Episode 26. Father Called
From the morning, Maxim knocked on the study door three times. The first time was at eight o'clock. As Martha was looking at documents, Maxim entered and said.
"Princess, here is this month's financial statement."
Martha took it and looked at it. She skimmed it. She skimmed it, then stopped. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Income had exceeded expenses. 17 gold.
Martha remained silent for a moment as she looked at the number. Lucy craned her neck beside her to watch.
"Is it a loss this month too?"
"It's a surplus."
"How much?"
"17 gold."
Lucy looked at the statement.
"...17 gold?"
"Yes."
"Are you that happy about that?"
Martha looked at Lucy.
"It's the first surplus. The first surplus."
"It is 17 gold."
"Isn't 17 gold money? Go out and pick up 17 gold. See if you can do it."
Lucy stopped speaking. Maxim spoke quietly beside her.
"I am happy as well, Princess."
Martha looked at Maxim. It was understandable. The Duke's household, having fallen out of favor with the Imperial family and barely scraping by on what little money they had left without a proper salary, was now plagued by debt from the unruly daughter who squandered money here and there. They were desperately plugging a leaky bucket with their bare hands just to preserve the hollow honor of being the Imperial family's first retainer. It was a miracle the Duke's household hadn't collapsed yet. Martha could fully understand Maxim's joy.
Maxim bowed his head and left. As Martha placed the financial statement on the desk, she thought to herself.
'17 gold. It's the start, and this is enough.'
The second time was at ten. Maxim returned and said.
"My Lady, we have a message from Falken Trading."
Martha looked. Maxim handed her the documents.
"They say the Imperial Palace supply screening has passed."
Martha took the papers. It stated that Falken Trading had been officially registered as a supplier to the Imperial Palace. Looking at them, Martha thought.
"The recommendation for Imperial Palace supply has been approved."
During the creditor negotiations, Falken Corporation had been granted the right to recommend the application for supply to the Imperial Palace. And it had actually been approved. Falken Corporation had become a supplier to the Imperial Palace, and the name of the Valois family, who had made the recommendation, had reappeared on the documents related to the supply.
The name of the Imperial Household's first retainer family. It was recovering, little by little.
Lucy looked at the documents.
"What does this mean?"
"It means the Valois family name has started appearing in the Imperial Palace again."
Lucy accepted those words for a moment, then her eyes widened.
"How significant is that?"
"It is significant. It means our place in the Imperial Palace is being clearly established again."
Lucy took out her notebook and jotted it down. Martha placed the documents next to the first settlement statement and thought. Two. The third was at one o'clock in the afternoon. Maxim entered this time holding a letter.
"A letter has arrived from the Viscount Muller family."
Martha took it and opened it. It was a letter in the Viscount's own name, not Lily's.
To Princess Valois.
As we discussed during our last visit, our trading company intends to handle some of the Valois family's supplies. I have heard that lavender and herbs are growing well in the garden of the Valois estate, and these are items in demand among the Imperial Pharmacist and noble families.
However, given the current size of the garden, the quantity seems a bit insufficient for distribution. I am suggesting that we utilize the entire Duke's estate, not just the garden, as a herb field and implement a high-end herb strategy for distribution.
Viscount Muller.
Martha stopped reading the letter and grinned. Lucy saw her.
"What did he say?"
"He said he wants to distribute lavender and herbs, but the quantity is insufficient."
Lucy blinked.
"Is he saying that just based on the garden?"
"Probably."
Martha put the letter down, thinking about the past. Not long ago, when they had stormed in to completely wreck the estate. After having a meal together, Martha took a walk around the village. There was an empty field behind the village. It was land that Felix Holm had neglected. It was overgrown with weeds.
Martha stopped, gazing at the field. An old villager standing beside her said.
"Wheat used to be planted here, but after the caretaker arrived, it became unused land."
Martha looked at the field and thought. Lavender. Rosemary. Thyme. Sage. Mint.
Having worked at the Imperial Palace for a long time, Martha knew the demand for herbs. The herbs used by the palace chefs, the lavender used by noble families between linens, and the medicinal herbs handled by apothecaries. There was demand, but there were few stable sources of supply. And this empty land.
Martha looked at the villagers. Though it seemed completely useless right now. Martha said.
"Plant lavender and herbs here. Rosemary, thyme, sage, and mint too."
The villagers looked at Martha.
"Will that sell?"
