009. Why is he here?
“Hey, Emilia...”
A man with a swallow-tailed moustache spoke to Emilia. It turned out to be Haspel, the butler here.
He looked strangely uneasy. He approached her cautiously, looking around, and whispered something secretly. Emilia's face was filled with hesitation.
More suspicious is the servant who manages the study. He tries hard not to notice them whispering.
An old butler and a young woman, secret whispers, and a servant who pretends not to see.
Suddenly, the black swan started to look completely different.
He could never have imagined this kind of development. The filthy sight that filled his eyes was unpleasant and disappointing.
Haspel led Emilia to a door deep in the study. She followed him, pretending to be defeated.
Thud.
The suffocating silence after they disappeared.
Nathan strode briskly to the door. The servant who discovered him belatedly looked startled. He could clearly imagine what was happening beyond the door.
An old man would be undressing a young woman...
Was it because he was in pain?
The sense of discomfort felt by a commoner woman visiting a nobleman's mansion must have been immense. So she may have wanted to relieve her sexual dissatisfaction through a flashy butler like Haspel.
Nathan had never been interested in other people's private lives, but some force majeure was pushing him to do so.
He grabbed the doorknob without hesitation and pulled it open. The door swung open.
“!”
The first one to enter was Emilia. As expected, she was right next to the butler. However, she was not giving him a lecherous look or taking off her clothes. She was just about to tie up her hair.
She flinched in surprise at the sudden intruder, her voluminous hair gathered in her hand, and a thin rope held in the other.
“... Master Malvin...?!”
The only thing that matched his expectations was the wide eyes of the butler, who looked like he had been caught stealing.
Nathan's eyes, which had been drifting between the two, finally turned to the documents, books, and ledgers scattered on the desk.
“What were you doing?”
Nathan asked the butler, his eyes never leaving his blinking ones.
“Ah... that’s... actually...”
He didn't know what to do, so he closed his eyes tightly and told the story.
“I, a worthless person, was organizing my master’s ledger, but the calculations kept not matching up... So I was asking this child to look over the ledger.”
“You showed the ledger to that kid?”
“Ah... That, that...”
Nathan gave 'that kid' some strength, but the butler apparently heard him questioning whether he dared show his master's ledger to anyone else.
He stroked his moustache, at a loss.
“Why? What do you know how to do?”
Emilia slowly opened her mouth, realizing that the 'you' Nathan was referring to was herself.
“I was helping Mr. Haspel because he was having trouble with double-entry bookkeeping.”
The clear and calm voice tickled Nathan's spine.
“You know double-entry bookkeeping? You?”
“...A little bit.”
But the things on the desk are things that can never be understood with just a little bit of knowledge.
“Are your parents bookkeepers? Or maybe accountants?”
“No, that’s not true.”
Emilia then tied her hair with the string she was holding.
He couldn't take his eyes off her elegant movements as she twirled the string around and around to tie her hair back together.
Her slender and fair face became even clearer when she tied her hair up...
He blinked to clear the afterimage and opened his mouth again.
“Then where did you learn it?”
“...I didn’t learn it...”
Emilia hesitated, as if she was a little embarrassed, and then continued speaking.
“I read some books while coming and going from here...”
Emilia pointed to the piled-up books. They were all related to accounting and mathematics.
She is a woman who taught herself double-entry bookkeeping and even knows how to manage the ledgers.
This is a unique case never seen before in the vast network of the Malvin family.
“Excuse me... If you don’t mind, can I continue working?”
Her eyes, as she asked cautiously, contained no emotion whatsoever towards Nathan.
What an indifference that completely tramples on a man's pride.
“Yes. Whatever you want.”
Just before closing the door.
“But Haspel,”
“Yes, young master.”
“It seems like a fairly voluminous ledger, but are you paying Ms. Bern a corresponding amount of compensation or price?”
"... Yes?"
“The butler who keeps the books receives three times his normal wages in return.”
Haspel realized what was meant and was greatly embarrassed.
