Chapter 25
Lia let out a sigh as she looked at the pile of documents on her desk.
After taking over the internal affairs, Lia was given an office of her own.
Although it was simply called internal affairs, there was a lot of work, and the space in her room was not suitable for handling it. She did not want to look at documents in a place meant for resting.
The documents stacked on the desk were about the maids inside the Imperial Palace—how many there were, who they were, what work they did, and so on.
There was nothing that needed to be handled immediately. She had only just received these duties, so there were many things to check.
In addition, reports about the maids came in every day, and checking those reports made time pass like flowing water.
Naturally, Lia became so busy with work that she could not properly meet Kartian. Seeing Lia always looking busy, Kartian showed a gloomy expression, but he did not disturb her while she worked.
That was because he had once interrupted her and was severely scolded.
Lia hated being disturbed when she was doing something. Until now, she had no real duties, so she could always spend time with Kartian when he visited. But not anymore.
Now, Lia also had work she needed to do.
As the time they spent together clearly decreased, Kartian looked sulky, but he obediently followed Lia’s words. When it came to Lia, Kartian was always the weaker one.
While Lia was looking through the piled-up documents, she heard a knock.
Was there anyone who would visit her at this hour? Lia frowned and permitted the visitor to enter.
“Hmm?”
Lia’s expression hardened when she saw who opened the door and came in.
“I greet Her Majesty the Empress, the flower of the Empire.”
“What is it this time?”
The one who entered was the Prime Minister, Yusian. His very presence caused irritation, so his visit was far from welcome.
“Do you dislike me that much?”
Yusian drooped his shoulders as if hurt. But Lia was not free enough to react to such pretended behavior.
“Say your business and leave.”
There was no reason for personal conversation based on private friendship.
Lia spoke coldly.
“I heard many things happened at the ball. And afterward as well.”
“So?”
Perhaps it was his usual way of speaking—Yusian always talked as if testing the other person, making them react instead of stating things directly.
It was a style Lia truly disliked.
“No, I just found it interesting.”
Especially the attitude Lia showed in those situations.
If it had been the original Liarna, she would have become angry first instead of responding calmly, making the situation worse.
When noble ladies pretended to make a mistake and knocked over a maid’s tray at the ball, and when Freya’s maid falsely accused someone—
But Lia did not react that way.
That was a very big change.
He had felt it during their previous meeting too, but somehow she seemed like a completely different person.
Perhaps it was not only the Emperor who had been struck on the head. Or maybe something that had been hidden before was now finally showing.
“I find it more interesting that you came all this way just to pick a fight with me,” Lia said.
“Haha, a fight?”
“Even if the speaker has no such intention, if the listener feels that way, then it is simply a provocation.”
After all, everything depends not on the intention of the one who acts, but on the feelings of the one who receives it.
Lia spoke firmly.
At her words, Yusian lightly shrugged.
“More importantly, I came because there is something to deliver. I heard you were entrusted with internal affairs. These are documents about the financial management of the Imperial Palace and its current state.”
Lia frowned at the stack of documents in Yusian’s hands.
The papers on her desk were not even finished yet, and more work was piling on top of work.
“And at the very front is information about the imperial private funds.”
“The private funds?”
“Yes. I thought you would be most interested.”
Yusian smiled.
“I’m not particularly interested.”
Lia spoke indifferently and looked at the document he had deliberately placed on top.
I thought Empress Liarna’s situation was bad, but this is truly too much.
Why was the private allowance given to the concubine larger than the one given to the Empress? And why was the difference so great?
The allowance Liarna received was only at the level of a low-ranking noble.
Compared to that, Freya’s…
Lia shook her head.
“Now that Your Majesty is in charge of internal affairs, you may adjust the private funds if you wish. Of course, final approval must come from His Majesty.”
“It might need a slight adjustment, but it doesn’t seem urgent enough to do right away.”
Lia answered with a disinterested expression.
Separate from that, the Prime Minister’s attitude felt unpleasant. She could guess why he placed that document first and spoke that way.
In a way, he was testing her—expecting that once she regained real power, the first thing she would do was adjust the private funds, and watching how she reacted.
But Lia had no intention of moving as Yusian wanted. She did not have much greed for money to begin with. As long as she earned enough not to starve, that was enough.
Even if she planned to leave the Imperial Palace and settle elsewhere, she would not need this much money.
