It's Not A Childcare But A Contract Marriage - Chapter 18 Part 2

His head was pounding.

Chiaville pressed his temple as he looked down at the ledger he had commanded the lower rank that was wandering around to bring.

“The most important thing about the upper level is trust. According to the lady’s principles, the ledger contains no deception.”

Clutching his throbbing head and digging into the ledger as if searching for something, Chiaville oddly failed to notice the impolite tone of the lower top member.

Taking a sharp breath, Chiaville, who had been digging through the ledger for quite a while, exclaimed.

“Ha! Look at this!”

“What is it? Did you find out something, Brother?”

“Our cunning youngest has had her own plans for a while.”

When Doulian ran to see if he had found a corner to rip off, Chiaville pursed his lips and pointed to a certain account in the ledger.

“Look at the amount withdrawn every month under our youngest’s name.”

“That’s been happening for a while, hasn’t it? Well, Pudding’s quite cheeky… She’s helped herself quite a bit.”

The eyebrows of the members of the upper ranks in front of him twitched at the sound of loudly criticizing Evely.

“That part is an item officially accounted for by the lady. She has never used her personal funds for private purposes.”

“What?”

The words of the upper level member to prevent the filth from staining their lady’s prestige had a different effect than intended.

“Are you saying that she, without any dignity of a noble, took salary like a servant?”

Nobles don’t work.

Chiaville’s smirk, as he was about to pour scorn while concealing his intent, froze the next moment.

“No. It’s an advisory fee.”

“What?”

For nobles, working for money is laughable.

So, it was a trick created to counter that.

“What the. Doing all sorts of money games, but anyway, if money is your goal, you’re not noble.”

“It’s tough to be a nobleman.”

“It’s tough but also ridiculous.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah! Well, if you’re going to close your eyes and hum about it, I’ll hum along too.”

Recalling her lady’s voice that never rested, always moving above the documents, the top member, Mitchell, smiled subtly at the corner of her mouth.

She had memorized verbatim the pretext her lady had prepared for such moments.

“How can we not repay after receiving the lady’s invaluable advice? We are businessmen, not swindlers.”

It was offered willingly out of gratitude. It was entirely different from a wage given to an employee.

Therefore, it’s not about earning money.

Upon hearing Evely’s explanation about the concept of compensation, which was created as a countermeasure against the claim that nobles don’t work, Chiaville and Doulian became somewhat bewildered.

“It’s not earning; it’s receiving… um?”

Leaving Doulian, whose words got tangled because he hadn’t fully grasped the new concept, Chiaville, who was trying to hold onto his fading concentration, refocused his eyes on the ledger.

“What’s this again? Severance pay? Ha! Trying to deceive whose eyes?”

Can this lump sum really be accounted for by just severance pay?

It must be a code for where it was diverted.

“Oh, that’s also accurately recorded without any discrepancies.”

“What? That’s impossible. Where’s the diversion? Did you use some fake names and divert the funds…”

Finally, Chiaville’s eyes lit up as he found the point he was looking for in the ledger, but they quickly dimmed again.

“As you can see, Mitchell here, as well as Hans from accounting, Avery, and Milan. These are the names of the actual upper rank members who are responsible for different duties below.”

One by one, the names being recited were familiar to Chiaville as his youngest sister had been chattering about them so much. A thick bead of sweat rolled down Chiaville’s forehead as he sensed something amiss.

And then, after a moment, Mitchell, who had memorized the list of people who had received severance pay for a long time, turned her head toward the wall clock.

“It’s time.”

As if deliberately checking the time, she put down the ledger on the desk and opened hermouth.

“As you can see from the names listed for severance pay in the ledger, my last day of work is today.”

At the same time, other members of the upper tier, who had been snooping around as if watching, rushed in.

“… … !”

“What, what!”

Startled by the gathering crowd, Chiaville hastily gestured to the guards, and Doulian, frightened, pushed a soldier who was nearby and slipped under the table to hide.

Contrary to their thoughts that their hearts would pound heavily at this moment…

“… … .”

Thud, thud, thud.

Instead of weapons, the gathered people started taking off their upper rank badges one by one and throwing them onto the desk.

In an instant, a pile of top badges formed on the table.

Embarrassment and shame covered the faces of Chiaville and Doulian, whose vigilance had become ridiculous.

“Then, we’re leaving.”

“There’s nothing to see at the upper level without the lady.”

“Well said. Is the upper level impressive? It’s our lady who’s impressive.”

Mitchell, seeing the two nobles who looked nothing like their lady with a pitiful expression, gave them a scornful glance, tilting her head just as much as necessary before neatly turning away.

Following her lead, the rest of the upper rank members who threw their top badges also chattered as if instructing someone and left.

“Th-they’re gone?”

Doulian, who finally crawled out from under the table with a belated effort, exclaimed loudly, trying to cover his embarrassment.

“Anyway, you commoners! You filthy lot, thinking you’re smart just because you have more heads than us, crawling around like a horde of ants!”

Thud!

At the sound of the table being hit, Doulian shouted in pain.

“Brother, what the heck! All of a sudden! You startled me, ah…”

Doulian, who was about to get irritated, lowered his voice when he saw his fierce older brother’s expression.

With a contorted face, Chiaville crumpled the paper under his palm and ground it, sharpening it.

‘Those worms… … .’

Both the intrusion of the commoners and the insult to his pride bothered him, but above all, the current situation was the problem.

‘Father would surely have known that I would retrieve the funds.’

Things went terribly wrong.

He hadn’t expected the youngest to spread such a thick layer of ashes over the pie that he thought he could easily bring back.

“Damn.”

His insides twisted like his intestines.

Chiaville, trying to suppress his irritation, ultimately slumped onto the desk, his forehead pressed against it.