The words “Emperor’s Inspector” created an indescribable amount of hostility in Lucenford.

It was clear that there would be additional bloodshed by digging up an incident that had already been fully punished. The Emperor was always harsh on Lucenford.

“What are they coming to do again?”

“His Imperial Highness’s affairs are a good excuse! How much more will they stir up here this time?”

“Oh dear, there will be bloodshed…”

The Grand Duke originally loved Lucenford, and with the kind heart of the victimized Grand Duchess, the punishment ended strictly but appropriately. But now the inspector was coming to stir things up. Most people took this news badly, while some secretly rejoiced inwardly.

Unfortunately, the butler, who should have been one of those rejoicing, could not fully enjoy that joy.

He was in a situation where his stomach was starting to hurt due to the Grand Duke suddenly smashing furniture, and the Grand Duchess, who had not yet fully settled in, had not selected a chief maid, so they were short-handed.

But having to prepare to greet the Emperor’s Inspector as well, it was like a fire falling on his feet, even though there was still some time left.

“Will His Imperial Highness take care of this side?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”

Still, as an Ostein lady, her eye for goods was unexpectedly much better than the previous chief maid, and she had a sharp sense of frugality, so the butler hurriedly handed over minor tasks for now.

Peon had told him to hand over most tasks to the Grand Duchess anyway, so this much should be fine. Of course, he had no intention of ever, ever handing over the most core individuals and precious ledgers. That was the important household he would grip tightly until he died.

The butler, who duly oversaw the entire Lucenford castle, had to manage it until the end. He had done it for 20 years without handing it over to anyone, so that wouldn’t change.

“Thank you, Your Imperial Highness. As you know, furniture purchases must be made only within the allocated budget. If you look at this page, here, you see this number?”

Kaella just nodded roughly while looking from a distance at the ledger that was a mess with difficult-to-read letters and numbers. There were several ledgers, and it was doubtful whether they were being properly managed.

Her goal before she died was to thoroughly dig through and organize those ledgers and documents and check suspicious parts, but she died before she could even approach a single ledger.

Now, about three ledgers were placed in front of her, but she no longer had the will to organize them all.

“I don’t know much, but I’ll do my best.”

“Yes, please do. And you must select a chief maid.”

Now the inspector was coming. They would arrive in a month, but since notice had been given first, preparations had to be made in a hurry.

The butler intended to hand over the chief maid duties that Doris Windgood had carried out in step with him directly to the next chief maid without going through the Grand Duchess. Of course, under the premise that whoever the next chief maid was, the butler would be able to control them.

In any case, wouldn’t a Lucenford noblewoman become the chief maid? Then he could sufficiently control them with the butler’s influence.

“I understand.”

Even if she selected one, it would be better to choose a less annoying person for future peace. But what’s the use of that?

After the butler closed the door and left, Kaella stared at the desk for a while without doing anything. Unlike last time when she couldn’t know anything because no information was conveyed to the Grand Duchess, this time was a bit better.

‘He even gave me the ledgers, how strange.’

Still, the Grand Duchess’s office was still nonexistent, just like before. She would only work for a short while and then have all her power taken away again.

‘Well, it’s not like I’ll be here long anyway.’

In any case, the arrival of the Emperor’s Inspector was an opportunity for Kaella. Let’s finish everything before the inspector comes. If she did well this time, she might be able to discreetly send the youngest Mary to Ostein. She had to somehow create that opportunity.

So let’s not overdo it and only do enough to get Mary out. Just that much.

Even after organizing her thoughts, Kaella still couldn’t move a single finger, slumped in her chair.

*

Every visitor to the Grand Duke’s office gave the temporarily placed sofa a very peculiar look.

“It will be removed soon.”

Peon had no choice but to say this, as they kept staring at it. Then everyone visibly looked relieved.

He thought the color was not very good, but for every visitor to be so startled like that, Peon suddenly felt very sorry for Kaella who had to live with that terrible furniture before the regression.