"Yes, it will. Later"
"Later?"
"Just grow them for now. I'll come to pick them up."
The villagers looked at each other. Looking into their eyes, Martha spoke calmly.
"Trust me."
Now the time had come. Everyone was sitting on a cushion of money- no, not a cushion, but a blanket and pillow. I'll even put money socks on them.
Martha took out some stationery. She picked up a pen. And she wrote a reply.
To Viscount Muller.
The ones in the garden are for use at the mansion, but I am growing something else separately 100 times the amount in our garden? No, maybe 1,000 times? Maybe around that. If you visit soon, let's discuss it together.
Serena Valois.
She put it in an envelope. She handed it to Lucy.
"Send it."
Lucy said as she took the envelope.
"My Lady, where do 100 times or 1,000 times come from?"
"The estate."
Lucy stopped
"Do you have that much lavender and herbs in the estate?"
"I told the villagers to plant them."
Lucy looked at Marta.
"When?"
"During the visit to the estate."
It seemed to take Lucy some time to process those words.
"Were you already planning this by then?"
Martha said as she organized the documents.
"Life goes on."
Lucy muttered as she took out her notebook to take notes.
"It happens again."
Three documents lay side by side on the desk. A financial statement. Approval of Falken Trading Company's supply contract to the Imperial Palace. A letter from the Viscount Muller family.
Martha looked at them and thought. A lot arrived today. Maxim entered and said.
"My Lady, the Duke wants you to come to the study."
Martha looked at Maxim.
"Father?"
"Yes."
Martha glanced at the documents for a moment before rising from her seat. When she entered the study, Claude was sitting at the desk. Documents were spread out on the table. Details of creditor negotiations. Status of estate income recovery. Items for expenditure reduction. Recovery of the Imperial supply contract. And even the news that had arrived today.
Martha sat down, looking at them. Claude pointed at the documents and examined them one by one. He remained silent.
She didn't know how long that silence lasted. Claude looked up from the documents and saw Martha.
"Where did you learn this?"
Martha paused for a moment before speaking.
"Oh, you know how much reading the room I have? I learned it all by watching over people's shoulders."
It seemed to take Claude some time to accept those words. He didn't ask any further. He looked back at the documents with an expression that seemed to say he had grasped something, yet not quite. Then he said.
"You are the first person in the Valois family to accomplish this."
Martha looked at Claude.
"Father must have done it too."
Claude glanced at Martha for a moment.
"I couldn't do it."
A brief silence followed. As she listened, Martha thought to herself. This old man. Then, after thinking for a moment, she spoke.
"Father."
"Yes."
"And since we're making a profit now, how about we remove the bathtub from the room and install a shower to save on water costs? I think the 17 gold might go up to 170 gold then."
Claude looked at Martha. Martha spoke.
"The reaction was so good after we installed it in the employees' bathroom. So, in your room too."
Claude said as he picked up some papers.
"So, among this month's expenses, there is the cost for the storage room ventilation..."
"Father, the shower..."
"The figures here seem a bit off."
Martha looked at Claude. Claude was looking at the papers. He was completely pretending not to hear. Ugh, the nuance is that he absolutely refuses to leave the bathtub. Martha looked at Claude for a moment and then said.
"Does my father like hot water?"
Claude said without lifting his eyes from the papers.
"If I don't soak in hot water, my body gets cold, and I die quickly."
Martha looked at Claude. Claude was still looking at the papers. Martha thought to herself.
'Oh my goodness.'
Claude put the papers down and looked at Martha. He seemed about to say something. He opened his mouth.
"Well..."
Well?
...He stopped. He looked at the papers. He looked at Martha. He opened his mouth again.
"You."
You? He stopped again. She looked at the documents. As she looked at them, Martha thought to herself.
'All he had to do was say 'well done'. Why is he making it so difficult?'
Claude picked up the documents again, then put them down. He stood up from his seat and came over to Martha. He placed his hand on her shoulder. Once. Twice. That was all. There were no words. He simply patted her shoulder.
As she accepted his hand, Marta thought,
'I have worked my whole life next to that hand patting my shoulder. Now that hand is coming to me.'
She held back the tears welling up in her eyes. Claude turned around and walked toward the window. Martha glanced briefly at Claude, who was standing with his back to her. Then she said.
"Thank you, Father."
Claude looked out the window and said.
"Go."
