Chapter 29

# 29

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Just as she was wondering, another voice was heard.

"Master! There is a servant who assisted Young Master here."

The fact that they even brought a servant made it even clearer that Nabiya had been kidnapped.

"Take Nabiya to the doctor and show her to him."

"Understood."

Nikan gave the order and then approached Wood's servant.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the servant was conscious. He was just cowering on the ground, trembling.

"Please save me, my lord…! Please save me…."

The servant was in shock, as if he had witnessed a disaster that could end the world.

Nikan frowned and pointed at the servant with his chin.

The knights seized the servant from both sides and forcibly lifted his upper body.

Slap!

Nikan slapped the servant's cheek.

The servant, who was suddenly slapped, raised his head with a dazed expression.

"M-Master?"

Nikan instantly decided on a scapegoat upon seeing the servant's stunned face.

"Did you dare to kidnap the princess and bring her here?"

The surrounding servants were beginning to realize that this kidnapping was Wood's doing.

However, Nikan pinned the blame on the servant present at the scene.

"Lock him up immediately!"

"Understood!"

"I am innocent! I only followed orders! Master!"

Nikan looked down at the servant coldly.

"Do you know why you call me 'Master'?"

"…."

"Why would a mere servant, not even a vassal, call me master?"

Unless they paid off their debt and nullified their lifelong contract, the servants had to call Nikan 'Master.'

They were practically slaves.

The servant was at a loss, dumbfounded.

Nikan didn't look back as he mounted his horse again.

He needed to check on Wood's condition.

'This isn't just the work of one servant. There must be accomplices.'

He had more to deal with than just this.

There was also the embezzlement in the kitchen and the punishment for the maid Charlotte.

As soon as Nikan arrived at the main hall of the duke's residence, he gave an order to Linden, who was waiting.

"Send word to the royal family that the heir's condition is critical due to a mana surge, and that the formal meeting will have to be postponed."

After Linden left to carry out the order, an administrator who had been investigating the embezzlement case since yesterday approached Nikan.

"Master, I will report the results of the investigation."

"Let's hear it on the way."

Nikan headed for Wood's room and began listening to the administrator's report.

There were no major issues with the investigation. The accounts shown by Filipa mostly matched the embezzlement facts.

"However, there is a strange part. The records related to the maid Charlotte do not match those of the merchant side."

"Why is that?"

"That part is under re-examination."

Nikan clicked his tongue.

After all, she was just a maid. He didn't have time to waste on such trivial matters.

He was about to order that Charlotte be sent to the laundry room.

"Master."

Nikan was about to enter Wood's room.

Several servants were standing there, waiting for him, with solemn expressions.

"What is it?"

Nikan asked curiously, and one servant stepped forward.

He was the servant who had been slapped by Filipa for not immediately assisting Wood when he came in soaking wet.

"I will report Filipa's misconduct."

A new power struggle began.

* * *

Slavery is prohibited by imperial law.

However, while treating people as property was forbidden, similar systems existed.

One of them was the lifelong contract.

A lifelong contract was a significant agreement for a commoner, involving a substantial down payment and monthly wages, but binding the person to the family.

If one couldn't pay off their debt, they would live a life akin to a slave, but if they had money, the story was different.

Charlotte wanted to pay off her debt and get out of the lifelong contract.

She hadn't come here by her own will.

Her family had sold her and fled with the down payment.

Many servants were bound to noble families in this way.

No matter how carefully they saved their wages, it would take a lifetime to leave this place.

Charlotte wasn't incompetent, but it was difficult to earn more income through legitimate means.

So she had been looking for an opportunity to create a side fund.

'If I can leave here, I'll open a small café.'

Charlotte was good at making fruit jam.

If she opened a café, she was confident she could make amazing jam to serve with desserts alongside coffee.

She would buy some frozen strawberries at a slightly lower price from a fruit vendor.

Jam made from frozen fruit tastes better, so it would be a win-win.

When the strawberries simmered and released their fragrant aroma, she would squeeze lemon juice into the pot.

This would prevent the strawberry jam from turning brown and keep its beautiful red color.

Ah, if she added a few cherries she received as a bonus when buying strawberries, the flavor would be even better.

The sweet jam would be served with coffee and scones, and she could also sell it in jars.

Yes, she had been dreaming of such a sweet and peaceful daily life.

"What do we do now? It looks like all the servants involved with you will end up in Filipa's hands!"

Charlotte was under house arrest on suspicion of embezzlement. Suddenly, everyone around her disappeared.

Some kind of dragon had appeared at the mansion?

Charlotte frowned at the incomprehensible news.

Taking advantage of the lack of supervision, the servants who had colluded with her rushed in.

'Pathetic people.'

As the group grew, more people inevitably joined.

With at least five different merchants delivering supplies to the kitchen every day, it was inevitable that there would be more of these fools.

They had been swayed by Charlotte long ago and were waiting for the right moment to bring down Filipa.

Charlotte wasn't particularly brilliant, but seeing these fools made her blood boil.

But Charlotte soon calmed down.

Wasn't it because of these fools that she could seize opportunities even in crisis?

'Lady Nabiya manipulates these fools like toys.'

Charlotte, who hadn't yet heard that Nabiya had returned, suddenly looked very worried.

Then she smiled at the servants who were looking at her anxiously.

Just like Nabiya.

"What are you all worried about? This is an opportunity."

"An opportunity?"

"The kitchen was betrayed by Filipa and exposed for misconduct. The two were already colluding in other embezzlements."

The servants hesitated.

"But how do you know that?"

Charlotte felt like sighing at the request to prove it.

"Go to the dungeon where the kitchen is imprisoned and tell him that Filipa betrayed him."

"Why would we do that…?"

"Once the kitchen knows Filipa betrayed him, he might expose other weaknesses to seek revenge."

When she spelled it out for them, the servants' eyes lit up.

They immediately followed Charlotte's advice.

They went to the kitchen and told him that Filipa was behind the current situation.

"I knew it!"

The kitchen, who had already been tipped off by Charlotte that Filipa was suspicious, believed them at once.

"I won't go down alone!"

The kitchen didn't fully trust Filipa either.

He, like Filipa, had already found other weaknesses to hold over her.

Eliminating both Filipa and the kitchen, the longest-serving and most powerful subordinates in the family, was a crucial move.

Even if they were dull, they understood that getting rid of these two pillars would open up a new landscape.

The servants firmly believed they would become the new key players and exposed the misconduct in front of Nikan.

They spilled everything they had heard from the kitchen.

In the process, they didn't forget to clear Charlotte of suspicion.

"The trinket found in Charlotte's room is also a bribe Filipa received."

Nikan held his forehead and said through gritted teeth.

"Based on their testimony, investigate Filipa."

"Understood."

The administrator left, and Nikan surveyed the servants.

It was already clear from their recent accusations that they were hostile to Filipa.

'Charlotte, the maid, covered for them.'

He had thought she was just a capable and efficient maid, but today's events suggested there was more to her.

There were plenty of people loyal to Agnes. Was it necessary to favor someone whose intentions were unclear?

Nikan coldly announced.

"Send the maid Charlotte to the laundry room and assign a new personal maid to Nabiya."

"Understood."