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Chapter 8
Pesha was walking briskly through the castle when she spotted a maid quietly cleaning the seemingly endless corridor with a bucket and a mop. She spoke to her.
“Good work. I have something to order the butler about, so could you call him to my room?”
“Yes, Madam.”
While the maid went to fetch the butler, Pesha returned to her room. Putting aside her sense of helplessness for the moment, she began writing down the problems that needed to be dealt with first.
Then came two knocks on the door.
“Madam. This is Albert, the butler. I was told you called for me.”
“Come in.”
She was sitting at the desk, writing down the problems that needed to be solved. Without taking her eyes off the paper, she held out her hand toward the butler.
“Good. I have something to ask you and something to tell you. First, bring me the financial report for the count’s household.”
“The financial report…?”
“Yes.”
But despite Pesha’s outstretched hand, the butler looked troubled.
“If I may ask, what do you need it for?”
Was there really a reason the Countess needed to look at the household accounts?
Even though she had only been married for a short time, she was still the mistress of the Count’s castle.
Pesha raised her head and looked at the butler. She found his question a little absurd, but answered him politely.
“I’m the mistress of this castle now, so I’m going to do what I’m supposed to do.”
“Ah…”
If there was no problem, he should have simply handed it over. Instead, he cleared his throat and answered in a formal tone.
“Um, Madam. I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that will be difficult.”
“What?”
Had he just openly refused her order?
Had she been too polite for him to realize it was an order?
“Why?”
“I have been handling all of the household affairs of this castle and managing the financial records without a single mistake. I have done so ever since His Lordship was granted the title of Count.”
And?
What was she supposed to do with that information?
“Since I have been managing everything all this time, the records and procedures have been arranged according to my own system, so they may be difficult for you to understand. The handover process would also be quite complicated.”
“I see. So where is the financial report?”
Pesha didn’t care about his roundabout way of speaking. She kept her hand outstretched.
Seeing that she had no intention of backing down, the butler finally revealed what he really thought.
“Well… I imagine you are still inexperienced, Madam, and that you will be quite busy with many other matters while you adjust to the territory. So wouldn’t it be more reasonable for me to continue managing everything as I have done until now? Of course, I promise that I will hand over the accounts once you are sufficiently prepared.”
Pesha smiled sweetly.
“When? Ten years from now? Or when I die?”
“Pardon?”
There was probably plenty of information circulating about Io, whose reputation as a purification mage was already widespread. But comparatively little was known about Pesha.
Perhaps because of that, the butler seemed to think that if he made excuses and dragged things out long enough, Pesha would eventually give up or become too bothered to deal with it and simply leave the authority in his hands.
In fact, Pesha had grown up in an environment where there was no lady of the house managing the household at the Rydell ducal family. As a result, she couldn’t clearly define what the mistress of a noble household was actually supposed to do.
She had been too busy with other things to learn such matters while growing up without a mother.
Besides, Duke Rydell, her father, was hardly the type of man who would patiently teach her such things.
After giving Jeremy the opportunity and giving up her plans to study abroad, Pesha had been taught basic knowledge and etiquette by tutors arranged by her father.
However, she had been particularly interested in herbalism and spent her spare time studying it on her own. She simply hadn’t had the time to learn the practical aspects of managing a household.
“As you know, the capital and the East are quite different, and it may be overwhelming for you to take over the household accounts right away. And, most importantly, do you actually know how to handle accounting?”
His voice remained polite, but by the end, his tone was openly dismissive.
Pesha kept smiling as she answered.
“Of course I do. Do you really think I never received even basic accounting lessons?”
“I don’t mean basic accounting. I mean something more advanced…”
“Butler, is there perhaps some kind of Countess Studies that I don’t know about? From what you’re saying, it sounds as though only a woman who has mastered advanced accounting, the customs of the East, and your personal system can become a Countess. I suppose that must be another condition of marriage I didn’t know about. But what can I do? I’m already married.”
“…”
It wasn’t as though the butler couldn’t understand that she was telling him to hand over the records immediately. Yet he stubbornly refused to give them to her, making a pained groaning sound as he continued to resist.
Isn’t he embezzling money behind the scenes?
‘Now I understand why the food stores are filled with nothing but potatoes and tough meat. This bastard must be the reason. You’re going to pay for this.’
Suspicion began to grow inside her, and Pesha decided that she shouldn’t back down. She needed to push him harder.
“Why aren’t you answering? It seems my order…”
She was just about to ask if her order didn’t sound like an order to him when—
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
Pesha and the butler both turned their heads toward it at the same time.
“Who is it? Come in.”
The butler hurriedly let the person inside, even though this wasn’t his room or his guest, clearly trying to change the subject and break off the conversation.
The door opened slightly, and a woman appeared.
It was Philia, the head maid.
“I’m sorry to interrupt. I have something to tell Madam…”
“Is something wrong?”
When Pesha asked, Philia clasped her hands politely and lowered her head.
“It concerns the new dress you ordered yesterday. It is rather urgent. The tailor is waiting to take your measurements. Would you be able to spare some time?”
“My dress?”
A dress?
She had never ordered anything like that.
There was no way she would suddenly order a new dress on the first day after getting married and arriving at the Count’s castle.
But she wasn’t so insensitive that she would openly question Philia about it.
Apparently, Philia had another reason for coming.
If she was even willing to lie about a dress, then Pesha thought she should hear what she had to say before dealing with the financial records.
Still annoyed, Pesha deliberately gave the butler a pointed look and spoke.
“Butler, we’ll continue our earlier conversation later, so you can go for now.”
“Yes. Understood.”
The butler hurriedly left the room with a shameless expression.
After the sound of his footsteps had faded down the corridor, Pesha spoke.
“So. What’s going on?”
Philia kept glancing toward the door as though checking whether the butler had really gone. Then she lowered her voice.
“Madam. Did you call the butler to discuss the household accounts?”
“Why?”
“If I may be so bold, please don’t do that.”
Pesha stared at Philia without even noticing that the ink from the quill in her hand had dripped onto the paper.
“Tell me why.”
“Please don’t misunderstand, Madam. I’m saying this for your sake. I’m worried about you.”
“Then why are you worried?”
