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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: A Calculated Performance
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Flaring up, Oscar exclaimed.
“This is a violation of the vow of premarital purity! It’s no laughing matter…!”
“Waaah, bald grandpa. You’re too loud. Please lower your voice.”
I said to Oscar, mimicking a child’s voice.
Oscar, his face flushed red, covered his head.
“B-Bald…!”
Stroking my belly, I put on the most pitiful expression I could muster.
“If you are the esteemed elders of the council, then all the more for the sake of our Rose, who will be the future of this family… Ah, and our Rose is even a son!”
I watched contemptuously as the elders, who had been acting so triumphant, subtly reacted to the word “son.”
*Just as I thought.*
Why on earth were old men so obsessed with sons?
“The grandson who will continue the family line!”
“...!”
“A precious son!”
“...!”
I shouted at them like a priest chanting an incantation at demons. They flinched in response, like demons being exorcised.
“The legitimate heir!”
“...!”
Just as Eric had said, it really made me want to go to the chapel and ask them why they lived like that.
Every time I said words like grandson, son, or heir, the elders flinched with silent screams.
I looked upon them like a merciful goddess and said.
“So, it would be best if you lowered your voices and only spoke of things that would bring peace to my mind and body, wouldn’t you?”
“...Ahem....”
The elders, who had been launching all sorts of attacks on me, fell quiet, if only for a moment, at the mention of a grandson.
“You said you came to hand over the accounting ledgers, but we’ve spent so much time on pointless talk that I think my stomach is starting to tighten!”
At my words about my stomach tightening, the three old men’s faces turned ashen.
The elders of the family were already obsessed with things like heirs, grandsons, and sons, and to make matters worse, the Orleans ducal house was a family in which heirs were rare.
Of course, the problem was that “heir” only included direct male descendants, but that was an issue for every noble family on the continent, so we could set that aside…
In such a situation, no matter if it was a premarital pregnancy, if they pushed a woman pregnant with the Duke’s grandson and she happened to collapse, the elders would also find themselves in a difficult position.
I watched with composure as the elders’ expressions twisted.
“I couldn’t even eat properly this morning… I’ve been suffering so terribly from morning sickness lately…”
As if struck by a dizzy spell, I stretched my legs out and lay down on the reception sofa.
It was an incredibly rude posture, but they couldn’t bring themselves to stop me.
Alain watched Nina silently as she brought me a cushion. Then he asked abruptly.
“Did she really not eat?”
Nina flinched and looked at me.
*…Oops.*
I met Nina’s eyes.
*‘The money the butler and this house give me is more than that money.’*
Nina subtly avoided my gaze. I looked desperately at the butler. He just darted his eyes around with a flustered expression.
It was true the butler was favorable toward me, but it was hard to say Nina felt the same.
Nina was loyal only to the employer who paid her! It was the unimpeachable duty of a servant.
*Damn it.*
This time, I looked at Sir Lily with pleading eyes. Her expression said, ‘Figure it out yourself.’
*Ah, you useless person…!*
Lily wasn’t a servant; she was on the side of the princess and Eric.
In the end, there was no one here on my side!
“A mere servant like you wouldn’t lie about the person you serve, would she? Considering the wages you squander in this mansion…”
Alain began to threaten Nina.
*Whatever happens, happens…*
I turned my head away, my face somewhat resigned.
Nina opened her mouth.
“…She couldn’t eat a single bite, so I had to throw it all away, Lord Alain.”
*…Huh?*
After we sat side by side and deliciously ate a plate each…?
But my bewilderment was brief.
Fearing the topic would shift back to me, I quickly leaned against the cushion and haughtily covered my mouth.
“Urp…!”
When I acted as if I was having morning sickness, the three men’s faces turned white as sheets.
I just wagged my hand, as if I couldn’t even speak. Oscar quickly snatched another cushion from Nina and offered it to me.
