| 10

She was sick for a whole day. Fever spread throughout her body, making it impossible to move. Only the faces of Maya, who wiped her face with a cold towel, and Kirhin, who sat by the bed holding her hand, came to mind intermittently.

Having been asleep continuously except for the times when Maya fed her soup, she finally regained consciousness the next day. Her body felt languid but not to the point where she couldn’t move.

“What?”

She turned her head at Maya’s words as she was brushing her hair. Maya blinked and answered.

“She received a message that her mother back home suddenly passed away. So she packed her bags and left right away, saying she’d visit her hometown for a few days.”

“So that means.”

“Yes. Yesterday morning.”

At Maya’s words, she clicked her tongue with a “huh.” The kidnapping wasn’t Nina’s doing, but Nina had fled after feeling anxious when Kirhin met Tom and searched the butcher’s district.

How cunning.

“My robe. I need to go to Nina’s room.”

“Now? There won’t be anything there. And you should rest more……”

“I’m fine, give me your hand.”

She put on the robe Maya handed her and, with her support, entered Nina’s room. Having been there several times before, she was familiar with the layout. The room wasn’t particularly messy for someone who had left in a hurry.

She probably prepared for this possibility from the moment she encountered me in Laurel’s room.

The jewelry rings and necklaces that had been in the drawer, along with promissory notes and all valuable items, had disappeared without a trace. The same was true for the fancy underwear in the closet. Now it was just the plain room of a head maid that anyone could see. She sat on Nina’s bed, letting out a small laugh.

Running away like this was as good as admitting guilt. Perhaps Nina knew that she had found the ledger. Although she had cleared the area when discussing it, there might have been ears listening somewhere.

Strictly speaking, Nina wasn’t unrelated to her kidnapping incident. Troy kidnapped her because Nina had killed Laurel. With money issues added on top, she wouldn’t have avoided prison if she had stayed.

“The master sent someone to Nina’s hometown. News should arrive soon.”

She smiled bitterly. Nina, of course, wouldn’t be there. With plenty of money, she wouldn’t be easy to find. Rather, she needed to think about what could be done immediately.

Nina was gone and wouldn’t return, so the position of head maid was vacant. And the biggest privilege of the head maid position was managing all the money coming in and going out of the Bickman family.

While lost in thought, she heard what sounded like people arguing. Unlike her room, Nina’s room was positioned where sounds of people entering and leaving the mansion could be heard quite well.

“Why is it so noisy outside?”

“I’ll go check.”

Maya, who had quickly run outside, returned before long. She cleared her throat awkwardly and said,

“It seems a merchant who supplies tea has come asking when they’ll receive payment for the credit. Sofia is dealing with him, but since paying money requires Nina’s permission, and she’s not here now, they’re arguing because Sofia told him to wait a few days.”

She jumped up from the bed.

“I should go see.”

“What?”

She had to be supported by Maya again due to the dizziness from standing up so quickly, but soon felt fine. As they approached the back door, a gruff voice could be heard.

“So you don’t even know when she’ll be back? This payment has already been delayed twice.”

“I don’t know that either, but we need Nina here to understand the exact situation. Just wait a little longer.”

“How much longer should I wait? You should at least give me some idea of when you’ll pay!”

“My goodness, do you know where you are, raising your voice like that? The Baron is inside. Do you want to get in trouble?”

“Then let me see this great lord’s face. I’ll ask him directly.”

“If you continue being so impertinent, you might lose your head……”

“How much is it?”

When she asked with strength in her voice, Sofia, who had been dealing with the man, turned around with a start. White breath puffed out from between the lips of the merchant, whose bushy beard had small icicles hanging from various spots.

“Miss.”

“I asked how much the overdue tea payment is.”

The merchant’s eyes sparkled as he realized who she was from Sofia’s form of address. He hunched his shoulders and rubbed his hands together.

“30 pedirs, Miss. Not a very large sum. Hehe.”

“How many months’ worth is that?”

