The day after Whitney offered Parsha the butler position as a replacement for the soon-to-retire Alfred, Parsha confidently entered the Lingard estate, setting a new record-high score in the servant examination.
Of course, regardless of the test results, Whitney would have accepted her anyway, but Parsha's talent was too exceptional to warrant such favoritism.
"This financial situation is really a disaster, isn't it?"
"Haha…."
Not even two hours into her role as butler, Parsha had already examined most of the estate's ledgers and documents. With a bright and cheerful expression, she began to pierce through Whitney's composure.
"To be honest, this is practically financial suicide. Even if you try something new now, I doubt it can be reversed."
Of course, even as the granddaughter of the head butler, it took significant determination for Whitney to reveal financial records—potentially the family's disgrace—to someone who had only been here for a single day.
"…If things continue as they are, how long can we last?"
"Well… I'd say less than three months before everything collapses."
Despite knowing her abilities better than anyone and going against opposition to hand over most of the ledgers, Whitney couldn't help but feel a sense of bitterness at the doomsday diagnosis coming from Parsha's mouth. That was how dire the family's situation was.
"But…."
Just as she was about to add something, Parsha hesitated and shut her mouth.
"As I said, if you have something to say, don't hesitate."
Noticing this, Whitney spoke gently to her, who was sitting at the office desk in his place. Parsha, after briefly gazing at him, finally opened her mouth again.
"…I think we might be able to last about a year."
"And what makes you think that?"
Her eyes trembled slightly.
"The engagement with Lady Meredia… It's official, isn't it?"
When Whitney responded with nothing but a smile, her excitement grew, and she continued speaking.
"Of course, Lady Meredia's engagement has been a topic of gossip among the nobles, but I've also been following it quite closely. So much so that I spent my allowance from my grandfather entirely on gossip papers."
"…So, did you come across rumors about me and her in those gossip papers?"
"Yes. Though most of the foolish reporters claimed that Lady Meredia was desperate enough to latch onto a mere count's household, I'm sure of it—there must have been some kind of deal between you two."
She looked exactly like a model student, confidently answering a teacher's question.
"A few days ago, when I checked the estate's management documents, I found some suspicious details. The maids suddenly took sick leave, records showed that tea and snacks for guests were taken out, yet the estate's entry logs remained perfectly clean."
"Hm…"
"From that alone, I can roughly guess who visited the estate that day."
After finishing her explanation, Parsha's eyes sparkled as she subtly looked at Whitney, as if waiting for praise, 'I did well in choosing you as my butler.'
However, Whitney remained silent. Just as Parsha began to look slightly puzzled—
"I do enjoy reading gossip papers myself."
Tilting his head slightly, Whitney muttered in a low voice.
"But was my name ever mentioned in them?"
"…!"
Parsha flinched momentarily. Whether he noticed or not, he scratched his head and looked at her again.
"Well, I'm sure everything you said is correct."
Though he smiled, the room's atmosphere had suddenly turned cold.
"I hold your insight in high regard."
The temperature in the room hadn't actually dropped, but for Parsha, who had to endure Whitney's unsettling smile, it certainly felt that way.
"So, if you're right and we have a year's time, what do you think we should do?"
"Huh?"
Snapping out of her frozen state, Parsha refocused as Whitney's soft voice reached her.
"Can we stabilize the family's finances?"
This time, she responded immediately.
"I will do my best."
"That's the answer I wanted."
At last, Whitney's smile shifted into one of satisfaction, and the previously icy atmosphere returned to normal.
"Well then, I have some matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."
As Parsha took a brief moment to catch her breath, Whitney suddenly seemed to remember something and turned back.
"Oh. I'll grant you full authority over financial matters, so go ahead and use your talents without needing to report to me."
Just before leaving the room, he tilted his head slightly and added in a low voice,
"I look forward to working with you, Chief Butler Parsha."
As the door closed, silence filled the office.
