Chapter 158

They (that Old Hag and my bastard father) did not stay in the dukedom all the time, but came to the imperial capital from time to time. Their presence irritated the Empress, who was the Crown Princess at that time, in various ways.

Still, the main residence of the dukedom had long been the home of that Old Hag. Therefore, there may still be some servants who still share Old Hag’s worldviews, such as Nonna, the maid we fired a while back.

Big brother was raised by Old Hag in the main residence of the dukedom when he was very young. He was raised strictly and coldly.

After that, when he was probably around 6 or 7 years old, he was taken in by our Grandfather and lived mainly in the imperial capital.

And when grandfather died when my brother was 10 years old, he took advantage of the work he was forced to do and began to spend as much time as possible with Novak-san and his entourage away from Old Hag. My brother often sought / cooked up excuses to remain in the primary residence of the Dukedom. He was often invited to the imperial capital because he was the prince’s playmate.

I saw big brother passing in front of the mansion several times when I, the daughter Ekaterina, was in the villa where I was imprisoned, but that must have been when he was living in the primary ducal residence after he was ten years old.

“Kimberly.”

Alexei beckoned for the treasurer, and Halil bowed and stepped back.

In turn, Kimberly came in front of the siblings, carrying a bulky bag. It had two keyholes and looked as solid as a safe.

“Ekaterina.”

Alexei’s voice was gentle as usual, but Ekaterina couldn’t help but straighten up.

“I’m somewhat torn about whether I should tell you. What I am about to tell you is something you should not know if you are an ordinary daughter. But you are capable of ruling the Dukedom together with me. I have been shown that for a while. So will you listen to me?”

“It is big brother’s decision to talk about it. Whatever it is, I will listen.”

“Good girl, really. –Kimberly.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kimberly took out his keys and unlocked one of the locks on his bag.

Alexei took out another key, which Kimberly received and opened the remaining lock. It was a very, very elaborate scene.

(Editor’s note: You can search “This is how nuclear football actually works”. It is somewhat similar to that.)

From the opened bag, Kimberly pulled out a few papers.

“Miss. This is a list of embezzlement that were discovered after a close examination of the various accounts of the duke’s family.”

Darkness before departure.

Ekaterina’s eyes widened at the words Kimberly uttered so nonchalantly.

Embezzlement!

Not so gentle!

“Ekaterina, Kimberly, is the most knowledgeable person in regards to the Dukedom’s finances, having served as treasurer during Grandfather’s lifetime. However, when Grandfather died, he was abruptly fired.”

… I don’t need to even ask who fired him.

“There were many other personnel who were fired unreasonably, including Halil… Kimberly was the first and received the most inexplicable punishment. Nevertheless, Kimberly, Halil, and many others remained loyal to Yurinova. He stayed with me, and Novak brought them together to create an organization that was responsible for the actual management of the estate.”

Oh. It’s like the Shadow Cabinet. I remember that the British opposition parties formed a cabinet so that they could take over the government anytime they wanted.

(Editor’s note: the author here understands things a little differently, since the British / Westminster Shadow Cabinet isn’t meant to take over the government any time, but we’re just pointing out; for the sake of pointing out.)

But this ‘shadow cabinet’ existed to behave more like an actual cabinet. It was my brother and his handpicked close associates who were appointed to run the show.

“As soon as I succeeded to the dukedom, I put them back in their appropriate positions. There were many problems while everyone was away, especially financial problems, and once I had Kimberly to focus on that investigation. These documents are the result.”