“Well, last time, she ordered all the dresses from the most expensive line.”

“What?”

“No, not just the expensive line, but everything. Of course, she chose the highest quality fabrics and jewels. She told me to do as I pleased.”

“So, how much was it?”

“This much.”

Madame Kruger gestured the amount with her hands. Countess Galloway’s eyes widened at the enormous sum.

“Can she afford it?”

“She’s the Duchess of Penvernon!”

“But still…”

Madame Kruger quickly added.

“Yes, yes. I understand what you mean. But the past is the past, and now is now. Don’t you think it’s now a situation where ‘she can do that’?”

“I suppose so…”

So, the naive Duchess of Penvernon has finally realized the status of her family, is that it? Countess Galloway calculated inwardly.

Across from them, Viscountess Selzen and Baroness Caradin whispered to each other.

“Did you hear that?”

“Of course. So the Duchess of Penvernon has changed like that? My goodness.”

“Power is frightening.”

“She was just lucky, but it’s impressive.”

“Her greed seems extraordinary. Honestly, it doesn’t look very good.”

“I agree.”

Rumors beget rumors, and words beget words. As the story passed through many lips, it bloomed like clouds and spread like fog.

Meanwhile, real estate broker, Mark, had barely managed to revive his business on the brink of bankruptcy and was catching his breath.

The mine that Count Samoa had passed on to settle a debt was of ridiculously low quality to be called a gem mine. And now, sunstone and moonstone? Which noble lady would wear such things these days?

Still, he thought it had some value due to the old legend attached to it, but it was an era where no one listened to whispers of the past anymore.

So he thought he was doomed to fail with no chance of new development, but a benefactor appeared from the heavens to help him.

“This is all thanks to the Duchess of Penvernon.”

If she helped him knowing his circumstances, it would be deeply moving, and even if not, the debt of his gratitude was just as deep. If it weren’t for the Duchess, he would have been out on the streets by now.

Mark was deeply grateful to her who had saved him. Thinking that he would step up anytime if there was a chance to help her in the future, Mark began to spread this heartwarming story around.

* * *

To become the epitome of luxury and pleasure talked about by everyone, having a huge mansion and employing numerous people is the best. History proves this.

As I recall, the Palace of Versailles had over ten thousand servants, and Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty employed over 100 chefs alone. The Forbidden City is said to have had 9,999 rooms, and the Amber Room in the Summer Palace was reportedly decorated with tons of jewels.

Of course, the Penvernon mansion is already sufficiently large and grand, but the interior is relatively simple. Relatively speaking, that is.

There was no doubt that there were few servants. It was fortunate that there weren’t many rooms in use; otherwise, the maids wouldn’t have been able to sleep due to all the cleaning.

Employing many people was a measure of wealth, and at the same time, an indicator of extravagance.

‘So I need to hire more servants.’

I even thought about having separate people in charge of forks, knives, and water glasses during meals.

‘Wouldn’t that make it easier for the workers too?’

The increase in staff was not just for my purpose, but also for the sake of the mansion’s servants. They would be able to rest more if there were people to share the work, wouldn’t they?

It’s a bit odd to say this after dismissing her, but Louise used to work too much. She truly had no time to rest. Of course, she did it because she wanted to, but still.

‘Come to think of it, there’s been no word from the imperial palace.’

On the evening I dismissed Louise, I told Rashid about it. I didn’t mention anything about Louise hitting me or whatnot. I only talked about how she had been reporting the details of the ducal household to the emperor and that she stole some jewels.

Rashid didn’t change his expression at all and just said he understood. It seemed like it wasn’t a very important matter to him.

‘I worried so much about not causing harm to the family.’

It seems my efforts alone were pointless.

Anyway, I decided to put out a large-scale recruitment notice. I planned to increase the number of messengers, maids, and everything else. We need to hire more cooks too.

‘I’ll prepare a grand banquet and then invite guests.’

The guests will admire the amazing menu and then go to other parties to talk about how the Penvernon duchy was. They’ll whisper about the spending habits of Alisa, the hostess of the banquet.

In that way, once I gain even a little influence in social circles, the imperial family will start to feel uneasy about me being the Duchess. That’s exactly the flow I want.

Sylvester and Harriet welcomed my decision to increase the staff with open arms. Their efforts in managing the household with such few people were truly touching.

“But I’m worried that His Grace the Duke might be unhappy because of this.”

“It’s okay, I’ll ask Rashid myself.”

「Rashid?」

For a moment, a sentence floated in my mind. Or should I call it a word? With just those two syllables, that single name, I could read all of Harriet’s inner thoughts.

「From her familiar way of calling the Duke’s name, Harriet sensed that the distance between the two had narrowed.」

‘It’s more that I’ve always found it more comfortable to call him Rashid.’

In the novel, his name appears every time; he’s not always referred to as ‘His Grace the Duke’. It’s always ‘Rashid did this’, ‘Priscilla did that’, ‘Rashid and Priscilla were like this’.

Priscilla.

As I recalled that name, I suddenly wondered when she would appear.

When Priscilla first met Rashid, he was still called a young man. That means she’ll enter this mansion within the next 2-3 years. Maybe even much sooner.

‘She definitely had platinum blonde hair…’

Priscilla was described as having sunlight-like golden hair. When she stands next to Rashid, they’ll probably look like day and night, sun and moon. How beautiful and enchanting would that be?

…Let’s stop thinking about this. Somehow, it’s making me feel bad.

I certainly didn’t think anything of it when reading the novel. Watching from the outside in third-person, and now being stuck between them in first-person, there were too many tiring things.

I conveyed to him the concern that Rashid might be uncomfortable if we increased the staff. Rashid again just said, ‘Do as you please.’

For someone who said he didn’t want a divorce — probably mostly because it would be troublesome — he seems too cool about what I’m doing… Is he planning to just sign off on everything I do?

Thinking that way made me feel a bit annoyed, but anyway, as long as he quickly becomes someone unrelated to me, that’s all that matters.

Now that I had Rashid’s permission, there was nothing left to stop me.

<Penvernon Duchy Staff Recruitment>

The news that the Penvernon duchy was recruiting staff brought in numerous applications. Not only were the conditions much better compared to other mansions, but many people wanted to work for a more prestigious family if they were going to work anyway.

“My lady, you’re going to conduct the interviews yourself?”

“Yes. These people will be taking care of our mansion and living under the same roof. We can’t just let anyone in.”

Sylvester’s eyes widened at my words.

“But you don’t need to go that far.”

Sylvester tried to dissuade me from interfering in a considerate tone, but he couldn’t change my mind.

Even if it’s an interview, I can’t ask detailed questions about the work. The work will be systematically divided under the guidance of the butler and head maid anyway.

But I…

“What’s your reason for applying to be a staff member of the Penvernon mansion?”

I’ve always been in the position of an applicant, so I wanted to sit in the interviewer’s seat at least once. I also had a strong desire to meet these people in person.

The applicants were diverse. A commoner from the capital, a widowed local noble who had long tended to flowers, a quick and clever young boy, a retired soldier with carpentry skills.

Meeting people with such varied life experiences broadened my understanding of this world. The time spent conversing with them was extremely enjoyable and informative.

I was particularly enthusiastic about selecting footmen. I’ve heard that footmen should be tall and handsome. Since they greet guests and serve meals at banquets, they must be good-looking and slender without exception.