Spoils of War Duchess

Chapter 62

“We’ll write a promissory note. The embezzled amount plus compensation for damages—let’s make it 400,000 Linton. Payment deadline will be by the end of this year.”

Laszlo shrugged, as if to say this was a generous offer.

But Marsha’s frozen expression didn’t soften.

“F-Four hundred thousand Lingtons…?”

“You could sell the Baltiche estate—it’d easily fetch 350,000 Lingtons.”

“But that house still has a 70,000 Lington bank loan tied to it!”

“That’s not my problem.”

Truthfully, 400,000 Lingtons wasn’t a significant sum for Laszlo. Whether he had it or not didn’t matter to him. But it was the perfect amount to utterly ruin Marsha.

Based on his investigations, that was the most she could scrounge up by selling everything she owned, even down to her undergarments.

“Any more, and she’d give up entirely. Any less, and the punishment wouldn’t feel significant.”

Once she paid back the 400,000 Lingtons, she would be left penniless—perhaps even burdened with loans from predatory lenders.

And Laszlo had no intention of showing her any leniency.

“If you’ve understood everything… Boys, take her away.”

At his command, the mercenaries standing by grabbed Marsha and hauled her up.

Marsha frantically looked around, her voice breaking into a desperate wail.

“Please spare me, Count! Have mercy…!”

“Did I say I was going to kill you?”

Laszlo twirled a small dagger in his hand, the blade spinning elegantly as if it were a toy.

The message was clear: if she made more trouble, he might actually kill her. Marsha could do nothing but clamp her trembling lips shut.

Thus, Marsha, once a minor lord of the Crises Countdom, was thrown out with nothing but an enormous debt.

Once Marsha and the witnesses to her embezzlement were gone, silence returned to the hall.

Laszlo remained in place, gazing down at the gathered servants. The servants stood frozen, anxiously awaiting what he would say next.

“Now, there’s one problem left to address.”

Gulp.

Everyone audibly swallowed.

“The mansion has no steward, and now even the head maid is gone.”

It was true. Despite Marsha’s corruption, she had imposed some semblance of order under her rule.

But now that Marsha was gone overnight, who would manage the staff and assign their duties? Chaos was inevitable.

Laszlo, however, didn’t seem overly concerned.

“They say those who uncover a knot must untie it. The person who exposed Marsha’s true nature should take her place.”

The servants exchanged confused glances. Then Laszlo spoke again.

“Edel.”

The room fell silent once more.

Unfazed, Laszlo continued.

“From now on, Edel will serve as the head maid.”

All eyes turned to Edel. But she neither flinched nor looked pleased; she merely let out a small sigh.

Laszlo surveyed the astonished servants and said,

“Anyone unwilling to obey Edel or harboring dissatisfaction can quit now. I’ll write you a letter of recommendation if you need one.”

He smiled faintly, almost relieved.

“Haah…”

Late into the night, Edel sighed as she sorted through piles of documents.

“Why did I agree to this?”

When she had exposed Marsha’s embezzlement and misdeeds, Edel thought the worst that could happen was Laszlo doubting her motives.

Instead, Laszlo placed an overwhelming amount of trust in her.

“So much so that he suddenly appointed me as head maid.”

Perhaps it was because she had helped transform both Linyah and Laszlo, achieving better results than anyone had expected.

The flood of invitations to the mansion following Laszlo’s attendance at the Bliss Countdom party was proof of her work’s impact.

“But how well does he even know me to entrust me with such a responsibility?”

As she thought about it, Edel came to a conclusion: Laszlo wasn’t particularly picky when it came to personnel, considering that Marsha had held the role before her.

Initially, Edel had intended to refuse the position outright. But…

“In that case, we can’t dismiss Marsha immediately. Without a steward or a head maid, how would the household function?”

Edel understood the situation all too well. She had witnessed the precarious daily operations of the mansion far too often to ignore it.

For Marsha to be removed without disrupting the household, someone familiar with its workings had to step in. Edel was the only viable candidate.

“Alright. Give me a little time.”

“One week. Familiarize yourself with these documents and come up with a plan. In a week, Marsha will be gone.”

For that week, Edel barely slept four hours a night.

Linyah, aware of the burden, encouraged her to rest during the day, but Edel couldn’t afford to waste even that time.

“There’s so much to fix.”

Even as she prepared to take over Marsha’s role, Edel couldn’t neglect her duties as Linyah’s personal maid or risk revealing their plan prematurely.

Though she had managed, becoming head maid didn’t make things easier.

“It’s worse than I expected.”

Had Marsha at least maintained detailed records, Edel could have used those to reorganize the household. But Marsha had focused solely on stealing money, neglecting basic documentation.

Even the merchants’ double-entry ledgers offered limited insight into past transactions.

Essentially, the Crises Countdom household had to start anew.

“Ugh, my head hurts…”

Starting entirely from scratch might have been simpler, but Edel’s real concern was deciding how far she could intervene. After all, managing financial ledgers was typically beyond the duties of a head maid.

“I guess I’ll have to discuss this further with Count Crises.”

Edel set aside the documents, draped a shawl over her shoulders, and made her way to a now-familiar destination: Laszlo’s study.

“It’s Edel.”

“Come in.”

Following the usual exchange, Edel opened the door.

Since she became head maid, Laszlo had begun organizing his own study. As a result, even after returning from the palace, he barely had any time to rest.

He was in the middle of sorting through household records and mercenary guild paperwork when he motioned to the sofa with a nod of his chin and stood up.

“It’s quite late. What’s the matter?”

“I have some questions about my responsibilities.”

“Questions? I told you—do whatever you see fit.”

“…That’s precisely the problem, Count.”

Edel sighed deeply, even in front of Laszlo, unable to contain her frustration. That was how lost she felt.

“As you know, the head maid typically manages the supply and inventory of items like food or fabric. Handling financial records is the steward’s or the family head’s responsibility.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. So it’s hard for me to determine the limits of my role. Ideally, we need to hire a steward as soon as possible…”

Laszlo, of course, was aware of this.

“You’re right. A steward has access to the household’s most sensitive information, so we can’t hire one lightly.”

He had tried hiring stewards in the past.

“The problem was, they all turned out to be spies for opposing factions.”

When Laszlo had suddenly emerged as a close confidant of the Emperor, the Four Great Houses had gone to great lengths to plant spies in the Crises household—especially in the steward position.

After uncovering the fifth steward’s betrayal and personally throwing him out, Laszlo decided against hiring another. Since then, he had ruthlessly dismissed any servant who even remotely seemed suspicious.

“The ones who remain are so unremarkable they wouldn’t even be worth bribing.”

They were timid individuals whose faces would betray them the moment they were approached with such proposals.

But as someone who had vowed to serve as the Emperor’s sword and a central pillar of the royalist faction, Laszlo couldn’t leave the household in its current state forever.

Lost in thought, his expression turned grave. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with an idea.

“Wait… There is one way.”

“What is it?”

Laszlo’s gaze slowly shifted to Edel’s face. His stare was so intense that Edel felt an almost physical urge to turn away.

But before she could, Laszlo leaned forward with a sly grin.

“Why didn’t I think of this sooner?”

“W-What… do you mean?”

Though she had a sinking feeling she wouldn’t like the answer, Edel couldn’t help but ask. And as always, her bad premonitions hit the mark.

“You could become the steward of this household. Honestly, you’re too capable to remain just the head maid.”

“What?”

Startled, Edel’s voice cracked as she repeated his words.

But embarrassment was the least of her concerns right now.