Chapter 26

Episode 26

“What is it, Chloe?”

Priscilla, who was drinking tea while being served by Eliza beside the sunny window, looked up and saw her.

“I have something to tell you.”

“Oh, really? Come here and sit down.”

Seeing her walk carefully with her cane, Priscilla concealed her confusion, and she blinked at Eliza.

“Eliza, please go and help her walk.”

“No, it’s okay to do it alone.”

After refusing her help, Chloe slowly walked on the fleece carpet and sat in a chair.

“As soon as you got here, you locked yourself in the study and I was so surprised that you didn’t go out for three days. I can see the resemblance to Damien in that way. Even that child doesn’t notice the dawn when he concentrates on something.”

Chloe opened her lips while looking at Eliza, the maid, who poured tea into her cup.

“Would you mind leaving?”

Priscilla smiled and waved her hand.

“Eliza has been the maid of this house since I gave birth. Without Eliza, this house wouldn’t function, so there’s nothing she can’t hear. Tell me. What’s the matter?”

Chloe hesitated to answer for a moment. Because she couldn’t do this in front of the main character of the topic she was trying to bring up now. Moreover, if the story is not something pleasant to talk about.

“I’m sorry. I’m not familiar with everyone in this castle yet.”

“I’ll be out, ma’am.”

Priscilla frowned when Eliza, who is quick-witted, tried to escape on her own.

“No, you don’t have to go out. What’s wrong with you? Why are you acting so weird?”

After taking a deep breath, Chloe secretly wiped the sweat on her hand. Priscilla was with Eliza or her other maid almost all the time except for the time she slept. Chloe was able to meet her personally on the first day, the first and last meeting at the chapel.

“I thought about whether I should say something, but I think it would be right to say it.”

“What do you want to talk about so much with me?”

Chloe, in fact, has been agonizing over the past three days. There were times when she thought it would be better to wait for the duke to arrive at the castle.  Until she got a telegram from him this morning.

The short letter looked like a warning letter to her.  No, this was a warning, needless to say. She didn’t want to do anything to be scolded by him. Chloe finally opened her mouth with a determined look.

“There’s a hole in the finances of the castle.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Eliza, pour me some more tea.”

Priscilla furrowed her beautiful eyebrows and laughed as if she was dumbfounded. There was no change in Eliza’s expression as she held the teapot. Chloe calmly opened her mouth again.

“Money is definitely leaking through that hole.”

A person who could read the ledgers would notice it if they looked a little carefully.  It wasn’t until the predecessor, William, died during the war that someone began to play tricks on the finances of Birch Castle. It coincided with the departure of Mr. Floyd, who served as the attendant and butler, as well as the manager of the castle, and Eliza, the maid of honor, who took on the role of butler.

“Maintaining a castle of this size is not easy.”

Priscilla shook her head as if it was insignificant.

“Yes, that’s right. That’s why more meticulous management is needed.”

But the ledger Chloe saw was far from meticulous. The amount of money spent on unknown sources also increased.

“It is not clear where the money was spent, the sum of taxes collected from the people of the land is not correct, and the wine quantity in the warehouse is different from what is written. I’m suspecting there is a double ledger book. There was no count of the silver candlesticks and utensils..”

Chloe shut her mouth when Priscilla quietly raised her hand.

“Eliza, please leave for a moment.”

Chloe swallowed her dry saliva, conscious of Eliza’s earthy face. Unfortunately, Priscilla had left all the finances of this castle to her and it was evident that she didn’t care at all.

“Wouldn’t it be better to talk about that when we’re alone?”

Priscilla furrowed her eyebrows and looked at her with a tired face. Instead of expressing resentment, Chloe eventually bowed her head.

“I’m sorry, but I think we should fire Eliza, the maid, and Robinson, the stables keeper.”

“What about Robinson now?”

“He must have used a wagon to get things out.  There was no way she could handle it alone.”

Priscilla sighed, pressing her temples with both hands.

“Eliza was next to me when I gave birth to Damien, and Robinson managed Birch Castle since his father.”

