The day after Whitney offered Parsha the position of butler to replace Alfred, who was set to retire soon, she confidently entered the Ringaarden estate, having broken the all-ti highest score in the servant examination.
Of course, regardless of the results, Whitney would have accepted her no matter what. But Parsha's talent was simply too extraordinary for him to offer any favoritism.
“The financial situation is, quite frankly, a disaster, isn’t it?”
“Haha...”
Less than two hours after starting her duties as butler, she had already reviewed most of the mansion’s ledgers and docunts, and with a perfectly sunny expression, she began stabbing at Whitney’s heart.
“To be honest, this is practically asset self-destruction. Even if you were to try sothing new now, I don’t think it could be reversed.”
Naturally, even if she was to be the future head butler, showing Parsha docunts that could expose the family’s financial weaknesses after only a day required quite a bit of resolve.
“...If things stay like this, how long do we have left?”
“Hm... Not even three months, probably. Total disgrace incoming.”
Still, Whitney had handed over most of the records despite opposition from those around him because he knew her abilities better than anyone. But when Parsha essentially pronounced the family financially terminal, it made him realize just how dire the situation really was.
“But...”
Just as she was about to say sothing else, Parsha trailed off and went silent.
“If you’ve got sothing to say, don’t hold back. I told you—you’re free to speak your mind.”
Not missing the cue, Whitney spoke gently to her as she sat in front of his desk in his place. After a brief mont of hesitation, Parsha opened her mouth again.
“...In my opinion, we might be able to last about a year.”
“And why do you think that?”
Her eyes began to settle, calm and analytical.
“Lady redia’s engagent—it's official now, right?”
When Whitney smiled instead of replying, her face lit up with excitent as she continued.
“Lady redia’s engagent is a hot topic among nobles, of course, but I’ve also been keeping a close eye on it for fun. I even spent all the pocket money I got from Grandpa buying gossip magazines.”
“...So you read about the marriage rumors between and her in those gossip magazines?”
“Yes. Of course, none of the credible journalists said anything definite. They only suggested Lady redia must be desperate enough to poke around the Count’s household, but I’m sure of it. So kind of old-fashioned negotiation has already taken place between you two.”
She looked exactly like a model student answering a teacher’s question at school—clear and confident.
“And when I was checking all the estate records, I found sothing suspicious. Sure enough, there are records of sweets being sent out last year, but no matching receipts coming in.”
“Hm...”
“That kind of discrepancy lets you guess who might’ve visited the mansion that day.”
Finishing her deduction, Parsha sparkled with pride as she glanced at Whitney, fishing for praise.
“You’re going to make the butler, right?”
But Whitney didn’t answer. Seeing the slight hesitation on his face, Parsha caught on right away.
“I do enjoy those gossip rags too, but...”
Whitney shook his head quietly in front of her and muttered softly.
“Did my na ever actually appear in them?”
“...!”
Parsha flinched. Whether Whitney noticed or not, he scratched his head nonchalantly, then looked at her again and spoke.
“Well, I’m sure everything Miss Parsha said is correct.”
Though he wore a smile, the atmosphere in the room had turned noticeably colder.
“Because I hold your insight in very high regard.”
The room temperature hadn’t actually dropped, of course, but to Parsha—still facing that brilliant smile—it felt that way.
“So then, if we really can buy about a year’s worth of ti, as you say... what do you think?”
“Ah, yes!”
Snapped out of her frozen state by the gentle voice in front of her, she quickly collected herself.
“Will our family finances be stabilized?”
And at Whitney’s follow-up, she answered without hesitation.
“I’ll do my absolute best.”
“Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.”
Only then did Whitney’s smile shift into one of satisfaction, and the frozen air in the room instantly returned to normal.
“Well then, I’ve got sothing to attend to, so I’ll excuse myself.”
As Parsha let out a small breath of relief, Whitney turned as if sothing had co to mind.
“Ah, I’ll be delegating full authority over the finances to you. No need to report back—go ahead and put your talent to good use.”
