Translator and Editor: Maru and Aki

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Chapter 20

The housekeeper put her hands behind her back to hide her trembling fingers.

“That brooch was handed over to me by my parents.”

“Really? When did you get it?”

“Five years ago, madam.”

A small sigh escaped Daisy’s lips. She then smiled brightly as if she was having fun.

And that smile of hers is not something just anyone can do.

Because now everyone knows…

How her smile is similar to a thorny rose.

“The brooch’s brand is probably Le Pont. Embedding another brooch within the brooch itself is their brand’s special design. Not many people have that kind of skill.”

The housekeeper was trembling. Can I just run away from here?

“The color is black. But it was only two years ago that the brand started producing black accessories.”

The housekeeper’s blatant lie backfired on her. Daisy continued to speak as she looked at the pale-faced housekeeper.

“The table in the restaurant is very old, and as you said, Tyler is a meticulous man, so he isn’t someone who would just leave it be.”

That being the case, why didn’t Tyler change the table?

Based on his personality, Daisy was able to come to a conclusion when she looked at the bigger picture.

“Isn’t it because he’s short of money since the budget given to him was allocated to restock the items that kept disappearing within the mansion?”

A few days ago, Daisy went to get wine herself. She could have just asked Tyler, but she went alone to make sure of something.

She noticed the number of wines on the inventory list and the actual number of wines available didn’t match.

That wasn’t the case when I looked around the mansion for the first time.’

Tyler probably couldn’t change the table because he had to replace the empty wine bottles many times.

Tyler was that kind of person.

The only man who will stay here and lead the mansion.

“That’s not all,”

Daisy swerved her gaze from the housekeeper to the chef, who was sweating profusely. The chef avoided her gaze as if he knew what she was going to say. He anxiously wiped his forehead several times.

“I stopped by the kitchen before I came here.”

When everyone ran to the main hall, she walked alone in an empty hallway. So, Daisy went into the kitchen and saw a salad was ready to be served.

The golden bread was steaming on the silverware next to the salad as if nothing had happened.

“I saw a piece of bread fall on the floor with my own eyes.”

Daisy never took her gaze off the chef.

She had a gentle yet challenging expression, as if asking if he had the nerve to refute it.

“That would’ve gone in my mouth if I had my lunch today,”

“Th, that…So what happened is…”

The chef kept his eyes nailed on the floor and wiped away his sweat once again. He couldn’t make an excuse.

Soon, a calm voice rang amidst the grave situation.

“I don’t know what purpose you have to come to this mansion, and why you have such a poor work ethic. However, there’s one thing I’m sure of. The mansion wouldn’t be in this state if you at least slightly cared about it..”

Daisy looked around the library.

“The second compartment of the bookshelf is bent due to the heavy weight. If you cared about it, you could’ve fixed or changed the bookshelf. If you couldn’t do that because of certain circumstances, you could’ve simply put the heavy books on the lower compartment.”

Surely, turning a blind eye would be much easier to do than any of those.

“The most important factors to take into consideration when one manages books are the amount of sunlight and humidity present as you have to make sure only minimal sunlight and humidity are present in the space. However, your efforts to eliminate the library’s high humidity isn’t evident.”

“Madam, with all due respect-”

“That’s right. With all due respect, let me ask you. Did you use salt? Did you use candles?”

“Using salt is a bit…”

“How do you manage it when you don’t even know the basics?”

Daisy pointed her chin towards the curtain. The servants, whose focus was only directed to her as if they were possessed, turned their heads at once.

Perhaps if today wasn’t such a cloudy morning, the sunlight would’ve shone brightly through the library.

That was the problem.

“Sunlight. The curtains are always open, so how can you preserve the books when they’ve been exposed to the sun throughout the day?”

“…”

“If you have common sense, you would only open it when someone is using the library, otherwise, it will be kept closed. Don’t you think so? Explain.”

The servants only exchanged glances at each other. They lost the nerve to say something boldly.

Constant exposure to sunlight would discolor the books. As soon as the letters start to disappear and the papers become stained, the library would lose its light. After all, it was the books that kept the beauty of the library.

“Even I, who just moved in, know better than all of you. The fact that I have to tell you everything shows your capability.”

No one could refute that because Daisy spoke the truth.

“You’ll only be staying here until I pick new maids. You’ll be fired right after that.”

