I mean, honestly—they’ve been going around using your name.”

I’d known all this for a while, but I hadn’t bothered to make an issue of it.

It wasn’t my job. Once I prepared the documents, others would gladly draw their swords. Why would I get involved in something so bothersome?
But touching me was a different matter.

Besides, this was a stage Kristan had prepared for me. Why else would he bring me here? He was clearly telling me to show off my abilities.

I hated trouble, but having my competence recognized was always important.

“The head chef said they kept shouting, ‘Do you know who I am?’ They claimed to be your brother-in-law and shut everyone up. Poor Count Sroil—you really were stabbed in the back without knowing a thing. And you keep going on about ‘women, women,’ but honestly, Count, isn’t it about time for you to step aside? Your age is… Oh my! That’s why you keep getting fooled!”

At my words—which completely obliterated the idea of respecting one’s elders—Count Sroil trembled like a mute who’d swallowed honey. An adult should act like one if they want to be treated like one.

“Oh dear, how pitiful.”

I mocked him, forming a teardrop shape with my fingers. Count Sroil clutched the back of his neck.

If you’re going to do dirty things, don’t go provoking people.

People like him needed to be crushed completely.

The nobles who witnessed Count Sroil’s humiliation coughed awkwardly and turned away. They were all dusty themselves—no one wanted to be embarrassed like him.

As I shrugged, I noticed Grand Duke Kristan watching me with a satisfied smile.

With a superior backing you, what’s there to fear?

Aidan and Jaiman stared at me in shock. After that, no one dared to pick a fight with me during the meeting.

Instead, once the meeting ended, people began lingering around me.

“Ahem, ahem. Miss Roella, perhaps our family—”
“My sister-in-law…”
“It’s my younger brother, you see. He didn’t mean to—it was a scam…”
“Please, put in a good word with His Grace, will you?”
“Yes, of course. I understand how unfair it must feel. His Grace already knows everything, you know. That’s probably why he forgave you. If you make up for it going forward, I’m sure he’ll forget everything.”
“Y-You think so?”
“That’s what I believe.”

At my words, the elderly nobles’ faces brightened, and one by one they left. Having gained hope, they’d surely try to do something—anything—to erase their pasts.

There would be wailing everywhere.

That, too, sounded entertaining to watch.

Aidan and Jaiman approached me.

“…You were truly impressive today, Miss Roella.”
“Isn’t that thanks to everything I learned from you two? Haha. I do hope Count Sroil will be all right.”
“That man will be fine. You did great today, Miss Roella.”

The way they looked at me had changed.

Heh. Was I kind of cool today?

* * *

Furious, Count Sroil summoned the nobles.

He couldn’t forget the humiliation he’d suffered that day. What angered him even more was the Grand Duke, who ignored years of loyalty and allowed Roella to run rampant.

To be humiliated at an age when he should have been enjoying his grandchildren’s antics!

Bang!

Count Sroil slammed the table. Yet none of the nobles who usually came running at his call were to be seen.

“Why are they all dragging their feet like this?!”

He trembled with rage. Only after an hour did people begin to appear—and even then, only three.

“Where has everyone gone?! Didn’t they know I summoned them?! And why are you so late as well?!”

“Hmph. You should be grateful we came at all, Count. Have you already forgotten what happened at today’s meeting?”
“Of course I remember! That’s why I called you! Do you see me as a useless old relic too? We need to discuss how to deal with that cursed woman!”
“Deal with her…? That’s a bit much…”
“What?”
The nobles avoided Count Sroil’s gaze and turned their heads away.

What happened today had indeed been humiliating. It was as though the entire old power structure of the North had been toyed with. But even so, no one there could take Count Sroil’s side.

He had tried to suppress Roella using outdated customs, while she attacked him with precise evidence of corruption. Even with her mocking tone, siding against her would have meant sharing his fate.

Moreover, no one who saw the way the Grand Duke looked at Roella would dare oppose her.

“Ah, Count Sroil, perhaps it’s time you restrained yourself. That moment has come. You couldn’t say a single word back then, yet now you gather us like this in the shadows!”
“W-What?!”
“It’s true, isn’t it? What matters now is that the Grand Duke said he’d cover everything and give you another chance. Weren’t you thinking of passing things on to your son anyway? This really isn’t the time for you to be acting like this. One more mistake, and it’ll end exactly as Miss Roella said!”
“What are you talking about?!”

With nothing left to say, Count Sroil could only repeat the same words again and again.