This is too shoddy, even for a petty fraud.
“………Are the ledgers still not here?”
“Wha, uh, yes…….I don’t………”
I glanced at the maid that came in when I rang the bell, and questioned her while glaring but the maid simply shrunk back in fear, unable to properly answer me.
Almost 3 hours had passed since I asked for the ledgers and they had still yet to arrive. Probably because they were currently desperately and frantically trying to alter and fabricate the ledgers to make them look normal.
“Fine……..it can’t be helped. I far from fully fit but if I keep waiting here, it’ll be night time by the time they brings the ledgers here. Hey you, take me to where Mrs Tapple is currently at.”
“!?! P-please wait a momen—–“
“Why should I wait for anyone? Enough chatter. Obey my orders and quickly take to where I want to go, NOW!”
“Yes……..”
The maid resigned herself to the situation and took me to the room where Mrs Tapple was currently in.
“!? Y-your highness!?”
“Hello there, you lot seemed to be taking your time so I decided to come here instead.”
Mrs Tapple spoke up in surprise as a middle aged man, probably the chamberlain, hurriedly stood in front of the ledgers on the table to cover and hide it.
Looks like they were still in the middle of altering the ledgers.
“So? Instead of bringing me the ledgers, what exactly have you people been doing here?”
“th-that’s, why of course, we couldn’t simply present you with the books if they had some silly mistakes Prince Rudolf, so we’re making sure that they are as acurate and detailed as possible before we brought them to you.”
“Indeed, that is the case! Your Highness, you gave us the noble duty of taking care of the maintenance of this Scorpion Palace. We couldn’t allow any mistakes to happen, that’s all!”
The audacity of these people to so boldly lie to my face like this.
But…….I wonder if they’d have the guts to repeat that again once I’m done thoroughly looking through the records.
“I see. It would seem you two have been working very hard in my name, right?”
“”Of course, Your Highness.””
“I see. Very well, then let me see the ledgers now.”
I picked up one of the ledgers at random from the table and began to glance through them.
I may not look it but, in my previous life, the priest of our village would often appoint me as the person in charge of the accounting. A little ledger like this isn’t something I’d have difficulty reading through.
But……hmm, I see. They’ve done pretty well to make sure that the numbers match up properly. Making it seem like the money going in and out was very natural.
I picked up some of the other ledgers and quickly flipped through them as well when…….Oh, I found it.
The one ledger I was looking for was indeed this one.
“Hmm………It would seem by the looks of it, there are no problems that I can see of.”
“But of course. We are working hard to manage things here as perfectly as possible.”
Mrs Tapple put her hand on her chest and spoke with a proud expression.
Dear oh dear, if you’ve been embezzling funds so blatantly, at least try to act a little more modest.
“Then, allow me to ask this. In regards to the budget allotted to this palace, and the money spent on it are almost the same. In here, I see a decent amount of sum is being consistently used on [Furnishing], but what exactly is it being used on?”
“Haah………Prince Rudolf, you really don’t know? Listen to me very carefully, this is an Imperial Palace so we must always maintain the place at a quality befitting of Royalty at all times.”
She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head as she explain in a condescending manner.
“Of course, if we see even a little thing that may look like it’d harm the dignity of the imperial family, we get rid of it, and instantly replace it with a brand new item. If anything, it’s something that no amount of budget can fully keep up with.”
“I see……….So you’re saying that you guys pay an extra amount of attention on the furniture in the palace, correct?”
“Yes, indeed.”
………This was beyond ridiculous at this point.
I wonder if these two even realize that the entire reason I got suspicious of this embezzlement was because of the old, breaking furniture in my own bedroom?
Haah…….I’m tired of keeping up with this farce. It’s time to end this for good.
“By the way……..I happen to have another ledger here in my hands though?”
“”Another ledger……!?!””
The corners of my lips rose as I pulled out another ledger that I had kept hidden on me and showed it to them. Just the sight of it made them both gulp in fear.
“This is, from exactly the same time period as the one I just checked but, in this one, there’s lots of budget still left over. Almost half of it.“
“Th-that’s……certainly strange! The books here are the only real ones, and the one you have must be some fake one my Prince! Someone must be trying to trick you Your Highness!”
With a grim expression, Mrs Tapple spoke in a loud voice.
Well, I had a feeling this woman would come with an excuse like this.
That’s why…….
“Is, what she says, but what do you think?”
I turned around, and called out to someone behind the door to the room.
“!?! Ma-Maya!?!”
“………………..”
The person who appeared was the young maid Maya.
I don’t even need to explain I imagine but, to make sure I can trap Mrs Tapple for good, I used Maya, the girl she brought with her when she came to visit me last time.
From her fearful look, I had a feeling she’d quickly do anything I’d ask of her.
That said, in the off chance she hadn’t listened to my orders, I still wouldn’t have cared that much regardless.
“So, Maya. This ledger you brought for me. Can you tell us all if it is real or not?”
“Uhh, yes……..”
Maya was shaking, and then glanced between me and Mrs Tapple, hesitating over how to respond.
“Maya.”
“T-the book I brought for your highness is without a doubt a real ledger!”
“MAYA! Youu!!”
“A-as proof, you can check the seal of the Scorpion palace stamped on it!”
Under my quiet threat, Maya lost her will to resist and quickly rattled out everything with a pale face.
She put me and Mrs Tapple on a scale, and then decided to choose me.
“You, the maid over there, quickly bring over the guards.”
“U-understood.”
“Pl-please wait a moment your highness! I-I was simply doing as this man here asked me to do! I had no choice!”
“Y-you dare betray me here!! You’re the one who brought the idea up in the first place Mrs Tapple!!”
As the maid ran out, the Chamberlain and Mrs Tapple began to engage in an unsightly squabble.
Good, good. Show me more of this pathetic sight of yours right in front of me.
Soon, every single servant in this Scorpion Palace will realize that it might be their turn tomorrow on the chopping block.
Previous Chapter I ToC I Next Chapter
If you enjoy reading this novel, please support me on Ko-fi!