Chapter 5

When Patricia stormed into the kitchen and roughly threw off her apron, the maids who were preparing dinner turned to look at her. Among them, Anna, who usually followed Patricia’s lead, quickly put down the eggs she was holding and rushed over.

“Miss Patricia, what happened with the madam?”

“….”

Patricia did not respond immediately and grumbled for a while. The kitchen fell silent in an instant.

It was quite some time before a response came from Patricia.

“The Madam said she needs to check the household accounts.”

“The household accounts…? Why all of a sudden…?”

“She noticed that the Master doesn’t properly check them, so it seems she’ll be managing them herself.”

The maids’ expressions darkened. 

There was probably no one here who could be proud of the household accounts.

They had ordered more carrots than necessary and taken them home, and when changing the lighting in the mansion, they had ordered a few extra bulbs to replace the ones in their own homes.

These acts gradually escalated, and the maids started ordering larger items, and then reselling them in the market to convert them to cash. 

But soon, Anna spoke up, trying to lighten the mood.

“There’s no need to worry. The Madam has never properly run a household, what would she know? Even if she checks the ledger, she won’t find anything strange.”

Another maid chimed in.

“That’s right. She probably doesn’t even know if carrots cost 1 dallian or 2 dallians.”

The shadow that had fallen over Patricia’s face gradually lifted at the maids’ reassurances.

“And honestly… her relationship with the Master is not good either… Do we really need to care so much about the Madam?”

“That’s right. They even have separate rooms, right? The Master left for work in the morning without even greeting the Madam.”

Patricia nodded.

‘That’s true…’

Though Evelyn might want to assert herself as the lady of the house, it wouldn’t be that easy.

If asked why the prices of the ingredients or goods in the household accounts are much higher than the market price, Patricia could simply say that the suppliers provide higher quality items, so they cost a bit more.

Patricia felt reassured, unaware that the household would become noisy again in a few days.

***

Evelyn had to be busy for a few days.

She mostly wandered around the city alone, striving to become familiar with this world.

Intermittently, she received education from Rykal as well.

The education was mostly about the ducal family and Dyffrin. It involved the ducal family’s events and rules, Dyffrin’s behavioral patterns, and things to be mindful of.

Evelyn casually let it all go in one ear and out the other. After all, she had read the original work, so she was already well-versed not only in Dyffrin but also in the people of the ducal family.

The only thing that was a bit different from the original work was the maids of this household.

It seemed that Patricia was speaking ill of her, and the maids’ attitude had strangely become disrespectful.

This was the reason she had wandered around the city alone.

The maids were not kind to her, and she still could not trust them. 

In the original work, the maids’ attitude was also not good, but unlike the original Evelyn, this Evelyn had become more actively involved in checking the household accounts, so the timing was much earlier.

Of course, not all of them were like that. There were rarely polite maids as well.

Evelyn was carefully observing the maids who were disrespectful towards her and those who were not.

It was not due to personal emotions, but because the maids who were behaving disrespectfully were likely involved in the household accounts in a negative way.

Evelyn observed the maids’ actions for a few days like this.

And when she was confident about everything, she summoned Patricia and Rykal.

Patricia had a somewhat tense expression, and Rykal faced Evelyn with his usual impassive countenance.

“What did you call us for, Lady Evelyn?”

“I have something to say about the household accounts.”

Rykal calmly nodded.

“Yes, please go on.”

“As Rykal said, there are parts with excessively high expenditures.”

Patricia’s shoulders twitched.

In contrast, Rykal asked without much change in his demeanor.

“What kind of parts are you referring to?”

“First, the food expenses. Even though we buy in bulk, we were paying much higher prices than the market.”

Rykal seemed puzzled by Evelyn’s words and asked,

“How do you know the market prices, Lady Evelyn…?”

“Because I’ve been checking the prices by going to the market myself.”

This time, Rykal could no longer hide his surprise.

“You checked them yourself?”

“Yes.”

In her previous life, she was a 5-year veteran office worker. Due to always working overtime, her wish was to finish work early and go shopping to have dinner, so asking about prices while wandering around the market alone was nothing to her.

That’s when Patricia interjected.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding, Madam…!”

Evelyn turned her head to look at Patricia.

“What is it?”

“We don’t buy the ingredients from just anywhere. We directly procure very high-quality items from farms, so they are a little more expensive than the market.”

That’s how she tried to explain it.

Evelyn quickly flipped through the ledger. Then she stopped at one spot.

“Okay, I understand that buying higher quality items makes them a bit more expensive. But… how can the price of potatoes stay the same throughout the seasons?”

This place was not as developed in cultivation methods as Korea, so the crops naturally varied greatly by season.

Especially potatoes, which grow in the summer, should be cheaper then, but the price was the same as the ones grown in winter. Prices should be a bit higher in winter.

It seemed like Patricia had prepared an excuse, but it was evident that the accounts were manipulated in very minor details.

“W-well….”

“The same goes for other crops.”

Patricia could only move her lips without saying anything else. Rykal silently looked at Patricia.

