Chapter 32
Lia leaned back in her chair, feeling tired and sluggish.
What was so special about this consummation that she had to suffer like this?
Every morning, she had to receive massages regularly for skin care, and every night, she had to bathe for over an hour. To Lia, who had no interest in decorating herself, all of it was torture.
Looking at this body, it did not seem like all that was even necessary.
Even when she slept poorly, her skin still shone. She felt like she did not need to do any of this, but the maids seemed to think otherwise.
What she disliked the most was being unable to eat snacks because of “body management.”
She loved desserts so much!
How much weight could she really gain from eating a few sweets?
And yet, while saying that she must not lose volume in her chest, they were giving her chest massages. No matter that they were all women, having someone else knead her body never felt pleasant.
She honestly felt like giving up on the consummation altogether.
Should she just disappear for a while? Or pretend to be sick on the day?
She was the one who had accepted Kartian’s suggestion, but she desperately wanted to take it back.
At that moment, a knock sounded, and a maid announced the visit of the Chancellor.
Already irritated, Lia’s face twisted openly at the unwelcome visit.
“I greet Her Majesty the Empress, the flower of the Empire.”
“…I see.”
Lia accepted the greeting with a very clear expression that said, I don’t like your visit at all.
“You seem to be in a bad mood.”
“I’m always in a bad mood, but seeing the Chancellor’s face makes it worse.”
“Haha.”
At Lia’s blunt words, the Chancellor gave an awkward smile.
Watching his reaction, Lia felt that his attitude toward her had subtly changed. Before, there had been a lot of wariness and hostility, but now it felt like one layer of that had disappeared.
Even so, her opinion of the Chancellor was not about to change.
“So, what is it this time?”
“Straight to the point. I came because there is something I wanted to ask.”
Lia looked at him with an openly annoyed expression.
Ignoring that, Yusian placed a thick stack of documents on Lia’s desk.
“More work?”
Shouldn’t it be decreasing by now? Why was she still doing nothing but work even after coming here?
“There is something I wanted you to review.”
“Review?”
She was in charge of internal affairs, not this.
Lia irritably looked over the documents in front of her.
“For some reason, the numbers in the ledger keep failing to match.”
You probably entered something wrong, Lia thought sourly.
“The calculations themselves are correct, but it’s strange. No matter how much I look at it, I can’t figure it out.”
“You just bring something like this straight to me? From the looks of it, this is the Chancellor’s job.”
That would be outside her authority.
“You are the only person I can trust, Your Majesty.”
“Oh? Was I someone you trusted? I don’t remember it being that way.”
Lia said with a faint sneer.
“I apologize for the disrespect I have shown until now.”
“Apologizing now won’t erase what I felt back then.”
At that, Yusian gave another awkward smile. Since the Empress had changed, this kind of attitude had become the one he saw most often.
The Empress was truly honest. She did not hide her emotions.
The Imperial Palace was not a place where that was possible. Everyone hid their true feelings and wore masks.
Yet the Empress showed her emotions as they were, as if she knew nothing of such things.
It felt refreshing. Perhaps because of that, the more he saw her, the more unintended goodwill began to form.
His perception of her had already changed once because of her competence last time.
“So you want me to check this?”
“Yes.”
“It doesn’t seem like my job. Is there really a need for me to do this?”
Last time had been something she was supposed to handle, but this was different. That was why Lia looked at Yusian somewhat provocatively.
At her words, Yusian was at a loss for words for a rare moment.
He had not expected her to accept his request easily, but this reaction was still unexpected.
For just a brief moment, a crooked thought crossed his mind.
Was she trying to use this situation to control him? If that were the case, he would never accept it.
“Is there something you want?” Yusian asked with a smile, hiding the thorn inside.
“Before that, I can already tell what you’re thinking, so stop it.”
“Hahaha. Is that so?”
“I don’t care how you see me, Chancellor. But coming to ask for help while having that kind of attitude is very unpleasant. From my point of view, if I don’t do it, nothing happens. If I do, I’m the only one who suffers. Isn’t that right?”
Lia spoke coldly.
“And if you couldn’t trust me, you shouldn’t have come. I didn’t offer to help—you came here on your own. Isn’t that extremely rude?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Everything Lia said was correct.
Since this was not a situation she had created, his attitude had indeed been rude.
Although he acknowledged Lia after the previous incident, the image of her from the past had not completely faded from his mind.
“Besides, if you want help, there should naturally be a price. Our relationship isn’t good enough for me to help you for free.”
Lia spoke indifferently, as if she did not care whether Yusian accepted her terms or not. It was something she did not have to do, and she had no desire to suffer for it.
“I truly apologize. I will grant whatever you wish.”
“To be honest, what I want most is to never see the Chancellor’s face again.”
Lia said it with complete sincerity.
Yusian flinched.
He knew she disliked him, but had his image fallen so low that she would put that forward as a condition?
At the same time, he could completely let go of his suspicion.
“It doesn’t seem possible to never meet at all, so let’s call it a debt.”
Honestly, she wanted either to never see that Chancellor again or to hit him a few times, but she knew that was impossible.
It was not only because of their first meeting that she disliked him. His personality itself did not suit her, and knowing the suspicion and rudeness underlying his actions made it worse. He was always trying to test her.
Still, there was nothing specific she wanted from him. But no one knew what might happen later, and she might need his help someday.
After all, he was the Chancellor.
At the very least, when asking the Emperor for her abdication, or when she needed help living outside the palace.
“Will that be enough?”
“I assume you understand that this won’t be a simple debt.”
In truth, when she thought about it again, she wondered if she really needed to bother helping him with something that might never matter.
That was why she spoke with an escape in mind, in case it turned out to be more troublesome than expected.
“Let’s look at it first. I’ll decide whether to help after that.”
“…Understood.”
Yusian accepted calmly.
It was not her duty, and he could not expect unconditional help from her.
Lia quietly examined the documents on her desk. Soon, she found the reason the numbers in the ledger did not match.
I knew this world lacked proper systems, but still… to not even know something this basic.
The reason the numbers did not match was simple. The price of goods when they were bought and when they were sold was different. The reason for that difference was what would commonly be called depreciation.
Anything naturally loses value as time passes. If you record the value of goods based on the purchase price, there will inevitably be a difference from the actual money received.
This was not difficult, so Lia decided to explain it kindly.
If she could place a debt on him just by explaining something this simple, it was a gain for her.
“First, the problem is here.”
Lia pointed to a specific spot.
“Why is that?” Yusian asked, his question filled with confusion.
In a calm tone, Lia explained it clearly and kindly.
Only after her explanation ended did understanding appear on Yusian’s face. At the same time, he could not hide his admiration for her.
Just what kind of life had she lived in the ducal household to know such things?
This was something even he, the Chancellor, had not considered.
A question born of curiosity rose in his mind, but he knew she would not give him a proper answer even if he asked. So Yusian merely shrugged, thanked her, and left the room.
She was surely hoping he would leave as soon as possible after finishing his business.
