Lucian's allowance being reduced was not something that could be dismissed lightly.They called it an allowance, but its source was still the family budget.In other words, the moment someone tampered with it, it was effectively embezzlement.
And embezzlement is punishable by death. No exceptions.
Even nobles—who were exempt from most executions—were not spared when it came to embezzlement.Touching the family's finances was the same as sabotaging the house's lifeline.Let alone a regular official—if the Minister of Finance himself pulled such a stunt, he would be executed on the spot and his head hung on the castle walls.
Whoever the madman responsible was, today was going to be his funeral.
With that in mind, Lucian marched straight to the treasury office—but—
"You're mistaken, Third Young Master! E-embezzlement!? Never!"
The treasurer dropped to his knees the instant the word embezzlement was spoken, cold sweat pouring down his face.
It wasn't acting.His expression was one of genuine terror.
Under Lucian's icy gaze, the treasurer repeatedly slammed his forehead onto the floor and shouted desperately:
"I—I only processed things exactly as they were submitted! If you wish, I can prove it immediately! Please, please allow me one chance to show you the truth!"
Tears and snot streamed down his face as he trembled—at this rate, it looked like he might wet himself.Lucian, who had assumed the treasurer was the culprit, frowned.
"So you're saying you didn't skim anything off the top?""No, sir! Absolutely not! I swear to the Eight Gods—if I speak a single lie, may I fall straight into hell!""Then who told you to allocate the budget like this? You said you processed it exactly as it was submitted.""It—it was the head maid serving under you, Third Young Master! She always brought me the budget drafts!""What? The head maid?"
Depending on gender, the role was called head maid or head attendant—the supervisor of the servants.In small families, there might be only one or two; in large families, there could be several.The number of servants was simply too large for one person to oversee them all.
In House Valdeck, each child and each wife of the Duke would have their own.The head maid the treasurer mentioned must have been the one assigned to Lucian's personal staff.
"Incredible."
At the mention of the head maid, Lucian let out a hollow laugh.They called it the "manager of servants," but at the end of the day she was still a servant.
And she dared commit embezzlement—the kind of crime that would cost even a knight his head?
"I-it's the truth! The head maid always sent me the budget plans, and I only compiled them accordingly! A-and the Third Young Master even gave her a handwritten authorization letter before—!""Enough. Don't interrupt my thoughts. If you keep chirping, I'll treat you as an accomplice.""—!!"
The treasurer immediately slapped both hands over his mouth.
Leaving the trembling man behind, Lucian fell into thought.It was clear that he had once entrusted the budget to the head maid.It would have been easy for her to quietly tamper with the numbers.
But no matter how he thought about it, the risk far outweighed the reward.Even if the stolen amount was large, it was nowhere near enough to justify risking one's life.
It'll be faster to confront her directly.
With a sigh, Lucian left the treasury office and returned to his room.Given how clear the responsibility was, denial wouldn't get her anywhere—so she would have to give some kind of answer.
***
"I am Jenny, the head maid. I was told you summoned me."
The head maid was a young woman with a strikingly proud expression.She looked at most in her twenties, which made Lucian blink.A head maid was usually a seasoned middle-aged woman with years of experience.But this one was young—practically too young for the position.
"Um… did the head maid change recently? I'm sure it was Lady Dana not long ago."
Hans, having fallen into thought as well, asked with an awkward stiffness.At that, the head maid—Jenny—arched an eyebrow.
"The former head maid stepped down due to age two months ago. You didn't know?""Well, I… I don't often have business with the head maid, so…""How pathetic. You attend to the Young Master, yet you don't even know what's happening around him?"
At Jenny's scolding, Hans shrank like a scolded child, speechless.Lucian's eyebrow twitched at the sight.
While the position of head maid outranked Hans in title, Hans was Lucian's personal attendant.A personal servant was, in effect, an extension of the master's face.To openly scold him right in front of his master—that was half a step away from insulting Lucian himself.
Jenny seemed to think Lucian hadn't noticed, for she even scoffed, her lips curling in mockery.
"So then, may I ask why you summoned me? This boy hasn't told me anything, so I've heard nothing."
"…I called you because of the budget report. You wrote this?""Yes. I simply inherited the authority the previous head maid was granted by the Young Master."
"Inherited? I gave that authority to her, not you."
"Is that so? My apologies. But the budget must be completed before the deadline, and since the Young Master never paid attention to such matters, I had no choice. I trust you understand."
"What—!"
Hans shouted in disbelief at Jenny's insolent tone.It was unmistakably not the way a servant should speak to the master she served.Lucian raised a hand to stop Hans from interrupting and spoke calmly.
"Fine. I'll overlook that part. Then let me ask something else—what is the meaning of this budget? Why did you reduce my allotted amount and increase the servants' wages on your own authority?"
"I was told you had entrusted the budget allocations to me as well, so I adjusted them. The servants have been overworked lately, and their complaints about wages were severe."
"So you did this without informing me?"
"You have not involved yourself in the budget for over a year, so I assumed it would be acceptable. That was my mistake. But what's done is done—please overlook it. It's only for one more month, is it not?"