But it was not over yet. 

There was still a highlight left.

“Also, the landscaping fees include the wages of the gardener. What kind of gardener are you using that you’re spending such an exorbitant amount?”

Patricia was now almost trembling.

“I… Th-that is…” 

“Should I call the gardener now and ask him directly?”

As Evelyn asked with cold eyes, Patricia got up from her chair and prostrated herself on the floor.

“I’m sorry, Madam!”

Evelyn looked down at the prostrate Patricia and said,

“Who is the gardener?”

“Um… m-my husband.”

Evelyn thought to herself, ‘As expected.’

The gardener’s wages were exorbitantly high compared to the small size of the estate’s garden, so Evelyn thought there was no way they would spend that much unless it was a family member.

Dyffrin, who did not properly check the accounts, was probably unaware that there was a gardener managing the small garden of this mansion.

With everything exposed, Patricia confessed one by one the items she had embezzled from the household expenses, beyond just the food costs and labor costs.

Knowing the truth, Evelyn called another maid and had Patricia taken away.

Rykal, who had been quietly observing the situation, spoke up when he was left alone with Evelyn.

“What do you plan to do with Patricia?”

“She has to be dismissed.”

Evelyn said as she flipped through the shabby ledger.

“Even though the amount Patricia embezzled is negligible compared to the ducal family’s wealth, trust is the most important aspect that cannot be valued in money, right?”

And Patricia had betrayed that trust.

No matter how much she repented for her mistakes, now that the truth was out, Evelyn could not entrust Patricia with the household accounts.

“What about the other maids involved in this matter?”

 “I plan to dismiss them as well.”

It would be difficult to completely weed out the maids involved in the household accounts, but there were a few who were noticeably cautious.

By interviewing the trustworthy maids and asking who else was entangled in the accounts, she could become more certain.

“What will you do about Patricia’s vacant position?” 

“I have someone in mind. Probably one of the few people unrelated to this household account.”

The person Evelyn had in mind was a maid named Merrilyn.

Merrilyn was a maid who had always acted respectfully towards Evelyn, even though there were rumors that she held the household accounts.

Unlike other maids who were suspicious, she was likely to be clean in terms of household accounts work.

“And there’s one more thing I’d like to tell you, Rykal.”

“…What is it?”

Rykal nodded. He had been wearing a peculiar uneasy expression since earlier.

“The monthly household expenses were 1 million dallians, right? If we correct the spending, it will likely decrease to around 700,000 dallians.”

“Yes, then I shall report that to the Master…” 

“No. There is something I want to do with the 300,000 dallians saved.”

“What do you plan to use it for…?”

“I intend to use 100,000 dallians to increase the wages of the remaining maids.”

Rykal furrowed his brows.

“Why?”

“Half of the maids are likely to be dismissed, and the remaining ones may want to quit due to the increased workload. It will take time to refill the vacancies.”

“Even so…”

“The remaining maids deserve to have their wages raised. It’s harder than you think to not join in when others are behaving dishonestly.”

Well, Evelyn also had the ulterior motive of winning over the remaining maids by raising their wages, but Rykal would never know that.

“Then… what will you use the remaining 200,000 dallians for?”

“I think it’s necessary to renovate this shabby corner… no, the old mansion entirely. It won’t be all at once, but I’ll fix it up gradually each month.”

Rykal silently observed Evelyn.

He had looked uneasy earlier, but now he seemed somehow dazed.

As Evelyn tilted her head curiously, Rykal cleared his throat and spoke.

“I understand. If you have nothing else to say, I shall take my leave now.”

“Yes, thank you for your time.”

Rykal rose from his seat and left the parlor room.

Evelyn watched his retreating back, then turned her head and took a sip of her tea.

***

After exiting the parlor room, Rykal stood in the corridor for a moment, gazing out the window. 

Then, noticing his reflection in the window looking a bit disheveled, he unnecessarily adjusted his attire.

Earlier, he had let his guard down for a moment. She must have seen his foolish expression.

But he was really surprised and couldn’t control his expression. 

He had never expected Evelyn to handle the mess so perfectly.

‘She was such an introverted personality…’

Not only did she go to the market alone, but she even knew the prices of the ingredients to compare them with the household accounts.

Most surprising of all was her subsequent handling of the matter.

In a short time, she had identified the trustworthy maids and was trying to appease the remaining ones by raising their wages.

As she said, it would take time to refill the positions of the dismissed maids. Even if new hires were made, it would take time for them to adapt to the work.

If the remaining maids grew exhausted and quit during that period, that would be a truly troublesome situation.

Rykal was surprised by the fact that Evelyn was looking so far ahead, and he also felt a strange sense of defeat.

When entrusting her with the household accounts, he had secretly expected her to surrender in tears.

That’s when he noticed a crack in the corner of the glass window.

Evelyn had said she would use the remaining 200,000 dallians to repair this mansion.

He couldn’t even find fault with that in his mind.

‘…It certainly does need some repairs.’

Rykal slightly furrowed his brow, glanced back at Evelyn’s door, and then walked down the corridor.