“It’s been delayed for two months, so it’s for three months.”

30 pedirs. When she was sold to Mrs. Almon, the price was 10 pedirs.

She couldn’t suppress the crooked smile that escaped. She tilted her head slightly.

“I believe the most premium tea brought into this mansion is green tea imported from the eastern continent of Korio.”

“Ah, yes! It’s a premium product that not just any merchant can obtain. It costs 5 pedirs for just 30 grams……”

“If it’s Korio’s first flush tea, wouldn’t it be about 5 pedirs per kilogram?”

The merchant, who had been laughing nervously while looking at her, hiccupped as if he had swallowed something wrong. She extended her hand.

“You must have a ledger, could you show it to me? As you’ve heard, Nina is not in the mansion right now.”

Sofia rolled her eyes with an awkwardly frozen face. She was Nina’s close associate, so she must have known the situation to some extent. Seeing her eyes narrow, the merchant gradually backed away.

“No, Miss. I think it would be better to come when Nina is here. You’ve been doing business with us for a long time, and I forgot to be grateful and rushed you out of urgency. Please forgive me.”

“Nina might not return.”

“What?”

Sofia and the merchant simultaneously expressed surprise, their eyes widening. She spoke calmly.

“So if you want to get paid, bring the ledger. I’ll carefully check the credit amounts, and if the calculations match, I’ll pay on the spot.”

The merchant, mouth agape, glanced at Sofia. She turned around and called to her.

“Sofia.”

“Yes?”

“Nina might not return for a while, and we can’t have these troublesome matters keep arising, can we? Where are the ledgers for the shops that Nina managed?”

“W-why are you looking for those……”

“Why else?”

She raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth toward Sofia.

“I need to quickly check the contents and resolve what needs to be resolved. We can’t let nasty rumors spread among merchants that the Bickman family doesn’t pay their debts and just keeps delaying.”

Sofia’s stiff cheek trembled slightly. She smiled brightly at her.

Having only recently succeeded to the title and with many matters to attend to, Kirhin hadn’t started yet, but she’d heard that during the previous Baron’s time, he would at least briefly check the ledgers and financial status each month. Having worked under him for a long time, Nina would surely have created separate ledgers to show the Baron.

In other words, there were double ledgers. The reason expensive prices were written in the ledger Laurel had obtained was probably because she had stolen the merchant’s ledger. If the prices in Nina’s ledger didn’t match those in the merchant’s ledger, Nina’s guilt would become even clearer.

And that ledger would be in Nina’s last drawer that couldn’t be opened that day.

“Tell all merchants who come for credit payments what I just said. If they want to get paid, they should bring their ledgers.”

As she said this and began to walk away, Sofia frowned. An attitude of disrespect toward her subtly seeped through.

“There’s no need to go that far, this could be resolved after Nina returns anyway.”

“From now on, what you should worry about isn’t what happens when Nina returns.”

Sofia’s expression stiffened as she sharply stared at her. She smiled quietly and spoke as if whispering.

“It’s what happens if she doesn’t return.”

She too couldn’t have failed to notice the unfolding situation. Her small pupils could be seen trembling with anxiety.

“Guide me to where the ledgers are.”

When she lightly lifted her chin, Sofia gulped. Her eye level, which had to look up when she first entered this house, was now similar to Sofia’s.

“……Yes, Miss.”

“Oh, and.”

It was exactly like taming a horse. With a stubborn horse, if you don’t tighten the reins firmly when it first bows, you might miss your chance. She looked directly at Sofia and spoke slowly.

“From now on, don’t make me repeat myself. I want you to be a clever maid. That’s the only way we can continue working together.”

If she had been Nina’s right hand, she would be skilled at weighing advantages and disadvantages. If she had noticed what she intended to do here after Nina’s disappearance, she would know whose hand to take. And what her words meant.

“I’ll be careful, Miss.”

Sofia bowed her head with unprecedented politeness. She began walking, looking straight ahead. It seemed she would be very busy for a while.

* * *