"Finance Officer. What is the meaning of this?"
"Uh, that is..."
In the office where the atmosphere had turned icy cold due to Kairen's sudden remark, Astridje's low voice echoed throughout.
"The structure of this report is exactly the same as last year's. If there were savings, there should have been changes elsewhere."
"Y-yes. Indeed..."
Because of that, the finance officer who had been giving the report turned pale in an instant, his hands holding the documents beginning to tremble.
"It seems the saved costs haven't been allocated yet. It should have been recorded in the report, but I forgot..."
"Mother, look at this."
As he desperately made excuses while glancing at Astridje right in front of him, Kairen interrupted midway and held up a single sheet of paper from the duke's lap.
"Looking at this quarter's mansion supply management records, expenses for things like weapon maintenance and warhorse management—military-related items—are increasing bit by bit. Doesn't that seem strange?"
Astridje's eyebrow twitched at those words, while the finance officer standing in front grew even paler.
"Young Master Kairen, what in the world are you..."
"The reserve items are subdivided so finely that it's hard to notice with a single metric. Let's see, hmm..."
But Kairen paid no mind and arduously lifted the paper with both hands, tilting his head back to continue the briefing.
"It started getting split up from last year's first quarter."
"Ah, Mother."
"It's hard to call this a coincidence now."
Astridje carefully pinched the paper with her fingers and assisted Kairen in a chilling voice.
"...Ah, it seems there was a mistake."
"A mistake?"
"It should have been included in military expenditures originally, but it looks like my subordinates entered it wrong in the mansion supply ledger..."
By then, the finance officer's face had turned ashen black, and he tried to make excuses in a trembling voice.
"Didn't you just say the saved costs hadn't been allocated yet?"
"Th-that was... my mistake..."
"That's weird. Is it okay for the ducal house's finance officer to make such errors?"
Even that was shut down by Kairen's sharp retort.
"As far as I know, there haven't been any particular changes in military supplies compared to the previous quarter. It looks like we need a full audit."
"D-Duke."
"And what a pity this is."
With the situation roughly sorted, Astridje slammed the papers down on the desk with a loud thud and glared at the finance officer before her, muttering.
"Was I being looked down on this much?"
At the same time, crimson killing intent filled the office.
"Hiiik...!"
The finance officer, legs shaking as he met Astridje's crimson eyes, soon screamed and bolted toward the door.
"Yap."
However, before he could even touch the doorknob, a maid waiting nearby struck the back of his head, and he collapsed unconscious.
"What should we do? Take him to the basement for now...?"
"...Handle it as usual."
"Understood."
Astridje urgently cut off the maid's words midway, glanced at Kairen for a moment, then quickly smiled and posed a question.
"Kairen. Where did you learn this number game?"
"..."
"Did the Opstein Marquisate teach you, by any chance?"
Kairen rolled his eyes, scratched his head, and finally spoke.
"...Ah, no. They didn't really teach me anything there."
"Didn't really learn anything?"
"I sneaked into the library at night out of boredom and read a lot of books."
Astridje, hearing that, asked back with a somewhat surprised expression.
"So, you pointed out the issues just now through self-study?"
"Just... I wanted to help Mother, so I studied hard, and something seemed off..."
And a brief silence followed.
"...Hmm."
In that silence, Astridje narrowed her eyes and looked down at Kairen before turning her gaze to the retainers and speaking.
"What do you all think?"
"Uh, that is..."
"Is there anyone still holding the opinions they had when they rushed into the office earlier? Speak freely."
Realizing the subtle intent in her voice, the retainers hurriedly voiced their opinions.
"...The youngest young master seems to be a heaven-sent genius."
"Y-yes. It's hard to believe he's not even ten. My daughter throws tantrums just from holding a book..."
"P-perhaps. He might even be smarter than the second miss."
Astridje, having heard it all, muttered with a somewhat serious expression.
"...This is a problem."
The retainers, who had preemptively grown fearful and watchful, made dumbfounded faces at her following words.
"I was going to assign a tutor soon, but my son is too smart for his own good."
"Eueh..."
As she said that, Astridje pinched Kairen's cheek with a pleased expression.
To the retainers who knew her usual eerie demeanor, this was such an alien sight that they were all left dumbfounded.
