Chapter 51
Honestly, Kaella wanted to publicly count the silverware and demand that the butler be dismissed on embezzlement charges.
But that would be far too audacious for her, a mere Duchess.
And the chances of Pheon heeding such a demand were exceedingly slim. After all, wasn’t he the butler who had raised him? It was surprise enough that he’d already exiled the former head maid.
Kaella needed to tread even more carefully. If she helped with this matter, would Pheon allow at least Mari to be sent back to Ostein? The focus of it all was returning the maids. That was what mattered most.
“Shall we have all the silverware storage chests brought out right now and count them together in that hall, just you and I?”
So when Pheon spoke as if he’d read her mind, she was a little startled. Startled, but she didn’t reply. And Pheon didn’t seem to be waiting for her answer either.
“……It’s not as if the thought never crossed my mind. In fact, the first time we counted the silverware, I could have pressed the butler then.”
But at the time, Pheon had said, ‘Let’s just take stock for now.’ Then they’d replaced the head maid, and Beatrice had barged in, leaving no chance to count again.
“But if we’d done that, it would have ended with just the silverware. There’s no way he only touched that one thing.”
Kaella knew full well the butler would trot out some flimsy excuse, claiming he’d diverted it to military funds out of loyalty, not embezzled it. Honestly, she wanted to shut that down in advance too.
“Would it be enough to wrap it up at that—say he dipped into the castle’s household accounts, then fire the butler? What do you think, Your Highness?”
Pheon looked straight at Kaella.
“Please don’t tell me it’s all within my purview or that I should handle it myself. This is a matter for the two of us—you and I—to decide together.”
As expected, that was what he’d been getting at, and Kaella pursed her lips slightly.
“We must consult together.”
Internal matters must be decided after consulting with me, Your Highness.
Before her regression, these were the words Kaella had spoken clearly, asserting herself as the Duchess—and now he was the one repeating them.
He’d thought he couldn’t heed her just because an unbelievable woman happened to say something right. He’d blindly followed the illogical command of that constraint. Ridiculous, wasn’t it?
Even now, he was still pathetic, torn between the unmistakably criminal urge to ignore his desires and guilt, and the self-reproach insisting he mustn’t.
Could a man like this even approach Kaella this time? Knowing he couldn’t, he’d promised divorce before marriage. He still wanted her desperately. The more time they spent together, the deeper that longing grew, until his body ached with it.
That was why he had to constantly remind himself of his sins and repent. Otherwise, he was nothing but a beast without redemption.
“……I believe all sins must be brought to light, one by one.”
Kaella replied, fiddling with the poison vial tucked in her pocket.
“Lüsenford is a border region, with frequent battles.”
Pheon nodded with a smile, his demeanor one of attentive listening no matter what she said.
“In a place where lives hang in the balance, embezzling from the castle’s household accounts—which exist first and foremost to feed and clothe people—is a grave crime.”
These were words no one would imagine coming from the mouth of a young duke’s daughter. Speaking clearly and solemnly, as if she’d been Duchess for years, Kaella made Pheon’s nerves fray like snapped threads.
“I believe embezzlement and misappropriation are tantamount to endangering the lives of our soldiers.”
From years of experience, Kaella knew exactly how to phrase things so they’d at least somewhat penetrate the ears of those who refused to listen.
You had to touch on the points that mattered to them, one by one. Logic alone was useless. People weren’t creatures moved by reason.
“And it disregards Lüsenford’s laws and disciplines.”
For Pheon, in particular, the military and discipline came first.
“No excuse can justify it—the castle’s assets are for Your Highness to oversee, not for the butler to use at his whim.”
“Your words are correct. However, the castle’s assets are for us to manage together—you and I. That’s why I already told you the butler’s successor would be entrusted to you.”
Pheon gave a wry smile.
“Have you given thought to a successor?”
He must have figured it wasn’t her purview, so of course she wouldn’t have.
“……Can I really select the butler’s successor myself? I chose the head maid, so perhaps Your Highness should choose the butler, all things considered…….”
“I’ll be quite busy soon.”
“Ah, the investigators are coming.”
