Chapter 13
“M-Madam! Why are you suddenly asking us to pay compensation?”
“Keriah, you’ve worked in this mansion for three years, right? Mostly running errands in the kitchen.”
“Y-Yes… h-how did you know…?”
Rachel smiled.
“You thought I wouldn’t know? Well, I suppose that’s why you were able to get away with what you did.”
Looking down at Keriah’s pale face, Rachel spoke casually.
“You wanted an easier job with better pay as a kitchen assistant, but you kept making mistakes and couldn’t get it. You were short on money, so starting last year, you tampered with the kitchen supplies.”
“That’s… I never did such a thing!”
“Oh, don’t bother denying it. I’ve already collected all the evidence. Did you see what happened to Marsha?”
“Ugh.”
Most of the household staff had committed some kind of wrongdoing—stealing, neglecting duties, slandering others, or leaking secrets.
The exact details—who did what, to what extent, and how—were usually impossible to know because there were so many staff and so many incidents.
Rachel had been debating whether to call Sian, the guild informant, for help.
Then Marsha appeared.
“Madam, I will help you.”
“How exactly do you intend to help?”
“As you know, I ran a comfort circle—a kind of conversation group for worries, gossip, and chatting.”
“And…?”
“Many of the mansion’s staff were members. I know their secrets.”
That was intriguing.
“What kind of secrets?”
“Most of the staff have committed crimes.”
“I know that already.”
Marsha shook her head.
“What I know are the specifics—who committed which wrongdoing, what evidence exists, and where the records are kept. I know everything.”
“Wow, that’s incredible.”
“If you reduce the compensation, I will organize all of the details for you. I swear I will give everything, without a single lie.”
It wasn’t a bad offer. In fact, it was an extremely good one.
Rachel accepted Marsha’s proposal. For each piece of evidence Marsha submitted on behalf of a staff member, Rachel drastically reduced the compensation owed.
In the end, the only compensation Marsha actually paid was the 3 gold Rachel gave Keriah—a tiny fraction of the original amount Rachel had demanded.
“Ponya made the street orphans do the garden work she was supposed to do herself.”
“Ugh… how could you…?”
“She secretly made a hole in the mansion wall to bring the children in. When the children did the garden work, you gave them leftover bread and pretended you had worked to collect your wages.”
“……”
“I won’t claim the bread cost since it went to hungry children. But you must compensate for the wall repair and the wages you collected without working—125 gold.”
“Madam, I don’t have that kind of money!”
“125 gold is actually on the lower end of the compensation.”
Rachel tilted her head and pointed to another servant beside her.
“Kanna is the one who could be called rich. 2,500 gold. She secretly sold financial info and estate records of the Count’s family to the guild, earning over 10,000 gold in total.”
Rachel spent some time listing each maid’s crimes and the compensation they owed.
At first, the maids were skeptical, thinking the “stupid lady” had just guessed a few things correctly.
But as Rachel pointed out every crime, they had no choice but to admit their misdeeds had been fully exposed.
Keriah was the first to collapse to the floor.
“M-Madam! I am truly sorry! Please forgive me just this once!”
“No.”
“Ah… no… Madam, please have mercy…”
“What do you mean ‘no’? You should have been ready to face punishment when you did wrong. Or at least been good so I could overlook your misdeeds. You did wicked things in secret, gossiped, and now you talk about forgiveness and mercy?”
“Ah…! I’m sorry. Truly… I will make sure this never happens again…”
“I already warned you when Marsha was dismissed. I’m really going to be angry, so be quiet.”
Some were stunned, some cried on the floor like Marsha had.
“I’ll prepare a document detailing exactly how much each of you must pay, so you won’t forget the amounts. It won’t console you, but I’ll fire all of you at once so you can mourn together. For everything until now.”
Rachel smiled wryly. She had been about to say, “You’ve worked hard,” but stopped.
Worked hard? Not really.
“You’ve had fun skimming and stealing all this time; now you’ll work for a bit.”
The total compensation for the maids alone came to nearly 5,000 gold. The Ellosa family’s coffers would grow, and the alimony Rachel was owed would increase. It felt satisfying and refreshing.
The mansion was abuzz.