As she left the study, she ran into Isabella in the hallway. Isabella looked at Martha. Her eyes seemed to know something. She remained silent. Instead, she took Martha's hand. Firmly. Just once. And then she let go.
Martha looked at Isabella. Isabella walked toward the study. Martha watched her retreating figure and felt what she had been holding back well up. She pressed it down firmly.
Then, Edward appeared at the end of the hallway. Looking at Martha, he said.
"I heard you were summoned by Father."
"Yeah."
"What did he say?"
Martha thought for a moment and then said.
"He patted my shoulder."
Edward paused.
"... Father?"
"Yeah."
Edward was silent for a moment. Then, looking out the window, he said.
"That's enough."
Martha looked at Edward. Edward looked away and said.
"Father patting my shoulder."
"Yeah."
"He's only done that to me once in all this time. When I got a job at the Imperial Household."
Martha looked at Edward. Edward was still looking elsewhere. Watching that, Martha thought. This older brother, too. Edward said.
"Well done, Serena."
Martha looked at Edward. Only then did Edward look at Martha. The two looked at each other for a moment. Perhaps wanting to change the atmosphere, Edward spoke immediately.
"Anyway, what are we having for dinner?"
Martha said.
"I'll have to ask Helena."
"Let's go."
Edward walked ahead. Martha blinked once as she followed.
After dinner, she came up to her room. Lucy watched Martha enter and spoke.
"My Princess."
"What is it?"
"Did you cry by any chance?"
"I didn't."
"Your eyes are red."
"I got some dust in them."
Lucy said. "Inside?"
"Yes. You aren't cleaning properly, are you? Are you going to make me pick up a mop again?"
Lucy took out her notebook and jotted down notes. Martha went to sit by the window. She could see the night garden. Moonlight had settled on the lavender flowerbed.
Looking at it, Martha thought. A surplus of 17 gold. Delivery to the Imperial Palace passed. Contact from the Viscount Muller family. Father patted my shoulder twice. Edward told me I did well. Isabella held my hand tightly. I received so much today.
Miss Serena, I am doing a good job living in place of that young lady, right? Just wait and see. Though the beginning may be humble, the end will be magnificent.
Martha gazed at the lavender flowerbed outside the window and thought deeply. She remembered what Claude had said.
"If I don't soak in hot water, my body gets cold, and I die quickly."
Martha thought of those words and recalled something.
"I should give him a giant bathtub as a gift."
Lucy stopped holding her notebook.
"Yes?"
"To Father."
"A bathtub?"
"Yes."
Lucy said.
"The Duke's bathtub is huge even now, isn't it? The biggest bathtub in the mansion is in the Duke's room."
Martha said, looking out the window.
"There is such a thing."
Lucy looked at Martha and jotted it down in her notebook. The Princess is planning to give the Duke a giant bathtub as a gift. The reason is unknown. She said there is such a thing.
Martha thought, looking at the lavender garden outside the window. If that gentleman likes soaking in hot water so much... I should get him a proper one. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly. Lucy watched this and jotted it down in her notebook again. Her eyes are moist, but she is smiling.
[Lucy's Secret Shock Journal - Episode 26]
Butler Maxim visited the study three times today.
Shock No. 1: First, he brought the financial statement. It showed a surplus of 17 gold. The Princess was overjoyed. I didn't realize 17 gold could be that happy, but she said, "The first surplus is the first surplus." Butler Maxim also said he was happy and left.
Shock No. 2: Second, he brought news that Falken Trading Company had passed the Imperial Palace supply contract. The name of the Valois family had been reinstated at the Imperial Palace. The Princess said, "It's huge."
Shock No.3. The Princess wrote a reply to Viscount Muller's letter saying, "About 100 times?1,000 times? There is." When I asked where that came from, she said it was the estate. She said it was something she had already been told to plant during her visit to the estate. She said, "As life goes on."
Today, "As life goes on" appears once.
Shock No. 4: The Duke summoned the Princess, so she went to the study. When she returned, her eyes were red. He said dust had gotten in them. Indoors.
Shock No. 5: Young Master Edward said, "Well done, Serena." This is the first time I've heard the Young Master praise the Princess while calling her by name.
Shock No. 6: The Princess said she plans to gift the Duke a giant bathtub. She said the reason was, "There's a reason." The Duke's bathtub is already the biggest in the mansion.
Today is a day the Princess has received a lot. I never knew 17 gold would lead to so many things.
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