“Beyond that, there’s no end to the work in Lüsenford. I’ll handle the external affairs, so I entrust the internal ones to you.”
Pheon stepped up to the desk and tapped the ledger.
“Let’s uncover every last bit, nothing left out.”
Since her regression, Kaella had changed greatly. She spoke less, smiled less, no longer trailed after him declaring her love.
But that meticulous, impeccable nature of hers—the one that couldn’t tolerate injustice—hadn’t gone anywhere.
The ink stains on her fingers weren’t blemishes to wipe away; they were badges of her advanced education and diligence. She’d clearly been poring over the ledgers for some time now, and she wouldn’t quit midway—she’d see it through.
“Together.”
Pheon didn’t omit a word that might erase even the faintest lingering anxiety keeping her there. He emphasized it, confirmed the faint relief spreading across her porcelain-doll face, then plunged back into despair.
You, after all.
Yes. After all.
He pulled back the hand that had dared to reach out.
*
While Beatrice lay gravely ill with a cold, Kaella cross-checked the ledgers relentlessly, ink never fading from her hands as she dug into every suspicious point.
Pheon had said they’d look into it ‘together,’ and true to his word, he assigned one of his most trusted knights, Knight Renar.
“Renar will be useful for uncovering suspicions.”
Then she could trust Pheon just a little—and with Knight Renar, plus Cecil, Denise, and Mari, that made four in total to move.
At least one local Lüsenforder was included, far better than before her death, she thought—right around then, Denise sidled up and whispered to Kaella.
“The head maid’s been fighting with the butler lately.”
It was the kind of news that made her eyes fly open, and Kaella whipped her head around. Who was fighting whom? Why?
“Ah, I saw it myself.”
Knight Renar, who had the rundown on every rumor in the castle, said he’d not only heard but witnessed it.
“With a new head maid, power struggles are inevitable. Our old Rolph won’t hand over the keys and ledgers to Mrs. Sirenster, and she……whew.”
Knight Renar shook his head, then grinned.
“She’s no pushover, not in the slightest. The first round went to Mrs. Sirenster—she wrested some authority away. But old Rolph still hasn’t fully surrendered the head maid’s powers; he’s clinging to parts of it even now. That’s how it’s always been.”
Because the butler had ranked above the former head maid.
“But now Mrs. Sirenster’s demanding he hand those over too, and if he doesn’t, she’s threatening to take it straight to the Grand Duke.”
“Do the castle folk all know about this?”
“Not quite as much as I do, but most have heard. Mrs. Sirenster’s adept at stirring up public opinion too.”
Kaella sank into quiet thought.
Before her death, no one had breathed a word of such things to her. Even her Ostein maids had been shunned as outsiders, so no solid information ever reached Kaella’s hands.
Ignorance led to endless mistakes and massive losses. She was always the last to know, earning mockery. Kaella had truly known nothing.
“I see. Thank you for telling me.”
Knight Renar, who had been eyeing her clipped response cautiously, added,
“Mrs. Sirenster must be trying to keep Your Highness out of it. I heard her say she wants to establish the head maid position on her own. If she runs to Your Highness every time something like this happens…….”
“It turns into a fight between me and the butler. Between an outsider and a Lüsenforder.”
Knight Renar answered awkwardly at the stark, blunt assessment.
“Yes. That’s right.”
In that sense, the new head maid, Fabriola Sirenster, was playing her part perfectly. But she was a Lüsenforder. Which meant she could never truly be Kaella’s person.
“There was another clash today, I wager. Preparations for the investigators are hectic, but old Rolph won’t release authority over tableware or expensive ingredients. He cites the kitchen chief not being appointed yet.”
She could have come straight to Kaella, complaining about the butler and asking to appoint a kitchen chief—but the head maid hadn’t breathed a word of it.
“You really know everything, don’t you, Sir.”
“Thank you for the praise. Mind if I mention one more thing while I’m at it?”
Kaella looked at Knight Renar.
“I have to say, I really like how the kitchen chiefs keep changing lately. Especially the one around when Lady Lavalle arrived—that fellow had the best skills. So delicious, Your Highness.”
