“Miss, they’ve contacted us asking what to do with the winter fabrics you ordered.”

“Miss, shall I bring the newly arrived winter accessories to your room?”

“Miss, I’ll place the tea set in the study. The desserts to accompany it are your favorite fruit cheese with honey, and milk tart.”

A week had passed, but Nina hadn’t returned. According to the person Kirhin sent to her hometown, Nina had never been there, and her mother had passed away long ago.

Kirhin was shocked when he saw the results of my comparison between the internal ledgers and the merchants’ ledgers. Several merchants were immediately whipped until their backsides split and were driven out of the territory. With Nina gone, there was no way to recover the money she had embezzled, but Kirhin seemed satisfied that they had at least plugged the hole now.

‘I trusted her since father’s time, who would have thought this would happen? No, then who am I supposed to entrust the household management to? Sofia? Would Sofia be any different?’

As Kirhin paced around, pulling at his hair—his new habit—I blinked at his words.

‘Find someone trustworthy. If it’s alright with you, I can try until then.’

‘What……’

Kirhin, mouth agape, examined my expression as if trying to determine if I was joking. He soon frowned, approached me, and lowered his voice.

‘You already insisted on working for the merchant group, and now you want to manage the household affairs too? Is that even possible?’

‘The merchant group work won’t become serious for a while yet, and after looking at these ledgers, I don’t think it’s that difficult. I enjoy working with numbers and balancing them. Also, if I’m going to work with the merchant group, I’ll need more diverse experiences—wouldn’t managing the Bickman household help with that? Of course.’

I added with a modest expression.

‘I’ll only do it until you find a suitable person.’

Given Kirhin’s personality, if I took charge and nothing went wrong, this job would permanently become mine. What he needed most was someone who would allow him time to casually handle merchant group affairs while having time for his lover, and I had been fulfilling that role very well so far.

‘Then, would you try for a month? With Brook and Sofia’s help, it might not be that difficult.’

And so the Bickman family’s payment seal that Nina had possessed came into my hands. With the condition that I would check all income and expenditures with Brook every day.

Kirhin sent some consolation money to Laurel’s hometown. Her sister would receive it. I hoped she could choose a different life than her sister had.

Every day was frantically busy. I sought new merchants to bring in goods, and living expenses were reduced by more than half. I entrusted meat to Tom. I had learned that the day after I returned, he had sent the best cuts in bulk as promised. Despite having gone through considerable trouble because of me.

How many people in this world disregard promises and lie? I knew well how rare such people were. When I went to find Tom myself, he tried to drive me away as if confronting a ghost.

‘Please don’t come to places like this, Miss. What are you doing here……!’

‘What kind of place is it? Isn’t it just where people live?’

As I looked around saying this, a passing butcher whistled. Tom let out a long sigh, waving his hands at the man who stopped walking with an interested expression.

‘This Miss, really. Your knack for leaving people speechless is still the same.’

‘I want you to be responsible for our mansion’s meat from now on. Here’s the contract.’

‘……What?’

Tom blinked with a dumbfounded face as I suddenly held out the paper. I smiled brightly.

‘It was delicious. The meat you sent. I said I’d come back if your skills were good.’

Tom burst into laughter with an incredulous expression, subtly wiping his nose. Looking proud, he cleared his throat and said,

‘Contract or whatever, I can’t read.’

‘You’ll deliver meat once a week. Then I’ll pay 20 pedirs monthly.’

‘What?’

Tom, who had responded with rough speech out of surprise, quickly covered his mouth. Blinking rapidly, he stammered.

‘You’ll give 20 pedirs monthly? For meat? W-whatever meat I send?’

‘Of course, the contract will be terminated immediately if the quality drops. So you’ll need to send the best cuts you can find to our Bickman mansion, right?’

‘Even so, 20 pedirs is too much……’

‘If there’s money left over.’

