The Former Empress Roughly Hides Her Abilities - Chapter 64

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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 64】

 

Joseph tried to establish discipline among the servants of the capital mansion and make his presence known.

 

“Why are you handling this on your own? Do you think you’re so great? If so, why don’t you do something other than being a maid instead of acting like this here?”

 

“….”

 

“Please know your place.”

 

Joseph was the butler of the main estate, and the capital mansion had its own separate butler.

 

In principle, Joseph shouldn’t have been able to interfere with the mansion’s affairs.

 

Lennon, the capital’s butler, pointed this out.

 

“The rules of this place are set by the master, and the person I serve is Duke Novantium. The butler from the main estate cannot interfere with this mansion’s affairs.”

 

“So, you’re saying you’re superior to me? Enough to criticize me with my 20 years of butler experience?”

 

Even he was no match for Joseph.

 

“That’s not what I meant….”

 

“Have you already forgotten who helped you catch the young master’s eye and become a butler? Your memory has deteriorated more than this old man’s, which is truly pitiful.”

 

“….”

 

Lennon had learned his work while being scolded by Joseph.

 

As such, the memory of finding Joseph intimidating still remained in his body.

 

He couldn’t stop Joseph from wandering around the mansion, nitpicking about the direction towels were folded or how shoelaces were tied.

 

However, even Joseph couldn’t do everything as he pleased.

 

“Am I doing this for my own comfort? I’m trying to ensure the former Duke has no inconvenience while staying at the mansion. The mansion repairs need to be done anyway!”

 

Joseph had been throwing a tantrum for 20 minutes. Lennon suppressed a sigh and responded calmly.

 

“When did I ever say I opposed the repair work? I’m saying let’s follow proper procedures. That’s separate from submitting the construction contract.”

 

“There’s no such rule at the main estate!”

 

“Since you’ve come to the capital, please follow the town house rules. My master won’t pay the final payment without supporting documents.”

 

Joseph said it was fine to pay upfront since he knew the contractor well, but Lennon was firm.

 

“If the master won’t pay the final amount, either you or I will have to cover the construction costs. I don’t want to lose my meager salary. Or will you take responsibility for it?”

 

Seeing Lennon respond the same way even when pressed with hierarchy, Joseph clicked his tongue.

 

‘How troublesome.’

 

“Fine. I understand.”

 

Joseph pretended to back down, but he was thinking something else inside.

 

‘Let me just take care of things one last time.’

 

Like Asil, he had watched Lennon since he was a snot-nosed kid, so he naturally considered him inferior.

 

However, his negligence would lead to different results.

 

* * *

 

A servant who usually cleaned the stable and never came near the mansion was panting as he knocked on the window.

 

“Hey, big trouble! Big trouble!”

 

A maid who was sweeping the corridor rubbed her tired eyes and muttered.

 

“What is it? What did old Joseph do this time?”

 

“Oh, he did something big. Something really big.”

 

“So who is he tormenting this time?”

 

“Wow, how can I have no expectations at all.”

 

The servant urgently shouted, afraid the maids would scatter.

 

“No, it’s not like that! The lady who came this time discovered old Joseph’s embezzlement!”

 

The maids who were about to turn around stopped dead in their tracks.

 

“What, really?”

 

“How? I mean, where?”

 

“I don’t know the detailed story either…. Anyway, everyone’s gathered in the guest room right now, and the atmosphere is no joke.”

 

The maids put down their brooms and dusters.

 

Now was not the time for cleaning.

 

“We need to go see right away.”

 

“Me too!”

 

They rushed out in a group.

 

It was the moment when the drug named Rianel was sprinkled on those who had lived without knowing dopamine.

 

* * *

 

The news of Rianel’s marriage hadn’t spread throughout the entire Empire.

 

If it had, Duke Vincenheim would have immediately come to question Asil.

 

The rumor had only spread shallowly around the Novantium Ducal Family’s mansion, main estate, and territory.

 

“What, is that true?”

 

Still, Mel heard the news because his original hometown was the Novantium Duchy.

 

Since he regularly kept in touch with people from his hometown, he was the first among the Tax Bureau staff to hear the rumor.

 

‘I was only watching out for the Team Leader’s job transfer or reassignment, but there was such a loophole…!’

 

Mel sighed deeply.

 

Moreover, since he didn’t know the other party was the Bureau Director, the shock and sense of betrayal Mel felt was considerable.

 

Furthermore, the Bureau Director’s family was the Novantium Ducal Family. When becoming the mistress of such a family, it was common to step away from civil service. There would be more than enough work to do!

 

‘No, it’s not certain yet.’