“The current kitchen staff isn’t up to par?”
“W-well, they’re good, but…….”
Meaning not good.
“I think I prefer Kline cuisine over Lüsenford style. And that time I visited the kitchen, that chef made me a southern-style salmon dish, saying it was from down south. It had cream and sun-dried tomatoes, and that flavor was just…….”
Kaella found herself smiling without realizing. An Ostein grilled dish. One she’d loved back home.
“Rich in flavor, wasn’t it.”
“Yes! With lemon too, so refreshingly tangy. It had been ages since I had fish that wasn’t fishy—I was over the moon. No idea where he sourced the lemons and dried tomatoes, though.”
“Do you place great importance on food, Sir?”
“It’s the joy of life, Your Highness.”
“Good, then you’re in luck. His Highness the Grand Duke liked that chef too, so he’ll appoint him head kitchen chief right away. Starts tomorrow.”
“Grrrh……You’ve saved a knight, Your Highness! Finally, a joy in life amid this harsh place…….”
Cecil stared, wondering what kind of reckless knight this was, and when Renar trailed off into a daze, she eyed him even more oddly. Having just realized something, Knight Renar asked cautiously.
“……So that’s why the head maid stormed at old Rolph today, demanding authority over tableware and ingredients?”
Kaella offered an enigmatic smile instead of a reply, ambiguous enough to understand or not. A duchess not receiving proper duchess treatment meant her bag of tricks grew by the day.
When wronged, you learned from the wrong. She wasn’t adept at politics or intrigue, but she picked up the basics. Her spirit had just worn out faster back then.
Knight Renar’s jaw dropped, and it stayed dropped as the door opened.
“Your Highness, the head maid.”
“Let her in.”
Mrs. Sirenster swept in, bringing the chill outer wind with her. A knight’s wife, but more knightly than most. She bowed deeply and politely, then raised her head. Her flushed face suggested considerable anger. Knight Renar thought,
‘They went at it.’
“Your Highness. Please dismiss those around us. I have urgent matters to discuss.”
Kaella glanced at Cecil, Denise, and Knight Renar before saying,
“They’re all my people. What I need to know, they need to know in the end. What is it?”
Mrs. Sirenster eyed Knight Renar especially suspiciously, then seemed to resign herself and spoke.
“I’m terribly sorry at this juncture, Your Highness.”
So she’d finally come to tattle that the butler was refusing to relinquish power. Kaella watched the head maid.
“……It’s truly regrettable, but I must request a private audience.”
“Dismiss those around us. Everyone, withdraw.”
In the end, with the maids and Knight Renar all gone from the duchess’s office, Kaella faced the head maid she’d chosen herself. Lowering her voice, Mrs. Sirenster said it all in one rush.
“The butler is suspicious.”
“In what way?”
“I checked because he kept holding onto duties that should be the head maid’s, and apparently His Highness the Grand Duke already commanded him to hand over the head maid’s authority to Your Highness. When I confronted him about it, he hemmed and hawed, acting all frustratingly evasive.”
From the folds of her wide dress, Mrs. Sirenster drew something out.
“I just took the ledgers, ingredient logs, and such that I need—the ones the former kitchen chief and butler used. The problem is, the numbers don’t match the budget I’m aware of.”
“How don’t they match?”
“They’re short. Considerably so. We can’t entertain the investigators with this.”
Kaella pursed her lips, then relaxed them. The bold Mrs. Sirenster, who’d stolen the documents herself, was huffing with fury at this newly uncovered shock.
“We’ll need to cover the budget first, then.”
“No, Your Highness. Investigation comes first. This is embezzlement. You must investigate thoroughly. Let me handle it.”
That was when it happened. A polite knock sounded at the door.
“Your Highness. Renar here. Big trouble.”
“Come in.”
Knight Renar poked his head in the moment the door opened.
“Forgive me for interrupting, but investigators have arrived from Kline.”
They’d come at last. Kaella met Mrs. Sirenster’s eyes again. She was gazing at the duchess with a look that said this had to be investigated.
Perhaps, in this matter at least, Kaella had gained one more potential ally.
