Chapter 28

Chapter 28

When Chloe opened her mouth, the kitchen maids, startled, turned back to look at her. Could there be more news? They silently hoped it wasn’t bad as they held their breath.

But what came out of Chloe’s mouth completely defied everyone’s expectations.

“I’ve prepared a small gift for you kitchen maids who always work so hard for the mansion. I’ll be giving everyone a bonus, so please use it well.”

Even after purchasing all the ingredients with the advance payment from Buckley, there was a bit of money left. Chloe decided to use that leftover money to give bonuses to the kitchen maids.

The maids widened their eyes in surprise. Even Ashley, and Jaqueline—who were usually calm—were no exception.

“M-Madam…”

The first to speak among the shocked maids was Jaqueline.

Chloe still remembered Jaqueline. When she had previously visited the kitchen, Jaqueline had been the only one who didn’t greet her while everyone else had.

“Thank you so much for always thinking of us kitchen maids. I…”

And Chloe also remembered the wrongs her former self had committed against Jaqueline.

So she didn’t mind that Jaqueline hadn’t greeted her or acted respectfully. Had their roles been reversed, Chloe would have found it hard to let go of her resentment, too.

As if making up for not greeting her in the past, Jaqueline bowed deeply.

“I am a mere servant of little worth, but I will continue to work hard in the hope that I might be of help to you one day. Thank you so much!”

“Thank you, Madam!”

Following Jaqueline, the rest of the kitchen maids bowed deeply. Chloe felt her eyes begin to sting.

Was this what it felt like to be trusted? It was a feeling she had never experienced in her previous life. Regardless of things like budgetary authority, this moment was deeply moving and made Chloe truly happy.

Chloe gave them a warm smile. To other servants, she might still be a laughingstock, but to the kitchen maids, at least, she was their best mistress. And so, with kindness, she said:

“Please keep working hard for Battenberg.”

“Yes, Madam!”

Meanwhile, the kitchen maids and Buckley weren’t the only ones happy about this event. Kiel was also overjoyed.

“To think you managed both the material supplies and gave bonuses to the kitchen staff with this budget… Madam, you are truly a wise mistress!”

Chloe blushed at Kiel’s praise. She still wasn’t used to compliments.

“You flatter me, Kiel.”

“No, not at all! Any praise I give you isn’t enough. I never imagined you would handle the budget so effectively!”

Kiel looked at the shy Chloe with admiration and pride, then said:

“That being said, I have nothing more to ask of you. Please forgive me for not recognizing such an outstanding mistress sooner.”

“Oh, no. Kiel, I’ve always been grateful for all the help you’ve given me.”

“Haha, I’m flattered. In any case, I would be truly happy if you could continue managing the duchy’s finances. I would feel completely at ease if you took charge.”

Chloe felt as though a bell had rung in her mind.

Budgetary authority! How hard she had worked to gain it. Though it wasn’t complete yet, it was enough to give her some real authority. It was a step toward becoming the kind of duchess she had always wanted to be, one who wasn’t ridiculed or mocked by others.

Later on, thanks to Chloe’s marketing strategy, Buckley’s cheese began to sell like hotcakes.

The golden coin-in-the-cheese promotion became a hot topic across the empire. Even though he was a wealthy commoner, no one had expected someone like Buckley to come up with such a fresh, bold, and daring marketing strategy. As a result, sales at Buckley’s grocery store also soared. Delighted, Buckley sent Chloe a long thank-you letter, a generous gift, and the promised share of the additional profits.

Thanks to this, Chloe’s private funds grew substantially. She now had resources she could manage without relying on her husband.

With the success of this idea, Buckley’s store began inserting gold coins into cheese once a year during the Feast of Saint Sophia. Every year, the store would be packed with customers on that day, and they never had any leftover stock.

Although the incident had ended well, Chloe still remembered that it had been the result of someone’s malicious manipulation.

‘The fact that the Battenberg seal was on it means it was an inside job. And there aren’t many people who could have tampered with the order I sent to Buckley.’

To her knowledge, there were only two people who had touched her order list: Josephine, who had written it down, and the courier who had delivered the letter.

Among the two, it couldn’t have been the courier acting alone. He wasn’t a Battenberg insider and had no clear motive.

Josephine, on the other hand, had a very clear motive. Chloe remembered that she had been the second most cruel person to her former self, after Lady Coleen.

‘Even if she apologized to me, there’s still a good chance she harbors resentment. She probably didn’t want me to gain more influence.’

Chloe secretly called the courier for questioning. But, having been bribed by Lady Coleen, he insisted he had only delivered the letter on Josephine’s request.

‘I’d decided to give those who apologized to me a chance… but this is enough. If she still does such things after being given a chance, there’s no excuse.’

Convinced that Josephine had tampered with the order, Chloe ordered her to be brought in for interrogation. Josephine denied the charges, but Chloe didn’t believe her.

“You agreed to follow my word, regardless of what authority I currently hold, didn’t you, Josephine?”

Chloe said to Josephine, who hung her head.

“Then this is my final order to you. You’re dismissed, Josephine. I hope I never see your face again.”

“M-Madam…!”

“Considering the things you’ve done to me, this is actually a merciful punishment. No need to argue—just pack your things and leave the mansion.”

The kind, gentle Chloe who was always warm to her subordinates was nowhere to be seen. She was cold and stern.

Josephine felt it was unfair, but she couldn’t argue. Even if she excluded the matter of the forged order, she had committed many wrongs. She could tell from Chloe’s eyes that she would never be forgiven.

In the end, Josephine had to pack her things and return to Baron Randel’s estate that very day.

Chloe didn’t want to tell Alphonse or Kiel about this disgraceful matter. But it was impossible for the dismissal of the lady of the house’s personal maid to escape the butler’s notice.

Though it happened a bit later, Kiel eventually heard through other servants that Josephine had been dismissed for forging the order list and relayed the information to Alphonse. 

Alphonse couldn’t let it go. For the daughter of a baron to try and tarnish the duchess’s honor—this was both an affront and an insult to the ducal house.

Alphonse applied subtle yet undeniable political and economic pressure on the Randel family. A baron who had fallen from the grace of House Battenberg had no chance of surviving. It didn’t take long before the Randel family fell into decline, selling off their lands and titles, becoming nobles in name only.