I Became the Wife of the Hero Who Killed Me - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Episode 14

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“Haha, well this is something.”

Head Butler Bertol looked down at the documents with a dejected expression.

It was a report that Count Baron had compiled and submitted.

“This is certainly my oversight. I can’t excuse it by saying the workload was heavy.”

Patrick had, to put it crudely, used his position as mine administrator to thoroughly line his own pockets.

Embezzlement, falsification of mining records, worker exploitation and neglect of safety management, even illegal transactions.

This was just what the hastily compiled report revealed, so the prospect of how much more corruption would emerge if investigated thoroughly was mind-numbing.

“My goodness, why on earth did he do such things…?”

Patrick, like Bertol, had been a retainer who devoted many years to serving Lombard.

That’s why he had trusted him and recommended him for an important position, but for it to result in such devastating consequences—he couldn’t bear to face his master.

Administrative Director Ramon, sitting across from Bertol, muttered without taking his eyes off the documents.

“By the way, isn’t this report remarkable?”

“What do you mean?”

“Patrick thought he was being clever by manipulating the numbers in 7-month intervals, but didn’t she grasp this pattern at a glance? Even knowing what to look for gives me a headache.”

“Hmm.”

Usually ledgers are organized by quarter or annual periods.

This was because organizing records at regular intervals made it easy to track mining output and market fluctuations by period.

Patrick’s manipulation of numbers in 7-month intervals could be said to have exploited this blind spot.

“And the Count Baron I know doesn’t have this kind of insight.”

“So what are you trying to say?”

“From what I can see, she didn’t just idle away her time at the Imperial Palace.”

The target of the Administrative Director’s implications was clear.

If the Former Crown Prince hadn’t died suddenly, Elisia, his only child, would have become the next Emperor.

Teaching state administration to the heir apparent from an early age was, in a way, only natural.

The Princess’s abilities could also be explained as an extension of that.

“There must be a reason why the Emperor protected and cherished her despite all her misconduct.”

“She was probably just lucky.”

“You really don’t want to acknowledge it, do you?”

The Administrative Director chuckled, but Bertol saw through the hidden meaning behind his laughter.

Could it be that the mistress we had been waiting for so long had finally appeared?

A capable mistress who could both steadfastly support our master’s side and manage the territory’s domestic affairs.

Bertol quietly shook his head.

“Yes, she may have ability. But her character…”

“Expecting great character from a noblewoman is unreasonable. Especially to become a Princess, ordinary bloodlines wouldn’t even come close, would they? What can we expect from women raised in nothing but luxury, unless we’re talking about a cross-class marriage?”

“Cross-class marriage? What a horrible thing to say!”

Cross-class marriage, bringing in a woman of low status as mistress, was extremely damaging to a family’s reputation.

This would not only result in isolation from noble society and loss of all political opportunities, but also adversely affect the legitimacy of succession.

There was good reason for the precedent that Imperial Family members had to renounce their succession rights to engage in cross-class marriage.

The very thought made him shudder.

“That’s why I’m saying our current mistress isn’t too bad. Good status, good ability, and judging from how she led the clinic incident, she seems capable in administration too…”

“But her reputation couldn’t be worse.”

“Aren’t you asking for too much?”

The Administrative Director was right.

Elisia possessed the bloodline and ability to bring greater honor to Lombard. Expecting good character on top of that was greedy.

If she would just show enthusiasm as mistress, everyone would be happy.

But—

“What good does that do? Not only us, but even our master can’t get anywhere near the mistress.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

“Don’t speak so indifferently! Isn’t this the most important part?!”

The problem wasn’t just Elisia’s reputation.

Lady Olden, her lady-in-waiting, stood guard like an iron wall in front of Elisia’s bedroom, and without her permission, no one could meet the mistress.

Lady Olden was the closest of close retainers who had assisted Elisia for many years, and her thoughts could be said to be the same as the mistress’s thoughts.

In fact, Lady Olden was acting on behalf of the mistress’s authority to a considerable extent.

‘What a pity this has become…’

It would be good if they could replace even some of the Imperial Capital-born servants who guarded the mistress so thoroughly with Lombard-born ones.

No, they didn’t even hope for replacement—if they could just insert one or two.

But according to intelligence from the Imperial Capital, the mistress’s trust in them was absolute, so realization was a very distant prospect.

Bertol clicked his tongue in regret.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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