Chapter 48
Chapter 48: Servants' Gossip
Dinner proceeded in a relaxed atmosphere, perhaps due to the presence of the Duke's family. Though the meal was slightly inferior to those served at the capital's mansion, the taste was satisfactory and delicious.
"Leon, how is your room? Is there anything inconvenient?"
"It's fine. I'm a little disappointed that there's no bath, but overall, it's not a problem."
"A bath, huh... In that case, you can use the one in my room."
Huh? Are you suggesting I use the bath in Richard's room? I can't be so presumptuous!
"No, thank you. Roger kindly prepared some hot water for me earlier, so I've already cleaned up. I appreciate your consideration."
"Is that so? Well, if that's the case..."
"Yes, it's just for tonight, so there's no problem."
"In that case, good."
Phew, it seems like he understood my feelings. I can't relax if I have to take a bath in Richard's room. After that, Richard seemed to shift the conversation to financial matters with Morgan.
I'm feeling a bit tired. Is it okay for me to rest early? Richard's conversation seems like it'll go on for a while. I don't want to stay in the same space as Morgan for too long.
Thinking that, Catherine and Frederick returned to their rooms first, so I decided to follow suit.
"Since I'm tired from the journey, I'll head back to my room first."
"Ah, Leon, see you tomorrow."
"Yes. Richard, please have a good rest as well."
With those words, I left the dining room. Somehow, being in this mansion is unsettling and exhausting. Malice from others is truly frightening. It made me realize once again how good the people I've been with so far have been.
Back in my room, I changed into my nightwear.
Phew, maybe I should go to sleep now.
"Leon, would you like some tea?"
"Nah, I'm too tired today. I'll just go to sleep."
"Understood. Then, I'll take my leave as well."
"Yeah. Roger, thanks as always."
Roger, who faithfully serves a commoner like me, is truly an invaluable presence, and I thanked him unintentionally.
In response, Roger's face brightened slightly.
"Serving Leon is part of my job."
His words may sound curt, but well, that's just Roger, and I'm not bothered by it anymore. But truly, I appreciate how he serves me without showing any disdain.
After Roger left the room, I laid down on the bed, but the fact that there are nobles who look down on me just because I'm a commoner surprised me, and I couldn't sleep somehow.
Meeting them in person really hammers in the difference in social status.
While thinking about that, I heard voices from outside the room. Could it be the servants? It sounded like a young woman's voice, so it might be a new maid.
Curious about the conversation, I gathered magic in my ears to enhance my hearing. By using magic to enhance my ears, my hearing slightly improves. It's not very convenient, but it comes in handy at times like this.
Oh... I can hear them now.
"I was so nervous, thinking the Duke's family might find out."
"Me too. Well, I won't let my guard down until they leave."
"That's true. But selling the furniture from the guest rooms... I don't understand what Morgan-sama is thinking."
"Well... I heard from a servant who overheard Morgan-sama and the butler talking that he's using the money from selling the furniture for himself."
"What!?!"
"You're talking too loud!"
"S-sorry. But, is that true?"
"Yes, apparently the servant heard Morgan-sama's conversation with the butler. As for whether the butler is involved, I'm not sure."
"So, the butler is in on it too?"
"No, it seems the butler tried to stop him. We can't go against Morgan-sama, being commoners and all."
"That's true."
I could only hear up to that point as their voices faded away.
Wow, that's some shocking news...
I thought they were trying to bother me by not letting me use the room, but there's something going on behind the scenes.
So, Morgan is embezzling money from the town. Selling furniture... Does that mean he's also skimming off taxes?
How does he do it?
I'm not quite sure, but maybe he reports lower revenues and embezzles the difference. Whatever it is, it's a crime.
And it seems Morgan isn't an efficient magistrate at all. He's harmful, in fact.
I should report this to Richard.
To confirm if I can meet Richard, I decided to call for Roger. Usually, I would just ring the bell, but from this room, he might not hear it, so I had to knock on the wall that leads to Roger's room.
Knock, knock.
After a few seconds, Roger arrived at my room. He's fast!
"Leon, is there something you need?"
"There's something I want to tell Richard, can I meet with him right away?"
"Doing it now might be a bit rude, but would tomorrow be okay?"
"Okay, as soon as possible would be better."
"Understood. Let me check if you can meet with him. Please wait here, Leon."
"Got it."
Saying that, Roger left the room. If I can't meet him today, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to tell him. But sooner is better.
After a few minutes, Roger returned.
"Leon, you can meet with him. Whenever you're ready, I'll take you there."
"Okay. Let's go now."
"Understood."
With a little nervousness, I followed Roger to Richard's room.
Knock, knock.
"Leon-sama has arrived."
Upon hearing that, Roger opened the door, and Richard-sama was seated on the sofa, seemingly waiting for me.
"Richard-sama, I apologize for coming at such a late hour. Thank you for sparing your time."
"Oh, it's no problem at all. Don't worry about it. So, is there something that brought you here at this hour?"
"Yes, but I'm not sure if it's appropriate to discuss it with others."
Saying so, I glanced at the servants and guards in the room.
"I see... Everyone, please step back a bit," Richard-sama said, and they all withdrew, as if well aware of the protocol. I always find it impressive how capable the people working in a duke's household are.
"Now, what is it you wish to discuss?"
"Yes. It's about Mr. Morgan..."
I proceeded to share the rumors I heard earlier and my own deductions. I decided to remain silent about him looking down on commoners for now, as it might not be an issue for nobility.
After listening to everything I had to say, Richard-sama wore a troubled expression and fell into deep thought. After a while, he spoke up slowly.
"Leon, could you keep this matter to yourself for now? I need some time to come up with a plan. Once we have concrete evidence, we can have Morgan step down from his position as deputy and face trial in the capital."
It seems that concrete evidence of embezzlement is required to charge him with a crime, so we need to be cautious. Richard-sama plans to investigate what happened to the sold furniture first and then look into any other wrongdoing.
For now, I can trust Richard-sama to handle it properly.
"You've really saved me this time, Leon. I'm grateful. It's my responsibility for not seeing Morgan's true nature..."
Richard-sama seems to blame himself for not seeing through Morgan's façade.
But it's difficult to discern someone's true nature. People may start off sincere, but as they gain power, they can be swayed by greed.
"Indeed, there might be some responsibility on your part, Richard-sama. However, it's essential to have a system in place to prevent deputies from acting freely."
When I said that, Richard-sama seemed interested.
"Oh? What kind of system do you suggest?"
Uh-oh... Richard-sama seems intrigued.
What kind of system? I'm not an expert in this... I shouldn't have said anything so easily!
Um...
"Perhaps a system that distributes power? Divide the agricultural districts into several sections, appoint leaders for each, and have them submit the harvest yields. With submission locations in both the deputy's residence and the capital's duke's mansion, it would be difficult to manipulate the figures."
Is this okay? It was just a random idea that came to my mind...
Wait, hasn't something like this already been implemented?
"Well, there's definitely room for consideration. I'll discuss it with Christoph."
Oh, surprisingly good impression? I let out a sigh of relief quietly.
"Then, please leave Morgan's matter to me."
"Yes. I have no right to interfere. The rumors I overheard were simply too serious to ignore."
As I said this with a wry smile, Richard-sama also smiled slightly in response.
"I'm sorry for burdening you when you're tired from your journey. Please return to your room and rest."
"Yes. Excuse me."
After that, Richard-sama promptly called back the servants, and I returned to my room with Roger. Perhaps because I had talked to Richard-sama and felt a bit relieved, I was able to sleep soundly afterwards.