"I mustn't be an embarrassing mother to such a son."
But that lasted only a moment, as Astridje reverted to her usual chilling expression and spoke.
"From today, I will personally review every single document in the ducal house."
"...!"
"Especially, if something like today happens again, I won't let it slide. Behave properly."
The retainers immediately grasped the meaning.
In truth, while Kairen had been exceptionally sharp, this corruption was something that never should have happened in the first place.
The fact that the finance officer boldly reported such an irregularity—which anyone with basic arithmetic skills by adult standards could spot—during the meeting was a stark example of how paralyzed Belverk's operations had been.
But the retainers knew better than anyone why Astridje had changed so much, and since many had turned a blind eye or even participated in the corruption...
And right now, Astridje was issuing a warning to them.
In other words, it was tantamount to declaring that she would restore Belverk's operations to normal starting today.
'Is Belverk finally running properly again...?'
'I can't remember the last time I saw the duke smile. What a long life I'll live.'
'...This is all because of that child?'
'The blood of Belverk truly runs through him.'
At this miracle, the remaining loyal retainers naturally turned their attention to the little young master who had turned Astridje's heart.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Sudden Quest Cleared!] Discover Corruption in the Ducal House (1/1) Gain Recognition from Retainers (1/1) Maternal Affection +20 Total Value (30/100)
Of course, Kairen, who was oblivious to the atmosphere and grinning foolishly at the quest clear message floating before his eyes, didn't yet know.
What ripples today's events would bring to Belverk in the future.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Wh-what..."
About 30 minutes later. Outside the office.
"No way."
After the maid dragged the finance officer away and silence fell, a single girl stood there nervously biting her nails.
"They said there wouldn't be any problems if we stuck to the plan..."
It was none other than Belverk's third daughter, Lilien Nox Belverk. She broke out in cold sweat as she eavesdropped on the meeting inside with her crimson eyes activated.
"Kairen, where are you going?"
"Huh?"
"Not even an hour has passed yet."
"Ah, right. Eung..."
Contrary to her expectations, Astridje and Kairen inside the office were getting along wonderfully.
Kairen occasionally let out strange groans, but it was clearly due to the affectionate way Astridje sometimes handled cute animals.
"..."
Yes, that touch Lilien had never once received in her entire life.
"By the way, Kairen."
Lilien, who had been quietly grinding her teeth, suddenly widened her eyes and straightened her posture.
"Where did you get that flower?"
It was because of Astridje's somewhat chilling remark leaking from inside the office.
"Did someone give it to you, perhaps? Nothing like that?"
"Uh, that."
"It's fine. I won't scold you, so tell me the truth."
Lilien's complexion, as she continued eavesdropping, paled just like the finance officer's moments ago.
"...I have a hunch about it for some reason."
Lilien knew. The maid who gave the flower to Kairen was none other than her own personal attendant.
It was an order she herself had directly given, so she couldn't possibly not know.
'N-no.'
If Kairen told the truth here—or even embellished it a little—what would happen?
No matter that she was a candidate for successor, it wouldn't be accepted as normal sibling rivalry.
The 'blue flower' was practically Astridje's ultimate reverse scale.
And the chance Kairen would lie here was, honestly, close to zero.
There was no benefit in deceiving his mother, and crucially, he harbored resentment toward Lilien as well.
That was precisely why Belverk was no different from hell.
In this mansion, there was no one to trust. Not her mother, not the servants, not the retainers, not even her sisters sharing the same blood.
They were all just enemies to overcome.
"Hehe, I found that flower in the garden."
"...!?"
Lilien, trembling with such thoughts, doubted her ears at the sound of Kairen's innocent voice from the office the next moment.
"Really?"
Astridje seemed the same, questioning back in a somewhat dubious tone.
"Yes! It just looked pretty for some reason."
"...I see. If you say so, then it must be."
Once Kairen affirmed it again, Astridje muttered that and never asked about it further.
"..."
Silence descended once more on the corridor.
"...Ugh."
In that silence, Lilien, frozen in stunned shock, bit her lip hard and turned away.
"...Stupid idiot."
And as she muttered that and left down the corridor, her expression was dyed with profoundly complex emotions.