TMWL 09

Chapter 9

Pesha put the quill back into the ink bottle, then turned her whole body toward Philia and pressed her for an answer.

Philia replied in a hushed voice, as though the butler might still be somewhere nearby.

“The butler… He didn’t officially apply and get hired for the position. He’s a commoner.”

“…”

When a family was large or belonged to the higher ranks of nobility, they usually hired a lower-ranking noble, such as a second son who could not inherit his family’s baronial title or a baronet.

Although the Namois household itself was poorly managed, the territory was large, and the Count of Namois even had influence reaching into the capital. Pesha had naturally assumed this household would follow the same practice.

Apparently, the butler’s background was rather unusual.

“Is that all you wanted to tell me?”

Philia hesitated before continuing.

“I heard that he and the master have known each other since before he received his title, back when the master was leading a mercenary unit. The people who were with him at the time are mostly knights, so I haven’t been told the details.”

“Since before he received his title.”

“Yes. There’s a rumor that when the master stopped at a village during the war, he was almost caught in a trap, but the butler, who was just an ordinary villager at the time, warned him and helped him avoid it. He also helped the master with several other small things, so after the war ended, the master sent someone to the village to bring him here and make him the butler.”

“That worked out nicely.”

“The problem is that after the butler took charge of the household accounts, the financial situation, which wasn’t very comfortable to begin with, became even worse.”

It was a predictable story.

‘Owen was simply repaying him for his help, and the butler’s eyes lit up when he suddenly gained control over the castle’s finances.’

When Pesha nodded as if she understood, Philia seemed relieved. Keeping her eyes lowered, she repeatedly warned Pesha.

“Even though the butler seems like a nice person… all the maids who raised concerns about this were dismissed. Of course, the butler probably can’t do anything to Your Ladyship, but…”

Pesha understood what Philia was worried about.

Even while explaining everything, Philia continued to look anxious, so Pesha smiled at her.

She admired Philia for having the courage to tell her despite being afraid.

“Yes. Thank you. I’ll keep what you said in mind.”

“Thank you, Your Ladyship. Then I’ll be going.”

Pesha had expected everyone here, from the knights to the servants, to resent her the moment she arrived. Receiving this kind of kindness instead left her both bewildered and happy.

After Philia left, Pesha fell into thought for a moment.

Judging from the butler’s refusal to show her the accounts, it was obvious that something was wrong with the household finances.

Finding out the truth was important, but so was how she handled it.

‘I don’t just want to punish him. I want to humiliate him so badly that I can throw him out for good. But is there really a good way to do that?’

As Pesha paced around the room, thinking deeply, her eyes happened to fall on the garden outside the window.

The garden, which had been left unattended because there was no gardener, looked green at first glance. But when she looked closely, it was a mess of freely growing weeds, wildflowers, and all sorts of overgrown plants.

“Hmm.”

After slowly surveying the garden, Pesha noticed a flower bed filled with clusters of blue flowers.

“Hm? What’s that…?”

That couldn’t be right.

‘Why is that flower blue?’

Pesha sensed something strange and hurried down the stairs toward the flower bed.

She had not seen it incorrectly.

The flower bed was filled with blooming blue roses.

They had even been planted recently, judging by the layer of rich soil that had been added over the original earth.

Puzzled, Pesha stopped a passing servant and asked,

“Do you know what kind of flower this is?”

“Pardon? Ah… These are precious flowers the butler ordered us to plant.”

“Precious flowers?”

“Yes. The butler spent a great deal of money to have these rare blue roses planted. He repeatedly told us to handle them with care.”

Pesha’s expression became strange.

“Ah… precious blue roses. I see. Thank you. You can go now.”

After sending the servant away, Pesha plucked a petal from one of the flowers and examined it.

She was certain.

‘Looks like I might be able to get rid of the butler sooner than I thought.’

She picked one of the roses and suddenly stood up.

Pesha went to Owen’s study and knocked on the door.

“What is it?”

An unfamiliar man’s voice came from inside.

Apparently, the man who was already there had asked in Owen’s place.

Pretending not to notice, Pesha answered gently.

“It’s me, Pesha. I came because I have something to discuss with you.”

“…”

A brief silence followed.

Then Owen’s voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

Pesha opened the door and entered.

Owen was apparently working, as he was casually looking through some documents.

“You can leave.”

The red-haired knight who had been there earlier, Jane, could not hide his surprise at Pesha’s sudden appearance. Even after hearing Owen’s order, he only came to his senses a moment later.

“My lord. Then what should I do about the painkillers?”

“For now, tell them to buy more tobacco leaves. Pay a higher price for those harvested within the territory.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jane bowed and left.

Owen lifted his eyes from the documents and looked at Pesha.

“You said you had something to discuss. What is it?”

As always, his expression was somewhat sullen, giving Pesha the feeling that he was saying, I’m busy, so don’t bother me.

But she did not back down.

“It’s nothing serious. I went to the garden and found some blue roses. I heard the butler went to great lengths to obtain them. They were really beautiful.”

“…I’m glad you liked them.”

“Yes. I noticed them because they were planted where I could see them clearly from my bedroom window.”

“I heard blue roses have become popular among the nobles in the capital lately. Do you like them?”

“Whether I like them?”

Pesha looked momentarily confused.

Owen lowered his gaze and continued looking at the documents.

Perhaps she was imagining it, but unlike when he had coldly snapped at her in the carriage, his tone almost sounded as though he wanted to hear some praise.

The moment she had that thought, her shoulders instinctively tensed.

‘Am I crazy? Owen Namois wants praise from me? Obviously, he’s just asking what I think of them.’

Pesha firmly shook the thought from her mind before asking,

“Does whether I like them really matter?”

It was a little strange that he was suddenly asking whether she liked them when they were not even a gift specifically meant for his wife.

At those words, Owen’s quill, which had been moving quickly, suddenly stopped.

He raised his head.

When their eyes unexpectedly met, Pesha was startled and quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, what I’m curious about is who first brought up the subject of the blue roses.”

Owen looked as though he had something to say, but after hearing Pesha’s question, he fell silent for a moment and searched his memory.

“I think… it was the butler. Before I left for the war last year, he said he needed money to renovate the castle, so I allocated him a budget. I believe that was when he mentioned it, while purchasing furniture, furnishings, and other things in large quantities.”

So he had taken advantage of a master who paid little attention to household affairs.

Owen looked at her as if wondering why she was asking about it, so Pesha answered with a smile.

“Oh, that was a lie.”

“What do you mean?”

At the unexpected statement, Owen frowned.

“Think about it. Even if blue roses really were fashionable, how would the butler know about a trend in the capital when he’s been stuck here managing the estate and unable to leave?”