ASDEF 29

Chapter 29

At some point, Daniel’s gaze had turned toward me.

“I heard you’ve been put in charge of the household accounts. Are you planning to follow the butler’s advice and use my mother’s ledgers as a reference?”

Ah, so he heard about that strategy too…….

Since I hadn’t yet come up with a proper solution for the accounts, I gave a vague answer.

“For now……”

But apparently, the word “for now” didn’t sit well with him—his eyebrow twitched.

“For now? The report that goes up to the head of the household must be absolutely flawless. You may find it unpleasant, but my father will finalize his evaluation of you based on this.”

Right…… I know that too. Robert Benson, the Duke of Benson, is a man who never reverses a decision once it’s made.

That applied to people as well.

Because of that disposition, in the original story, Daniel’s wife eventually developed panic disorder from constant harassment, and Brianna’s life was endangered by the Duke’s relentless assassination attempts.

That’s why I’ve been so careful in front of the Duke as well.

‘If I’d known I’d be stuck with such a difficult task, I wouldn’t have entered the Benson household in the first place.’

If it weren’t for the enormous sum of money that was too big to refuse, I truly wouldn’t have taken on such a hopeless task.

Just as I was clutching my throbbing head, Daniel broke his brief silence and quietly spoke.

“If you’re thinking of simply copying my mother’s ledgers, don’t. Things are distinctly different now from back then. The number of servants, the kitchen……”

As if contemplating something, Daniel rested his chin on his hand for a moment, then removed it.

Knock, knock.

At that moment, a sound of knocking came from outside the door.

“Young Master, the carriage is ready.”

At Wally’s words, Daniel immediately rose.

I looked at him with wide eyes and asked.

“Where are you going?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it, by any chance, the palace……?”

“……”

When you ask someone where they’re going and they answer like that, what are you supposed to say next!

While I was pursing my lips, Daniel looked at himself in the mirror and fastened the last button of his vest.

Finding my reflection in the mirror amusing, he slowly raised the corners of his mouth.

“Shall I help you?”

“Pardon?”

“With the household accounts. It’s probably no ordinary task. Besides, you don’t know the situation here well either.”

Daniel continued in a nonchalant tone.

“I’ve never been in charge of accounts myself, but at least two people are better than one.”

Help me……?

What is this, a hot-and-cold policy?

Suspicious of Daniel’s true intentions, I muttered to myself.

“When exactly are you going to help me? You’re that busy……”

He’s all talk; he won’t actually help. Then he’ll draw a clear line, saying I couldn’t even manage this much.

Leaving my grumbling behind, Daniel, having finished his preparations, walked toward the door.

Then he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Oh, and I won’t be late today.”

“Excuse me……? Ah, yes…….”

Before my bewilderment could fade, Daniel added one more remark.

“So stop with the scolding. I can hear everything.”

He tapped his own ear and headed outside.

I stared at his retreating back in puzzlement for a while, then snapped my mouth shut.

I ended up just staring at the garden, then suddenly, with an odd feeling, turned my gaze toward the carriage.

By now, Daniel had reached the carriage, and his eyes were directed toward me.

‘Ugh, you scared me……!’

He wore an inscrutable expression, then averted his gaze and boarded the carriage.

Watching the carriage grow distant, I nodded, guessing where Daniel was headed.

‘In the original story, Daniel goes straight to the palace after battle exactly three times. To demand compensation for the Royal Order. After hearing the news that Brianna and the prince are getting married. And…… when plotting rebellion. So the next development is…… the beginning of conflict.’

Guessing what would unfold at the palace, I turned my gaze away.

I saw the household ledgers, neatly placed on the table, fluttering in the wind.

It felt like a sign telling me to solve this first, and I felt a bitter taste in my mouth.

“Fine. Let them suspect each other or start a rebellion—it’s none of my business. Let’s solve my own problem first!”

I rolled up my sleeves to my forearms and headed toward the table.

—

* * *

An afternoon when even the clouds seemed to drift slowly.

I was only able to rest after the etiquette teacher—introduced by Mrs. Jones—had left.

But that rest didn’t last long.

“Young Lady, here is the dinner menu.”

While Lucy had gone to see the etiquette teacher out, Isabel came holding a paper with the dinner menu written on it.

My head was throbbing quite a bit from the intense education, but I barely managed to open my eyes and take the menu.

“They say tonight’s dinner will be beef and a tart filled with berries. They mentioned it will be fresh since it’s made with ingredients purchased today.”

Isabel faithfully relayed the chef’s explanation.

Nodding along, I suddenly paused.

‘That’s strange. I’m certain they bought a large quantity of beef not long ago…….’

There’s no way they could have eaten all that meat already, so why buy more?

Curious, I asked.

“By any chance, are leftover ingredients from meals reused later?”

“No. I believe the chef does not reuse ingredients once they’ve been used.”

Ingredients once used are never used again.

Suddenly, I felt a familiar sense of déjà vu. My direct senior at the restaurant in Korea, the head chef, used to do the same.

On the surface, it seemed very professional, but I knew well how wasteful that was.

Because I was always the one cleaning up the leftover ingredients afterwards.

‘Come to think of it, all the ingredients used in recent meals were highly perishable. Spinach, sweet rosewater, and so on. And since they’re not reused, the leftovers must be sitting in the storage room…….’

This world doesn’t have proper refrigerators or freezers.

Stored for days in a damp underground cellar, ingredients are bound to spoil.

I was the one who, after being possessed into this novel, handled everything from purchasing ingredients to prepping them.

With my keen eye, I could tell that all the ingredients used by the head chef here were expensive. And he was buying them in bulk without any other plan.

If I could save those expensive ingredients from being wasted, wouldn’t I be able to reduce this month’s expenditures?

And in the unlikely event that the head chef was embezzling expensive ingredients for personal gain, I could expose the corruption and earn recognition for it.

Speaking of which, what Daniel said before heading to the palace also bothered me.

—

‘If you’re thinking of simply copying my mother’s ledgers, don’t. Things are distinctly different now from back then. The number of servants, the kitchen……’

—

The number of servants was one thing, but the kitchen was a different matter. It’s a place that makes it easier to escape the Duke’s surveillance.

The head chef I saw last time was quite shrewd—quick enough to catch the Duke’s mood at a glance.

A man like that would have no trouble deceiving everyone’s eyes.

My eyes sparkling, I asked Isabel.

“Isabel, where is the pantry?”

“The storage room? Might I ask why……?”

“Ah, I just need to check something.”

At my blunt response, Isabel wore a troubled expression.

“I can guide you there, but…… I’m worried that something unpleasant might happen.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Looking at my curious eyes, Isabel spoke in a low voice.

“After the late Madam passed away, Lady Alisa completely lost her appetite. After searching and testing every cook in Burstun, the current head chef was chosen. I heard that Lady Alisa regained her health through the head chef’s cooking.”

“So there was a story like that…….”

Having lost her mother at a young age when she most needed her mother’s care, the shock must have been great.

I nodded and waited for her to continue.

“Since then, no one—including his lordship—interferes with the storage room managed by the head chef.”

“No one interferes with the storage room?”

“Because Lady Alisa said she wouldn’t eat anything that wasn’t the head chef’s cooking, his lordship entrusted the matter entirely to her.”

“Hmm, I see……. So in the end, the kitchen is currently under the young lady’s authority.”

“Yes, but Lady Alisa only manages the daily menus; she leaves everything else concerning the kitchen entirely to the head chef.”

I nodded.

Isabel’s words essentially meant that if I mishandled the head chef, I could end up entangled with Alisa and the Duke of Benson as well.