Even if adjustment was necessary, she only intended to reduce Freya’s excessively large allowance.
Lia was already satisfied with the allowance she currently received.
Since it was not urgent, she pushed the top document to the back.
At that action, Yusian looked surprised.
Considering the habits of noble ladies, he expected her to focus on that first for the sake of luxury. It was unexpected. Or perhaps she was only pretending because he was present.
“By the way, who wrote this document—no, this ledger?”
After turning past the private-fund document, she saw something like a ledger showing how money was spent inside the palace.
But it was written so poorly that it looked like a child’s allowance notebook.
She did not know if something like a balance sheet existed here, but this was certainly not it.
This way, one could only know that money was spent, not the financial or asset status.
“The person in charge of each department writes it.”
Yusian asked as if wondering why she asked.
“Then we should change the writing rules first.”
So that it would be easier to understand and read.
Lia sighed at the thought. Even changing one small rule would require much effort—especially if it was not a method people already knew, since she would have to explain everything herself.
“How, exactly?”
At Yusian’s question, Lia roughly explained the balance-sheet method she knew—basic classification of assets, liabilities, and capital, and how to record them.
Despite his irritating personality, perhaps he truly had the ability of a Prime Minister. Even though it was his first time hearing it, Yusian quickly understood.
“Hmm.”
“What is it?”
“No, I’m just curious. How does Your Majesty know such things?”
What Lia described would greatly help in writing ledgers. It would not only make money flow easier to see, but also reveal added assets.
They were methods Yusian had never considered, which made him both impressed and puzzled.
Was the original Empress truly this capable and intelligent?
“I just read books when I had nothing to do and learned many things.”
It was not a lie. The difference was only that she learned them in Korea—and she had even received education and worked in such fields.
“And make sure the units are always unified. Reports should be submitted once a month, and it would be good to check whether the ledger contents are correct.”
“…Yes, understood.”
Though impressed, Yusian hid his inner thoughts as he answered.
“Oh, and do you have something called a receipt?”
“A receipt?”
“Yes. A document that shows when and where money was used, what was bought, and how much was paid.”
“…There is something similar, but not that detailed.”
Lia sighed again.
As he said, there was something like a receipt, but the information was limited—more like a simple item list. It was hard to confirm details.
Especially since item prices and totals were not written, there was no way to know if the money spent was correct.
If Korean companies kept ledgers like this, embezzlement and corruption would spread immediately, since purchase amounts could be written arbitrarily.
“Then from now on, make sure every purchase includes all the information I mentioned. And always get a signature from the seller.”
The seller’s signature was very important to prevent forgery.
Of course, signatures could also be forged, but this world could not provide receipts like Korea’s.
“A good method.”
Yusian said in admiration.
“Also, lastly—tell them to calculate properly.”
Without even turning many pages, Lia saw a wrong calculation on the first page and frowned.
“If you spend 198 gold from 4,785 gold, you should have 4,587 left. Why does it say 4,697? Are the ledger amount and remaining amount even correct?”
Or had no one checked at all?
Even though it was basic arithmetic, it was wrong from the very first page, making her sigh.
And instead of writing the remaining balance immediately after each purchase, why group several days together to calculate?
That’s why all the calculations are wrong.
Lia let out a deep sigh.
“Did you calculate that instantly?”
Yusian could not hide his surprise. It seemed she only glanced over it, yet she found the mistake immediately.
Usually, noble ladies were weak at arithmetic.
Ledger work was a difficult professional field. Yet the Empress, who had never properly learned it, found errors so easily?
Finding such an error meant she had examined the document carefully, not just glanced at it.
He expected her to find this bothersome and skip over it.
Everything Lia showed today exceeded his expectations. She was not the Empress he knew.
So many things.
“What is that expression?”
Before answering his earlier question, Lia frowned at his uncomfortable look.
“No… I just feel like I’m realizing how wrong I’ve been thinking all this time.”
Yusian gave an ambiguous smile.
Personality and ability were separate matters—but he never imagined the supposedly incompetent Empress would be this capable. And now she showed none of her former cruelty.
Could a person truly change this much?
He thought only the Emperor had changed unbelievably, but the Empress had changed as well.
Not all of his impressions of her had changed, but something in his perception certainly had.
Still, what troubled him was the Empress’s position—more precisely, the fact that she was the daughter of the leader of the noble faction, and the nobles who might rise in power if the Empress began to stand out.