“Is it that awful?”

“The color is too…”

“It was in the Grand Duchess’s bedroom.”

“Ah, women’s tastes are completely different from men’s. Yes. It must be beautiful in women’s eyes.”

“It was done by the exiled criminal.”

“Actually, the color is very hideous.”

“Her Imperial Highness doesn’t seem to like it either.”

“It is proper to replace it immediately. Looking at it every day will tire the eyes.”

Peon stared blankly at Count Renar, who rapidly changed his words, and honestly admired him.

“Count, you adapt very quickly.”

“My goal is to please my lord.”

“It would be better to please me honestly then.”

“I am a very sincere and honest person.”

He can’t be argued with. Peon thought that he would also like to make Kaella laugh like that brazen Renar.

“By the way, is this why Your Highness has been smashing furniture? Poor old Anderson is now clutching his stomach. He says it hurts.”

Count Renar seemed to find it quite amusing that the butler was complaining about his aching stomach.

“It was a bit too much.”

Count Wilberk, who had been quiet, opened his mouth. Peon answered bitterly.

“It was on purpose.”

It had been like that from the beginning. How could the chief maid Doris Windgood, who was always anxious to get him better things, do that? Peon first felt betrayed, and then anger at the subordinates who dared to think of him as a child.

“I personally could not understand at all the act of ignoring His Imperial Highness’s diet related to his health, but now I understand to some extent. They were just evil people.”

Count Wilberk concluded simply and coldly. Peon nodded. That’s right. They were just evil people. But the problem was that Kaella had too many “just evil people.”

The most evil person among them was Peon.

“Still, wouldn’t it be better to smash moderately and finish it, Your Highness?”

Secretary Regen, who had been by Peon’s side receiving the documents he signed one by one, said cautiously.

“Why?”

Right now, Peon was refraining a great deal. Every time he saw the state of the Grand Duchess’s bedroom, his blood boiled.

To treat his only justice, only ally, and only truthful wife like this. It wasn’t satisfying to rip everything apart and smash it.

“It seemed like Her Imperial Highness was a bit frightened earlier. Her face turned pale when she saw the ripped sofa.”

Peon instantly froze.

“While strong men are definitely popular here, isn’t Her Imperial Highness from Ostein?”

But if the husband was smashing household furniture day in and day out, it was perfect for others to misunderstand, and even more perfect for the wife to misunderstand.

“…Was she scared?”

Even Count Wilberk could not answer Peon’s question, whose voice had immediately stiffened. Count Renar answered characteristically.

“If Her Imperial Highness is a brave person, wouldn’t she be more annoyed than scared by a husband who keeps making work?”

“Annoyed…”

Peon’s voice became even heavier. He hated Kaella avoiding him either way.

It was an instinctive rejection and the root of the fear consuming him. He wanted to be remembered as a good older brother after an amicable divorce. However, Kaella didn’t seem to think of him as a brother either.

“They wouldn’t think of changing it if I didn’t smash it.”

“Our household is not that poor, are you worrying too much because it looks like this on the outside? Have a conversation. Don’t they say that conversation between a married couple is very important?”

Count Renar, who never misses at times like this, advised very diligently. His lord’s happiness was his welfare.

“Yes. At this point, you can sufficiently replace the remaining furniture through conversation as well. Actually, Your Highness, you’ve smashed enough…”

With even Regen nodding, Peon had nothing to say.

Kaella being scared or thinking of him as a violent person was no different from his previous life. But conversation. It was such a difficult thing for him, who had always desperately pretended not to see her.

*

How should he even have a conversation with Kaella? Peon was tightly bound by this concern that occupied a corner of his mind while working all day today.

She drew the line even more starting from the wedding preparations, and acted as if their childhood together had evaporated and disappeared.

Just as he did before the regression, she acted the same way now. It was puzzling, and at the same time, brazenly sad and painful. Yes. Painful. It should hurt more terribly.