Daisy took a sip of tea and added,

“We’ll discuss the rest later.”

***

Aah~ I’m so tired.

Daisy changed into comfortable clothes and closed her heavy eyelids.

Acting, hiding her face, and changing her voice on purpose.

Indeed, it wasn’t easy.

Daisy breathed deeply as she recalled the servants’ faces.

‘Now how should I take advantage of this situation?’

They will be fired for sure, but how can I spread rumors of their incompetence? I have to think it through again.

‘I expected to hear many things when I pretended to be a maid named Lizzy, but what I found out was worse than I thought.’

Carlyx Jean, his ‘family reputation’ was the worst.

Given that most of the servants behaved poorly from the beginning, the rumors about his indifference must have spread between them.

But those rumors would not make any difference since Carlyx was notorious for his murderous image.

‘What can I gain from spreading bad rumors about them?’

For the sake of revenge? Personal satisfaction?

Honestly, it was all useless.

‘As long as Carlyx’s reputation is at rock bottom, the rumors can become a boomerang to us. They could twist the rumors, saying that the monstrous Marquis was also incompetent at managing his own mansion.’

At times like this, trivial emotions weren’t helpful at all. If we want a better future, then we should consider the merits of our actions rather than the emotions we may gain from them.

‘Let’s look at the bigger picture. What can I gain from firing them?’

A small fire must grow into a big fire. Whether it would become a fire that is directed to her or someone else will depend on her ability.

As she was organizing her thoughts, the door slowly opened.

It was River and Luciana.

Lovely faces to get rid of my fatigues!

“Stepmotheer!”

River waddled his left arm like a penguin. There was a crutch between his right shoulder.

“Hello, auntie. Excuse me, but River really wanted to see you.”

Luciana walked alongside River and blinked slowly.

“I heard from someone, that, uh! I heard from Belia! Belia!”

Ah, Belia, the nanny.

Thinking about Belia made me feel relieved for some reason. Perhaps it’s because there’s one more person I didn’t need to fire. It’s not easy to find, hire, and train new people after all.

‘Let’s stop thinking about work. There are these cuties right in front of me!’

Daisy lightly lifted River up. A smile naturally hung over her face.

“What did you hear from Belia?”

“Stepmother is a prince!!!”

“A prince? Why am I suddenly a prince?”

Out of curiosity, I asked River to tell me the reason, but the child remained still in his place with his eyes shining.

“Because you’re a pwince!”

But he kept babbling the same thing.

“The pwince is cool! Good for you!”

“Um, I think Belia is calling auntie a prince because she heard that auntie recently defeated bad people.”

Luciana, who held the hem of her dress to greet Daisy, explained. Her timid voice was full of tension.

“Auntie must be so tired…”

“No, Luciana and River are like my vitamins. Therefore, no matter what time you visit me, in my eyes, it’s in the morning.”

“What? But it’s evening now. So how…?”

“I’m the only one who can see it. Can you look outside the window? That’s actually the sun, not the moon. That’s why I feel refreshed now.”

They are my vitamins, so, of course I’d feel so refreshed.

‘Phew, look at the juice stain on your hand.’

Daisy playfully rubbed Luciana’s nose with her finger. Only then did Luciana stop looking around and raise her head.

But River suddenly exclaimed.

“I want to be a prince, too!”

Daisy smiled at Luciana, who was staring affectionately at her brother, who cutely babbled on. A moment later, Luciana blinked, wondering why her auntie suddenly smiled at her.

She has lost more baby fat than River, but her cheeks were still as chubby and rosy as ever.

“How can you be a pwincee? Stepmother! Pwease tell me!”

“Eat a lot of vegetables. Exercise a lot. If there’s something you find difficult or scary, make sure to tell me or your daddy.”

Daisy told them a couple of things a child could do.

As if he thought he had more tasks to do, River looked puzzled.

“I have to eat a lot of snacks?”

I never said that. Rather, his memory was distorted. But still, he’s cute.

Because of that, Daisy stroked River’s head.

“Umm…”

Luciana, who was watching them, approached the two at a slow pace. Then, she slowly lowered her head.

‘….!’

Do you want me to stroke your head?!

Of course, I will do that in a heartbeat! I can do it a hundred, no, a thousand times! I just can’t hold it anymore!

Fortunately, I was able to subdue my inner feelings.

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