“That, that... I too... would like to compensate Emilia in some way... but I don’t know if you know, Young Master... but our Lady Bern is the fiancée of the Meyer family... so I dare not... pay something like a wage to someone like that... so this is the kind advice you are giving me...”
"Well."
Nathan cut off Haspel's ramblings.
“It seems to me that she's been treated poorly. I guess she's just a ‘Miss Bern’ to you when you need her. I guess you wanted to use her for free since she's so easygoing.”
Haspel's pupils shook as if an earthquake had occurred.
“And, can I give you one piece of advice?”
Emilia continued to look surprised.
“Because you keep your eyes wide open like that, they think you’re easy. Someday, make up your mind and tear them apart properly. One-on-one. They’re useless when they’re alone.”
Just up to there.
Nathan closed the door without a second thought.
“Hey, Emilia...”
A man with a swallow-tailed moustache spoke to Emilia. It turned out to be Haspel, the butler here.
He looked strangely uneasy. He approached her cautiously, looking around, and whispered something secretly. Emilia's face was filled with hesitation.
More suspicious is the servant who manages the study. He tries hard not to notice them whispering.
An old butler and a young woman, secret whispers, and a servant who pretends not to see.
Suddenly, the black swan started to look completely different.
He could never have imagined this kind of development. The filthy sight that filled his eyes was unpleasant and disappointing.
Haspel led Emilia to a door deep in the study. She followed him, pretending to be defeated.
Thud.
The suffocating silence after they disappeared.
Nathan strode briskly to the door. The servant who discovered him belatedly looked startled. He could clearly imagine what was happening beyond the door.
An old man would be undressing a young woman...
Was it because he was in pain?
The sense of discomfort felt by a commoner woman visiting a nobleman's mansion must have been immense. So she may have wanted to relieve her sexual dissatisfaction through a flashy butler like Haspel.
Nathan had never been interested in other people's private lives, but some force majeure was pushing him to do so.
He grabbed the doorknob without hesitation and pulled it open. The door swung open.
“!”
The first one to enter was Emilia. As expected, she was right next to the butler. However, she was not giving him a lecherous look or taking off her clothes. She was just about to tie up her hair.
She flinched in surprise at the sudden intruder, her voluminous hair gathered in her hand, and a thin rope held in the other.
“... Master Malvin...?!”
The only thing that matched his expectations was the wide eyes of the butler, who looked like he had been caught stealing.
Nathan's eyes, which had been drifting between the two, finally turned to the documents, books, and ledgers scattered on the desk.
“What were you doing?”
Nathan asked the butler, his eyes never leaving his blinking ones.
“Ah... that’s... actually...”
He didn't know what to do, so he closed his eyes tightly and told the story.
“I, a worthless person, was organizing my master’s ledger, but the calculations kept not matching up... So I was asking this child to look over the ledger.”
“You showed the ledger to that kid?”
“Ah... That, that...”
Nathan gave 'that kid' some strength, but the butler apparently heard him questioning whether he dared show his master's ledger to anyone else.
He stroked his moustache, at a loss.
“Why? What do you know how to do?”
Emilia slowly opened her mouth, realizing that the 'you' Nathan was referring to was herself.
“I was helping Mr. Haspel because he was having trouble with double-entry bookkeeping.”
The clear and calm voice tickled Nathan's spine.
“You know double-entry bookkeeping? You?”
“...A little bit.”
But the things on the desk are things that can never be understood with just a little bit of knowledge.
“Are your parents bookkeepers? Or maybe accountants?”
“No, that’s not true.”
Emilia then tied her hair with the string she was holding.
He couldn't take his eyes off her elegant movements as she twirled the string around and around to tie her hair back together.
Her slender and fair face became even clearer when she tied her hair up...
He blinked to clear the afterimage and opened his mouth again.
“Then where did you learn it?”
“...I didn’t learn it...”
Emilia hesitated, as if she was a little embarrassed, and then continued speaking.
“I read some books while coming and going from here...”
Emilia pointed to the piled-up books. They were all related to accounting and mathematics.