Rachel dismissed most of the staff. Only three, who had worked there for a short time and whose crimes were minor, remained. She tripled their salaries to compensate for the extra work.
Some protested, some despaired, but when they saw the evidence, the compensation lists, and letters from the guild’s debt collectors, they stayed silent.
Guild debt collectors—what a fancy title, but really, they just collected owed money. It was known they would do anything to recover it.
Inside the mansion, the only ones smiling were Rachel and Graham, chatting and snacking.
“Mom, are we going to play together every day now?”
“Yes. But life will be a little inconvenient for a while. You’ll have to fetch water and clean your room yourself.”
“That’s fine! Ehehe, this is so exciting. I hope it stays like this.”
Rachel patted Graham’s head.
She was glad he didn’t mind, though she still worried he had no other playmates.
Children from noble families usually grew up surrounded by nannies, siblings, or peers.
“Graham, don’t you need friends?”
“No.”
His answer was immediate, but his face soon fell.
“Mom… do you wish I had friends?”
“Well, yes. It’s nice to have friends your age to play with. Now that the mansion is empty, you might get bored.”
“I’m fine even if I’m bored. As long as I have you.”
Such a clever child.
Though once he meets Dolorasa, he’ll probably fall in love immediately. Rachel might feel a bit jealous then.
As Rachel quietly stroked his head, Graham thought for a moment.
“….”
“Why, Graham? Are you upset because I mentioned playing with friends?”
“Do you dislike me, Mom?”
“Of course not! Never. I love you so much. I only mentioned friends because I worried you’d be bored. I will never do anything you dislike or that makes you sad. I promise.”
Rachel expected him to respond with thanks, but Graham remained silent.
After a while, he finally looked up at her.
“…No, Mom. You don’t have to.”
“Huh?”
“I love you, Mom, so I’ll protect you. To do that, I might have to do things I don’t like. In fairy tales, princes face scary monsters to save princesses. Playing with friends is easy compared to that.”
Good heavens… how could he be so sweet…!
Rachel hugged Graham tightly.
“You’re the best, Graham! I’m so happy because of you, I feel like I could fly!”
Graham, startled, hugged her back tightly.
“Ah, no, Mom. Don’t fly away! I don’t know how to fly!”
“Hahaha, okay. I won’t fly.”
They hugged for a long while, rubbing cheeks.
Rachel adjusted to the quieter mansion. Though many remaining staff were careless, there were still enough to fill gaps.
Meals became very simple. Luckily, one cook remained, so Rachel didn’t have to cook herself.
Weeds grew in the garden.
Dustballs rolled through the already cluttered corners.
About a week later, Karl returned. He was shocked at the changed mansion.
Rachel asked Graham to play alone in his room briefly and went to the parlor with Karl.
As soon as she sat, Karl asked urgently,
“Madam, what on earth happened? I heard rumors, but to dismiss so many staff at once…”
“You came in without permission and are scolding me?”
“…Without permission?”
“It’s not without permission. You were with Theodore, the mansion’s owner. Is that what you want to say?”
Karl closed his mouth, sensing the sharp edge in Rachel’s tone.
Rightly so—Rachel no longer pretended to be obedient. She would soon divorce Theodore and no longer needed to feign compliance.
She tapped her fingers on the armrest.
“Why no answer? Were you not with Theodore? Then where were you? Did you ask Theodore for permission and visit the house where his daughter lives?”
Karl’s face turned pale. Years of hard work and worry had given him wrinkles older than his age, and they instantly made him look like a corpse.
“Seems that’s correct. Well, someone had to comfort the daughter after such a public humiliation. Theodore was with Berengela, so it couldn’t be him. Only the daughter’s family could stay with her.”
“…How did you know, Madam?”
“Do you think I’m an idiot? I just pretended not to know.”
“…”
“So… was it fun? Watching me beg Theodore for love while helping your daughter with her affair—how did that feel?”
Karl hung his head, and Rachel’s eyes gleamed sharply.
Theodore was bad for cheating, and Jane, the mistress, was bad too.
But Rachel hated Karl the most—the father who knew everything, stayed silent, and even helped with the affair.
It was the time for the first retribution.