“Oh my… thank you…”
I settled back, practically lying down on the cushion in satisfaction. The faces of Alain, Sicard, and Oscar twisted simultaneously, but they said nothing.
Waggling my hand, I said.
“Now, then. Let’s see the accounting ledgers. Quickly.”
✵ ✵ ✵
Thoroughly routed by the duke’s daughter-in-law sprawled on the sofa, the elders all wore expressions of indignation.
*Hmph. Serves them right.*
The butler, standing far off, had a similar expression.
Just then, Alain waved his hand.
At that, Alain’s attendant placed an enormous stack of documents in front of me with a thud.
“These are this month’s accounting ledgers.”
“…Not this year’s?”
No, wait a minute. This is enough to compile the history of the continent, you people!
I pushed myself up from my comfortable reclining position. Only then did the elders’ expressions begin to grow triumphant again.
With a completely aghast expression, I pulled out the meticulously handwritten documents one by one.
Seeing my expression contort, Alain said with a smile.
“It’s no good, is it? Since you claim to be of delicate health, Madam, it would be best if we continued to handle the accounting…”
It was then that Alain reached to take the ledgers back.
The butler stepped forward and exclaimed.
“N-No, you can’t! The council handling the accounting all this time has been nothing but an exceptional circumstance!”
The butler cried out urgently. There was a reason he had taken such a risk to interject into the family’s conversation.
Before the old geezers from the council had even arrived, the butler had drilled into my head that I absolutely had to get the ledgers back.
*‘Originally, in the Orleans ducal house, managing the estate’s finances was the responsibility of the lady of the house. Matters of business and other large affairs were mostly managed by the Duke, so the lady of the house handled the minor finances. But since she passed away, the council has been managing the finances for the last ten years.’*
Minor finances.
That’s what he’d said, but looking at it now, it was anything but minor.
The monthly budget for this mansion alone was 5 million gold. If you added the estate finances managed directly by the Duke…
I’d thought the donation amount was rather large, but now I saw that for the Duke, the donation to the capital’s parish was something he could cover just by being a little frugal for a month.
*These crazy rich bastards…*
I seethed inwardly with a sense of inferiority.
*‘Lately, rumors have been circulating that the arrogant elders have been embezzling funds, large and small. Naturally, the people of the Orleans estate are the ones who bear the full brunt of the damage.’*
Was it really a problem with just the elders?
Seeing as the Duke kept a second set of books, it was highly probable that he hadn’t just ‘neglected’ the council’s embezzlement but had been in on it with them.
And yet, whenever the royal family needed the ducal family’s businesses or land, he would make excuses. It was easy enough to feign helplessness, claiming ‘it’s difficult due to the council’s vehement opposition.’
*‘Of course, I know you dislike reading… But if you can just get the financial authority back, I will take care of everything, so you absolutely must bring it back!’*
The butler was… well…
He had a side to him that was very similar to Eric.
The part where, even though he had nothing to gain personally from me taking back financial control, he insisted I had to help because the people of the estate were suffering.
*…Conscience is such a useless thing.*
Just as I was thinking that.
Alain spoke, chiding the butler.
“Ahem! Where does a mere butler think he’s interfering!”
“M-My apologies… B-But…”
The butler looked at me with pleading eyes.
Just then, the bald Oscar stepped forward with a sly voice.
“…Actually, handing over the ledgers and financial authority isn’t so difficult, Madam.”
*It’s not that it’s difficult, you just don’t want to do it.*
I looked at Oscar, relishing the challenge.
Goodness, did I really have to get involved in this petty internal power struggle?
*This is getting more and more annoying…*
The butler sent me a desperate look, but I ignored it.
“But it would be a disaster if the precious taxes of our people were wasted, so I shall ask one question. Looking at this section, there’s a part where the royal family recently changed the tax rate slightly…”
Oscar acted like a father-in-law admonishing his daughter-in-law, his voice much kinder than before.