Hans stared at her with his mouth hanging open.It seemed she no longer even cared to hide her contempt.Lucian, unable to stomach it any longer, rose to his feet and addressed the other servants:
"Someone go fetch a whip. Let's see if she still talks like this after being struck."
Despite Lucian's command, the surrounding servants hesitated and fidgeted, none of them stepping forward.It was clear—they feared Jenny more than they feared Lucian.Hans's eyebrows shot up at the sight.
"What are you all doing? The Young Master gave an order! Go get the whip, now!"
"You've got to be kidding me! Fine, I'll get it myself!""H-Hans, wait!""Calm down! Just wait—!""Why are you stopping me!? It's the Young Master's command! Have you all lost your minds!?"
Unable to watch any longer, Hans tried to go himself, but the servants blocked the door with their bodies.In effect, they were defying Lucian's order to protect Jenny.The absurdity of it made Lucian's expression harden.
For servants to openly ignore his command…It meant there was someone they feared far more than him involved.
"You. You've got backing, don't you?""Backing? Hardly. I'm simply the milk-sibling of the Second Young Master, Lord Jordi."
At Jenny's proud declaration, it became clear why the servants were acting like this.Being milk-siblings meant she was the biological child of Jordi's wet nurse—someone who had been raised intimately alongside him since infancy.
Their social status differed, but their personal closeness could be considerable.Naturally, the servants would be terrified.If they mishandled the situation, Jordi could easily take their heads.
The problem is that they ignored my command because they were worried about Jordi's reaction.
But Jordi wasn't the only one with the authority to take a servant's head.If Lucian wished it, removing a few servants was no trouble at all.
And still, they ignored Lucian's command and protected Jenny.That meant only one thing: as frightening as Jordi was to them…they found Lucian laughably harmless by comparison.
Ridiculous.
Lucian let out a long sigh and rose from his seat.He had expected difficulties, but the mess left behind by his predecessor was far worse than anticipated.Originally, he intended to observe the situation a little longer—but given what he'd just seen, it was clear he needed to establish discipline now.
"Hans, come with me.""Eh? Where are we going?""You'll find out."
When Lucian walked toward the door, the servants hesitated, wearing uneasy expressions.They seemed terrified that he might go straight out and fetch the whip.
"Y-young master, please calm down.""The head maid surely meant no harm…""I'm not going to get a whip. Move. I need to step out for a bit."
Only after hearing that did the servants slowly shift away from the door.Lucian saw this pathetic scene and sighed again as he prepared to exit.
"Truly, the Young Master is wise. Lord Jordi will surely praise you for your sensible decision."
Jenny's tone—subtly flaunting her connection to Jordi—carried a mocking edge.Lucian didn't bother responding.
After all, in just a few hours…she would bitterly regret every word she had just said.
非冰非串
"Young master! Why did you leave that damned woman alone!?"
Hans, still fuming, stomped after Lucian and finally burst out yelling.It seemed he was more enraged by the insult to Lucian than by the scolding he himself received.
"If the others wouldn't get the whip, you could've gotten it yourself and punished her! If you truly intended to, no one could've stopped you!""That's true. But doing that would've only harmed me.""…Eh?"
"Do you think she became Jordi's milk-sibling and head maid by coincidence? Preparations were already in place. Even if I brought a whip, do you think she would've stood there and let me strike her?"
She would've screamed and fled, no doubt.And the other servants—terrified of Jordi—wouldn't have dared to restrain her.Lucian suspected that even if he personally tried to seize her, it would've been pointless;someone would've been positioned nearby to protect her, precisely because she was Jordi's milk-sibling.
"She'd have run straight to my brother—no, to Jordi. And she would've twisted the story, leaving out the part about the budget entirely, painting me as a brute who tried to punish Jordi's milk-sibling for no reason.""No, surely no one would believe something that ridiculous!""Intrigue isn't about whether it should work. It's about making it work. I don't even have people around me who can state the truth properly. But he has plenty who will fabricate lies on his behalf."
"But if we explain everything to His Grace the Duke…""That would be the worst choice. What would Father think if he learned I couldn't even manage my own servant?"
And beyond that—this entire mess began because Lucian once entrusted the critical task of budgeting to a mere head maid.If they dug into cause and effect, the shameful part would be revealed as Lucian's own negligence.
Which was why this matter absolutely needed to be handled internally, without outside intervention.The more chances Jenny had to run her mouth, the more damage would fall on Lucian.
Hans scratched his head with a troubled expression after hearing the explanation.
"But young master, you don't have any faction or followers. Even if you want to handle this yourself, you don't have people who will act for you. How do you plan to manage that?""Well, I'll just have to create one now."
"…Sorry?"
"If I don't have people inside the manor, then I simply have to make them outside the manor. Right?"
At Lucian's smile, Hans tilted his head in confusion.What was that supposed to mean?
Hans was about to ask again when Lucian came to an abrupt stop.
"We've arrived.""This was the destination? I've never been here before… A—gambling hall!?"
Hans stared at Lucian with a horrified expression.
The Duke had finally restarted his financial support—and Lucian was planning to gamble with that money!?
Hans came to his senses and hurried to stop him, but—
"Take your customer, you bastards!"
BOOM!
Lucian's kick flung the gambling hall's doors open as if they might rip off their hinges.