For thirty years, her lower back had ached the moment she opened her eyes. Martha confirmed this fact once again at dawn. It didn't hurt. It still didn't hurt. It was the second day. She had been half-doubting yesterday, wondering if it was just a dream, but this morning, her eyelids opened as lightly as a feather, and her upper body rose vertically without a single scream.
'This body is truly wonderful.'
Thinking this to herself, Martha stepped out of bed. She walked toward the window. The sensation of her feet touching the floor was light. Martha's steps were usually heavy. The weight of her two feet, having spent a lifetime moving between the kitchen, the bedroom, and the banquet hall, had accumulated in her stride. That was gone.
The morning at Valois Manor unfolded outside the window. Martha quietly gazed down at the scene. It was familiar. So familiar. The rose bushes in that garden were ones Martha had personally taught the gardener how to prune, and the moss beneath the left wall was something she cared for every rainy season, and the fountain was one she had instructed Butler Maxim to remove lime from once a month.
Martha knew every nook and cranny of this house like the palm of her hand. But now she had become the owner. How strange.
Martha rested her chin on her hand and savored that strangeness for a moment. It was strange, but not uncomfortable. After all, she had lived in this house her whole life, and she had done all the housekeeping herself. Only her body had changed.
Then, one side of the garden caught her eye. Martha frowned. That flowerbed. That flowerbed next to the rose bushes was a mess. Weeds had grown knee-high. It was the very flowerbed Martha had pulled out herself last year and instructed the gardener to tend to it every two months. It was clearly visible that it had been neglected while she was lying down. Next to it, she could see the lime buildup on the fountain. She could also see the moss spreading beneath the wall.
Martha let out a tsk tsk. 'I've been bedridden for two months because I was sick (it has been two months since Serena wasted away after receiving the notice of the broken engagement), and look what has happened. Butler Maxim should have taken care of it. Ah, everything alone. After all, it was Martha who used to give all the instructions. Now that those instructions are gone, things have turned out this way.'
Martha crossed her arms and sorted out the priorities in her head. The garden was a priority for later. There was something else she needed to look at right now.
When she asked Lucy to bring all the family documents last night, Lucy returned with two large wooden boxes, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Th-is this all the documents? Did you bring everything?"
"Elder Maxim was reluctant to give them to you, the Princess, so I secretly..."
"Well done."
Lucy paused for a moment at the sight, then spoke cautiously.
My Princess, these are financial documents and family papers. Do you know how to read them...?"
Martha looked at Lucy. Lucy flinched.
"I-I'll bring it to you."
Martha took the box and poured it into the bed. Documents spilled out. Lucy let out a small scream. Martha sat down slowly and began to scan the papers.
Where did my magnifying glass go? Oh, wait, I'm young now. I should be able to see all this.
As she read the documents, Martha's brow furrowed. And this morning, Martha was sitting by the window, mentally organizing the contents once again. The situation was simple. Simple in a bad way.
The House of Valois. A prestigious family that had been the Imperial Household's first retainer since the founding of the Empire. When Martha first set foot in this house, the name Valois carried weight in society itself. The Duke was a solemn and honorable figure, the Duchess was the most beautiful woman in society, and the young Serena and Edward were admired by society simply because they were the children of that family.
And what had become of it now? A debt of eighty thousand gold. Martha rolled that number over in her mind one more time. Eighty thousand gold. A typical Baron's estate cost 50.000 gold. It's not that this house isn't worth 50,000 gold, but with a debt of 80,000, it's risky considering the collateral. The interest rates were erratic, too. It was evident that someone had borrowed from anywhere whenever they were in a hurry. Where did the young lady spend this? Receipts from luxury goods were tucked between the documents.
Martha picked them out and piled them up. Imported dresses. Jewelry. Foreign perfume. Party outfits. Gold-leaf teacup sets. Thirty sets of cookies were supplied to the Imperial Palace. She bought thirty cookies.
Martha paused for a long time in front of those receipts. Thirty cookies. What was the purpose? Party gifts? Or did she just eat them all by herself? This young lady did like sweets, though... Tsk tsk.
