Chapter 6
* * *
“Welcome back.”
Upon entering the house while receiving the butler’s greeting, Seirena looked around at the chaotic atmosphere.
The servants were moving furniture and paintings, and the maids were stripping curtains and sheets to take them for washing.
“What’s this?”
Seirena asked sharply.
What is this mess?
The butler was flustered by her attitude demanding an explanation.
Seirena had little interest in household affairs.
She preferred going out to watch plays with friends over greeting guests at home.
“Lord Hunter will be arriving soon.”
“And?”
A frown creased Seirena’s brow.
The butler cleared his throat awkwardly at her sharp demeanor before explaining.
“We’re preparing the guest rooms.”
It meant they were readying rooms for Lord Hunter and his daughter to use.
Realizing the implication, Seirena’s expression turned fierce.
“Did I give permission for those two to stay in this house?”
“Pardon?”
The butler widened his eyes in surprise.
Seirena raised her hand, halting the servant’s movements. At her imperious gesture, all the servants froze in place.
Raising a hand to command servants was something only elderly nobles did. Or those of very high nobility, like kings or queens.
It wasn’t behavior befitting a twenty-year-old count’s daughter.
“I clearly stated this morning that I am the head of this house now. Goodwin.”
She barely remembered his name this time. Many names had been forgotten during her time in isolation.
At Seirena’s expression and words, the butler involuntarily bowed his head.
“Yet you’re inviting guests into a house in mourning without my permission?”
This time, her words were even curt.
But surprisingly, the butler didn’t find it displeasing. He’d always thought of her as an immature young lady, so this side of her was astonishing.
“I’m sorry, miss.”
“This is the second time, Goodwin. Don’t disappoint me a third time.”
With only those words, Seirena headed up to the second floor.
Watching her ascending figure, the butler addressed the others.
“Leave the furniture as is. The sheets and curtains too.”
“Then where will the guests stay?”
A servant asked.
The butler glanced at the second floor once more and said.
“There’s the house Lord Hunter always uses when he visits. Go and have that one cleaned.”
The servants exchanged glances. That place was used in summer and had drafts.
But Seirena’s words weren’t wrong. Inviting guests during mourning was improper.
And her statement also meant she intended to treat Lord Hunter and his daughter not as family, but as guests.
From Seirena’s attitude, the servants understood how they should treat Lord Hunter and his family. As guests.
“You called for me, miss.”
After dinner, the butler entered the study upon Seirena’s summons.
In the study?
When Anna first told him the miss was calling from the study, Goodwin couldn’t believe it.
Seirena had never entered the study.
Except when Count Hunter summoned her to scold her.
“Yes. Come here.”
Seirena said without even looking at the butler.
It was only when he approached the desk that he realized why she’d been busy all afternoon.
Seirena was examining the Hunter County family’s ledgers.
Does that young woman know how to examine accounting books?
That doubt flashed through his mind.
“It seems we need to prepare the funeral as soon as possible. Even if the weather is cold, we can’t leave my parents’ bodies as they are.”
Is this really the miss speaking? The butler stood there dazed by her decisive words.
Unfazed by the butler’s reaction, Seirena continued.
“How much can we spend on the funeral?”
Only then did the butler snap out of it and approach her. He glanced briefly at the ledger she was looking at, pointed to a number, and said.
“This is the spare funds.”
It was less than expected. A frown creased Seirena’s brow.
Though she’d lived as a queen for eight years, precisely because of that, Seirena didn’t know how to read ledgers.
I’ll have to learn from someone. With that thought, she looked at the butler.
Can I trust him? The idea crossed her mind that in her previous life before returning, the butler might have been untrustworthy.
“How much more if we stretch it?”
“If we stretch it?”
A look of surprise appeared on the butler’s face.
He observed Seirena’s expression for a moment, then pointed to another number and said.
“This amount is what the master supported Lord Hunter with every month.”
This much?
To the surprised Seirena, the butler continued.
“Since it’s the master’s mourning this month, your uncle will understand if we skip the support for this month at least.”
“Understand?”
Seirena laughed as if it were absurd.
Her uncle and Adriana lived modestly in the countryside, just the two of them.
Yet they received the same amount monthly as what Seirena’s family of four used in the capital for a month.
“So two people in the countryside are using the equivalent of four people’s expenses in the capital? Reduce it to a quarter starting next month.”
“Pardon? But that’s an obligation…”
“Do I have to feed my own uncle?”
At Seirena’s cold words, the butler straightened his posture.
Nobles have a duty to care for their siblings. Very wealthy nobles might help not just siblings but distant relatives too, but the Hunter County family wasn’t that affluent.
He said cautiously.
“Lord Hunter will become your guardian, miss. If he finds out we’re cutting the funds right away, he won’t sit idly by.”
The butler was right.
