TWDHK~11

Chapter 11

There is no shortcut to paying off karma.

Cutting off the past cleanly and running away is only possible when you’re the only one left to bear the consequences.

It just means dumping everything on someone else and pretending nothing happened.

Unlike her past self, Nina now possessed a conscience. So she decided to abandon any dreams of escaping society for now and instead follow the “reincarnation survival guide” she had learned from novels.

It wasn’t anything grand—just slowly fixing what she had broken.

“Masha, call the head maid.”

“The head maid, ma’am?”

“Yes. It’s about time I resumed managing internal affairs.”

She had originally planned to divorce immediately and leave, ignoring all duties as the mistress of the house. But since she would be staying for at least another year, she needed to return to her role.

If she didn’t fulfill her responsibilities, how could she hold her head up?

If she wanted peace at home, she had to first remove the distrustful eyes watching her.

‘Start with the head maid.’

The one currently managing the household in her place was Melanie.

In her past life, Nina had largely abandoned her duties due to obsessive behavior issues, and in this life she had deliberately ignored them.

Now she intended to reclaim them—but she knew Melanie would be skeptical.

Still, there was no helping it.

The best way to prove change was through domestic management. That was the unwritten rule of romance-fantasy novels.

“Madam, you called for me.”

Melanie arrived shortly after.

Perhaps because of their previous conflicts, there was still faint wariness in her expression.

“I have been unwell in body and mind, and I’ve left all responsibilities to you. You must have been quite burdened because of me.”

“…It was simply my duty while you were absent, Madam. It was not a burden.”

So that was it—don’t try to take control of internal affairs now?

Unfortunately, Nina had no intention of stepping back.

“I intend to resume managing the household.”

Melanie’s gaze sharpened.

“Madam, according to the current plan, half the budget has already been allocated, and the remaining funds are also assigned to specific uses. There is little for you to actually manage.”

Her blunt tone clearly carried distrust.

For a moment, Nina felt a sting of bitterness.

“But that is for me to review and decide. It is not something that requires your permission.”

Melanie frowned.

Previously, Nina’s financial sense had been disastrous—constantly replacing expensive tea sets on a whim, hoarding excessive supplies, even accumulating debt under the ducal house for luxury spending.

So it was only natural that Melanie was wary of her sudden interest in management.

“I understand what you are worried about,” Nina said calmly.

A wasteful, problematic mistress—that was the image Melanie held because of her past actions.

“But I have no intention of causing trouble as before. I simply want to fulfill my duties. Will you not assist me in that?”

Before marriage, she had been admired.

After marriage, she had become an object of pity and ridicule.

In the past, she had tried to fill that emptiness with material things—but she now understood that was not a solution.

If one measured one’s worth through others’ eyes, no amount of spending could ever fill that void.

Nina met Melanie’s sharp gaze and waited.

Perhaps sensing her sincerity, Melanie finally exhaled deeply.

“…I will bring the ledgers and records first. You will need to review them as well.”

“Thank you.”

A faint smile appeared on Nina’s face.

It wasn’t a full acceptance of authority, but agreeing to review the documents was half a step forward.

‘Good. This is a chance to build rapport.’

Her blue eyes sparkled with determination.

One of the duties of a mistress was frugality.

And Melanie, who had managed the Bavarian household for years, was someone obsessed with efficiency.

As Nina flipped through the ledgers Melanie brought, her eyes began to tremble slightly.

The records were nearly perfect.

But…

“Why is the budget this low?”

Nina asked seriously.

A noble ducal household should have enormous funds beyond imagination.

Yet the operational budget was only about 70% of House Taylor’s.

Considering the Bavarian estate was even slightly larger, it made no sense.

“As you can see, this amount is sufficient to operate the household,” Melanie replied.

Was she the one who had insisted on such a small budget?

‘This is like living on ten thousand won a week…’

If this truly worked, Nina wasn’t even sure she could do better.

After all, cost efficiency was important—but still.

‘This level of budgeting is bound to cause problems.’

Personnel costs, operational logs, budget plans…

After reviewing everything, Nina closed the ledger.

“The replenishment cycle for consumables seems far too long.”

Items such as soap, detergent, candles, and lamp oil were replaced too infrequently and in too small quantities.

Even uniforms followed the same pattern.

“There is nothing wrong with conserving resources,” Melanie said.

“But surely this causes dissatisfaction among the staff?”

“They are paid more than most other households. They should be able to endure this.”

Can she truly say that was high pay?

Nina doubted it.

Because if necessities weren’t provided, staff would inevitably have to pay out of pocket.

“…With you, it would be possible to run this household at minimal cost. From an employer’s perspective, it must be ideal.”

Melanie was a model worker of this era—loyal to the point of obsession.

Perfect for a master. Perfect for efficiency.

But that was exactly the problem.

‘…Convenient for me, but still.’

Nina had been thinking about how to change her reputation. And this might be the key.

The issue was—

‘I don’t have enough budget left for my plan.’

And she couldn’t reallocate funds freely either.

So there was only one solution.

“Sell off a few of the tea sets I bought last time. Use that to purchase additional supplies for the staff.”

“Madam, while securing additional funds is fine, there’s no need to waste your personal belongings.”

Waste?

Providing necessary goods to people was being called waste?

It made Nina feel like establishing a labor union on the spot.

She sighed.

“I would prefer not to force people to endure discomfort just to save minor expenses.”

At the very least, basic necessities should be provided as part of welfare.

They worked for wages, yes—but they were still part of this household.

“Should we really go beyond other families in both salary and comfort? They should prove their worth through their pay instead.”

Such rigid thinking—typical of a society without proper welfare concepts.

Nina looked at Melanie’s hands.

“Then think about what happens when one sacrifices everything to prove their worth.”

Melanie’s hands.

Hands that had served the Bavarian household all her life.

Her fingerprints worn down, skin rough, calloused, scarred with eczema and damage.

And beyond that—wrists, fingers, arms, knees, back…

She clearly suffered from severe occupational strain.

“What good is money if it costs you your health?”

“……”

Nina softened her voice.

“I know how hard you’ve worked. These records make that clear. But let me ask you this.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Is this household so fragile that it would collapse without your sacrifice?”

The Bavarian house… surely wasn’t that weak.