“That is why, all the more, their infidelity is unforgivable.”

Whenever Chloe connected her words with a small but clear voice, Priscilla’s face gradually turned worse and worse.

“Eliza is the oldest servant of this family that I picked myself. We can’t discuss her dismissal carelessly.”

Priscilla gently bit her lips as she wiped the sweat off her forehead with a handkerchief. Chloe found out that Priscilla was also hurt by the infidelity of her close servant. Chloe guessed that she, who left Swan and married in the far north, would have not much to rely on, but she could not pretend not to know even after seeing the injustice clearly in front of her eyes.

Moreover, if she notices that after the duke returned, the infidelity of her servants has gone far beyond her knowledge……. Chloe didn’t want to imagine after that.

“I’m sure you’ve relied on Eliza for a long time.”

“Is it just about relying? When William died, she was a grateful person who stood by me, worried that even my only son would return as a dead body.”

“If she had respected your heart, the maid, Eliza, she would not have been able to touch the wealth that amounts to a fifth of a year’s worth of management expenses behind her. So I can’t forgive her even more.”

Chloe calmly continued to talk, carefully gathering the eyebrows.

“Once a hole is formed, it gets bigger and bigger. If we let this go, the infidelity of servants will increase, and that is never good for Tisse.”

Far from being persuaded, the longer Chloe spoke, Priscilla became more and more upset.  Originally she was someone who reacted emotionally when her own opinion was refuted, and the problem was that Chloe didn’t have enough time to get to know her.

“Why do you bother telling me so much about it?”

“Wouldn’t it have been more upsetting if I had arbitrarily fired your beloved servant?”

“…You have a side that makes people a little tired.”

“I’m sorry.”

Priscilla looked at Chloe, who quietly apologized, with an unhappy look on her face as Chloe pointed out the faults.

“Besides, what is the name you are calling me? You’ve just got married, but it’s as if you are a stranger.”

“……..Then will you allow me to call you mother?”

“That’s awkward.”

Chloe looked at Priscilla, who turned her head away, then closed her eyes for a long time before opening them. This short time with her felt more tiring than the past three days when she was buried in books in the study.

“Go out. When Damien arrives, I will discuss this matter with him. Damien can’t be cruel enough to throw out his nanny himself.”

Chloe blinked quietly for a moment and thought she was delusional and Priscilla must have another son with the same name.

“I have no appetite. Have dinner alone.”

“I’ll send the meal to your bedroom.”

“I don’t have an appetite.”

“I understand that you don’t want to eat with me, but if your health declines, the Duke will be very worried.”

Priscilla finally raised her voice toward her.

“Can’t you just stay quiet for a while without answering?”

Chloe was at a loss as to whether she should answer “yes” in this situation, or whether she should keep her mouth shut. Neither of them seemed to be able to satisfy her, so she quietly bowed her head, and Priscilla beckoned to her tiredly and ordered her to go out. It was good to hear.

***

At Birch Castle, it had already been four days since the Duchess had dinner alone. It was after Priscilla started eating in her room.

“Do you need anything else, little madam?”

The servant, who served the meal, asked her from the side. It was polite, but the hardened tone could not be hidden.  Chloe shook her head and smiled.

“I’ll call you if I need anything, so you can go out.”

She wanted to be comfortable while eating. The stuffed deer heads and shotguns hanging all over the reddish dining room were already making her uncomfortable, so she didn’t want to add anything to it.

“Of course.”

Chloe moistened her throat with a glass of water, feeling her dry mouth. On the day she accused Priscilla’s maid and stable keeper about their infidelity, rumors seemed to have already spread among the numerous servants of Birch Castle.

The servants whispered quietly every time she passed by, and someone sighed openly behind her limping. Chloe tried to be more confident every time, but it was not easy to endure the soaring loneliness.

‘I should write a letter tomorrow.’

Chloe missed Verdier Castle, which she had left. She wanted to hear her father’s laughter, and she wanted to see Alice. She also missed Gray, who always appeared quietly when she was in need.