It's Not A Childcare But A Contract Marriage - Chapter 18 Part 1

Hearing Doulian’s loud voice, Chiaville, who was outside, signaled to the soldiers he had brought.

Chiaville, who let the soldiers in first and followed slowly, heard another shout from Doulian.

“Why is the warehouse empty!”

“What?”

Chiaville pushed the men in front of him and hurriedly ran into the vault.

Standing inside the massive vault, he glanced around continuously, doubting his eyes.

Indeed, the warehouse was empty.

“What in the world…”

“What did you do! Where did all those gold coins go? Silver? Jewels? No… this can’t be. Without a doubt, she must have hidden them somewhere around here.””

Clang!

As Doulian roamed around randomly, suspecting the existence of a hidden space, a coin slipped under his foot, producing a clear sound as it rolled.

Seeing it skitter playfully across the bare floor, Doulian, who was already frustrated, raised his fist.

“Darn it! What are you all doing! Quickly, find a wall or something here? Agh!”

Unable to control his temper, Doulian struck the wall, grasping his reddened hand and bending over in pain.

Witnessing his younger sibling’s foolish display, Chiaville rolled his eyes and turned away.

“… …”

Looking down at the warehouse floor, which had never been revealed before, a deep sense of disappointment filled his gaze.

* * *

Horok.

I murmured under my breath, tilting my head back to swallow the tea that had been steeped just right, my voice carrying a hint of satisfaction.

“They should have found it by now.”

Having spent years living with my rather peculiar family, their way of thinking was predictable.

They are people who care very much about other people’s eyes, so in the meantime, they would have delayed touching it because it didn’t look good taking away the vegetable garden that their young daughter had cultivated.

But that was before the confirmed marriage arrangement with Duke Ivernum.

In other words, they are not the ones who will sit still even after the marriage they want with a remarried man 40 years older is completely broken.

‘Because the long-awaited connection with the royal family has been cut off.’

The string that they tried to connect me with is gone, so instead, they’ll try to dip into the capital I had saved up.

Anticipating the savages coming to devour the caravan, my actions were self-evident.

“Why would they think they can just take over? Did they expect me to stand by quietly?”

Recalling the matters I had dealt with from the upper level before leaving the family, I smirked.

“What? This much for retirement pay?”

“Your Grace. We appreciate you writing all these recommendation letters for us and even looking for positions that suit us elsewhere…”

“Gratitude is unnecessary. I was the one who pushed you out first, so of course I have to take care of this.”

“Pushed us out! My Lady, we feel so sorry that you were unfairly driven out of the guild…! Even if someone tries to stop me from leaving, holding onto my apron strings, I would have left first!”

“That’s right! The top without My Lady is meaningless!”

“All of you…”

‘Anyway, it’s excessive. We don’t need that loyalty in business matters.’

Thinking back, those at the upper level members who received their retirement pay handsomely were not regretful.

Yes. My first action taken at the upper level.

A decisive move. Escape!

‘Ha ha ha! There is no law prohibiting re-employment in the same job here!’

The greatest assets of the upper level were not in the vault, but rather, in the office.

The precious talents I had carefully acquired, one by one!

‘The sought-after talents you all coveted, like my golden goose, Altoran, will now go to rival companies and peck away at the now-empty nest of a Golden-Egg-Laying Goose, which is the guild!’

You thought you could rob the upper level without me, right?

Hah! Ridiculous!

To begin with, I hadn’t unnecessarily stuffed the upper level’s funds into the vault, and now, the inventory that had been adequately maintained was stripped bare.

If I ever wanted to bring back my talents, I needed to ensure they received their retirement pay without any hard feelings. 

Oh, and of course, I had taken care of my share quite well.

‘Fair payment for honest labor should be received.’

Alright then.

Nodding, I took another leisurely sip of the tea that still held its warmth.

Even if I rushed back to the upper level now, the golden goose that my family desired would be nowhere to be found.

“Well, if you want to have an empty shell, feel free to take it.”

With a crooked smile, I recalled the expressions on the faces of the members of the upper ranks to whom I had revealed my plan when I cleared out the warehouse.

“So, the members of My Lady’s noble registry among the family won’t know anything about this and rush over here?”

“Of course, My Lady. Count on it. I remained here just to see how the Count’s people reacted, and I will definitely report everything!”

Considering that it was unusual for my family to come up to the upper level and expose the truth, the upper rank members must have had enough.

As I thought of the story that the upper rank members had gleefully shared after hearing my story, I naturally imagined the scene that was unfolding at the top right now.

Entering excitedly, expecting to rob money, they would have ended up being completely chased away, just like chickens.

‘Ah, I’m curious to see what expressions they’re making.’

In this moment, I was dying to know the expressions they would have now.

* * *

Disappointment covered Chiaville’s face like thick tar.

Huff, huff..

Chiaville, fuming like an infuriated bull, breathed heavily. His wrinkled brow carried a deeper sense of distress.

‘Darn it.’

Chiaville’s haughty expression turned into a tight grimace.

“Agh! Does that make sense? this! Does it make sense that the capital’s largest upper class doesn’t have a penny in the warehouse here!”

“Um, Master.”

“Hey! What are you doing there! Check the floor over there too!”

Otherwise, he felt like he might explode like a calf with its tail on fire, just like his younger brother darting around.

“… … That’s why the state of the warehouse is no different from the numbers on the ledger.”