She is a woman who taught herself double-entry bookkeeping and even knows how to manage the ledgers.
This is a unique case never seen before in the vast network of the Malvin family.
“Excuse me... If you don’t mind, can I continue working?”
Her eyes, as she asked cautiously, contained no emotion whatsoever towards Nathan.
What an indifference that completely tramples on a man's pride.
“Yes. Whatever you want.”
Just before closing the door.
“But Haspel,”
“Yes, young master.”
“It seems like a fairly voluminous ledger, but are you paying Ms. Bern a corresponding amount of compensation or price?”
"... Yes?"
“The butler who keeps the books receives three times his normal wages in return.”
Haspel realized what was meant and was greatly embarrassed.
“That, that... I too... would like to compensate Emilia in some way... but I don’t know if you know, Young Master... but our Lady Bern is the fiancée of the Meyer family... so I dare not... pay something like a wage to someone like that... so this is the kind advice you are giving me...”
"Well."
Nathan cut off Haspel's ramblings.
“It seems to me that she's been treated poorly. I guess she's just a ‘Miss Bern’ to you when you need her. I guess you wanted to use her for free since she's so easygoing.”
Haspel's pupils shook as if an earthquake had occurred.
“And, can I give you one piece of advice?”
Emilia continued to look surprised.
“Because you keep your eyes wide open like that, they think you’re easy. Someday, make up your mind and tear them apart properly. One-on-one. They’re useless when they’re alone.”
Just up to there.
Nathan closed the door without a second thought.
***
On the way to the warehouse to meet Beppy, Emilia's hands were slightly shaking as she held the bag. There was money inside. It was something she had just received from Mr. Haspel. He wiped away the cold sweat as he handed over the money, which was equivalent to a month's wages for a factory worker.
“This is a secret. It’s absolutely a secret, Emilia.”
He forced a wad of money into Emilia's hand, who stubbornly refused.
“...But sir, that guy already found out about it.”
“If Nathan Malvin had intended to tell this, I wouldn’t be here now. I would have been taken to Lord Cavendish right away.”
“...”
“Don’t worry too much, Master Malvin won’t be here forever anyway. So please continue to help me in the future. I’ve been praised so many times for being good at managing the books...”
Emilia nodded reluctantly, feeling excited yet anxious.
As Mr. Haspel said earlier, Emilia couldn't get a job. The Meyer family's fiancée couldn't openly become a laundress or work in a factory.
But is this even okay?
Suddenly, Nathan Malvin came to mind.
'They think you're easy because you just open your eyes wide like that.'
Those words were still ringing in her ears.
She always thought of them as being from the same tribe as Sheila and Harriet, but this is surprising. My heart is fluttering strangely.
No, don't trust it too much. It might be a trick.
Later, when he finds out that she received this money, he might use it as an excuse to do something weird...
The bag felt heavier and heavier.
“Emilia! Over here!”
Today again, she saw Beppy waving from afar.
He, who was as angry as fire in the morning, is now grinning as if he is in a good mood.
The carriage left the downtown area in an instant. It was a speed incomparable to that of the stagecoach.
Outside the window, the endless rye fields were a spectacular sight. But Emilia was too upset to even think about looking outside.
Can I really take this money?
The money in the bag felt like the fruit of good and evil. She felt like she had to return it right away, but at the same time, the thought of all the things she could do with the money made her head spin.
Before they knew it, they had entered the forest path. Emilia had Beppy stop his horse.
“Sir, I’ll walk from here.”
Emilia got out of the carriage and turned onto a side road.
As she walked a little further, the wide open sea spread out before her. This was Katia Beach, a hidden treasure in the zelkova forest.
Emilia walked to the hill while feeling the cool sea breeze. It was the perfect place to calm her mind and organize her thoughts.
She sat on the hammock, dangling her feet, lost in the sound of the waves.
After seeing the white waves crashing dozens of times, she finally made up her mind.
Let's give the money back.
In a place where there are only enemies, you cannot afford to leave any room for misunderstanding.
