Chapter 17

After Chloe was dragged away by Countess Maleite, I finally got to spend some peaceful time with our little male lead.

At long last, I unveiled the word cards I’d finished making.

“Look at this. What is it?”

“Bya-bya!”

“It’s a horse. Horse. Clip-clop, clip-clop. Neighhh!”

Hayden blinked.

“Neighhh!”

Oh my.

My eyes lit up all on their own.

“That’s right! What sound does a horse make? Neighhh!”

“Neigh!”

Good heavens.

Our baby was a genius.

Of course he was.

You don’t become the male lead just by being ordinary. His brilliance was already showing at this age!

“Now this is a tiger. A very scary animal. Roaaar!”

“Ah-roar!”

His pronunciation was completely mangled, but the little male lead diligently repeated everything after me.

Hayden grabbed his own feet, kicked excitedly, and burst into laughter.

His eyes curved into crescents, and before I knew it, I was smiling too.

He’s so adorable!

“Oh my goodness, well done! A genius! An absolute genius! Our Hayden is the best!”

“Kyaa! Mama! Mama!”

“That’s right. Eat lots today, okay?”

I hugged Hayden tightly and rubbed my cheek against his.

Of course, he ended up pushing me away by planting his feet against me while enthusiastically tugging on my hair.

“Now this is a monkey! Ooh-ooh! Ooh-ooh! You do it like this.”

I placed one hand on top of my head and the other beneath my chin before pretending to scratch myself.

“Ooh-ooh… ooh…”

“…Cheres.”

I never expected to see Cheres standing there.

Slowly, I lowered my hands.

Covering his mouth, Cheres let out a fake cough.

He was holding back his laughter.

Damn it.

My dignity…

Couldn’t you have walked in when I was roaring like a tiger instead?

Hayden immediately crawled toward Cheres at full speed and began climbing up his leg.

Cheres effortlessly lifted him into his arms and kissed his cheek.

Hayden grabbed both of Cheres’ ears and started climbing him as if he were a tree.

Slipping his hands under Hayden’s arms, Cheres lifted the little monkey high into the air.

“So…”

“Planning to grow up into a full-fledged monkey?”

“…Cheres!”

At my shriek, Cheres let out a quiet laugh.

Ugh.

Several peaceful days passed after Chloe had been dragged away by Countess Maleite.

Then…

She became obsessed with something new.

While I was making more word cards for Hayden, Chloe suddenly spoke.

“Your Grace, I’ll go check the household ledgers.”

“The ledgers?”

Now what ridiculous idea was this?

“Yes.”

“I’m Your Grace’s maid.”

“It’s only natural for a maid to inspect the household finances.”

“Someone has to look after the Duke’s household.”

“…Wouldn’t it be better if you focused on painting instead?”

Chloe firmly shook her head.

That was an area even I had never touched.

From the beginning, I’d decided not to perform the full duties expected of a duchess.

Besides…

The family’s financial records could contain confidential matters.

And Chloe wanted to inspect them?

If Bogus heard this, he’d probably faint on the spot.

“Chloe.”

“Even I haven’t touched that area yet.”

“Why not?”

“You’re the Duchess.”

“If Cheres needed my help, he would’ve asked me first.”

“And that’s exactly why someone has to!”

“Since you don’t care, I’ll check them instead!”

Chloe folded her arms with a pout.

Seriously…

Where did all that confidence come from?

“I’ll discuss this directly with Cheres!”

She jumped to her feet and rushed out before I could stop her.

I clicked my tongue.

Well…

This, too, was simply another case of people suffering the consequences of their own actions.

I dipped Chloe’s abandoned paintbrush into a jar of water and continued finishing the remaining cards.

This time, they weren’t animal cards.

They were plant cards.

Never again.

I’m never creating another embarrassing memory like that.

No more pretending to be monkeys.

Cheres rubbed his forehead.

Between Chloe’s constant complaints and her increasingly unreasonable demands, he was developing a headache.