'I had my suspicions….'
Sitting idly for a moment, Parsha's face twisted into an expression of disbelief.
'He's already figured everything out.'
Of course, her intelligence was among the highest in the empire, but her true talent lay in 'insight.'
To be more precise, by consuming a large amount of mana, she could deduce the essence of a subject or reach a broad conclusion about an event.
'Did Grandfather give him a hint? No, even Grandfather doesn't fully understand my abilities.'
Her power wasn't something just anyone could possess. She was one of the extremely rare individuals born with an innate blessing.
And the rumor that the emperor was searching desperately for such people was well-known.
To avoid catching the emperor's attention—someone she had no interest in serving—Parsha had never revealed her secret to anyone.
Yet, somehow, Whitney had uncovered it within a single day of meeting her.
'I never thought he'd deduce it just from my minor habits….'
Parsha had a habit of stating conclusions first and loosely filling in the reasoning afterward.
Until now, people had always been too focused on how precise her conclusions were to question her vague explanations.
But Whitney had not only caught onto that flaw—he had gone as far as to outright acknowledge her 'insight.'
"Haha…."
For the first time, Parsha felt as if she were dancing in the palm of someone else's hand, and her body began to tremble.
"Amazing… really amazing…."
Unlike others who faced Whitney and trembled from fear or dread, Parsha's trembling was purely from exhilaration.
'Then… even this mess of a financial situation….'
At that moment, even the finances of the Lingard estate, which had initially been incomprehensible even to her keen insight, were starting to make sense.
At first glance, the family's businesses and investments seemed completely inconsistent and erratic, but in reality, they all had one common thread.
'Just how big of a picture is he drawing?'
Realizing this, the sheer excitement in Parsha's expression was momentarily replaced by a faint trace of concern.
'Can I really pull this off?'
If her guess was correct, Whitney's plan wasn't just about reviving the Lingard family.
Once his grand scheme was complete, it wouldn't just shake the nation—it might overturn the entire empire's structure, something that hadn't happened in centuries.
"No… even if I can't, I have to."
Her brief moment of hesitation faded, and her eyes sharpened with determination.
"He trusts me this much, even though I haven't accomplished anything yet…."
In a world where one's status mattered more than talent, even the most capable individuals found it difficult to truly rise.
Parsha knew this well, having witnessed it firsthand through her grandfather's experiences, and she was more aware than anyone of just how unconventional the treatment she was receiving was—given her status, age, and lack of experience.
But in truth, none of that really mattered to her.
'Being the second-in-command to the Demon King… what could be more meaningful than this?'
The chilling presence Whitney had exuded earlier, the kind that would send shivers down an ordinary person's spine, was instead a boundless source of motivation for someone like Parsha, who harbored rather unconventional dreams.
"Alright, then. Let's start by acquiring additional shares in the Levertaine mine."
From that day forward, the Lingard estate's remaining budget was funneled entirely into fueling Whitney's 'grand plan.'
'Since he entrusted me with full financial authority, there's no need to report something as trivial as this.'
Of course, if Whitney—who had never actually drawn such a grand plan—found out, he might have foamed at the mouth and fainted.
*****
"Phew…."
Having made an excuse to make her leave the office as quickly as possible, I let out a sigh and hung my head.
'I can't believe my name is already making rounds in the gossip papers.'
Honestly, I was so embarrassed that I could barely control my expressions in front of Parsha.
I had never been good at handling public attention, and the sudden shift to being a well-known figure overnight was deeply unsettling.
But I had already committed to aligning myself with Meredia, so there was no turning back now.
I would just have to accept it as fate.
'Still, now that I've entrusted the finances to Parsha, I feel a little less burdened.'
I had worried that even Parsha might shake her head at the situation, but thankfully, with the time bought through my engagement with Meredia, she seemed confident that things could be turned around.
Now, all that was left was to trust her completely.
