FERH 09

Chapter 09

But Lianel was a civil servant.

Unless she committed a truly serious crime, she couldn’t be dismissed easily.

And there was no way to stop her from contacting the Duke or the Imperial Palace.

‘Isn’t there some way… to send Lianel far, far away?’

Vanessa, pacing anxiously around her room, suddenly froze as an idea struck her.

‘Right. I can just marry her off into another family so she can’t meddle with the Duke’s affairs anymore.’

If Lianel got married, she would naturally have to quit her job.

Vanessa had been irritated by rumors of Lianel’s recent achievements in the Special Taxation Bureau — this would cut that off neatly as well.

Most importantly, as the acting mistress of the household, Vanessa had the authority to arrange Lianel’s marriage herself.

“…Now then, who should I pick as Lianel’s match?”

She smiled slyly as she considered the list of possible suitors.

She planned to set her up with someone perfectly suited to Lianel’s terrible reputation.

Cedric Bartello was suspended.

He had been caught embezzling funds from the Ministry of Finance’s budget.

A suspension was a temporary disciplinary measure pending full investigation — a way to prevent someone from resigning before the truth was uncovered.

Since Cedric’s dismissal was all but certain, people began to suspect something more.

The budget Cedric embezzled was closely tied to the documents Lianel had reported missing.

“I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to cover up his own embezzlement.”

“Same here.”

The employees of the Special Taxation Bureau whispered among themselves. They’d seen Cedric openly mock and pick fights with Lianel at official functions — it wasn’t hard to imagine how he must’ve treated her day-to-day.

Still, since Lianel herself said nothing, the rest felt awkward gossiping about it.

“If it were me, I’d have cussed him out at least once.”

“Same! I’d be crying injustice all over town.”

“So this is what they mean by ‘noble dignity,’ huh?”

In truth, Lianel stayed silent because the events had occurred before she possessed this body — but to the others, her composure was awe-inspiring.

‘I could never be that calm!’

“Did you ever get an apology?”

“I received a letter.”

“Oh yeah? What did it say?”

Lianel was now living alone, away from the Duke’s estate.

No one was close enough to know her address, so Cedric sent his letter to the Special Taxation Bureau instead.

Lianel had opened it thinking it was an official document.

“I admit I made a mistake last time. But think about it — the only reason you even managed to get into the Special Taxation Bureau is because I didn’t include your name in the embezzlement case. So if you could just talk to the Minister of State and ask him to be a little lenient…”

‘What a waste of time.’

She folded the letter neatly and tossed it into the incinerator.

Cedric sent a few more letters afterward, but—

“I didn’t read them.”

“Really? Too bad. I was curious what he wrote.”

At some point, he stopped sending anything, perhaps realizing it wasn’t working.

Not that Cedric had time for letter-writing anyway — he was scrambling to gather enough funds to pay his penalty taxes.

Rumor had it he’d even put his house up for sale and was making rounds to various banks.

The people at the bureau whispered again.

“But that’s not gonna be enough.”

“Exactly. Even if he liquidates everything, what’s three hundred million gold going to do?”

Three hundred million was a large sum for an individual, but meager for a government budget.

And he couldn’t exactly demand extra budget just because he wanted to use his allocation authority.

That left only one viable route — to use the bureau’s tax collection authority, just as the Empress Dowager had said.

There were two ways to do it:

Find someone like Cedric with clear evidence of tax evasion, or locate a major delinquent and collect their unpaid taxes.

Since the names and amounts of these delinquents were all publicly listed, the latter option seemed easier — but…

“It’s not. The reason those people are still on the list is because all previous collectors gave up.”

“Even if you go to their homes, they’re never there. Sometimes their servants just bar the door and say they’re away. Half the time, no one even knows if that’s their real residence.”

“Hiding assets under someone else’s name is basic stuff. They convert them into jewels or art pieces and stash them away…”

“Seriously, how are they so damn clever only when it comes to this sort of thing?”

The bureau employees grumbled.

“Should we just barge in like lunatics? Maybe if we all go together, we could force our way in.”

“Are you insane? You’d get reported for trespassing.”

“Then we’ll pay the fine after we collect the taxes!”

Beneath their complaints, though, was a strange mix of excitement and anticipation.

After all, there was no greater thrill than legally robbing someone’s vault — especially when that vault belonged to a tax dodger.

“So, everyone’s in, right? Unless you’ve got plans after work—”

At that moment, Lianel, who had been listening quietly, raised her hand.

“I can’t join.”

Her after-hours schedule was already set — a blind date.

“I already have a prior engagement.”

And with that,

“What?!”

The room exploded in disbelief in less than a second.

“Come on, tell us everything!”

The senior staff dragged their chairs over, forming a semicircle around her.

Everyone else leaned in with interest.

Meanwhile, Lianel remained perfectly calm, as if she were in a different world altogether.

“It’s a match arranged through my family. I don’t have much else to say.”

“So this is one of those political marriages, huh?”

One senior muttered, while another voiced concern.

“Wait, does that mean our rookie’s quitting?”

“What? Why would she quit?”

“Because that’s what noblewomen do when they get married!”

The once-lively group fell silent.

Rebecca, sitting next to Lianel, slung an arm around her shoulder and sighed.

“Kid, marriage is the grave of life. Don’t chain yourself to childrearing and domestic drudgery already. You’ll never be off the clock again — unpaid overtime forever.”

Wilbrin chimed in.

“Do you have to go? Or is the guy just that amazing?”

“Before I answer that, you’ll need to define what you mean by ‘amazing.’”

“Oh, for crying out loud!”

Wilbrin groaned at her usual logical tone.

“He’s a middle-aged man, twenty years my senior, balding, with a bit of a belly.”

“…That’s awful. Why meet someone like that? What’s his redeeming quality?”

“He’s wealthy.”

“What? So you’re going just for the money?”

“Yes.”

Lianel’s curt answer left the room speechless.

Rebecca propped her chin on her hand.

“She didn’t even hesitate. Shouldn’t you at least pretend otherwise?”

“Denying reality doesn’t help solve problems.”

“I can’t with you.”

As the whole office sank into chaos—

“What’s all the commotion?”

Director Asil entered the building and noticed the crowd.

“Director! Come here for a second!”

Wilbrin pulled him into the office and explained the situation.

After hearing everything, Asil returned outside.

“If you’re being pressured by your family to marry, I might be able to help.”

He had quietly investigated and learned that Lianel lived alone, separated from her family, and wasn’t particularly well off.

And given the circumstances that brought her to the bureau — likely due to a false accusation — he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

‘And that strange, formal tone of hers… it reminds me of Master.’

“No. I’m meeting him of my own will.”

Lianel shook her head firmly, checked the clock, picked up her bag, and stood.

“It’s time to leave. I have an appointment.”

“Wait, hey—!”

Her seniors called after her, but she didn’t look back.

Lianel wasn’t lying.

Her blind date partner, Marquis Bortain Parniel, was indeed a major tax delinquent.

Lianel, who valued efficiency and avoided unnecessary work, had no fondness for after-hours duties.

But this time, her target reignited a spark of purpose.

‘I never thought I’d see this name again.’

In her previous life, back when she was still a student, she had worked as an intern at Marquis Parniel’s company to pay for tuition and living expenses.

“Of course I want to pay your salary — but how am I supposed to give you money I don’t have? I’m struggling too, you know.”

She had worked three months unpaid, waiting patiently, but the Marquis never paid her, claiming financial hardship.

That incident was what made her decide to become a tenured professor with a stable income.

Even after all her later success, she still vividly remembered the hunger and humiliation of those days — skipping meals because she couldn’t afford food, borrowing money from classmates.

‘And he’s still living like this.’

He had deliberately defaulted on loans, routinely withheld wages, and even evaded taxes — that was how he’d built his fortune.

‘Then it’s time someone taught him a lesson.’

“Are you Marquis Parniel?”

Because there are only two things in life you can’t escape — taxes and death.

“I’m from the Special Taxation Bureau.”