Pushing the pile of luxury receipts aside, Martha looked at the list of creditors. There were five in total. Two of them were places Martha knew. It was a place that lent money to nobles around the Imperial Palace; while its name was elegantly packaged, in reality, it was no different from usury. The interest was three pennies a month. Did this young lady even know how to calculate interest?
Martha closed and opened her eyes. A sigh rose involuntarily from deep within her lower abdomen. She had to formulate a plan to settle the debt first. She couldn't pay it back immediately. She needed income to pay it back. Then she had to look at the income first. She took out the income documents for the Valois family estate. She scanned them. Her brow furrowed again. There was income from the estate, but it had dropped by 30 percent compared to last year. Since there had been no change in crops or tenant contracts, the decrease in income meant there was a leak somewhere.
Martha checked the name of the estate manager. Felix Holm. It was a name she didn't remember. It seemed he had been replaced while she was lying down. The replacement occurred eight months ago. And the decline in income had also started eight months ago. I need to look into this. Martha marked the name.
She turned the pages further. Sections related to high society appeared. Martha's hand stopped. There was a list of rejected official invitations. There were twelve just for this season. The House of Valois had sent out twenty-six invitations. But only fourteen had replied. Of those, only five had actually expressed an intention to attend. Half of them were rejections.
Martha quietly looked at the list. In Imperial High Society, refusing an invitation was not merely a simple rejection. Especially for a prestigious family, a refusal was an official declaration of intent regarding that family. The fact that the Valois family was receiving so many rejections meant that the social circles already regarded them as an object of contempt.
"What on earth has this young lady done?"
This time, Martha took out a report regarding Serena's personal conduct. It was something Butler Maxim had compiled for internal household reporting. Martha had asked Maxim to draft such reports when she was the Head Lady-in-Chief. She began to read it. After reading about three pages, Martha set the document down on the desk. She closed her eyes. A long sigh escaped her.
"Young Lady. Oh dear, young lady."
She spilled the drink on another lady's dress at a party. It was unclear whether it was intentional or accidental, but she did not apologize. She flirted with two young noblemen simultaneously, only to have both of them distance themselves. Rumors spread that she had been too pushy with the Crown Prince at an Imperial Palace banquet. She raised her voice in public during the annulment of her engagement to Prince Leon Ashford. She raised her voice. There were various reasons for the broken engagement, but the fact that the final scene was witnessed publicly was the decisive blow. When Prince Leon announced the breakup, Serena screamed. People heard it. It spread throughout high society...
This young lady. Martha pressed her fingertips against the space between her eyebrows. She understands. She does. It is unfair to be dumped. Martha also knew why Serena had clung to Prince Leon to such an extent. Serena must have liked him in her own way. It was just the way she did it that was the problem. However, the result turned out this way. She was dumped by the Ashford ducal family, the most powerful military aristocracy in the Empire; the scene was made public; Serena became a laughingstock in high society; and since then, her isolation deepened.
On top of that, debt piled up. It was likely a mixture of loneliness and despair. Martha could guess that psychology. When everything seems to be falling apart, people increase their spending in strange ways. Thirty cookies were probably one such example. It was pitiful, too.
Martha thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. Putting aside pity for later, the task at hand was to clean up the mess now. Martha scanned the entire document once more, sorting out he rpriorities. First. Verify the leakage of estate income. Investigate Felix Holm. Second. Visit five creditors. Renegotiate interest rates. Third. Look up the entire family's assets. Assess the current situation. Fourth. Restore social relations. This would take time. Fifth. Family relationships.
Martha stopped at the fifth item. Family relationships. The Duke, the Duchess, and Young Master Edward. All three had kept their distance from Serena because of the mess she had made. In particular, the report stated that it had been over a year since the Duke had last had a proper conversation with Serena. A year. The number weighed on Martha's mind. Parents and children hadn't spoken for a year. Martha wasn't an expert on parent-child relationships. After all, she had been a head lady-in-waiting her whole life. Still, she knew. That they hadn't given up on Serena. That they had simply stepped back out of exhaustion.
I guess I'll have to fix this, too. Martha placed a star next to the fifth item on the list. Then, cautious footsteps were heard from the door. It was Lucy. There was a knock.
"Young Lady, Lord Maxim says it is time for the assembly..."
"Come in."
