The fact that Lucian's allowance had been reduced was no trivial matter.
It was called an "allowance" for convenience, but its source was strictly the family budget. In other words, the moment someone started playing games with it, it became embezzlement.
'And embezzlement is an automatic death sentence.'
Even nobles, who were usually exempt from capital punishment, were not let off the hook for embezzlement. Messing with the budget was akin to tampering with the family's very lifeline.
And if a finance official—someone who was supposed to be beyond reproach regarding money—had done such a thing? Even if he were the Minister of Finance rather than a mere officer, he would be summarily executed and his head hung from the city walls.
Whoever the madman was, today would be the day of his funeral.
With that thought, Lucian paid a visit to the Treasury Department.
"It's a misunderstanding, Third Young Master! Embezzlement? Never!"
The finance officer broke into a cold sweat and dropped to his knees the moment the word was mentioned. His face was one of genuine terror, not an act. Under Lucian's cold gaze, the officer repeatedly slammed his head against the floor and cried out.
"I—I only processed it according to the reports! I can prove it right now if you wish! Please, please, just check for yourself!"
He was trembling so violently, with tears and snot running down his face, that it looked like he might wet himself at any moment. Lucian, who had expected the officer to be the culprit, frowned.
"So, you're saying you didn't pocket it?"
"No! Absolutely not! I swear by the Eight Gods, if I am lying, may I fall into hell!"
"Then who told you to draft the budget like this? You said you processed it according to the reports."
"It was the Head Maid under the Third Young Master! The Head Maid has always brought the budget proposals!"
"What? The Head Maid?"
The head of the servants was called the Head Maid or Head Servant depending on their gender. In small families, there might only be one or two, but in a great house, there were many. This was because there were too many servants for just one or two people to manage.
In the House of Valdek, there was likely one assigned to each of the Grand Duke's children and his wife. The Head Maid the officer mentioned was likely the one in charge of the servants around Lucian.
"Unbelievable."
A hollow laugh escaped Lucian's lips. She might have been in charge of the servants, but she was still just a servant herself. And yet, a mere Head Maid had committed embezzlement—a crime for which even a knight would lose his head?
"I-It's true! Every time, the Head Maid sent me the budget proposal, and I simply drafted it as requested! You even gave her a signed authorization letter in the past, Third Young Master!"
"Fine. Shut up and stop interrupting my thoughts. If you keep squawking, I'll frame you as an accomplice."
"Gasp!"
The finance officer immediately clamped both hands over his mouth.
Leaving the trembling officer behind, Lucian fell into thought. It was certain that the previous Lucian had entrusted the budget to the Head Maid. It would have been easy for her to subtly tamper with the figures.
However, no matter how he looked at it, the risk was far too high for the reward. No matter how much money it was, it was never worth risking one's life.
'It'll be faster to just confront her and ask.'
Sighing, Lucian left the office and headed toward his room. Since the responsibility was clear, there was no way for her to wiggle out of it; he would get an answer one way or another.
*
"I am Jenny, the Head Maid. I heard you summoned me."
The Head Maid was a young woman with a haughty expression. Lucian blinked at her appearance; she looked to be in her twenties at most. Weren't Head Maids usually experienced, middle-aged women? She wasn't just young; she was practically a girl. And she was the Head Maid at that age?
"Uh, has the Head Maid been replaced? I clearly remember it being Lady Dana until recently," Hans asked with a look of discomfort.
Jenny raised an eyebrow. "The former Head Maid retired due to her age two months ago. Were you unaware?"
"No, well... I didn't have much reason to see the former Head Maid often..."
"Pathetic. How can you attend to the Young Master without knowing what's happening around you?"
Hans was silenced by Jenny's rebuke and shrank back. Lucian's eyebrow twitched at the sight.
While the Head Maid held a higher rank, Hans was Lucian's personal attendant. A personal servant was an extension of their master's face, yet she was openly scolding him right in front of his master. This was as good as insulting Lucian himself.
Thinking Lucian hadn't noticed, she even let out a snort and wore a mocking smirk.
"Anyway, why did you call for me? This boy told me nothing, so I haven't heard a thing."
"...I called you because of the budget proposal. Did you write this?"
"I did. I heard the Young Master gave authority to the previous Head Maid, so I took over the responsibility."
"Took over? I gave that authority to the former Head Maid, not you."
"Is that so? My apologies. However, the budget proposal had to be completed before the deadline, and since the Young Master showed no interest in it, I had no other choice. Please understand."
"What...!"
Hans shouted in shock at Jenny's insolent attitude. It was not the way a servant should ever speak to the master they served.
Lucian raised a hand to restrain Hans and spoke.
"Fine, I'll overlook that point. Then let me ask you something else. What happened with this budget? Why did you take it upon yourself to reduce my allocation and increase the servants' wages?"
"I heard the Young Master left the allocation of the budget to us as well, so I adjusted it at my discretion. The servants have been very busy lately, and there was a lot of dissatisfaction regarding their pay."
"So you did this without a word to me?"
"Since the Young Master hasn't been involved for over a year, I thought it would be fine. It seems I was mistaken. What's done is done, so please just let it go. It's only for one more month, isn't it?"