Peon, who had come outside while deep in thought, stared for a long time at his bedroom where light was still flickering. Kaella had not fallen asleep.

Peon eventually went up to the bedroom. The stairs of Lucenford Castle were all terribly steep, especially dangerous for noblewomen with long dress hems.

He remembered Kaella struggling after falling on the frozen stairs.

Still, the strong woman who always seemed to tenaciously overcome everything was meaninglessly broken. No, when the most stubborn and violent hand broke her, it was natural for her to break. He stood heavily in front of the tightly closed door.

“Bi. It’s me. May I come in?”

Peon, who carefully knocked on the door, instantly changed his complexion when there was no sound from inside. His heart sank. What flashed before his eyes again was Kaella lying on the floor of the tower with her eyes open.

There was no time to find a maid and send her inside. What if she had already collapsed like that? The weight of her, ridiculously light in his arms as he pushed the door open, was still vivid.

As soon as he opened the door, he looked towards the desk where the light had gathered. Kaella was slumped over the small desk he sometimes used for work in the bedroom.

Peon immediately approached and checked first if she was breathing. Warmth was felt on the fingers he brought close.

Ink was smudged on her small hands, and her star-like hair flickering in the light was let down. The eyes, chilly and clear to the point he could barely look at them properly, were peacefully closed. She fell asleep.

‘I’m not sure about a scary husband, but I’m definitely a husband who keeps making work.’

Did Kaella not know how to do things moderately? Or was working enjoyable for her?

Three ledgers that the butler carried around were opened on the desk, and Kaella had diligently written numbers, dates, items, etc. on several sheets of paper scattered on top. Was doing this kind of work fun, or was it annoying and bothersome like Renar said?

I should do my own work, shouldn’t I, Your Highness.

There was a time when she, who kept appearing saying to let the Grand Duchess do the Grand Duchess’s work, was annoying.

It was never easy to mechanically ignore someone. Even if he kept avoiding encountering and places with Kaella, she appeared persistently to a tormenting degree.

Then go and work, why are you begging me for work to do?

Even when Peon insulted her pride, unable to bear it, Kaella insisted on her rights while holding it in. Thinking of allowing it to some degree, when it was finally proven that she was the Emperor’s spy, he complimented himself for enduring.

Stupid kid. He lifted his body and unknowingly widened the narrowed distance. Did he have the right to look at Kaella sleeping brazenly after spouting such nonsense?

Turning his gaze, he looked at the papers Kaella had been writing on. Circles were drawn on the numbers and question marks were sketched.

After staring at the numbers and ledger pages for a while, Peon reflexively glanced at the fireplace. Papers that Kaella wrote on and burned had remained without being completely incinerated. She must have been in the middle of continuously burning and disposing of papers.

He quietly picked up the tongs and threw the slightly remaining paper scraps completely into the fire so no traces would be visible.

*

“Your Highness, Your Imperial Highness. You should sleep on the bed. If you sleep at the desk, you’ll catch a cold.”

Kaella was startled awake by the hand waking her. The maid Mary was taking the pen out of her hand.

“You must have been tired. It’s too late.”

“Ah, I must have dozed off. I’ll clean up. You go to bed.”

“Oh, but still. I have to see Your Imperial Highness go to sleep.”

While Mary went to get water to wipe the ink smudged on her hands, Kaella neatly burned all the papers she had written while finding suspicious points in the ledgers.

“Oh dear, it stained.”

Mary lamented the ink that wouldn’t erase no matter how much she rubbed.

“It’s fine. It will all fade in a few days. Hurry and go to bed. I’ll sleep too.”

“Yes, Your Highness. Good night.”

After seeing Kaella put out all the lights and go to bed, Mary quietly closed the darkened bedroom door and came out. Outside the bedroom, Peon, who had sent Mary in, was waiting quietly.

“Her Imperial Highness has gone to bed.”

“I see. Don’t mention that I was here.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Peon, who reminded her to keep her mouth shut one more time, quietly left.