The door opened. Lucy entered cautiously. Behind her, even more cautiously, Butler Maxim entered. Maxim Cardo. When Martha first came to this house, Maxim was already a butler. It had been forty years since the new butler and the new head maid had entered this house together. For forty years, the two of them had shared responsibility for the household affairs. That same Maxim was standing before Martha now. With a cautious face, the face of a butler in his mid-fifties.
Martha looked at Maxim. Maxim looked at Martha. Their eyes met. Would he know it was me? Martha quickly dismissed that thought. It was later.
"Butler."
"Yes, Young Lady."
Maxim's voice was polite. However, there was a certain caution in his eyes. It was a caution born of all the suffering Serena had inflicted upon him. Martha recognized it.
"I will be conducting a roll call for the entire household today. Gather everyone by this morning."
Maxim paused briefly.
"...A roll call, the Princess, personally?"
"I would know only if I did it myself."
"You have never attended a roll call before, Princess..."
"The past is the past, and today is today."
Martha looked into Maxim's eyes. Maxim met her gaze for a moment, then slowly lowered his head.
"...Understood."
"And there are more documents, aren't there? Not the ones Lucy brought yesterday, but the ones you hid."
Maxim froze. Martha spoke expressionlessly.
"The detailed estate income statement and the original creditor contracts. The ones brought yesterday were copies."
Maxim stared at Martha for a long time.
"...How did you know?"
"Because if there is a copy, it implies there is an original separately."
Something complex flashed through Maxim's eyes. Martha read it. Flustered. And behind that flusteredness, a tiny bit of something like relief.
"I will bring them to you."
"Right now."
"Yes."
Maxim left. Lucy stared blankly at his retreating figure before looking at Martha.
"The Princess asked Lord Maxim for the original, but he just left."
"I know."
"Usually, he doesn't listen to the Princess..."
Lucy stopped speaking.
"I'm sorry."
"It's alright. If Miss Serena had acted like that, I wouldn't have listened either."
Lucy looked dazed.
"D-did the Princess just call herself Miss Serena...?"
"Slip of tongue."
"Yes..."
Martha looked out the window again. She saw the weeds in the garden. Should she pull those weeds today or tomorrow? She thought about it instinctively, then shook her head again. I must not pull them all; I am a Princess, and I must have someone else to do it. Oh dear, this occupational hazard isn't easily cured.
Then, ten o'clock in the morning. The central hall of Valois Manor. All the employees had gathered. Martha counted, and there were twenty-three in total. The cook, the gardener, the coachman, the cleaner, the ladies-in-waiting, and even the guards. Everyone looked bewildered. They seemed somewhat anxious at the news that the Princess would personally conduct the general assembly.
Martha took the seat of honor. Her posture was natural. It was just a different position from the seat she had sat in for forty years. The seat of honor was where Martha always used to tidy up the Princess's seat. Now, Martha was sitting in that very spot.
Martha slowly scanned the faces of the twenty-three. She knew them all. All of them. Bruno, the gardener standing at the far left, tends to the flowerbeds every autumn... There is a habit of leaving things out. Helena, the cook, is excellent at preparing fish, but she struggles with long preparation tasks due to a bad back. Johan, the coachman, is diligent, but he is so frugal with his horses that he rarely reports their status.
Martha remembered all of this. Twenty-three people were waiting, watching only Martha's mouth. Martha slowly opened her mouth.
"From now on, each of you will report the status of your assigned area."
"Just tell me everything, what is problematic, what is needed, everything that needs improvement."
Silence. Twenty-three people froze. Martha looked and thought she knew the reason. Serena's usual behavior was reflected in those eyes. Either she had been scolded for complaining, or nothing would change even if she spoke up. That was why everyone was keeping their mouths shut. Martha looked at the cook, Helena. She was th oldest person in the house. Second only to Martha.
"Ms. Helena, what is the most inconvenient thing about the kitchen?"
Helena's eyes widened.
"...The Princess asked me directly..."
"Speak."
Helena hesitated for a moment, then spoke cautiously.
"One of the hearths has been weak for a long time, so I requested a repair, but..."
"It wasn't approved, was it?"
"Yes..."
"Butler Maxim."
