Rewriting the Trash Ending - Chapter 38

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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38.

***

It took several days to restore the Warehouse to order.
All the spoiled meat had to be cleared out, the oil-stained floors scrubbed clean, and fresh supplies purchased to cover the shortage.
There was no hardship in managing it—part of the budget was always set aside as emergency reserves.
When Lumière received word from Axid, she went to the Chef, who had surely been anxious all this while.
“You’ve had a difficult time of it, I’m sure. His Grace mentioned he would be returning later than usual this time, so put your mind at ease.”
The Chef could not bring himself to say he was relieved.
The Duke had been eating meals below his standards all this time, yet he showed consideration for his kitchen staff—that only weighed heavier on the Chef’s heart.
“Don’t trouble yourself over the shortcomings of our provisions. I found the meals quite satisfactory, truly.”
Lumière spoke lightly to set his mind at ease, then turned to leave.

“…His Grace has said there is no need for the Duchess to wait for him.”

She recalled the message the Attendant had delivered moments before as she walked on.
No need to wait.
She could almost see how much he must have hesitated before uttering those blunt words.
‘He’s made me feel sorry now.’
She did feel genuinely apologetic toward the Duke, who was laboring so earnestly to carve out that tunnel, but truthfully, this was nothing to her.
No matter how much distance he put between them, could it ever compare to the distance between the living and the dead?
For her, who had watched over him for so long in Spirit Form, this separation was scarcely a blow at all.
‘In any case, I’ve let word of my husband’s current situation slip into the kitchen. Now let’s see what emerges.’
Among those with access to the Underground Warehouse and able to pass information to Magda, she knew of only one person.
Once the Duke’s prolonged absence became known, that rat would grow bolder and leave more evidence behind.
When that time came, she would deal with the little vermin and whoever stood behind Magda.