Just before leaving the room, he glanced back and added in a soft voice,
“I’ll be counting on you from now on, Chief Butler Parsha.”
As the door closed, silence filled the office.
‘No way...’
Parsha, still sitting dazedly in her seat, had a disbelieving look on her face.
‘He already saw right through everything.’
While her intelligence was unmatched even among the brightest minds in the Empire, Parsha’s true gift lay in her insight.
To put it more precisely, she consud large amounts of mana to deduce the truth and conclusions of people or events—this was her true ability.
‘Did Grandpa pull strings in advance? No... he doesn’t know the full extent of my ability.’
It wasn’t sothing just anyone could do—Parsha had been born with a rare innate blessing. Only a tiny handful of people in the Empire had such a trait.
And those born with such blessings were known to be targets of intense interest from the Emperor himself—rumors about his relentless search were widespread.
That’s why Parsha kept her secret hidden, not wanting to draw the attention of soone she disliked.
Yet for so reason, Whitney seed like he’d already figured it out within a day of eting her.
‘To think you could infer all that from my small habits... I didn’t expect that.’
Parsha had always been the type to start from a conclusion and then retroactively fit the reasoning to match. It gave her the bad habit of being vague with the process.
Until now, everyone had focused on her conclusions and brushed off the half-explained reasoning. But it seed Whitney had noticed the weakness in that pattern.
Not only that—he’d even gone so far as to directly praise her insight.
“...Haha.”
For the first ti, Parsha trembled—not from fear or unease like most people did in Whitney’s presence, but from pure excitent.
‘He’s seriously incredible...’
And now, what had seed like an incomprehensibly chaotic financial situation at the Ringaarden estate was finally starting to make sense.
‘All those scattered investnts and inconsistent business ventures... they all have one thing in common.’
...Just how big is the picture he’s drawing?
As the realization struck her, the fire in Parsha’s eyes cooled into a curious gleam.
‘Will I be able to pull this off?’
If her guess was correct, then the picture Whitney was drawing didn’t end with the revival of House Ringaarden.
Once it was complete, it might shift the entire balance of the nation—perhaps even shake the very foundation of the Empire within a few years.
“No, even if I can’t... I have to.”
The tension in her face vanished. Her eyes grew sharp once more.
“You trusted this much, even though I haven’t proven anything yet...”
Even if soone possesses great talent, in this world, it's nearly impossible to demonstrate that ability without noble status.
Parsha, well aware of this truth thanks to her grandfather’s example, clearly understood better than anyone just how extraordinary the treatnt she was receiving was—especially given her age, background, and lack of formal experience.
“...More than anything, this is the kind of mont you only dream about, Parsha.”
But in truth, none of that really mattered to her.
Second-in-command to the Demon King? What could possibly be more aningful than that?
That spine-chilling presence Whitney had revealed through his insight—what might terrify the average person—was, to soone like Parsha, whose emotions were unusually twisted compared to most, nothing short of a legend.
Alright then, shall I start with acquiring more shares of the Lebertane Mine?
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
From that point on, what little remained of the Ringaarden estate’s budget began to be funneled entirely as fuel to serve the “picture” Whitney was drawing.
He trusted and delegated full financial authority, so I don’t really need to report such trivial matters.
Of course, Whitney had never actually specified any such picture in concrete terms. Whether he knew what kind of fuel she was adding—or not—remained to be seen.
***
“Phew...”
Making my exit with the excuse of having other tasks, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh and lower my head.
I can’t believe my na is being passed around in gossip rags.
Honestly, I was so embarrassed I couldn’t even keep my expression in check in front of Parsha.
I’ve never been good with public attention. The feeling of suddenly becoming famous overnight was nothing short of disorienting.
Still, I’ve already decided to get on the sa boat as redia, so there’s no turning back.
Maybe it’s fate. I’ll just have to accept it.
Now that I’ve left finances to Parsha, it feels like one less thing to worry about.
I had been concerned she might mishandle it, but with the ti I’ve gained from the engagent with redia, it seems I can actually shift the balance.
