Chapter 3

2.

The living room connected to the bedroom.

After locking the maid in the closet.

The person who broke the awkward silence was Marcus.

"......It seems it's been half a year since I last saw you sober."

"Cough! Ahem!"

At his cutting remark, Rachel tried to hide her embarrassment with a fake cough.

'Why is the embarrassment always mine!'

That's right.

For half a year, Rachel had never been sober for a single day.

She drank alcohol instead of eating meals.

Despite that, she seemed to be in good health with no aches or pains.

'Could I be a wizard?'

A silly thought flashed through her mind, but she quickly shook her head.

If this body were a wizard, it wouldn't have died so young in the original story.

Magic power was a form of energy that possessed a strong life force.

"......Do you eat properly?"

It was strange how Marcus looked more like the sick one compared to her.

Breaking out of her thoughts, she asked him with concern. Marcus handed her a stack of documents and said,

"Your Excellency, this is the data I gathered and organized, even skipping meals, which led to my current state. You must read it."

Despite his exhausted appearance, his brown eyes shone with determination.

"Hmm......"

She quickly skimmed through the rather thick documents.

They contained budget allocation reports, execution records, and information about the state of the fief.

"Surely you didn't do all this alone......?"

"Yes."

A glint of admiration flashed in Rachel's eyes.

She had always thought he was capable while reading the novel, and indeed, a talented person stands out from the beginning!

"I'll read it in detail later. For now, give me a brief overview of the situation."

"The fief is in chaos. Not only the soldiers, but the knights' salaries have been delayed for months, and the high tax rate is causing the fief's residents to flee."

She knew the fief was in bad shape, but this was too much, wasn't it?

Her head spun.

"How did it get to this point?"

He looked at her as if she were asking a ridiculous question.

"Have you forgotten that you entrusted all authority to the regent?"

"Oh......"

"All documents go to the regent. The person running the Agnus family now is not you, but the regent."

Her eyes darkened.

'Rachel' was an unsuitable successor for a great family.

After losing her parents, she couldn't bear the heavy responsibility of leading the family alone and delegated everything to the regent, escaping into alcohol.

As a result, the fief had fallen into this state.

'Pathetic......'

She needed to discard the weak and pitiful personality of this body.

If she acted as she originally did, she wouldn't be able to fix this mess.

She spoke in a cold voice.

"......Then we need to start by weeding out the regent's people."

"Really, my lady?"

"I was going to ask you about something related to the regent anyway."

"Ask me?"

Rachel got up and brought out a wine glass she had hidden in the bathroom.

Marcus frowned, as if he had expected this.

"Don't misunderstand. I didn't bring it to drink."

"Then why......?"

"The wine is from the regent. I want you to investigate what's in it."

At her words, a hint of anger crept into his voice.

"Surely......!"

"How could anyone do such a heinous thing!"

Rachel bit her lip to suppress a laugh.

To hear such words from a man who would later become a ruthless plotter, unscrupulous in his methods.

'Well, if he hadn't changed, he couldn't have protected the young duke......'

Suddenly, the hardships of her favorite character's life weighed heavily on her heart.

She continued in a low voice.

"Find out what it is, and I'll leave it to you."

"Leave it to me. I'll find out as quickly as possible and return."

Marcus nodded resolutely and left the room.

His loyalty was not hers.

His heart belonged to his beloved hometown and the previous duke.

'But he will eventually become Liz's right-hand man.'

A trustworthy person, he would surely do well.

She skimmed through the documents he had left behind.

'This should be enough.'

The list of those rat-like individuals would also be organized.

There was no need to wait for all the evidence to come into her hands.

'Shall we start, then?'

She stood up with a meaningful smile.

To prevent them from escaping, quick decision-making and action were necessary.

At the Agnus Duke's training ground.

The training ground, which should have been filled with shouts and intense energy, was in disarray.

One group was drinking during the day, while another was working with grim expressions.

"Captain. I'm sorry, but could you spare me a moment?"

A man in his late thirties with short brown hair, blue eyes, and a muscular build.

Rupert Archer smiled bitterly as he looked at the subordinate who approached him with a troubled expression.

"Sure. Let's talk over here."

He moved to a corner of the training ground with his subordinate.

"I'm in a difficult situation. If the salary isn't paid by the end of this month, I really won't be able to make it."

"I'll speak to the captain about it."

"......Thank you."

Sighing, Rupert approached the knight captain who was lazily drinking beer.

Tale Weaver.

He was the regent's younger brother.

His attendance was so poor that it was rare to see him at the training ground, but when he did show up, he would drink and disrupt the atmosphere.

No one could discipline him.

While Rupert, the deputy captain, was a baron, Tale Weaver was a count.

After the previous Count Weaver died suddenly without an heir, his younger brother inherited the title.

Being a high-ranking noble and favored by the duke, the regent's power made his unruly behavior understandable.

"Captain, I have something to ask."

"Huh, what is it?"

Tale, who was tipsy, raised his red face.

"When will the unpaid salaries be distributed?"

"Ah, that? Just wait a little longer."

Tale waved his hand dismissively, and Rupert clenched his teeth.

Not only his own, but the salaries of the knights he led had been delayed for half a year.

Meanwhile, the captain and a few other knights received their pay on time and even threw money parties.

Wait a little longer?

"Exactly how long do we have to wait? Those who receive their pay keep getting it, while those who don't just have to wait and suck their thumbs?"

"Hey, look at this guy? Where did you get the nerve to talk back?"

Tale staggered to his feet.

A knight captain who couldn't even stand on his own.

Disappointment washed over him.

How did the Agnus family come to this?

"I didn't say anything wrong......"

At that moment, Tale's palm struck his cheek.

Smack!

"What? Are you saying I'm wrong? Huh?"

Rupert, who had been slapped unexpectedly, clenched his jaw.

"Hey, Captain, stop it. You'll make our deputy captain cry."

"Ah, you insensitive brat. You should pretend not to see. This brat."

The ridicule and the humiliation that enveloped him.

He was reaching his limit.

...Despite swearing to dedicate his life to the Agnus family.

"......Stop it."

The head of the family had abandoned his responsibilities and obligations, living in a world of alcohol.

There was no one in this family he should serve with loyalty.

"What will you do if I don't stop?"

Tale sneered, as if finding it absurd, and slapped him again.

Smack! Smack!

What was the point of enduring such humiliation?

Thud!

Rupert grabbed Tale's wrist.

"Hey? You, you're not letting go? Are you challenging me?"

"I clearly told you to stop."

"If I say one word, I can have you fired. Do you want to be fired?"

The image of the knights he led flashed through his mind, and the strength in his grip waned.

If he left this family, who would take care of his subordinates?

But then.

Thud!

"Damn. I can't stand this anymore."

A knight who had been polishing his armor threw the cloth to the ground and stood up.

"Ombin, do you think we have nowhere else to go?"

The others nodded in agreement.

They had stayed out of respect and loyalty to the late master, but there were plenty of places that would take them.

"People should know their limits. I can't stand this anymore. Deputy Captain, let's just leave."

"You're right. We have no reason to stay here and endure this treatment."

As the knights, who had been feeling resentment, added their voices, the atmosphere grew tense.

Tale drew his sword, trying to regain control.

"Are you all going crazy? Do you want to die?"

But the knights, whose hearts had already turned, began to gather their belongings and stand up.

"You brats. If you don't stop right now......!"

At that moment.

"Or what?"

The sudden voice drew the knights' attention to the entrance of the training ground.

'That's......!'

A person who shouldn't be there.

Rachel Agnus stood there with an intrigued expression.

Oh.