But in reality, he was trying to intimidate me by throwing around difficult terms, then snatch the ledgers away with a ‘see, I told you so’ attitude.
In fact, most of the tax-law-related terms in Oscar’s speech were things I couldn’t understand.
With a strained expression, I stared at the page Oscar kept pointing to.
“…Hmm…”
“What do you think? Would it be right to extend this farmland contract for another year, or would it be better to sell it?”
I could feel the butler’s gaze fixed on my face.
Glancing at him, I saw him moving his lips as if he wanted to tell me the answer.
But soon, Oscar’s gleaming head popped up between us.
The butler retreated with a dejected expression.
Watching the butler… I thought, *‘What great wealth and glory will I enjoy if I take over this financial authority?’*
…It’s a pain. A huge pain.
“So, the tax rate here has risen by thirty percent, but the fertility of this farmland is also…”
To stop Oscar from spouting more difficult words, I answered quickly.
“I dunnooo.”
“M-Madam…!”
At that, the butler behind me collapsed, his face screaming, ‘You could at least try to answer!’
The elders wore triumphant expressions.
Oscar’s expression shone as brightly as his head.
“Of course. You don’t understand, do you?”
Alain naturally reached out to take the ledgers from me.
That is, until I pointed squarely to the middle of the page I was holding.
“This calculation here is wrong. It should be twenty-eight thousand, not ten thousand. And it’s not just this one. Here, here, and here… Ah, honestly… There are too many holes… Besides, what? You bought a goat for five hundred silver? Does that make any sense? Have none of you ever bought a goat? Ever farmed? And this lumber was supposedly bought for one gold per gerier. Hey, at this rate, it’s pretty much…”
I snatched the ledger Alain was trying to take and pointed out the incorrectly entered numbers as I flipped through it, page by page.
Then, as if I couldn’t bear to look at it any longer, I glared at the three elders with cold eyes and said.
“You’ve been donating money to the merchants. Donating.”
“Wh-What is the meaning of this…”
The three elders’ expressions twisted.
They looked at each other. Alain withdrew the hand he had extended toward the ledger and said with a hardened face.
“M-Madam, since you haven’t conducted these transactions yourself, there are some things you wouldn’t know…”
“Oh, I don’t know? Me, who lived in the South, is more ignorant of the price of farm equipment than the three of you who’ve only played with numbers in the capital? Hah…”
I narrowed my eyes and let out a dry laugh.
As the situation took a strange turn, the butler, who had slumped down, shakily got back to his feet.
*What’s with them? I’m telling you, I’m really good with numbers.*
I gave the butler a wink. He clutched his chest as if his heart had just taken a great shock.
I pointed to a page in another document and said.
“Then how do you explain the price of a goat being listed as five hundred silver here…?”
“Th-That’s…!”
I slammed the ledger I was holding down on the table.
The three elders’ faces turned pale. I said.
“With the ledgers in this state, how can I possibly decide on things like farmland contracts?”
I glared at Alain.
Alain subtly avoided my eyes. It meant he didn’t want more corruption to be revealed through the discrepancies in the books, and he certainly didn’t want to take responsibility for it.
Reading his expression, I snorted.
“Alright, let’s make a decision right here and now!”
“A-About what…?”
“Whether you’re going to quietly leave the financial authority here and go, or if you’re going to call in the merchants you dealt with and cough up all the problematic funds before you leave.”
I sank back languidly onto the sofa. At that, the three elders flared up and said.
“M-Madam! We know nothing about those amounts…”
As they started to get loud, I stroked my belly and said.
“Grandpas~ Decide quickly~ Mommy says she’s tired~?”
*Something like financial authority is a pain, but…*
They’re just so infuriating, aren’t they?
And I can’t stand infuriating people.
Watching the three elders’ faces contort, the butler secretly gave me a thumbs-up from the back of the room.
It seemed I had completely regained his trust.
