* * *
“This is annoying. Why do I have to serve someone like Giselle?” The maid, May, spoke openly with sarcasm, as if talking to herself.
Until Count Florette arrived, Giselle had been in a worse position than May. She had been doing menial work alongside the lowly maids they had hired. The lowest existence in the entire mansion. A woman who couldn’t make a peep, no matter who looked down on her, was only able to repeat apologies.
I may be from fallen nobility, but I’m not stupid enough to keep using respectful language with someone so worthless. She couldn’t even bear to use the title ‘Milady’ for Giselle.
Giselle, who had been listening to her muttering, blinked her crystal-like purple eyes. “Are you talking to me, by any chance?”
May frowned and spoke in a low, threatening tone. “Yeah, you’re annoying, so just sit there quietly.”
“Hmm.”
“If you stay put and act meekly, I might at least treat you like a lady. Got it?”
Always crying and eating whatever scraps she could find, yet suddenly her face was all glossy and radiant as if she’d gotten some kind of status upgrade. Just looking at her makes me sick and annoyed.
Giselle stared at her intently, then smiled brightly. “I don’t want to. I’m busy, so I’m leaving. Follow me or don’t, do as you please!”
May expected Giselle to whine and mutter ‘Yeah, sorry,’ but today was a bit different from usual. Did someone like Giselle just dare to ignore me?
Giselle hummed a tune as she left, seemingly unaffected by May’s angry behavior. May, who had been assigned as her maid, had no choice but to follow her around.
But Giselle’s strange behavior didn’t end there. Upon arriving at the wine cellar, Giselle plopped down carelessly on the dirt floor and sniffed the earthy smell. It was shocking.
“Where the hell is the wine cellar keeper!”
“Mmm, whatever, I lo~ve wine!”
“Excuse me?”
“Ah, get lost! I’m going to smash everything!” Giselle clicked her tongue and shoved May aside, suddenly displaying the strength like superhuman. She opened the lid of an oak barrel and took out a glass from her bulging pouch. “Want a drink?”
“Giselle! Get a grip! What kind of no-noble lady—”
“Noble lady, my foot!”
Bang! Bang! With a loud noise, the oak barrel rolled across the floor.
“Let’s break it all!”
May looked around the wine cellar in shock. Even as the expensive aged wine was being destroyed, Giselle laughed gleefully, an odd sight.
“Aah, this is so mu~ch fun!”
They said she wasn’t in her right mind. She’s definitely gone mad! Watching Giselle laugh like that, May was convinced she had lost her mind. She stomped her foot and shouted. “Hey! Giselle! You, what are you doing?”
Madam told us to stop harassing Giselle now that Count Florette is back, but Giselle is still Giselle, right? Besides, she seemed half out of her mind.
At that moment, Giselle raised her hand and cheerfully slapped May across the cheek.
“Did you just call me ‘hey’?”
“H-How dare you! S-Slapped…”
Slap! May got slapped again.
“I don’t care! Get lost. Giselle’s going to drink more!”
Stunned, May recalled the saying that it’s best to stay away from mad people and quickly backed away. She’s completely lost it. I must inform Count Florette and Madam Mariposa immediately! They need to lock her up somewhere! As the door slammed shut, May hurriedly exited the cellar.
Inside the now dimly lit wine cellar, Giselle’s violet eyes gleamed mischievously. She pressed her hand against the wine-soaked floor and grinned. Yeah, when the floor gets wet, the gaps really show.
The floor of the Florette family’s underground wine cellar was made of topper soil. The topper soil usually stayed dry, but when wine was poured on it, it would sink about 20 cm in places. And in the gaps where the topper soil sinks, there’s a ledger. A ledger protected by magic so it’s not damaged by water or soil. Giselle lifted the accounting ledger and laughed ominously.
