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Chapter 15
Wilhelmina repeated exactly what Jane had said earlier.
“The more investment you receive, the more opportunities you can take on.”
Even if there was no immediate profit, once you had enough capital, you could try anything. Hadn’t she believed the same thing herself?
‘It’s not just about getting more investments. In the early stages of a business, you pay less in taxes, and if the company keeps growing, you can even secure loans with collateral. Your credit rating improves too…’
“Besides, if you have a paper company, you can even keep double books.”
“A paper company?”
“A company that exists in name only… You know, like a trading company. A subsidiary that pretends not to be one, or a fake company that acts like it doesn’t actually do any business.”
Watching Wilhelmina tilt her head as if asking, ‘You’ve never heard of it?’, Jane felt a chill run all the way down her spine. Countless loopholes and illicit schemes were already racing through her mind.
‘Double bookkeeping… Create a fake trading company that exists only to attract investments and hide funds, while making the parent company appear to be steadily growing.’
Jane was young and inexperienced, but she possessed an extraordinary mind.
Although she had worked at the grain store for barely a year, her ability to adapt and apply new ideas far surpassed that of ordinary merchants.
Meanwhile, completely unaware of what Jane was thinking, Wilhelmina simply muttered to herself,
“I’m starting to get hungry.”
Without sparing Wilhelmina another glance, Jane continued calculating at the speed expected of a capable merchant.
‘This woman… she’s the real deal.’
Wilhelmina had no idea.
She didn’t know that this brief meeting had become the first spark that introduced concepts inspired by the highly sophisticated corporate crimes of 21st-century Earth.
Fortunately, Jane was no villain. She was the sort of righteous person who wished to expose and condemn those who abused such methods.
Completely unaware that Jane had stopped seeing her as merely a spoiled noblewoman and had begun viewing her as an eccentric hiding unimaginable secrets, Wilhelmina happily finished the rest of her quince tea.
“I’ll be visiting often.”
Unlike when she first arrived, Jane left wearing a bright smile.
I was the one who had gained useful information from our conversation, yet she kept thanking me over and over, insisting she wanted to come back and learn more.
‘Merchants really have it rough if they have to impress investors like this.’
I assumed it was simply good manners toward someone who had given her money, so I accepted her polite words without thinking much of them.
“Next is the celebration banquet, huh?”
From here on, I’d have to do the legwork myself.
It was cold enough that I didn’t want to leave the house unless absolutely necessary, but this wasn’t something I could handle while staying indoors.
I called Anna and had her prepare my coat.
Our destination was the military camp where the Margrave was staying.
It was much too far to walk, so we’d have to call for a carriage.
Just as I was about to leave with one of the knights guarding the annex, Anna’s raised voice echoed from the direction of the stables.
“Why not?!”
“W-Well… the horses belong to the Master…”
“It’s not like we’re going far! We’re staying inside the territory!”
I slowly walked toward the stable.
The stable keeper, who looked rather gentle by nature, was standing there with an awkward expression as Anna confronted him.
Still holding my coat, Anna glared at him with clenched fists.
“Anna, what’s going on?”
The moment I called her name, she whipped her head around.
She was so furious that despite the chilly weather, her face had turned bright red with heat.
“I’m sorry, My Lady. What happened is…”
Perhaps realizing she couldn’t continue shouting in front of me, Anna took a deep breath before calmly explaining.
The trouble had started when they tried to borrow a horse for my carriage.
There was no issue with me leaving the estate.
The problem was that there wasn’t a horse available for me to ride.
Horses were among the most valuable assets in this world.
If women displayed their status through jewelry and dresses, then it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that men displayed theirs through their horses.
The horses kept in the annex had all been treasured masterpieces personally cherished by the late Duke.
Each one was worth as much as an average mansion.
Upon the late Duke’s death, ownership of every one of those horses had passed to Mikhail.
That meant I could only borrow one with Mikhail’s permission.
‘This is rather ridiculous.’
A mother having to ask her son for permission just to leave the house on horseback.
Even among noble families, that wasn’t exactly common.
‘They don’t truly see me as the Lady of the house, so they can’t simply lend them to me.’
If anything happened to one of the horses, it would be the stable keeper’s neck on the line.
Naturally, he didn’t want to lend one out without Mikhail’s approval and risk drawing his anger.
