2)
“Hmm.”
The skill of hiding the stolen goods was extremely poor. I shrugged and pulled the long chain of the necklace. It wasn't worth the time I spent finding it.
I turned around slowly, and all that remained was the desk.
(Is he here?)
As I was rummaging through the office, something strange caught my eye.
(What is this?)
The drawers on either side of the desk were tightly closed with no gaps—except one.
The top drawer on the right side was protruding slightly, as if something was stuck behind it. I opened it and inserted my hand. Indeed, there was something stuck in the empty space behind the stairs, as I expected.
(I found it.)
I smiled contentedly as I pulled out what was hidden.
It was a thick notebook with a black leather cover. Inside it are papers full of names and numbers.
Account book.
“That's just…”
Seeing the numbers crammed onto the pages made me laugh.
“Not only was the cache of stolen goods bad, but the deception itself was poor.”
My doubt was now confirmed with the proof in my hand. I patted the papers as I scanned the desk.
“Indeed, having things beyond your means always attracts attention.”
The shelves and cupboards were filled with expensive ornaments and books. Things that go way beyond a butler's salary.
“I've gathered enough evidence. It's time to leave.”
I tore a few pages from the notebook and hid them in my coat. Now, it is time to return what was taken.
***
“Where could he be?!”
A look of concern appeared on the face of the third prince's butler.
Something that shouldn't have disappeared has disappeared.
The five most important pages of the ledger in which you recorded the origin of all the money you collected.
She disappeared without a trace.
Those pages represented her ambition, and were her lifeline. She couldn't bear to lose it or fall into other hands.
“No, you must be here! You must!”
Cold sweat dripped from her forehead as she turned the drawers and tossed the books from the shelves.
“Why isn’t she here—?!”
Her shrill scream echoed in the room.
“Big...butler!”
“I said no one should come in without knocking!”
“Kyaaah!”
A stray book hit the ground.
“Oh, what a pity.”
Behind the knight who blocked the book stood a woman.
She was none other than Countess Velen Katerina, the flower of high society.
“No matter how angry you are, you must maintain your dignity as a noble, butler.”
(Why is she here?)
Fear appeared in the butler's eyes. She had previously sworn allegiance to her, but cut ties with her immediately after she reached the Second Empress. So what brought her now herself?
“It's been a long time, butler.”
“I salute you, Countess.”
Her crimson eyes were glowing with anger, but her smile remained the same, the smile of the flower of society.
“What are you looking for so persistently? Won’t you tell me?”
“I lost some important documents, so I was looking for them...”
“So? Maybe the important documents aren’t these, right?”
She slowly raised her gaze upon hearing the ominous words.
Between Velen's thin white fingers a few papers fluttered. The missing pages were from the secret notebook.
“K… how—?!”
The butler's face immediately turned pale. Velen smiled contemptuously.
“One of the ‘good’ maids secretly sent it to me.”
(Maid?!)
The butler's eyes shook with betrayal and confusion.
“You should have raised your followers better.”
She frowned as she read the contents of the notebook:
“One hundred boxes of carrots, one hundred boxes of onions, two hundred bags of beans, fifty bags of turnips...”
She smiled sarcastically:
“Of course, it makes sense that a palace with only twenty maids would need a hundred boxes of carrots a day, right?”
The butler's face was red with anger.
“But this part is what intrigues me the most.”
She pointed her finger at one of the items:
“Why is there a record of three hundred pieces of gold as gifts from the house of Countess Catherine?”
The color in the butler's face went out.
“I don’t remember doing anything that deserved a gift from you.”
She lowered her voice coldly:
“Or is the cheap pearl necklace you sent me for my birthday worth three hundred pieces of gold?”
She took out a necklace and threw it on the floor, scattering the pearls in the room.
The butler trembled as she watched the scene. Felin approached her step by step, her beautiful face contorting like a demon.
“I placed a despicable servant of a baron in the palace, and you dare to betray me?”
"N-No! I didn't mean that!"
“Did you think you could take my place?”
“Never, I didn't mean to…”
“Shut up.”
I roughly grabbed her chin and forced her to look at her.
“You dirty thief.”
Then she gave her a look of contempt:
“He who does not know gratitude deserves to be punished. I will decide your punishment later.”
The butler blinked and fell to her knees.
“Go back to your village. If you appear before me again, you will have no head left.”
"M-Madame! Please!"
“You think I don't know your handwriting?”
She removed her hand in disgust and left.
But before she left, the butler's eyes fell on someone at the door—
The new nanny, Rachel Brown.
She looked at it as if she were contemplating a distant fire.
Felin smiled and said: “Thank you for your guidance, Lady Brown.”
“God bless you, Countess.”
Rachel bowed deeply, and as soon as the Countess left, she straightened up, staring coldly at the kneeling butler.
For a moment, I heard a cold, emotionless voice:
“You didn't have to do that.”
The butler slowly raised her head to see that sarcastic smile appearing on the nanny's lips.
Then she realized - despite the lack of evidence - that the disaster that had befallen her was planned by this woman in front of her.