NLBM 08

“Ma’am!”

“Are you alright!”

As soon as the shouts rang out, the voices of the butler and the head maid followed.

I, who had been clutching my head, quickly fixed my disheveled hair and pretended nothing had happened.

“Why are you behaving like that?”

“We heard a scream from this direction!”

“Did something happen to you?”

“You must have both been hearing things. I didn’t make any sound.”

“But we clearly heard something…”

“I’m telling you, nothing happened.”

As I widened my eyes and emphasized that I was fine, the two of them looked at me in confusion and repeatedly checked on my condition, as if still worried.

“Was there perhaps an intruder?”

“No.”

“Then where are the maids who were by your side? They were with you until just before I left.”

“I sent them on errands. I told Mary to bring ink and parchment, and Rose to bring refreshments.”

“…I see. That’s a relief.”

“I’m fine, so you may leave.”

“But!”

“Yes. We’ll be going then, so please rest, ma’am.”

Sebastian seemed about to say something more, but Sophia pulled his arm and stepped back.

Click.

The door closed.

Now alone, I threw the ledger aside and grabbed my hair.

“Ah. Damn it.”

They say even a wealthy family can fall in three generations, but why is this place on the verge of collapse already?

Just looking at the ledger made my head throb.

Every page I turned was a parade of negative numbers.

There were profits, but losses piled up endlessly.

In other words, the Hetis Ducal House was a debt party.

“How did they even manage the accounts?!”

The south, called a land of abundance and prosperity!

The south where banquets could be held year-round because food was so plentiful!

The south that earned enormous revenue from tourism!

“Why is it in this state?!”

If it weren’t for Cassian, I would have immediately called this a fraudulent marriage and applied for annulment.

“Haah, let’s go through this step by step.”

After possessing Evelin’s body, information about the south had flowed into my mind.

In my memory, the south was a place wealthy enough to sustain even a luxurious lifestyle.

But the Hetis Ducal House was—

“A state where it could collapse at any moment.”

It was no different from a sandcastle facing a massive tidal wave.

Publicly, it maintained the image of overflowing wealth—

“but in reality… it might be on the verge of bankruptcy, even the title itself could be taken away.”

I needed countermeasures immediately.

To calm myself, I took several deep breaths.

Only after I had somewhat calmed down did I pick up the ledger from the floor again.

“Let’s see if I missed anything.”

I needed to analyze where the money was going, what caused such massive losses, and what triggered this situation.

Before I died in my previous life—hit by a delivery truck while working as an intern—I had done accounting work, so I tried to examine the ledger as carefully as possible.

“Could it be that the butler and head maid are embezzling?”

At first glance, there was nothing particularly strange.

Except for a large number of habitual debtors and excessive maintenance costs for the ducal estate.

“Meaning they could be siphoning money from essential supplies.”

Inflating costs, taking margins in the middle.

If they were making profits that way, then the situation made sense.

“They looked pretty close earlier.”

Could those two have been working together to deceive Cassian?

If so, it was entirely possible.

After all, weren’t most servants of the Hetis Ducal House under their control?

“In romance fantasies, it’s common for butlers or head maids to embezzle the family fortune.”

Yes. If the whole system was rotten, they would siphon off the estate’s wealth and indulge their greed.

It was only suspicion, but judging from the butler’s refusal to show the ledger until now, my guess was a reasonable one.

Moreover, the head maid Sophia also avoided direct contact with me except through Mary and Rose unless absolutely necessary.

She must have been afraid of me uncovering the truth of the duchy.

“How dare they exploit my innocent husband!”

Cassian was already struggling as it was!

Just how much had they been stealing?!

“How should I deal with these people?”

Should I publicly reprimand them in front of the servants?

But I needed evidence first.

Besides, weren’t most of the servants on their side?

The more I thought about it, the more infuriating it became, but preventing wasteful spending came first.

Revenge would come after.

“What expenses can I cut immediately?”

As I scanned the records with a sharp gaze to find a practical solution—

“Today is that day, isn’t it?”

My eyes landed on the food supply transaction day.

Meanwhile

“Ha ha! Look at all this money!”

“A full 3,000 gold!”

“The rumor that the Hetis Ducal House is generous was true!”

Loud voices echoed repeatedly.

In a shabby tavern they had rented out entirely, the local lords clinked their glasses while staring at chests filled with gold coins.

“We should’ve done this sooner. Inflating the price of materials by several times is amazing!”

“At first I was nervous thinking we’d get caught, but now I only think about how to make it look more convincing!”

That’s right.

These were the lords supplying food to the Hetis Ducal House.

More precisely, they were corrupt landowners who exploited farmers and delivered low-quality goods to the duchy.

“By the way, why isn’t Viscount Rivelt here yet?”

“He’s in charge of materials, so he probably has a lot to prepare.”

“But it’s almost time for the deal… we might lose a huge sum at this rate.”

Since they rotated supply duties, they were waiting for Viscount Rivelt.

Just as they were waiting, preparing for their usual scheme—

“Ugh!”

“Viscount Rivelt?”

As the door opened, Viscount Rivelt rolled into the tavern, tumbling across the floor.

“What happened?!”

“Were you attacked by someone?!”

“Where are the materials?! Where are the supplies?!”

He looked terrible.

His face had a large bruise, as if he had been badly beaten.

On top of that, a foul smell emanated from his clothes.

It was so bad it seemed as if he had fallen into a fertilizer field on the way here.

The lords urgently helped him up, eager to confirm the condition of the goods.

And just as they anxiously awaited his answer—

“You’re all gathered here.”

An unexpected figure appeared.

The Empire’s representative sword.

The rising star of endless prosperity.

The pride of a prestigious noble house and the imperial family’s finest creation.

Cassian, the Duke of Hetis, ruler of the South, had arrived.

“W-why!”

The lords froze in shock upon seeing Cassian.

The atmosphere instantly turned ice-cold.

Why is the Duke here?!

Their faces turned pale.

This can’t be happening.

There was still so much left to steal!

No, actually they had planned to stop after a few more runs!

Why now?!

How did Cassian catch them in the act?!

They had been evading pursuit by using proxies as figureheads to avoid tracing.

They had disguised transactions to make it seem like different merchants were supplying goods each time.

They even laundered money through multiple borrowed accounts to evade taxes—so how were they caught?

Countless questions surged through their minds, but they had no time to ask them.

Their survival was not guaranteed.

Panic took over, and the lords exchanged glances and abandoned Viscount Rivelt, attempting to flee.

“Ugh!”

But it was pointless.

Hetis Ducal soldiers had already filled the tavern.

Seeing armed troops, the lords stepped back and retreated inside again.

They considered escaping through a secret passage and looked toward the tavern owner—

“P-please spare me!”

—but soldiers had already taken control of the interior, and a cold blade was pressed against the owner’s neck.

The warning was clear: no escape would be tolerated.

Cassian drove them to the edge without leaving even a sliver of hope.

Cornering the rat-like lords into one corner, Cassian twisted his lips and muttered softly:

“Now that the rat hunt is over, let’s begin the interrogation.”

Bang!

As soon as he finished speaking, the tavern door slammed shut.

Not long after, blood-curdling screams echoed through the building.

“Aaaagh!”

Punishment appropriate for those who committed wrongdoing without restraint had begun.