He might call me “My Lady,” but to him I was nothing more than a guest staying in the annex—not someone important enough to authorize the use of the horses.
Besides, there was no way he knew about the arrangement between Helene and me.
It was that prejudice that had enraged Anna only moments ago.
‘I can’t exactly say I don’t understand.’
Perhaps because I had lived such an ordinary life for so long, I found myself sympathizing with the stable keeper’s position before my own.
“It can’t be helped. We’ll just walk.”
“What? My Lady!”
Anna practically stomped her feet.
After patting her shoulder to calm her down, I took the coat from her hands and draped it over my shoulders.
It was thick and plain, but wonderfully warm.
She must have warmed it by the fireplace before bringing it.
This was exactly why I could never dislike Anna.
Smiling faintly, I turned toward the stable keeper.
“Then can we at least hire a carriage from outside?”
“Y-Yes! Of course! I’ll summon the finest carriage available.”
It couldn’t compare to one belonging to the Ducal House, but the town had plenty of elegant carriages used to transport distinguished guests.
They were essentially this world’s version of taxis.
The stable keeper hurriedly flagged down a passing servant and ordered him to fetch one.
“But, My Lady… if you ride in one of those, your reputation…”
Anna looked close to tears, clearly wanting to say much more.
“It’s alright. I’m only going out for a little while. Who’s going to see me? A person’s well-being is far more important than a little reputation.”
Hearing me speak as though I understood his situation, the stable keeper’s face brightened with relief.
Watching him quietly, I deliberately spoke clearly enough for him to hear.
“Still, I don’t see why horses I can’t ride should remain in the annex.”
“Ah…”
“I should contact Helene and have the stable removed. We’ll move the horses back to the castle stables, and your duties can be reassigned as well. There’s really no reason for the annex to have its own stable.”
“…”
His face instantly turned deathly pale.
‘Did you think nobody noticed how comfortable your life is here?’
The servants assigned to the annex enjoyed a far easier life than those serving in the main castle.
Personally, I thought even that was an unfair working arrangement.
Still, there was no denying they had it much easier.
And that was entirely thanks to me.
‘I was generous enough, but I can’t forgive someone who forgets his place.’
The servants in the annex worked comfortably because they acknowledged me as the Lady of the house.
Since they treated me with respect, I returned the favor by making their lives easier.
But just because I treated my servants kindly didn’t mean I was generous enough to embrace everyone without exception.
I was simply an ordinary noble who preferred to keep only those who treated me well by my side.
If someone chose their own security before showing me even basic respect, then all I had to do was send them back to where they truly belonged.
Desperate not to lose his comfortable position in the annex, the stable keeper hurriedly pointed toward a horse standing in the corner of the stable.
“M-My Lady… then perhaps you could use that horse?”
“Whose horse is that?”
“It… it belongs to the Master, but…”
Before he could finish, Anna cut him off.
“My Lady, that’s the oldest horse here. It’s also the cheapest one.”
“Oh?”
Even now, terrified of being transferred, he was offering me the cheapest horse he had.
If nothing else, I had to admire how consistent he was in refusing to treat me with genuine respect.
When I let out a small laugh, his shoulders shrank even further.
“B-But… if one of the other horses were injured… my life…”
“You’re right. I respect your professional responsibility. So I’ll send you somewhere you can uphold that professionalism without compromise. Don’t worry. Did I ever say I was sending you to prison? Cheer up.”
“My Lady!”
“Lower your voice. A stable keeper who refuses to provide a horse is punished far less severely than a servant who raises his voice against his master.”
“U-Ugh…”
With those words, I left the stable together with Anna and headed toward the castle gates.
I could feel a gaze filled with despair and resentment burning into my back, but I never looked back.
Walking closely beside me, Anna’s eyes sparkled.
“That man doesn’t even show up for morning roll call. Since he works alone, nobody scolds him even if he takes naps during the day.”
“Really?”
“Normally, coachmen and stable workers have incredibly strict jobs. Once he gets transferred back to the castle, they’ll work him to the bone.”
“So, Anna… do you think I’m being too harsh by sending him back to the castle?”
Anna immediately shook her head with all her strength.
“No, not at all. I think that’s exactly what should happen. Honestly, it wouldn’t even be strange if he were punished more severely.”
“I see. That’s good.”
‘I’m glad you aren’t disappointed in me.’