***

The atmosphere at the House of Count Mober was utterly dismal.
‘I kept saying it wouldn’t happen, but he actually did it…’
Magda’s palms ached from clenching her fists so hard.
The Duke’s Estate should have sent the monthly Allowance days ago.
But now, with two days passed since the first, her nephew had said nothing at all.
Unless some calamity had befallen them, the funds should have arrived with plenty to spare—yet he had not reversed that decision.
‘When in the world will word come through?’
She had instructed the servant she’d planted at the Duke’s Estate to ruin the household’s affairs by any means necessary, taking Belia’s advice to heart.
But no report had come back, and her impatience gnawed at her.
The sooner the household fell into chaos, the sooner she could decide whether to make her move.
She was gnawing at her fingernails with anxious fervor when the door burst open.
“You! I told you to go to His Grace and throw yourself on your knees if needed! What have you been doing all this time!”
It was just past noon.
Count Mober, reeking of wine, stormed into the Bedroom shouting.
“Darling, please don’t shout!”
Magda rushed to close the Bedroom door.
If word of their quarreling leaked outside, her reputation would be utterly destroyed.
The household had already been unsettled ever since her husband had been dragged to the Duke’s Estate and brought back.
Some staff were even using any excuse they could find to quit.
She’d managed to hold them back by using their Letters of Recommendation and wages as collateral, but how long could that possibly last?
‘Worthless creatures—you lived off my kindness all this time and now you turn against me.’
Once the Duke’s anger subsided, they would be cast out regardless of their pleas.
After all, the moment her nephew’s ire cooled, everything she currently faced would become nothing more than a passing episode.
She was steeling herself with such thoughts when—
“What are you going to do about this!”
The Count hurled a wad of papers roughly at her face.
She jerked her head back, struck by the unexpected blow.
“Darling, what is this—!”
“Every last bill has come to you—how much are you spending out there?”
The papers that scattered like autumn leaves were invoices from every boutique in the city.
They were demanding payment for the dresses and jewelry she’d purchased on credit.
The debt nearly matched the entire monthly budget of House of Count Mober.
“If you don’t settle this within a fortnight, you know exactly what happens!”
……
In that moment, nightmares from decades past flickered through Magda’s mind.
When her father’s business failed and their family teetered on the edge of ruin.
She’d endured the mockery of nobles she’d once called friends, all because her father had crawled from door to door begging for money.
If her sister hadn’t become the Duchess in her stead—she’d been married by then—the family would have drowned beneath mountains of debt.
And now.
Nobles and merchants showing up at the house, shouting demands for payment, invoices arriving from every direction.
……Was that nightmare beginning all over again?
“Sell everything in the house, or go beg the Duchess for money!”
Blood vessels stood out in Magda’s eyes.
After being dragged away and returning with nothing to show for it, pouring fuel on her already-burning rage was the last thing she needed.
“I was going to visit her anyway! So stop pestering me and go drink your wine.”
Magda slammed the bedroom door shut behind her.
She needed cold water, or she’d lose her mind entirely.
Just then.
“Madam, you have a visitor.”
“A visitor?”
The attendant glanced around before lowering her voice.
“Someone from the Estate.”
Magda’s eyes sharpened.
The person she’d been waiting for had arrived.
“Take her to the warehouse behind the greenhouse. No one must see her.”
“Yes, madam.”
A moment later, Magda slipped away from prying eyes and made her way toward the back of the greenhouse.
Everyone scattered like leaves the moment her shadow appeared—her recent irritability and fault-finding had seen to that.
Creak.
As she pulled open the old gardener’s warehouse door, a middle-aged woman with a kindly face bowed in greeting.
“Countess, what an honor to see you.”
“Skip the formalities. Tell me what you’ve learned.”
Magda made no effort to hide her impatience, and the woman opened her mouth cautiously.
“Once I set my hand to the warehouse, madam, the whole household fell into chaos.”
“Did they now?”
The woman continued, a satisfied smile playing at her lips, eager for recognition of her work.
“All the fine meat has been thrown out, so they won’t be able to host guests or hold any banquets for quite some time.”
“And how did the Duke respond?”
Magda asked, her face brightening, but the woman’s shoulders sagged apologetically.
“Well, that’s just it—unfortunately, the Duke is still at the Estate at the moment……”
Magda’s soaring hopes deflated in an instant.
She’d needed the rift between them to widen as quickly as possible, but of all times, he had to be away from the Estate.
“Have the servants at least grown restless?”
The woman nodded vigorously.
“There’s much discontent brewing beneath the surface. Replacing perfectly good workers and then having them clean out that underground warehouse—they’re working themselves to exhaustion.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, and whenever the opportunity arises, I’ve been subtly laying the blame at the Duchess’s feet, so you needn’t worry.”
Magda’s expression eased slightly at this.
‘Good—that’s how it should be.’
A woman of no standing in the Empire, suddenly receiving respect and attention—of course the servants would resent her. It was inevitable.
The thought that her household was silently cursing that woman even now brought a strange, cool satisfaction to Magda’s chest.
“When does the Duke return?”
“It seems it will take longer than expected this time.”
“Then while he’s away, the Duchess had better put her house in order. Whether through her personal attendants or sowing discord—whatever it takes!”
“Of course. I’ve been thinking along those lines already.”
“Make certain of it. I may have been sidelined for now, but the Duke won’t ignore his only family forever.”
At Magda’s steely gaze, the woman’s lips trembled.
“Naturally, Your Grace. How could the Duke ever turn his back on his beloved aunt?”
Magda’s lips curled into a slight sneer as the woman began groveling with obsequious flattery.
“In any case, if you’ve understood, you may go. Contact me when the time comes.”
“Yes, I’ll send word once everything is ready. I slipped away on the pretext of purchasing meat, after all…….”
The woman withdrew with a series of deferential bows.
Alone now, Magda muttered to herself, her eyes sharp with anxiety.
“My niece needs to come home soon, the sooner the better…….”
If she couldn’t settle the boutique’s debts within a fortnight, she’d become the laughingstock of society—there was no avoiding that.
She needed to win back her niece’s affections before then, but what use was it to disrupt the household if the very person whose approval she needed wasn’t even in the manor?
Yet for now, there was nothing to do but wait.
She paced the Warehouse for some time, gnawing at her fingernails.

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