Since I had never managed finances before—let alone made an investment—trying to interfere would only expose my lack of knowledge and end in disappointment. It was far better to leave everything in her hands.
Of course, if my father were still around, he would have been furious.
But since I was the one cleaning up the mess he had left behind as acting head of the household, he wouldn't have much room to complain later.
"I should probably grab the ledgers and flee the estate as my final act of loyalty to the family…."
As I pulled out the documents, Alfred muttered something under his breath with a grave expression.
But I figured he was just grumbling about Parsha again, so I didn't bother paying him any mind.
'She'll handle it well, won't she?'
Truthfully, as Alfred pointed out, Parsha's young age was a slight concern.
But considering she had managed to turn around Meredia's collapsing assets—multiplying them tens, if not hundreds, of times—I had no doubt she could do it again.
'Now that I think about it… how does someone so young possess such insight?'
As my thoughts drifted, I recalled the description of Parsha from the game's lore.
'A genius butler who rose to her position at an early age. Her insight is unparalleled, yet she never boasts about it.'
Even in the lore, where most characters were detailed with thorough explanations, some parts—like Parsha's backstory—were frustratingly vague.
'The descriptions of Meredia's Jewel Eyes and the emperor's mysterious abilities were also strangely ambiguous, just like Parsha's abilities.'
My guess was that these were plot points meant to be revealed in an upcoming DLC, and the developers had intentionally kept the details vague to avoid spoilers.
Unfortunately, I had died before that DLC was released, so I had no way to confirm it.
It left me with a lingering sense of unease, but for now, I needed to focus on the problems right in front of me.
'The prince's engagement ceremony… that's about a month away, right?'
Thankfully, there was still plenty of time before my fate would be decided.
For now, I would take some time to rest, recover my strength, and then seek out the final piece of the puzzle—Bergen. If he joined, they wouldn't just secure military strength but also crucial intelligence, making the engagement scenario surprisingly manageable.
For some reason, confidence suddenly surged within me.
"Y-Young Master!"
"Hm?"
As I was strolling down the corridor with my shoulders lifted in confidence, a trembling voice called out from behind me.
"A… A letter has arrived."
It was Sasha, her legs visibly shaking as she held out an envelope to me.
She had seemed rather cheerful when Parsha arrived, likely because they were the same age and shared a similar name. So why was she suddenly acting like this?
"Sasha, you don't have to bring letters to me directly. You can just leave them in the office—"
"I-I know that… but… it has an incredibly elaborate seal…."
I turned my gaze toward the envelope and immediately understood why she was reacting this way.
'Looks like the engagement invitation has arrived.'
The letter she was holding bore none other than the imperial prince's seal.
"Well, thank you—"
Since I had already accepted my participation in the engagement through my deal with Meredia, I took the invitation without much thought.
However, the moment my eyes landed on its contents, I instinctively shut them tight.
—Whitney Lingard. Who exactly are you that Lady Meredia is so eager to send you an invitation?
It wasn't just the unexpected message from the prince hidden inside the invitation.
—In any case, see you at the engagement ceremony—three days from now!
'Three days from now?'
For some reason, the engagement ceremony had been scheduled much earlier than I had anticipated.
°°°°°°°°°
Meanwhile, at that same hour, in the most opulent yet secretive place at the heart of the imperial capital—
"Is this all the information?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Seated upon the grand throne, the most powerful figure in the empire flipped through the documents in her hands with a bored expression.
"T-The Shadows did their best, but… aside from the disastrous state of his family's finances, his records were shockingly ordinary…."
"As expected, now I want to see for myself."
"Y-Your Majesty, do you mean—?"
At her seemingly offhanded remark, the kneeling informant before her paled in shock.
"Deliver this to the prince."
Without even sparing him a glance, she continued to stare at the portrait at the top of the documents—the image of a boy with narrow, smiling eyes.
"I will be attending this engagement ceremony in person."