That ans all I can do now is place my complete trust in Parsha.
Soone like —who’s never managed finances, never even made a proper investnt—would only end up exposing my ignorance if I interfered. It might be better to leave it all to her.
Of ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) course, if Father knew about this, he’d probably flip. But since I’m the one cleaning up the ss he left behind as acting head of the house, I’ll have sothing to say in my defense.
Maybe I should just grab the ledgers and run away...
As I pulled out the docunts with that absurd thought in mind, Alfred muttered sothing with a grim face—just as expected. But between the stress and the chaos Parsha had already stirred, I didn’t have the bandwidth to care.
She’ll handle it just fine, even without worrying.
Honestly, I was a bit concerned since Alfred’s age made public-facing work a little difficult for him. But Parsha—who had once been pushed to the edge, excluded from succession, and yet managed to multiply her falling fortune many tis over—was surely more than capable.
Co to think of it, how does soone that young have such incredible insight?
That thought suddenly reminded of what I’d once read in a character profile I saw on the battlefield.
A cursed genius who beca redia’s butler at a young age. Her insight is unmatched, but for so reason, she never brags about it.
Even in a reference book where most settings were explained in great detail, certain things—like Parsha—were left vague or abruptly cut off.
Things like redia’s gemstone eye, or the Emperor’s mysterious power—those were written just as ambiguously as Parsha’s case.
My personal guess was that those were teasers ant to be revealed in an upcoming DLC, written vaguely to avoid spoilers. Unfortunately, I died in my past life before the DLC announcent, so I can’t say for sure.
It leaves with a bit of an unsettled feeling, but now’s not the ti to dwell on it. I need to focus on the problem right in front of .
The prince’s engagent ceremony... was it about a month away?
Thankfully, there’s still so ti before my fate is sealed. I’ll take it slow, recover my strength, and then set off to find the final piece of the puzzle—Verdan.
If he gets involved, I might even secure the intelligence capabilities I need to handle the engagent scenario, making it surprisingly manageable.
Sohow... I’m starting to feel confident again.
“Y-Young Master!”
“Hm?”
Just as I was strolling down the hallway, trying not to let it show, a startled voice called out behind .
“A-A letter’s arrived!”
It was Sasha, trembling as she handed a letter. She’d seed to be in a good mood lately, especially with Parsha—soone her age—joining as the head butler. So what was wrong now?
“Sasha, there’s no need to bring letters to directly. You can just leave them in my office—”
“I-I know that too... But this one has such an extravagant seal...”
That mystery didn’t last long. As I turned my eyes to the letter, I imdiately understood her reaction.
Looks like the wedding invitation finally arrived.
What Sasha was holding was none other than an invitation sealed with the prince’s royal crest.
“Well, good work...”
I accepted it casually, having already steeled myself to attend the engagent ceremony thanks to my arrangent with redia.
“......”
But when I read what was written inside, my eyes shut tight against my will.
“Whitney Ringaarden. Just who are you, that Lady redia is so insistent on sending you an invitation?”
It wasn’t just the unexpected ssage from the prince hidden inside the invitation that caught off guard.
“In any case, I’ll see you at the engagent ceremony—three days from now!”
Three days from now?
For so reason, the date was drastically sooner than I’d known it to be.
***
At that very mont, in the heart of the Imperial Capital, in the grandest yet most secretive place...
“Is this all the information?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Sitting upon the throne, the most powerful being in the Empire casually skimd through the docunts in her hands, her gaze dull and bored.
“The Shadows did their best, but... aside from the utterly disastrous financial state of the house, the records were shockingly ordinary...”
“As expected, I’ll have to see it with my own eyes.”
“Y-Your Majesty, you an—?”
When she muttered that statent as if it were nothing, the face of the official kneeling before her twisted in shock.
“Inform the prince.”
Still not sparing a glance toward the trembling subordinate, her eyes fixed on the portrait atop the file—a young boy with squinting eyes—as she murmured once more.
“I’ll be attending this engagent ceremony personally.”
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