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Chapter 90
Suspicious Talent (2)
Because it was a task she had been forced to take on, Diana had intended to handle it half-heartedly. However, seeing how the royal palace operated, she couldn’t help but be shocked.
“What a mess.”
It was literally true. The Lordbrock Palace was in chaos. Somehow, it still functioned, which was astonishing in itself.
In fact, even in her previous life, Diana had thought the system of Lordbrock Palace was strange. Despite the large number of people, the workforce felt like it never really grew in efficiency.
However, upon examining the documents, Diana realized the main problem: personnel costs.
The issue was the people—there were simply too many. She heard that the staff quarters, which she would never visit in her life, had long been completely overcrowded.
Upon investigation, she found that many people remained even past retirement age, continuing to receive salaries—or rather, pensions. Those who had reached retirement were given honorary positions, allowing them to stay in the palace and draw pensions without stepping outside.
The problem wasn’t that these retirees did their jobs well, but that they accepted bribes from the servants under them, passing on responsibilities while maintaining control. On top of that, having worked for so long and accumulated wealth, their influence within the palace ran deep. It was a vicious cycle.
What astonished Diana even more was that some pensions or salaries were still being paid to those who had already passed away. Surely, this was not the work of just one person.
These honorary positions had long steered the palace, and their skill at appearing competent to superiors was extraordinary.
This explained why the fastidious Revius stopped paying attention once the palace looked presentable. Of course, it was also possible that he simply chose to overlook it.
Other honorary posts were held by those who had served long or were placed by nobles. They, too, did not work, standing above ordinary employees. It was likely that through them, eight out of ten palace secrets leaked.
With so many people, even the same tasks and roles had multiple supervisors, and the reporting system was always inconsistent and convoluted, wasting time and resources.
It was a systemic mess.
According to Mabel, she herself couldn’t clearly define the standards for reporting.
Fortunately, most of the maids here were newly hired, not long-serving individuals recommended by someone.
Moreover, as Mabel’s direct subordinates, they weren’t entangled in the complex hierarchy and didn’t face interference from the honorary positions. Mabel had already been questioning the system’s logic. From what Diana observed, Mabel simply liked to work efficiently.
Diana thought. By cutting just a few people here, she could save enough from the budget. If she limited “luxuries” like dresses and jewelry, she might even appear frugal to the public—a queen who practiced thrift.
Receive moderate praise, be moderately welcomed…
“What will you do?”
Mabel and Princess Kragel looked at Diana. She pondered while looking at the documents: a temporary solution that was easy and made no enemies, or rooting out the problem entirely…
Naturally, Diana wanted the former. Of course she did. Could she really handle the latter? She didn’t want to become a queen disliked from her coronation. Dresses were unnecessary; she had already given up wearing them during her runaway.
But was this really the right approach? Diana squeezed her eyes shut. She wanted to fix it. She really did. But even if she tried, she would only face criticism. Yet,
“Fine, let’s take a look first.”
It was better to examine it once from inside than to worry a hundred times from outside. Diana instructed Mabel to accompany her dressed as a maid to the servants’ quarters, so she could understand better.
“Can’t you manage things properly?”
“Hey, bring water.”
Diana frowned as she saw the honorary positions occupying the servants’ cramped quarters, commanding the staff.
These people, occupying entire floors, wielded power comparable to nobles—or even the king—simply because they had been in the palace for so long.
Diana let out a hollow laugh. They were on a different level from the mess Mirva had overseen in the past. The servants attending high-ranking individuals had it somewhat easier, but the situation was otherwise intolerable.
Diana spent several days quietly exploring the palace in maid’s clothing.
Really… this was beyond tolerance.
Diana had been praised for meticulous management of estates. She wasn’t obsessive, allowing some minor negligence, but this exceeded her standards by far.
Although Diana found everything tedious, this level of inefficiency was unacceptable.
“Hey, come here!”
As she wandered, an elderly man with a long blond mustache appeared.
“Hmm, hmm, a new girl, huh? I’ve seen you several times.”
“……”
“Come closer. You’re really cute.”
A servant being harassed by a queen? Diana restrained the maids trying to leap, and approached the man, who grabbed her hand firmly.
“All my subordinates live in the main palace. Don’t you want to work under me there too?”
