Eliminating the Corrupt

"My master would like to do business with you." Elliott stepped forward, acting as Kalina's mouthpiece as she had told him to do beforehand in order to not expose her identity.

"Oh? What kind of business are you talking about?" The administrative officer leaned forward, taking a swig from a bottle of beer.

Elliott glanced at Kalina, who gave him a small nod. It was the cue for him to continue saying his lines.

"Reaping benefits of others' work."

All the men in the room burst into laughter at his words. The sound of their loud and drunken cackles made Kalina want to cover her ears. The leader grinned a little and waited until his men quieted down.

"That's good, that's good. Really good. So you brought, what, two hundred gold?" He turned his attention back to Kalina. "Which noble family are you from? Two hundred gold isn't a small amount."

Elliott was about to step forward and say something when Kalina raised her hand, telling him to step back.

"I don't believe that information is necessary for our cooperation."

"Ha! As expected, you even talk like a noble. Well, that's no problem for me. Let me get your contract papers."

The man rummaged through a crate in the corner. He pulled out a stack of papers and organized them for a while. He held them out to Kalina, who had Elliott go get it and give it to her.

'Name, occupation, age...it's like a job application.' Kalina read over the first page. She then flipped the paper and read the back. 'This is more like it. Let's see...percentage of the income...'

Seeing her family's money being listed as "income," Kalina suddenly felt the desire to set the whole place on fire. No, that still wouldn't be enough to satisfy her.

"Are the conditions okay?" A voice broke through her murderous thoughts. It was the official, who was waiting for her comment.

"Yes, it's fine. May I have a copy for safekeeping?"

"Yes, yes, go ahead. Take it. On that note, can I ask why you're doing this? You seem very rich. It's not that it's a problem, but I'm curious."

"Hm? What?" Kalina filled out the form on the table. "It's a bit complicated. But personal revenge would be a good answer."

"Revenge? That's new."

Kalina didn't answer and kept writing on the document. Her pen paused at a line of words and she turned to Olivia.

"I'm a bit thirsty."

"Oh! Should I go ask for some refreshments then, miss?"

"Please."

Olivia went out of the room in a hurry and Kalina refocused her attention on the papers. She wasn't really working slowly, she was purposefully taking her time.

'Ah, it's so stuffy wearing this hood in such hot weather. Let's hurry up and get out of this filthy place so I can take a bath and talk to Mother.'

"What made you decide to start this?" Kalina pretended to shuffle the papers on her lap.

"The Duke approached me a couple years ago and offered to work together. Of course I agreed–I mean, who wouldn't? Anyways, the deal was that I would take the money and he'd cover my tracks."

"The Duke helped you? Really? Isn't he the lord of this land?"

"Yeah, yeah. But he said his wife doesn't let him manage the money and that his daughter discriminates against him. Something like that."

'It was him who refused to work, and it was him that ignored me in the first place.'

"Hey, are you done with those papers yet?" The official put his feet up on the table and yawned.

"Yes. Here you are."

Elliott took the papers from Kalina and handed them to the man. He leaned back and held the documents in front of his face.

"Alright...yes, yes, I agree...now, let's check your identity, princess," he said before turning the page to look at the form where Kalina had written her name. It was blank.

"Huh? What's your name?"

"Kalina Rosalind Ephraim."

"Oh, so you're from the Ephraim family...wait, Ephraim?"

His face turned dark as if he didn't want to believe it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the hooded figure begin to move.

Kalina reached up and slowly pulled her hood down. The room was dim, yet her appearance was dazzling. Everyone in the room turned to look, but none of them seemed to guess what situation they were in yet.

She continued to take off her cloak, and her dress was revealed. Everyone's attention was brought to the gold brooch on her chest, which stood out from her outfit that consisted of cool tones.

"That's...! The Ephraim family crest!" Someone shouted.

The leader of the group suddenly stood up with a bang, his chair falling to the ground. He stared at Kalina with a violent look in his eyes while he ground his teeth noisily.

"You tricked me! You little brat!" He lunged towards her and tried to grab her arm, but Kalina remained calm and stared at the floor.

Cool steel met warm flesh and a scarlet cut appeared on the man's neck. Elliott's sharp blade was pointed right at the side of his neck. He stood in front of Kalina, obscuring their view of her. No one could see her sneering.

Kalina sighed as if she felt sad that that he got hurt.

"You should know better than to attack a noblewoman in her territory."

"W, Who's territory?" he stuttered, staring down at the sword that was prepared to slice off his neck at any given moment.

Before Kalina could reply, a knock sounded on the door and a shadow appeared. It was Olivia.

"Miss, I've brought the refreshments."

"Olivia," Kalina turned to her maid and smiled softly. "You're just in time."

Olivia glanced around the dark room. All the men had gotten up from their seats and were frozen in place, staring at Elliott's sword that was pressed against their boss's neck.

She quickly moved aside and a group of dark, looming figures appeared in her place. They were the guards ordered to protect the port.

"You're under arrest."

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It turns out, when Olivia was ordered to get refreshments, it was a secret code to tell her to notify the guards. Kalina had instructed her beforehand when they were in the carriage.

Kalina used the contracts and the guards' testimonies of what they had heard before entering as evidence. She made sure not to connect herself to the case in any way and told the guards to say that they had overheard the men talking and arrested them.

The circle of embezzlers received multiple years in prison for deceiving a noble, embezzling money, and for the leader, attempting to harm a noble as well.

Of course, they tried to ask the Duke for help, but he ignored them, saying it was their fault that they weren't careful enough. They didn't dare bring up his name in court, fearing that that the Duke would harm their families for it.

The Duchess was ecstatic that the embezzlers had been caught and rewarded the guards heavily, even allowing some of the more skilled ones to be promoted to a low rank knight position.

Kalina replaced the administrative positions at the port with skilled workers of her own. The father of one of her friends, a hardworking baron who only owned an estate and did not govern any land, was appointed as the head administrative officer.

Other places were also found to have corrupt leaders and workers from further investigation. They were all fired and ordered to change their ways, or else they would be banished from the dukedom.

Thus, Kalina received the gratitude of more people that vowed to protect her, and her reputation within the duchy soared. Just like that, a few months passed and the dukedom was flourishing more than ever. Soon, Kalina's fourteenth birthday arrived.