Hans gaped, stunned by her words that had crossed the line by a mile. It seemed she wasn't even trying to hide her contempt anymore.
Lucian, also finding it hard to endure any longer, stood up and addressed the other servants.
"Someone go and bring me a whip. Let's see if she maintains this attitude after a few lashes."
"...."
"...."
Despite Lucian's command, the surrounding servants hesitated and did not move. It was as if they feared Jenny more than Lucian.
Seeing this, Hans's eyebrows shot up.
"What are you all doing? The Young Master is speaking! Go get a whip, now!"
"...."
"These people, seriously! I'll just get it myself!"
"Wait! Hans!"
"Stop! Calm down!"
"No, why are you stopping me?! It's the Young Master's order! Are you all crazy?!"
When Hans tried to move, unable to watch any longer, the servants blocked the door with their bodies. In effect, they were defying Lucian's orders to protect Jenny.
Lucian frowned at the absurd situation. The fact that they were openly defying his orders meant there was a more fearsome presence involved.
"You have a backer, don't you?"
"A backer? I am simply the milk sibling of the Second Young Master, Lord Jordi."
Jenny's triumphant words explained why the servants were acting this way. A milk sibling meant she was the biological child of the wet nurse who had raised Jordi. Despite their different social statuses, they were bound to be personally very close.
For the servants, it was naturally a burden. If they crossed her, they might catch Jordi's eye and lose their heads.
'The problem is that they ignored my orders because they were busy walking on eggshells around Jordi.'
Jordi wasn't the only one who could take a servant's head. Lucian could also easily have them executed if he put his mind to it. Yet, they ignored Lucian's command to protect Jenny. It was proof that Lucian was seen as a joke just as much as Jordi was feared.
"What a spectacle."
Lucian sighed and stood up. He had expected it, but the mess his predecessor had left behind was even more massive than he thought. He had originally planned to observe the situation a bit longer, but since things had come to this, he needed to establish some discipline.
"Hans, follow me."
"Huh? Where are you going?"
"You'll see."
As Lucian approached the door, the servants hesitated with uneasy faces. They seemed afraid that he might go out and bring back a whip himself.
"Y-Young Master. Please, calm down."
"I'm sure the Head Maid didn't mean any harm..."
"I'm not going for a whip, so move. I need to step out for a bit."
Only after receiving his word did the servants slowly step away from the door. Lucian sighed again at the sight. Just as he was about to step out—
"The Young Master is wise, after all. Lord Jordi will surely praise your conduct."
Her tone, which subtly flaunted her connection to Jordi, was laced with mockery. Lucian left without answering her. In a few hours, she would be regretting her "conduct" more than she could possibly imagine.
*
"Young Master! Why on earth did you just leave that damn woman alone?"
Hans, unable to contain his anger, huffed and puffed until he finally shouted. He seemed more upset that Lucian had been insulted than by the insults he had received himself.
"If the others wouldn't bring it, you could have just grabbed it yourself and whipped her! No one could have stopped you if you were determined!"
"That's true. But even if I had, I would have been the only one to lose."
"Pardon?"
"Do you think she became Jordi's milk sibling by accident? They've already made their moves. Even if I had brought a whip, she wouldn't have just stood there and taken it."
Instead of taking the punishment, she would have run away screaming. The other servants, fearing Jordi, wouldn't have lifted a finger to stop her. Lucian suspected that even if he had tried to catch her himself, it would have been futile. If she truly was Jordi's milk sibling, he would have placed people around her to protect her one way or another.
"She probably would have run straight to my brother—no, to Jordi. Then, she would have left out the part about the budget and spun a story to make me look like a monster. A madman who tried to punish Jordi's milk sibling for some trivial reason."
"But would such a ridiculous lie actually work?"
"Schemes are designed to work even when they shouldn't. Right now, I don't have a single person by my side who will speak the truth, but he has plenty of people who will invent lies for him."
"W-We could tell the Grand Duke the circumstances..."
"That would be the worst choice of all. How would my father look at me if he saw that I couldn't even handle my own servants?"
Above all, the root of this problem was that Lucian had entrusted a major task like budget planning to a mere Head Maid. If they started digging into who was right and wrong, his own past incompetence would naturally come to light. Therefore, he had to handle this himself without seeking outside help if possible. The more opportunity Jenny had to open her mouth, the more Lucian stood to lose.
After hearing the explanation, Hans scratched his head with a complicated expression.
"But Young Master, you don't have a faction, do you? Even if you want to handle it yourself, you don't have anyone to move for you. What are you going to do?"
"Well, I'll just have to make some starting now."
"Pardon?"
"If I don't have my own people in the family, I can just go out and make some. Right?"
At Lucian's smile, Hans tilted his head in confusion. What was he talking about? Just as Hans was about to ask, Lucian stopped walking.
"We're here."
"This was your destination? I've never been here before... A gambling den!?"
Hans looked at Lucian with a horrified expression. Grand Duke Sigmund had finally started supporting him again, and he was going to gamble that money away? Just as a belatedly panicked Hans was about to try and talk him out of it—
BAM!
"Open up, you lot!"
Lucian's kick sent the door of the gambling den flying open as if it were about to shatter.