Chapter 40
The person sat on a chair in the kitchen, fiddling with some kind of paper. There was a faint rustling sound from the thin paper.
'What is this? Lola shouldn't be here at this hour.'
Lola would usually run to her room to sleep when it was break time.
Just as Edel began to feel uneasy, someone knocked on the side door of the kitchen. The woman sitting in the kitchen stood up to open the door.
"Good evening!"
The person outside was a middle-aged man with a rough voice. But the person in the kitchen did not return his greeting, and the man began putting something in the kitchen, as if it were a habit of his.
'The vegetable seller…?'
Edel guessed that the reason for this was that the sound of what he was putting down sounded like potato sacks.
After placing several bags on the kitchen floor, the man dusted off his hands and said, "You just need to sign here, don't you?"
"Why do you keep asking, as if you haven't done it a hundred times before?"
Idell was stunned by that angry voice.
'Mrs. Bohen?'
It appears that Marsha was buying vegetables from the vendor and signing a receipt.
“I always bring exactly what you ask for, and I always sign the receipt, but… are you sure everything is okay?”
"Has anything happened during the past three years that you've been making deliveries here?"
“Well, no, but lately I’ve been feeling a little uneasy.”
"Then get on! We can always find another vendor."
“No, no, that’s not all! Haha! Well, see you next time!”
The man lowered his head hastily and left as if he were running away.
When the side door to the kitchen closed, Marsha moved the paper again and muttered.
“Even if they gave me free money, they would still complain. These aristocrats don’t know how good what they have is. Where else could I handle such large sums of money…”
She made a serious statement before grabbing the papers and leaving the kitchen.
After she left, Idil remained still for a while, listening attentively before quietly descending the stairs.
The bags left by the vendor were still by the side door of the kitchen.
“I need to check on them.”
Edel opened each bag one by one.
It contained potatoes, onions, carrots, dried tomatoes, peas, garlic, ginger, and cinnamon.
“These are the usual items…”
But why did Marsha say something about taking the aristocrat's money?
Thinking deeply, Edel recalled the salesperson's hesitation when signing.
"It was probably a receipt, and there must have been something in it that made the seller worried."
However, Marsha had already taken the receipt, so Edel was unable to check it.
What should I do?
If she suppresses her curiosity, it will just be another ordinary, peaceful day.
Even knowing this, Marsha's behavior bothered her so much that Idell couldn't sit still.
She left the kitchen and checked the clock, then looked to see where Marsha had been.
Marsha was coming down from the second floor.
The second floor… could it be Linnea's room? Or the Count's office?
Marsha probably entered Linnea's room and then left. Or perhaps she went to place the receipt on Laszlo's desk.
Idil watched Marsha enter her room with Mina for tea. After making sure the other servants had also gone to rest, Idil quietly made her way upstairs.
'What will happen if I am caught entering the Count's office without permission?'
Marsha will likely seize the opportunity to accuse and defame her.
Edel was well aware of the risks.
However, her feet moved silently but quickly towards the Count's office.
Once she arrived at the office, Adele looked around the corridor to make sure no one was there before quietly opening the door and sliding inside.
“The scent of Count Crisis…”
His light fragrance filled the room.
Perhaps because she was doing something wrong, her heart started beating.
Edel quickly approached Laszlo's desk and examined it. The receipt for the vegetables had clearly been carelessly left on one side of the desk.
I took the receipt and checked it.
Receipt from Bofix store for purchased goods
– Choik Potatoes (Grade A) 20 kg: 225 Ringgit
Carrots (first grade) 10 kg: 105 Ringgit
– Copera Leeks (Grade 1) 20 kg: 372 Ringgit
Sun-dried tomatoes (first grade) 1 kg: 120 Ringgit
Peas (first grade) 1 kg: 50 Ringgit
Total: 2038 rings
The above amount was received in accordance with the regulations.
– Alan Bovex
Idil couldn't believe her eyes.
"Cheek potatoes? Those potatoes you saw earlier were just tasteless little storage potatoes!"