Just then, someone entered the storage room, shouting loudly. “W-Who are you? Eek… I-I said who are you and w-why are you holding that paper?:
“Me? Hmm, let’s just say I’m your savior.” Giselle greeted the man with the same eerie smile.
In the neglected corner of the mansion’s wine cellar, where no one ever bothered to check, he spent his days lounging around with wine. That crooked-nosed man was never once criticized for neglecting his duties. He was originally the accountant of this mansion…
“Nice to meet you, the inventor of ‘double-entry bookkeeping,’ accounting genius, Sir Kima.”
Only Giselle, who had read [Will You Regret It When I Die?], knew that before he was demoted, he had secretly buried the double-entry bookkeeping ledger he had created.
The bottle slipped from Kima’s hand, hitting the ground with a clatter. In his shock, even his hiccups stopped as he racked his brain.
What on earth is going on here? He had just been lazing around, drinking wine as usual. But what is this? Suddenly, someone recognized my accounting skills?
Madam Mariposa had always scolded him. ‘What’s double-entry bookkeeping? What’s with the Arabic numerals?’ she would say, questioning why anyone would use such numbers in a ledger. Even when I explained that it allowed for accurate records of expenses and income, down to the last digit, it was no use. In her fury, Mariposa had demoted him and hired one of her relatives in his place.
Just before being kicked out, he had cleverly ‘lost’ the ledger, secretly burying it in the wine cellar. Sadly, his brilliant invention had been buried and forgotten.
“I’ve found your double-entry bookkeeping ledger. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
“T-That! I’m sorry!” Stealing and hiding the family’s ledger was indeed a crime worthy of the death penalty. That’s why his body trembled like a leaf in terror.
“Should I let it slide?”
“Y-You would? Milady!”
“Yes. I’ll make you two offers. Hand over the artifact money box.”
Artifact money box? He recalled the artifact he had ordered from the dwarves when he was in charge of the family’s accounts. It was a palm-sized, rectangular artifact that could hold over 100 billion, small enough to fit a dress pocket.
“H-How did you know about that?” He had planned to use it for the Florette family if he ever returned to his accounting position…
“Hand over that artifact, and I’ll make sure this ledger sees the light of day.” Giselle handed him a light piece of paper instead of the ledger.
[Artifact Provision and Side Job Slave Contract]
S-Slave?!
“Just hand over the artifact and occasionally advise me on managing my money. Geniuses like you are rare in this world.” It was just a passing comment.
Was it because he’d been stuck in the wine cellar for over five years, drinking himself into oblivion?
“Ha, double-entry bookkeeping? What good is that?”
“Do you think you’ll get paid more for doing useless things?”
“You’re really foolish.”
Everyone had called him stupid. But hearing someone acknowledge him made his eyes well up. That’s why he accepted the contract that clearly said ‘slave’.
[Article 1, Clause 1. Party B, ‘Kima,’ shall manage the money of Party A, ‘Giselle,’ free of charge…]
[Article 1, Clause 2. Party A, ‘Giselle,’ shall strive to reinstate Party B, ‘Kima,’ to his position…]
It was indeed a slave contract. But the writing was as elegant as her speech, almost as if she’d cast magic on the words!
To think I can feel the elegance in a contract! Who is this person?
He read through the contract and, as if entranced, pressed his seal on it. Before he knew it, the floor was a mess of wine, and the ledger he had hidden was now in her hands.
“I’m really pleased. Managing my assets is going to be easy. Ah~ something very good is happening. This must be the true female lead’s buff.” She muttered to herself, swiftly taking the small box from her own pocket with a sly smile.
“B-But what is this all about? How did Milady know the ledger was hidden here, and what do you mean by helping me get reinstated as an accountant?”
She didn’t answer his questions.
The door to the chaotic wine storage room swung open, and in came Count Florette with a puzzled look, Mariposa looking triumphant, and the maid, May, with flushed cheeks.
“Giselle Florette! What on earth are you doing? Causing a commotion even within the family mansion!”