I looked around. Just a block away, light poured in brightly, but it didn’t reach here. The various fishy and foul smells remained. Shrugging my shoulders, I said to Tom:

‘It might be good to use it to make this shop or this street a little cleaner.’

A heavier silence descended on the gaze of the man standing still. The same was true for Tom’s eyes. Feeling the isolation of those who had lived outside a certain line for many years, I smiled calmly. Tom rubbed his face and asked in a half-sunken voice,

‘Why are you doing all this?’

‘Well. I like you too, Tom.’

As I casually spoke with raised eyebrows, I saw Tom’s tanned face turn pale for a moment. Despite the cold weather, blue veins bulged prominently on his burly arms, still in a sleeveless outfit. He immediately shouted as if roaring,

‘What nonsense! No way. Absolutely not. I have no intention of becoming the lover of a noble family’s Miss, no, no matter how bold, how could you think of taking a much older butcher as a lover? Huh? What on earth is going through that head of yours……!’

‘Meat.’

I pressed my throbbing temple firmly and spoke.

‘I’m counting on you. Starting next week.’

I don’t know what expression Tom had as he watched me leave that street, shaking his head. For the sake of his honor, I barely managed to hold back my laughter. It wasn’t easy.

The meat arrived early on the appointed day. Tom left the meat without showing his face, like a secret visitor. And that meat became the most delicious and tender steak I had eaten since entering the Bickman mansion.

“It’s amazing how everyone keeps asking for you, Miss. How did they all change so much? It’s so hard for me to find things to do for you.”

At Maya’s words, I tilted my lips slightly as I wrote in the ledger.

Servants are basically accustomed to observing their masters’ moods and the atmosphere of the household. Nina was gone, and the family payment seal was in my hands, so anyone with even a little sense would know who to please.

“Still, I’ll only entrust my bedroom service to you, Maya.”

“I’m honored, Miss.”

Wrinkles formed on the bridge of Maya’s nose as she laughed at my words.

“Would you like some more tea?”

“Yes. And bring a few more cookies while you’re at it. These biscotti are delicious.”

As Maya turned away with an excited face, a maid carefully entered the study.

“Um, Miss. A guest has arrived.”

“A guest?”

“Yes. He said he must have tea with you today……”

Suddenly, the image of a neat face with a calm, poet-like impression came to mind. And the gentle killing intent hidden behind that modest smile.

Her spine tightened. She could feel her entire body tensing instantly. She put down her pen and asked,

“Who is it?”

* * *

A dark blue jacket with golden thread meticulously embroidering the edges of the fabric caught her eye. The tall man was looking at the portrait of the first Baron Bickman hanging in the reception room. Seeing his short, nearly gray hair, she took a short breath and stepped forward.

“You’ve come, Lord Chester.”

“Ah, Lucienne.”

Chester turned his head and smiled brightly. Golden eyes elegantly sparkled through his tanned skin that gave off an exotic feeling. He was a handsome man with a clean-cut impression.

“If I had known I’d only be able to meet you by barging in like this, I would have done it much sooner.”

I responded with an awkward smile to his smooth words as he lightly kissed the back of my hand.

“Did you bring game?”

“It’s winter, you know. The Storms family always holds a hunting competition in winter. I didn’t win first place. You’re supposed to catch many, but I only caught one.”

What he had brought, speaking in a modest tone, was a large stag. When I went to take a quick look after a maid’s excited announcement, all the servants had told me:

‘What remarkable skill. He ended its life with a single shot, precisely hitting the vital point.’

‘This Sayed deer is fierce by nature, and becomes even more sensitive in winter, making it very difficult to catch. Even experienced hunters barely manage to catch one or two during hunting season.’

‘Moreover, its long fur makes for warm leather, and the meat has little fat so it can be stored for a long time. And what about those magnificent antlers? With this size, they could fetch an enormous price if sold.’

‘Bringing such a fine catch just like that—it seems the rumors are true that the Storms family has their eye on the Miss as a potential match for their nephew. There might be a celebration soon!’