His hairy, sausage-like hands fiddled with hers. Diana stared at them in horror.
“The main palace?”
“Yes. It’s much larger and more comfortable than this cramped place. You can see the nobles up close. If you do well, you’ll be rewarded.”
Whether true or not, Diana needed to see if corruption existed even among those in the main palace.
“Did you tell the other girls the same thing?”
The man laughed loudly, perhaps sensing provocation in her question.
“Of course. Those girls work under Her Majesty the Queen in the main palace.”
The maids following Diana shook their heads in disgust. She understood the situation.
She now grasped why Lordbrock Palace appeared so humble compared to other kingdoms. Money was leaking everywhere. Diana pulled her hand away.
“What’s wrong? Huh? Already taken by someone else?”
Thinking ahead, if another queen took over in three years, fixing this corruption might be impossible. Diana would have to face the criticism anyway.
“No, Her Majesty the Queen says you’re fired.”
“Huh?”
“In other words, get lost, trash.”
Diana smiled brightly and drove off the wretched man.
Giskar would not arrive until the end of winter. Revius had been briefed on the serious situation.
Many monsters hibernate in winter. Yet, monsters were rampant at this time, even though it wasn’t the “Monster Wave” season. Intelligent orcs had appeared, invading human villages and cities.
The difference between humans and orcs? Orcs had fur. Humans were vulnerable to cold; orcs endured snowstorms, making their conflict pointless attrition. The messenger, Darium, reported to Revius:
“Her Majesty the Queen asks if Your Excellency is well.”
Revius scoffed.
“Ask her to write directly if she’s curious.”
“You need to prepare a reply in advance, sir.”
Darium spoke stiffly; Revius laughed.
“She’s fine. Tell her she’s already spent a quarter of next year’s budget generously.”
“……”
“Impressive, right? How long has she been here and she’s used a quarter already?”
Darium frowned, wondering how to report this to Giskar. Sighing, he said,
“His Majesty asked not to withhold help from Her Majesty the Queen.”
Revius smirked coldly.
“How can I help someone who dislikes me so much?”
Darium frowned at his hostile tone.
“Chancellor…”
“I know. That’s why I transferred full authority over the budget to her.”
“……”
“If someone so esteemed, wouldn’t they do something?”
Revius disliked Diana. She always seemed lethargic, doing nothing. People must fulfill their roles. She was forced into the position of queen; despair was understandable. But should she hand everything to those challenging her authority? He, too, had risen from common origins.
He had heard that Princess Levian would handle the practical work, confirming Diana’s unsuitability as queen.
Thus, he forced her to take on the palace duties. After a month, the results would be shown to Giskar: how the palace fared under her.
A month passed. Diana, in charge of the budget and administration, dismissed most of the staff. She acted ruthlessly, even expelling long-serving workers, allegedly using knights.
Revius quelled complaints quietly. His principle: once assigned a task, do not interfere.
Occasionally, he recalled the queen scolding him, her eyes coldly challenging his rudeness, and felt a tiny spark of hope.
The result? Mass dismissal. Revius pitied Giskar, who was on the battlefield, and sent Darium off quietly.
Even after Giskar left, Diana’s policy remained unchanged: she continued dismissing staff. Revius ignored public complaints. A month was nearly over. If chaos persisted, he would intervene.
Diana was foolish. How could she rule the palace without respect for long-serving workers? Even workers from previous kings couldn’t be dismissed so recklessly.
A month later, Revius read the report Diana had prepared and sent.
“What is this?” He rubbed his eyes.
“Is this correct? Did she really record it like this?”
He asked the treasurer repeatedly. The treasurer nodded in understanding.
“Yes. It’s correct, sir.”
“……”
“Why this…? If this was the case, there should have been great chaos. Did it not reach my ears?”
“No, sir. There was no chaos worth reporting. Truly.”
Contrary to expectations, the palace appeared intact—almost neat. Revius reviewed the papers repeatedly.
Good heavens.
“One zero is missing.”
Indeed. Diana had spent only one-tenth of the projected budget for the year. Even after restoring it, there was still a large surplus.
“……”
Hah.
Revius laughed wryly. What was this person? She was even more impressive than he thought.
