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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Lemon Cake and Ledgers
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The Duchess glanced at me sideways before continuing, her voice feigning indifference.
“I’m saying friends don’t need to be so formal with each other. It’s just the two of us, after all.”
“Ah…”
Friend.
The word felt ticklish.
“If I’d known you were coming today, I would have told the chef to put more effort into the refreshments.”
The Duchess, who had been grumbling, suddenly looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“Oh, that’s right. Do you like lemon cake? We have a freshly baked one today, and it’s quite delicious.”
“…”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
The memory of Countess Johanson’s garden party, the first time I realized the injustice of this world, surfaced in my mind.
“Sera, you like tangy snacks, don’t you? Would you like to try some of this?”
Gregory, his gaze full of affection as he looked at Serapina, personally served her a slice of lemon cake.
Serapina, smiling happily as she took a large bite.
And in the midst of it all, there I was, sitting blankly like an invisible person…
“Lady Ansi?”
The Duchess’s questioning voice pulled me back.
I quickly snapped out of my daze and answered.
“Ah, yes. I do like lemon cake.”
I do.
The word felt foreign on my tongue.
Really, how long had it been since I last expressed my own likes or dislikes?
“That’s wonderful.”
The Duchess smiled, her eyes crinkling.
“You can look forward to it. Our pastry chef is a master of baking, you know.”
After that.
The Duchess and I chatted about this and that while enjoying the tangy lemon cake with black tea.
The rose seedlings she had recently taken an interest in, the lace patterns currently in vogue among the ladies, how handsome the newly debuted opera singer was…
And so, by the time the cake and tea were nearly gone.
I was struck by a powerful sense of unease.
‘The Duchess seems incredibly relaxed, doesn’t she?’
Weren’t we just a short time away from a major event hosted by the Duchy?
Of course, she didn’t need to be swamped with work, but shouldn’t she at least be overseeing the preparations?
I cautiously broached the subject.
“Your Grace, is there anything I can help you with?”
“Hm? Help with what?”
“Well, I believe the salon is only about two weeks away.”
I continued carefully.
“As the host of the salon, I thought you would be busy. I wanted to help if there was anything I could do.”
“Ah.”
The Duchess’s expression darkened in an instant.
Her lips parted as if to say something, but then she turned her head away with a huff.
“It’s fine.”
Huh?
“Besides, my brother will handle it all anyway.”
The Duchess muttered, a sulky expression on her face.
“It’s been like that since we were children. He always says he’ll do all the hard work and tells me to just relax.”
“Your Grace.”
“Of course, I’m grateful that my brother thinks of me, but…”
Her shoulders slumped.
“…he doesn’t have to do that.”
Her blue eyes clouded over with a complex light.
“I feel like my brother is always overworking himself because of me. He’s already so busy, and now it feels like I’m just adding the salon to his plate…”
I watched the Duchess with a sympathetic gaze as she hunched her small shoulders.
‘She’s worried about the Duke.’
It was only natural.
Duke Claudius, Dietrich, was one of the busiest men in the empire.
The vast ducal territory, the people who lived there, the numerous vassals under his command, and his various business ventures.
That alone was more than enough to keep him occupied, but he was also the head of the most influential noble family in the empire.
Considering his relations with other nobles and his ties to the imperial family…
‘I bet even twenty-four hours a day isn’t enough for him.’
Ugh, I could never live like that.
Shuddering inwardly, I subtly posed a question to the Duchess.
“Have you had a chance to look over any of the documents for the salon?”
The Duchess shook her head dejectedly.
“No.”
“In that case, Your Grace.”
I lowered my head slightly to meet her eyes.
“Since you are the host, wouldn’t it be alright for you to at least review the related documents?”
“Y-You think so?”
“Of course. Doing nothing at all is completely different from at least understanding the situation.”
I nodded emphatically.
Most importantly.
‘The Duke cares for his sister and wants her to be comfortable, which is why he’s being so considerate.’
I stole a glance at the Duchess.
‘But in the long run, she needs to know how to handle these kinds of documents.’
There were a few reasons for this.
First, the Duchess was one of only two direct descendants of the House of Claudius.
Even if she didn’t handle the practical work, shouldn’t she at least know how the Duchy operates?
And the foundation of all business was paperwork.
And the second reason…
‘So she won’t be an easy target for Serapina.’
There was a scene in the original novel.
In the latter half of the story, when the conflict between Serapina and the Duchess reached its peak.
A scam came to light.
Luxury perfumes were imported from overseas and sold, but the supply costs were inflated to swindle the nobility.
Serapina discovered the inflated costs on the sales documents and brought the issue to public attention.
Her reputation in high society skyrocketed…
‘Though, in truth, the inflated cost was discovered by the original Lalitt… meaning, me.’
Well, the credit naturally went to Serapina.
And Serapina used the situation to her advantage.
“You mean Lady Lopes discovered something that even Duchess Claudius missed?”
“Lady Lopes is truly amazing!”
“The Duchess, however, seems a bit… more incompetent than I thought?”
Honestly, it must have been incredibly unfair from the Duchess’s perspective.
The Duchy of Claudius hadn’t even been scammed in the perfume deal.
The perfumes were simply among the gifts sent to the Duchess, and she was suddenly caught in the crossfire.
What’s more, Serapina’s cunning lay in how she subtly planted seeds of doubt in people’s minds.
“The Duchess said they were gifts, but isn’t it possible she bought them herself and is just making excuses?”
…and so on.
In any case.
‘To prevent such problems, it would be best for the Duchess to learn how to read documents.’
Above all.
‘I thought she had no interest in work at all, but that wasn’t the case, was it?’
The original novel only ever praised Serapina to the heavens, while portraying the Duchess as an arrogant, extravagant, and empty-headed villainess.
I had believed it, too.
But the Duchess I had met in person was…
‘If she just never had the chance to learn, then I can be the one to help her.’
I steeled my resolve.
“Well, if you insist, Lady Ansi.”
The Duchess, her expression turning prim again, instructed her maids to bring the documents related to the salon.
After that.
The Duchess and I sat facing each other with stacks of documents piled between us.
They were mostly lists of the artists and guests attending the salon, a budget proposal, and floor plans of the venue.
“Umm…”
The Duchess stared intently at the papers with a peculiar look on her face.
Now that the documents were in front of her, she seemed to have no idea what was what.
‘Well, that’s to be expected.’
She had never done anything like this before.
But the Duchy’s budget was sensitive information, so it would be presumptuous of me to ask to see it first…
It was then.
My eyes fell upon a particular document.