 

Since it could be a false rumor, Mel arrived at Asil’s mansion to confirm.

 

Then he tilted his head at the noise coming from the entrance.

 

‘What’s so noisy?’

 

The source wasn’t hard to find.

 

People were crowded in one place.

 

Looking again, it was the guest room where Rianel was staying.

 

Lennon, Rianel, and Hulbert were in the middle of the room, and servants surrounded them as if watching a performance.

 

Ledgers and receipts were piled on one side of the table, and next to them was Joseph on his knees.

 

“M-Master….”

 

Joseph stammered while watching Hulbert’s expression, but he didn’t even give him a glance.

 

Having trusted Joseph for so long, the shock he felt was considerable.

 

‘Indeed, you can never know what’s inside a person’s heart.’

 

This didn’t apply only to Joseph.

 

“Miss, how on earth did you figure this out?”

 

Joseph was someone who had been stabbing Hulbert in the back for years.

 

Yet Rianel had seen through such a person’s schemes at once.

 

“I had the cooperation of Head Butler Lennon.”

 

Lennon stood there with a face as if he had made up for the years of being scolded by Joseph, but when he received Hulbert’s gaze, he quickly gave credit to Rianel.

 

“I only made a request. I often heard that you were very capable, Master.”

 

3 hours ago.

 

When Joseph came with a receipt charging a huge amount for ‘maintenance costs,’ Lennon pondered and then came to find Rianel.

 

[Please help me, Madam. I can’t stop old Joseph by myself.]

 

[I’m not Madam.]

 

[Still, please help me. The fact that you’ve stayed at the mansion so far, wasn’t it because the master didn’t completely dislike it? I can’t let the master be charged this huge amount.]

 

It would have been better if Asil had been there, but he was attending a meeting where heads of various government departments gathered.

 

Lennon also knew that fixing one leaky window couldn’t possibly cost this much money, but he didn’t know specifically which parts were problematic.

 

Knowing such things required years of accumulated experience.

 

Rianel looked at the mansion’s internal ledgers and construction contract and caught the suspicious parts.

 

“Even if you had the documents, catching it all at once wouldn’t have been easy.”

 

“I just ‘roughly’ noticed it. Isn’t inflating construction costs during the building process a common trick?”

 

Hulbert was offended by the word ‘roughly.’

 

His pride was hurt that what others could tell at a glance, he had failed to notice.

 

“Is that all?”

 

“The contract itself was suspicious too. Not only was the construction timeline not specified, but it didn’t even state what materials would be used.”

 

Moreover, the material purchase statement and construction details report were missing.

 

They didn’t explain where or how repairs were made, just suddenly demanded payment.

 

‘Truly suspicious.’

 

Mansions constantly deteriorate. Every year there are places that need maintenance and repairs.

 

There was no way her student would accept such a sloppy contract and pay the balance each time.

 

Sensing something was off, Rianel looked into the construction company handling this project and discovered it was owned by Joseph’s relatives.

 

She also found that this company had been exclusively handling repairs for Novantium Main Castle for nearly 15 years.

 

“How did you figure that out in less than a day…? Don’t tell me you went through all the territory’s ledgers and receipts?”

 

“Yes. When I roughly skimmed through them, the same name kept appearing.”

 

The Main Estate and Town House used separate ledgers, but since Asil was the head of House Novantium, formal payment authorizations were being sent to the Town House.

 

Rianel was saying she had looked through all of that.

 

Hulbert looked at the decades’ worth of construction contracts piled beside the ledger and noticed something peculiar.

 

He had thought they were just randomly stacked…

 

“Don’t tell me you even organized them by date? All those contracts and receipts?”

 

“Yes. I ‘roughly’ organized them. That way it’s easier to check again later, isn’t it?”

 

“Good grief, miss, do you have nothing to say besides ‘roughly’?”

 

“If you work pursuing extreme efficiency and rationality, you can achieve results even while doing things roughly.”

 

Rianel went even further.

 

Hulbert, fed up with this, shut his mouth.

 

The maids looked at each other and whispered.

 

“Does anyone understand what’s happening here?”

 

“No idea, me neither.”

 

“This is crazy. Really.”

 

It felt like watching someone with incredible skills appear, display amazing feats, then mysteriously disappear again.

 

They didn’t know how she did it, but…

 

‘Anyway, it’s amazing!’

 

Meanwhile.

 

Mel, who stood apart without mingling with them, sneered inwardly.

 

‘Hehe. Weak creatures.’

 

With such feeble mentalities, they couldn’t handle the ‘roughly maniac.’

 

He felt proud of his mind and body, tempered over half a year.

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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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