Chwick potatoes were known for being delicious and high-quality. But the potatoes she saw in the kitchen weren't Chwick at all.
Idil could tell that she had eaten Chewyke potatoes all her life.
Even the weight was wrong.
'20 kg? That's impossible! The ones I've seen before were no more than 10 kg at best.'
And it wasn't just potatoes.
It didn't make sense that those tiny carrots and garlic were classified as top quality. The wilted peas and the foul-smelling cinnamon were also suspicious.
As for the leeks, they were just small onions, but the receipt stated they were of the finest quality Copera leeks. Did they buy such small onions just to pass them off as leeks?
Just by looking at this receipt, Idell could tell what Marsha had been doing.
'Mrs. Bohen, she was stealing from above!'
Now it makes sense how she could buy a house on Durham Street in less than three years of working here.
If she were regularly transacting goods like these, saving up to buy a house wouldn't be so difficult.
'Perhaps it's not just the ingredients. It's possible she got everything in the palace that way.'
Suddenly, Idil remembered the carriage she had ridden in when she first arrived at the property.
At the time, Edel thought the carriage was too small and dilapidated for the noble family's standards. Could Marsha have manipulated the purchase of the carriage?
It was hard to believe that someone would be so bold, but Idel couldn't shake off her doubts.
After returning the receipt to its place, Edel quietly left Laszlo's office.
Just as she was about to leave the area –
"Idel Lancaster?"
Her back stiffened, and a cold sweat poured down her face.
Edel tried to look as indifferent as possible while frantically thinking of an excuse as she turned around.
“She called me, ma’am.”
It was Linnea who contacted her.
"what are you doing here?"
"Good…"
Her mind went blank.
Although Linnea's room was on the second floor, Idel did not expect to run into her.
'What should I say? She's already angry with me…'
Idyll's mouth became dry.
Previously, when the royal knights harassed her, Linnea had also been punished. She likely held a grudge, and now that she had been caught wandering suspiciously on the second floor, things were not looking good.
“I asked what you were doing.”
“I-I apologize. The truth is…”
"the truth?"
“I… was worried about you, ma’am.”
"What?"
Her heart was beating so hard that she felt it would be audible across the hallway, but Edel steeled herself and decided to continue with her lie.
“I know this is rude of me, but… I heard that the Count punished you for what happened last time, and I was worried about your performance.”
Linnea looked at her with wide eyes, seemingly surprised by the unexpected response.
“I understand that you had no choice but to contact me that day. It is impossible to know that the knights would behave disgracefully. But still, the punishment of being banned from going out for two weeks seems… a bit harsh.”
"So you're saying you came here to spy on me?"
"What could I possibly gain by spying on you, my lady? I was only..."
Edel nervously licked her dry lips, preparing to gamble.
“I was wondering if there was anything I could do for you.”
"Something you can do for me? Like be my own punching bag?"
“Even if you wanted to slap me or kick me, I wouldn’t mind.”
At that moment, Linnea let out an incredulous laugh.
“Do you think I’m like my brother, some ex-mercenary? I don’t hit people!”
Idell breathed a silent sigh of relief, although she doubted that Linnea had realized it.
After a moment of hesitation, surprisingly, Linnea spoke in a softer voice.
“Thanks to you, my brother reduced my punishment.”
"What?"
"It's clear you told him that. You must have a lot of nerves."
This time, it was Idil who was left speechless.
"Okay, thanks for that, anyway."
“I am glad… to hear that. It seems the Count understands that you were not mistaken either.”
“Hmph! He’s always bothering me… I mean, hmm! Anyway.”
Linnea was about to complain more, but she quickly regained her composure and cleared her throat.
Then she suddenly asked an unexpected question.
“By the way, do you know Mrs. Emerson, the wife of Viscount Emerson?”
"Mrs. Emerson? ...May I ask why you are asking about her?"
“I think she liked me. I’ve been invited to her party for the second time now. It’s in a month, and everyone says it’s one of the most fun parties ever, everyone wants an invitation.”
Linnea's tone carried a hint of pride.
However, Idil could not shake off the feeling of unease that was boiling inside her.