Maxim stepped forward.
"Call the hearth repairman today."
Maxim paused for a moment, then bowed his head.
"Understood."
Helena's eyes widened. Martha was already looking at the next person.
"Gardener Bruno."
"Weeds in the western flowerbed are knee-high. Why has it been neglected?"
Bruno recoiled.
"Because we are short of manpower..."
"How many people do you need?"
"...Just two."
"Butler Maxim."
"Yes."
"Request two days' worth of temporary garden staff from a nearby village."
"Understood."
A strange atmosphere began to circulate in the hall. Margha sensed it and continued. She asked the guard about the loopholes in the night patrol route. She asked the coachman, Johan, about the health of the stable horses. She asked the laundrymaid why the linen was being consumed so quickly. Answers came with every question. At first, cautiously, then gradually, more honestly. Martha listened to everything and took notes. Macim took notes beside her. Thirty minutes passed. Martha scanned the notes. Five items requiring repairs, three areas needing additional manpower, two points where the budget was being wasted. It was enough.
"That's all for today."
Just as Martha was about to stand up, the guard, Karl, raised his hand. Martha looked. Karl spoke cautiously.
"My Lady. We didn't know if we were allowed to bring this up. All this time."
Martha looked at Karl. The burly man in his mid-forties wore a cautious expression. He was a man of few words by nature. As far as Martha could remember, she could count on one hand the times she had seen him speak first.
"You have to speak up to fix it."
Karl bowed his head. Martha finished the assembly and rose from her seat. As she walked out, she noticed the servants' faces looked different from before. Their expression had relaxed somewhat. They looked strangely relieved. They must have lived in this house suppressed for a long time. Martha thought to herself as she left the hall. Lucy followed behind her with quick steps.
"My Lady."
"What is it?"
"You did a really good job with the assembly today."
Martha stopped walking. She looked at Lucy. Lucy was speaking seriously, her eyes sparkling. Marthe looked at her face for a moment, then started walking again.
"I didn't do well. This is how it's supposed to be."
Lucy hurried after her.
"Still, the fact that the Pirncess dud ut herself..."
"Did you eat?"
"...Uh, I ate a little while ago."
"Then it's fine."
Lucy was silent for a moment, then the sound of her muttering quietly to herself was heard.
"...It's about food again."
Martha pretended not to hear and kept walking. She ran into Butler Maxim at the end of the hallway. Maxim was about to say something, but stopped and simply handed her the papers. As she took them. Martha looked into Maxim's eyes for a moment.
There was something different in those eyes compared to before. Before, it was caution. Now, it was something a little further than that. Martha knew what it was. It was expectation. An expectation that something was changing. The household had been a mess for a long time, and Maxim had been exhausted watching it all. But seeing Martha move this morning, something had grown inside him.
Taking the documents, Martha said quietly.
"You worked hard for a long time."
Maxim stopped. Martha had already started walking. She heard the sound of Maxim stopping just as he was about to say something from behind. Martha did not turn around. As she walked down the hallway, Martha unfolded the documents. Original creditor contracts, interest rates, collateral, maturity dates—she calculated in her head as she read them.
'I guess I should go to the place with the highest interest rate first. There is room for renegotiation on the collateral terms, too. I know at least one weakness of that old geezer landlord.'
Martha quietly made a plan as she walked. There was much to do. Debt. The estate. Society. Family. Still, she just had to do it in order.
That was just how the job of a head maid was. Nothing gets done all at once. One by one, slowly, until the very end. Oh dear, here comes this old woman starting work again. Martha laughed to herself.
[Lucy's Secret Shock Journal - Episode 2]
The Princess was strange again today.
Strange Thing No. 1: She personally conducted a lookup of the entire staff. The Princess. Personally.
Strange Thing No. 2: She knew Mr. Bruno and Ms. Helena's names. The Princess knows their names? I didn't even know Ms. Helena's last name.
Strange Thing No. 3: She told Butler Maxim that he did a good job. It seems like Butler Maxim turned around and wiped away his tears after hearing those words, but I couldn't confirm it.
Strange Thing No. 4: She asked me twice again today if I had eaten.
However.
Strangely enough, this house seems a bit different today.
It feels like something is alive.
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