Chapter 61
That night, Laszlo immediately summoned the subordinates of Calliope. Among them were Nathan, the deputy leader, a few skilled in bookkeeping and financial calculations, three who could gather market and shop information, and three other informants.
“Nathan, investigate the businesses connected to our family. Check how much they’ve been paying off the head maid, too. The rest of you, look into the head maid’s finances.”
“Understood.”
“Pete, organize and verify our family’s ledgers and receipts.”
“All by myself?”
“Pull in help if you need it. Start with the last year’s records.”
The mercenaries promptly set to work at Laszlo’s command.
The shopkeepers who had collaborated with Marsha to maintain double ledgers crumbled quickly before the Count of Chrisus’ subordinates, confessing to embezzlement on a larger scale than Laszlo had anticipated.
The family’s ledgers were in equally poor shape. Pete, regarded as Calliope’s expert in financial matters, skimmed through a few and clicked his tongue.
“This is a mess. I’m not even sure it’s worth fixing.”
“I went through them occasionally!”
“…Clearly, accounting isn’t your strong suit.”
Laszlo had only skimmed through the ledgers briefly before bed after exhausting days at the palace. Even then, the receipts and invoices from Marsha were utterly fabricated.
He knew he wasn’t meticulous, but hearing it pointed out so bluntly made him awkwardly clear his throat.
“Everything’s wrong—nothing adds up. Even basic addition and subtraction…!”
“I didn’t do that. The head maid did.”
“And you let it slide? If we left such records with Calliope, the leader would’ve had my head!”
Frustrated, Pete threw the ledgers aside, deeming them both irreparable and meaningless.
That alone provided enough grounds to punish Marsha.
A week after the theft accusation against Edel, Laszlo convened all the servants again. This time, he personally called the meeting, and his mercenaries stood guard nearby, making everyone nervous.
“I’ve gathered you here today to punish the culprit behind a recent unfortunate incident.”
Marsha’s face lit up with glee.
“Miss Linia must have informed the Count! This worked out perfectly!”
Marsha had originally planned to escalate her thefts—from small accessories to more extravagant jewels—planting them in Edel’s quarters to frame her beyond doubt. However, the early discovery of the missing items had left her flustered.
Still, Laszlo’s involvement suggested that Linia took the matter seriously.
“Gathering everyone like this means they can’t just brush it off. Edel, you’ll pay dearly this time!”
Even without concrete evidence, both circumstantial and physical evidence pointed to Edel. Confident in her plan, Marsha was sure Edel would face severe punishment.
Laszlo surveyed the servants with a bored expression and continued.
“A small theft occurred recently, but it seems it was meant to cover up a far larger crime.”
The servants murmured uneasily. Theft among servants in noble households was not uncommon but was still a serious crime.
“The items missing from Linia’s drawer—one pearl hairpin, four pairs of jeweled earrings, and four gold necklaces—were things Edel, as her maid, frequently handled.”
Linia added calmly, “So Edel wouldn’t have stolen them. She’d know she’d be caught immediately. But the maid who served me before her wouldn’t have known that.”
A heavy silence fell over the room as everyone’s gaze shifted to Marsha.
Marsha panicked and waved her hands in denial.
“W-What are you saying, my lady?! Why accuse me all of a sudden?!”
“You also tried to recruit Daisy, didn’t you? Asking her to abandon Edel and follow you instead.”
Daisy nodded firmly.
Marsha denied it again, flailing her arms.
“That’s slander! I only gave her some advice out of pity!”
Laszlo raised his hand, silencing the commotion.
“That’s irrelevant. What matters is the massive embezzlement you’ve been involved in.”
Marsha turned pale, her lips moving soundlessly like a fish out of water.
Without sparing her a glance, Laszlo signaled his men.
Several merchants, escorted by mercenaries, were brought in.
“Please forgive us, my lord!”
“We only followed Lady Bohain’s orders! She threatened to cut off business ties if we didn’t comply!”
“We’ll return every penny, even double the amount! Just spare us this once!”
The merchants, suppliers of meat, vegetables, grains, and flour to the household, wailed miserably.
“Enough whining. List your crimes,” Nathan commanded.
Sniffling, the merchants confessed.
“W-We recorded high-grade meat on the invoices but delivered poor-quality goods. For signing off on these receipts, we gave Lady Bohain 30% of the difference.”
“Who else?”
“The vegetable and grain suppliers are no different. Lady Bohain proposed it all. We’d never dare come up with such schemes ourselves!”
Laszlo turned to Pete.
“Based on the double ledgers, how much is the estimated embezzlement?”
“Roughly 250,000 Ringtons, considering similar fraud by art galleries and carpet suppliers. Those prices were inflated even more boldly.”
Laszlo nodded indifferently and looked back at Marsha, whose face was ghostly pale.
“Edel must’ve been a thorn in your side. Unable to control the other servants, some of your schemes uncovered, and Linia not siding with you.”
“Th-That’s not true…”
“Isn’t it? The maids you extorted confessed everything.”
Marsha turned sharply toward Mina and the other maids, but they avoided her gaze, heads bowed.
Her trembling hands betrayed her rising fear.
“M-My lord, how can you treat me like this?! I’ve worked tirelessly for this household for three years!”
“Worked? Isn’t hard work expected of any head maid?”
“그러니까 눈 감아줄 만큼만 횡령했어야지. 지금 나한테 집 한 채 값어치를 눈 감아 달라고 하는 거야?”
Laszlo’s words dripped with cold sarcasm, sending a shiver down Marsha’s spine as sweat poured from her back.
‘I should’ve run earlier…!’
She regretted everything bitterly. Blinded by greed, she’d convinced herself she could take just a bit more, walking willingly into a trap of her own making.
Marsha collapsed to her knees, clasping her hands together in desperate prayer.
“My lord, please! Think of the time I’ve devoted to this household! I’ll repay every penny I took, I swear! Just spare me this once!”
“Repaying what you embezzled is the bare minimum. Why speak as if you’re offering me a favor?”
“Pardon…?”
“This matter will be handed over to the police, of course. That’ll mean 30 lashes to start, followed by a fine—”
“My lord, no! Please, spare me! I beg you!”
Marsha crawled forward on her knees and threw herself at Laszlo’s feet.
The mere mention of thirty lashes made her vision blur. At her age, enduring such a punishment would leave her bedridden for at least a month.
“I was wrong! I was terribly wrong, my lord! Greed blinded me and led me to do something unforgivable. Please, forgive me just this once! Don’t hand me over to the authorities!”
Tears streamed down her face as she banged her forehead against the floor, pleading pitifully.
The other servants stood frozen, stunned by the scale of Marsha’s theft and by the sheer speed of her downfall. Laszlo’s patience, having kept his knowledge hidden until he secured solid evidence and witnesses, impressed and unnerved them.
“Forgive you…” Laszlo mused. “Well, it’s true that if I hand this over to the police, retrieving the stolen money will be more complicated.”
Marsha’s eyes flickered with a glimmer of hope. She edged closer, clinging to this thin thread of salvation.
Laszlo gazed down at her, his expression one of utter disdain, as if looking at a worm squirming in the dirt. His voice was slow and deliberate as he spoke.