If she breaks off her engagement with Hardius, she'll have to find a job right away. Nathan Malvin seemed surprised earlier.
Her mind felt much more at ease as the heavy boulder disappeared.
Emilia sprawled out on the hammock.
Sunlight sparkled through the lush leaves, tickling her eyes. Her body became tired as her tension eased. Blinking, her eyelids that had been turned towards the sky slowly closed.
How much time had passed? A strange feeling ran down her spine.
Emilia's eyes flashed open for a moment. Her head turned somewhere as if drawn by a magnet.
There was a man about ten paces away.
The sight of him facing the sea with one hand in his pocket seemed somehow familiar.
What is this...? Is this a dream?
Why is Hardius here?
Emilia rubbed her eyes without realizing it. The man turned his head at that moment.
Emilia stared at the silver-gray eyes that were striding toward her, motionless like a stuffed doll.
“This is a secret. It’s absolutely a secret, Emilia.”
He forced a wad of money into Emilia's hand, who stubbornly refused.
“...But sir, that guy already found out about it.”
“If Nathan Malvin had intended to tell this, I wouldn’t be here now. I would have been taken to Lord Cavendish right away.”
“...”
“Don’t worry too much, Master Malvin won’t be here forever anyway. So please continue to help me in the future. I’ve been praised so many times for being good at managing the books...”
Emilia nodded reluctantly, feeling excited yet anxious.
As Mr. Haspel said earlier, Emilia couldn't get a job. The Meyer family's fiancée couldn't openly become a laundress or work in a factory.
But is this even okay?
Suddenly, Nathan Malvin came to mind.
'They think you're easy because you just open your eyes wide like that.'
Those words were still ringing in her ears.
She always thought of them as being from the same tribe as Sheila and Harriet, but this is surprising. My heart is fluttering strangely.
No, don't trust it too much. It might be a trick.
Later, when he finds out that she received this money, he might use it as an excuse to do something weird...
The bag felt heavier and heavier.
“Emilia! Over here!”
Today again, she saw Beppy waving from afar.
He, who was as angry as fire in the morning, is now grinning as if he is in a good mood.
The carriage left the downtown area in an instant. It was a speed incomparable to that of the stagecoach.
Outside the window, the endless rye fields were a spectacular sight. But Emilia was too upset to even think about looking outside.
Can I really take this money?
The money in the bag felt like the fruit of good and evil. She felt like she had to return it right away, but at the same time, the thought of all the things she could do with the money made her head spin.
Before they knew it, they had entered the forest path. Emilia had Beppy stop his horse.
“Sir, I’ll walk from here.”
Emilia got out of the carriage and turned onto a side road.
As she walked a little further, the wide open sea spread out before her. This was Katia Beach, a hidden treasure in the zelkova forest.
Emilia walked to the hill while feeling the cool sea breeze. It was the perfect place to calm her mind and organize her thoughts.
She sat on the hammock, dangling her feet, lost in the sound of the waves.
After seeing the white waves crashing dozens of times, she finally made up her mind.
Let's give the money back.
In a place where there are only enemies, you cannot afford to leave any room for misunderstanding.
If she breaks off her engagement with Hardius, she'll have to find a job right away. Nathan Malvin seemed surprised earlier.
Her mind felt much more at ease as the heavy boulder disappeared.
Emilia sprawled out on the hammock.
Sunlight sparkled through the lush leaves, tickling her eyes. Her body became tired as her tension eased. Blinking, her eyelids that had been turned towards the sky slowly closed.
How much time had passed? A strange feeling ran down her spine.
Emilia's eyes flashed open for a moment. Her head turned somewhere as if drawn by a magnet.
There was a man about ten paces away.
The sight of him facing the sea with one hand in his pocket seemed somehow familiar.
What is this...? Is this a dream?
Why is Hardius here?
Emilia rubbed her eyes without realizing it. The man turned his head at that moment.
Emilia stared at the silver-gray eyes that were striding toward her, motionless like a stuffed doll.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment