FERH 29

Chapter 29

To be precise, the fallout affected the entire Treasury Department.

The Empress Dowager had granted special authority to the Special Taxation Bureau so that they could audit the Treasury Department.

“If it’s the Special Taxation Bureau, they’ll root out even the tiniest speck of dust inside the Treasury Department.”

On top of that, the influence of the Minister of State played a part.

“It is only natural for a father to support his daughter in what she wants to do.”

Thanks to Duke Vinzenheim, who had resolved to help Rianel even if she would never forgive him, he persuaded the Empress Dowager.

• The Special Taxation Bureau is an independent agency established by the late Empress. Since its founding, it has faithfully carried out its duties with integrity and diligence. In recognition of this expertise, it is temporarily granted the authority to inspect the operations and ledgers of other departments.

Part of the reason things had come to this was that the Inspection Bureau, which the late Empress had relied upon, had been completely abolished.

The Special Taxation Bureau had survived anyway since it was originally responsible for tax-related tasks. But the Inspection Bureau, whose role was to keep other departments in check, disappeared as soon as it lost the protection of the late Empress.

The empire did not collapse simply because the Inspection Bureau vanished, so the Empress Dowager did not demand its restoration.

Instead, whenever audits were needed, she would designate a specific department and empower it, and this time, that role fell to the Special Taxation Bureau.

And the people of the Special Taxation Bureau, who were now given additional duties…

“Alright, we have an external audit!”

“Hahaha! Destroy everything! Destroy it all!”

“No, you can’t destroy it! We need to collect evidence!”

Their work satisfaction was at 100%.

“Stop them! Get on the ground!”

“Don’t let them in by any means!”

The Treasury Department staff, who were already on suspension and thinking of it as a kind of vacation, rushed in late, forming a human chain in front of the building and lying down on the floor.

“Hey now, this is obstruction of official duties, sir. Please stand up.”

“I don’t care! Screw you! Go ahead and try!”

“Ah, I see… you’ve cleverly realized that it’s better to be charged with obstruction than to have internal corruption exposed.”

However, the Special Taxation Bureau staff had already gained some experience dealing with multiple high-tax defaulters.

It was common for people to evade collection or block them right at the entrance.

“Let’s lift them one by one. I’ll take the legs, you take the torso.”

“Alright. Up we go, sir, just a little movement.”

“Let go, you dogs of the Empress Dowager!”

Amid the chaos, another door of the Treasury Department opened, and Rianel peeked out.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh, what?”

“There was a back door?”

The Special Taxation Bureau staff stood up and put down what they were carrying, and the Treasury staff, suddenly thrown into the air, widened their eyes in shock.

Everyone in the Treasury Department knew there was a back door, but even they hadn’t been guarding it.

They didn’t know how to open it themselves…

“How did you open it?”

“Found it under a flowerpot. Let’s go.”

Rianel casually returned the key to its place, and the Special Taxation Bureau staff followed her.

“Hey! Stop them! Do something!”

“The back door! Start with the back door!”

“Shouldn’t we block the front door first?”

The Treasury staff, flustered and unsure, ended up having both the front and back doors breached.

“So where are the ledgers? Have you found them?”

If the Treasury staff had been working normally, they would have hidden or burned the internal records as soon as they heard about the audit.

But they had no time to do so…

“Here they are.”

The main records were intact.

“No, you bastards!”

“Sir, please calm down.”

“You little devils!”

“Hey now, that adds assault to obstruction of duty.”

“Wearing a badge makes you think you can run wild, huh!”

No amount of delayed resistance would change anything.

As a result, over time, fewer people resisted, and the Treasury staff, exhausted, either slumped down or sat dejectedly, staring blankly at nothing.

Roiham, thinking it hopeless, didn’t even show up.

Or perhaps he thought he could just pass the internal corruption onto his subordinates.

Either way, it was the perfect time to thoroughly audit the department.

Til picked up a ledger.

“Wait, what’s this? Who told them to lump all the supply expenses together like this?”

He immediately spotted a suspicious entry.

There was no detailed breakdown, only a huge expenditure listed under “Supplies.”

“If anyone in our department had recorded it like this, they would have been dead that very day. Where are the detailed entries?”

“Who would bother recording every minor expense in another department…!”

“We do.”

….

“Even if they bought supplies, the amount is way too large. I have time? I’ll go to the supply warehouse, count everything, and check if the amounts match.”

“Then of course it won’t match! They’re supplies! Already used!”

“Oh, is that so?”

“There’s a way to verify.”

Rianel spoke.

“Merchants delivering goods to the palace will also keep ledgers. We can cross-check the items and amounts there.”

Merchant records were likely clearer than those of the Treasury.

Merchants needed accurate records to confirm transactions and receive payment.

“Even if the merchants colluded with the Treasury staff to manipulate the ledgers… there’s still a way to find out.”

“We can check the tax declarations.”

No one would voluntarily overpay taxes, but everyone reported income correctly to minimize taxes.

“Smart, our newbie is smart.”

“Damn it!”

He cursed thickly and collapsed like a man who had lost all will.

Meanwhile, Rianel was examining another set of records.

“What is this? Why did you label a family trip as an overseas training program?”

“Trip? We actually went to a training institution that issues certificates! This is a legitimate training!”

“Hmm, there is a certificate, but…”

Amid the commotion, Wilbrin approached.

“The actual training was only two days, sir?”

“But the hotel expenses in the ledger are for fifteen days.”

“Wow, that’s true. And you stayed only in the finest hotels. Was the lecture held at a hotel?”

The man caught embezzling could no longer argue and blushed.

Meanwhile, other Special Taxation Bureau staff also began identifying discrepancies.

“What’s with this payroll? Why are we paying a salary to an employee who already left? Severance? Was being a public servant such a good job that they get retirement pay for two years after leaving?”

“As expected, the travel allowances have been taken to the extreme.”

“But no one submitted a travel report.”

“Normally, meal allowances aren’t touched, but submitting the same receipt three times is really lazy.”

The Treasury staff, having their corruption exposed…

“You filthy, despicable bastards!”

“You think you’re so clean! Only drinking first-grade pure water!”

“Hey, we really are clean!”

They had nothing to hide, which was why they could audit other departments in the first place.

The silence lasted only a moment.

Someone, realizing staying quiet would only sink them further, tried to speak and attack.

“How long do you think you can stay on top? The late Empress acted as if she were pure and noble, but in the end, she died buried in the mud! So you—”

Smack!

“Be quiet.”

Rianel slammed a file onto the desk.

Everyone from the Special Taxation Bureau, surprised at her normally businesslike demeanor, widened their eyes, and the Treasury staff fell silent, intimidated.

“Why are you like this?”

Rianel finally realized she had overreacted.

“Insulting the late Empress is equivalent to insulting me.”

“Wow, our newbie really loves her job.”

Wilbrin, who interpreted everything Rianel said positively, gave a thumbs-up.

No one noticed the genuine sincerity behind Rianel’s words.

Except for one person.

“You knew the origins of the Special Taxation Bureau precisely.”

Usually, newcomers are unaware of it, only learning the truth while working in the bureau.

So…

“Then you also know that I became the head of the Special Taxation Bureau for the sake of my mentor.”

Rianel’s true feeling was:

‘No, I didn’t know that.’