Seirena nodded. If he learned the money wasn’t coming immediately, who knows how her uncle would react. But she’d already considered that.
“It’s fine. He’ll soon realize there’s no more money to receive anyway.”
He? The butler’s eyes widened at the impudent word to refer to her uncle.
After checking all the spare funds and savings, Seirena noted the amounts and said.
“I’ll use it all for the funeral and memorial service.”
“But miss, this is your marriage fund.”
It was money Count Hunter and his wife had saved for her since the day Seirena was born.
A considerable sum had accumulated. But in her life before returning, Seirena hadn’t been able to use it. Her uncle must have dipped into it.
Seirena recalled her own quiet wedding.
She had been the third queen, and her uncle had said the king wanted a quiet marriage.
Even as king, he was old enough to be her grandfather, and as queen, it was a concubine’s position. Conditions unlikely to bring happiness.
Moreover, the king was…
Seirena rubbed her brow, stopping the thought, and said.
“It’s my parent’s funeral. This is the only thing I can do for them.”
The butler nodded as if he understood.
Seirena continued.
“And I’ll be presiding over the memorial service. Understood?”
It meant that even if guests came for the memorial, it would be Seirena, not her uncle, who would greet them.
The butler quietly replied that he understood and withdrew.
After sending the butler out, Seirena buried herself in her father’s chair and closed her eyes.
Father truly loved his brother. The monthly amount sent to her uncle was proof of that.
And she now understood why her uncle had dipped into the treasury after making her queen. The Hunter County family wasn’t that wealthy. Her uncle seemed all the more reprehensible now.
But more than that…
“I didn’t know.”
She truly hadn’t known at all.
Seirena covered her face with both hands. She had assumed her father and mother would live long. They probably thought the same.
The urge to learn how to read ledgers grew stronger. But who could she trust?
Moana, I can trust her.
Seirena rested her elbows on the desk and thought. But does she know how to read ledgers? As worries piled up, fatigue set in, and Seirena rose from her seat.
It was time to sleep. She planned to wake early tomorrow morning for sword practice.
Her body naturally headed toward the bedroom. Then, suddenly, the thought occurred that she needed to talk to Ezra.
“Ezra.”
Seirena stood in front of Ezra’s door and lightly called her younger sibling. She waited a moment, but no sound came.
Is he asleep?
Suddenly, the last face of Ezra she’d seen flashed in Seirena’s mind.
Eyes filled with hatred.
That hatred was clearly directed at his sister. That memory stopped her from knocking on Ezra’s door again.
“Must be asleep.”
Seirena whispered to no one in particular. It couldn’t be that she wasn’t opening the door because she hated him. It was just late, so she’d gone to bed.
‘Tomorrow, we’ll talk tomorrow. ‘
* * *
Duke Ash Graywind’s knights reported for duty early.
It was partly because it was year-end, but also due to requests for him to oversee training for the promotion exams coming up next month.
December was always this busy.
Ash handed his horse to the attendant and entered the building.
As soon as he stepped into the knight’s main building, Dennis approached as if he’d been waiting.
“Don’t be shocked.”
What? Ash’s black eyes narrowed.
“I’ve already used up my quota of surprises for this month yesterday.”
At the joke that didn’t sound like a joke, Dennis blinked in confusion with a “What?” then chuckled and said.
“Lord Hunter’s attitude was surprising enough, huh?”
“Being that insolent in greeting your superior is plenty surprising.”
Insolent, sure. But to still be bothered by it now. Ash really does have a lot of interest in Lord Hunter.
What kind of interest, I wonder… Dennis muttered to himself as he followed Ash, then suddenly remembered and said.
“More surprising than that.”
“What is it?”
“It’d be better to see for yourself. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Then why bother coming out here?
Unfazed by Ash’s displeased expression, Dennis giggled and dragged him not to the office, but to the training grounds.
He was going to the training grounds anyway.
But even when Ash said he’d check in first, Dennis was insistent.
He absolutely had to go to the training grounds! Right now! Immediately!
“If it’s not fun, you’d better prepare to be the entertainment yourself.”
Even at Ash’s threat, Dennis remained unfazed. He stopped in front of the training grounds, grabbed the door handle, and grinned at Ash.
“This’ll fill your surprise quota not just for this month, but for next year too.”
What is it? Ash was about to retort sarcastically when he noticed something off about the atmosphere inside the training grounds.
The usual sounds of practice that should be filling the air this time of day were noticeably scarce.
When Dennis flung the door open, Ash’s suspicion was confirmed.
The knights who had come to train were more preoccupied with something else than training.
“What…”
The words “what’s going on” didn’t fully escape Ash’s lips before trailing off.
In one corner of the training grounds, a small woman was swinging a sword. Her blonde hair, tied in a single ponytail, swayed with every movement.
“Hunter?”
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