But the household ledgers…

That was an entirely different matter from pink ribbons.

“No, Chloe.”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Cheres, I’m worried about House Beredan!”

“What if the Duchess is secretly embezzling money?”

Chloe clenched her fists dramatically.

“Even so…”

“This isn’t your concern.”

Cheres didn’t even look up from the documents on his desk.

Bogus let out a long sigh.

His ears were starting to hurt.

Rolling tissues into little plugs and stuffing them into his ears, he ground his teeth.

He’d merely wanted to test the daughter of House Hezest.

Instead…

They were the ones paying the price.

It seemed he’d invited a disaster into the ducal estate.

Chloe, in particular, was extremely harmful to one’s mental health.

After Cheres rejected her so firmly, Chloe puffed out her cheeks and stormed out of the office.

She couldn’t give up.

Surely she was the only one truly worrying about the future of House Beredan.

As a daughter of House Maleite…

And a family that had faithfully served the ducal house for generations…

She couldn’t simply ignore this issue.

Around lunchtime…

Everyone had left their posts.

Quietly, Chloe slipped into the office.

She pulled out one of the ledgers.

Her eyes sparkled.

“I knew it!”

The first thing she checked was the budget allocated to the Duchess.

“What is this?”

“The Duchess gets this much money?”

“That’s absurd!”

“And yet she dresses like that?”

Chloe trembled with indignation.

Just as she’d suspected…

Money was disappearing somewhere.

She carefully examined the other records.

Everything was neatly organized.

Every expense had been clearly documented.

Even the acceptable margins of error had been noted.

In that case…

The only thing left to investigate was Roana’s personal allowance.

With an indignant snort, Chloe waited for Cheres.

The moment he returned…

She thrust the ledger in front of his face.

Standing at the doorway, Cheres frowned the instant he saw it.

“…What exactly are you doing?”

“Look!”

“The Duchess has been allocated this much money!”

“It’s not just a little!”

“So?”

“And look at how she dresses!”

“She’s obviously siphoning the money away!”

“Isn’t she secretly sending it all back to House Hezest?”

Chloe declared triumphantly, silently congratulating herself for uncovering the truth.

Cheres snatched the ledger from her hands.

“…Who gave you permission to do this?”

His voice turned ice-cold.

Entering the office without permission was already bad enough.

Reading confidential financial records without authorization was a serious abuse of authority.

Cheres swallowed the curse that nearly escaped him.

He wanted to throw Chloe out immediately.

But…

He was the one who had permitted her to become a maid.

And the image of Countess Maleite lingered in the back of his mind, making him hesitate.

Through clenched teeth, he spoke.

“Leave.”

“Cheres!”

“I only did this for your sake!”

“Someone has to make sure the Duchess isn’t wasting money!”

“I’ll handle it.”

“This has nothing to do with you.”

“Do you still not understand that?”

Chloe puffed out her cheeks again.

Finally…

Cheres lost his patience.

“Listen carefully, Chloe.”

“If you want to interfere with the finances of House Beredan…”

“Fine.”

“Then I’ll involve myself in the affairs of House Maleite as well.”

The color immediately drained from Chloe’s face.

“…Huh?”

“I’ll personally receive reports on every single coin that enters and leaves your household.”

“What you’re doing is an abuse of authority.”

“What I’d be doing isn’t.”

The moment Chloe looked into Cheres’ eyes…

She realized he meant every word.

She instinctively took a step backward.

It was almost as if she could already hear Countess Maleite’s thunderous voice roaring in her ears.

“I-I…”

“I was only thinking about the Duke’s household…”

“Get out.”

Cheres threw her out without another word.

After she left, he let out a long, exhausted sigh.

Running a hand through his hair, his fatigue showed plainly.

He needed to find a legitimate way to remove Chloe from the estate…

Without damaging his relationship with Countess Maleite.

Allowing Chloe into the ducal household…

Had been the biggest mistake he’d made.