Chapter 129 The Next Marquis
After a long day, Sara got into bed later than usual. She could hear faint voices in the distance. The engagement celebration was probably still going on. As expected, Scott and Blaze had gone home with Thomas, but their father, Jeffrey, was still at the main estate.
'Maybe Mike is with them too. I didn't know that fairy liked to drink that much.'
Sara felt a bit envious. It was only natural since she couldn't try the Elma brandy she made herself.
'I wonder if Miss Rebecca will let me try it once I'm Sophia? Oh, should I call her 'Mother' from now on? And what about Uncle? Should I call him 'Father'? It feels so strange; I wonder if I'll get used to it.'
While she lay in bed, lost in thought, a small door appeared in the air, and she heard a gentle knock. After using soundproof magic on her room, Sara allowed Sedrick to enter.
"So you're coming in through the door today?"
"Last night, there were too many people, so I gave up on the door, but this is for style."
"I don’t see much beauty in that style, but do as you like."
As Sedrick entered, one of Sedrick’s followers came in behind him.
"Is that one of the followers from the Grandchester estate in the capital?"
"Yes, Milady Sara."
The butler-in-training bowed politely.
"This one looks just like the one from before."
"That's because they are my followers. They generally take this form. We can change their appearance to look different ages, but making them look completely different requires a lot of magic."
"I see. The one sent to Roisen was Sed, so is this one Rick?"
"We’ve also sent followers to King Avalon’s palace."
"Really? Then is this one Dory?"
"There's no need to forcefully use part of my name... Actually, naming is unnecessary."
"That's because it's hard to tell them apart."
"Basically, my followers are connected to me, so I know everything. There's not much point in having them report to me..."
"I want to hear reports from cuter ones than Sedrick!"
"What?!"
Then Sedrick transformed into a boy right there with a golden light.
"Do you prefer this form?"
"No, just thinking that this is Sedrick makes me feel disappointed."
"That's... My followers are just mimicking my appearance and personality..."
"I just can't understand that."
"I'm the one who’s hard to understand!"
'How can such cute kids come from something like this?'
"Well, that's fine. Can you report what happened at the Grandchester mansion? If I stay up too late, tomorrow will be tough."
"Understood."
Rick respectfully bowed his head and began to speak.
"First, the young Marquis and his wife are having a bit of a fight."
"What’s the cause of their marital quarrel?"
"The direct cause is that the young Marquis scolded his wife a little for her excessive spending. She brought home receipts for dresses and accessories to the Grandchester mansion."
"How much is it?"
"It's just under 1,000 Dallas. These were for new purchases for the hunting tournament, for both the lady and Chloe."
"Did they really spend that much just for their costumes for the hunting tournament? Even Uncle Edward would scold them for that."
The amount was astonishing. They could spend as they liked since it was their budget, but to spend nearly 10 million yen just for an event lasting about a week was simply unbelievable.
"The lady spends that much every season, and she does a lot of shopping during the hunting tournament every year. The young Marquis family spends around 10,000 Dallas a year, you know?"
"Huh? But the income from the Grandchester territory gives the Grandchester family a budget of 70,000 Dallas per year, right? They have to pay 50,000 Dallas for rent and land taxes, but from that, they also have to cover the castle and residence maintenance costs, not to mention paying the salaries of the servants. They need money to hold balls and tea parties too, so how can they be spending so much just on shopping?"
That's right. The budget for the Grandchester territory and the Grandchester family is separate. Even as the lord, it's not money they can just use freely. From the income of the Grandchester territory, what is paid to the Grandchester family is the compensation for the lord and the rent for the real estate owned by the Grandchester family. That amounts to about 120,000 Dallas.
"The young Marquis inherited a coal mine when the Marquis lady passed away, and the income from that is separate from the Grandchester family's budget. It's about 4,000 Dallas a year."
"I see. I forgot about the income from personal assets. Even so, that means they're spending around 6,000 Dallas, right?"
"That's correct. But there’s a bit of a problem."
"Problem?"
"Yes. The Marquis has announced that he will reduce the budget allocated to the young Marquis family."
"By how much?"
"3,000 Dallas."
"That's half of what they've been getting."
Actually, Marquis didn't really know how much the young Marquis family was spending. This was because it was Marquis himself who allocated a budget of 6,000 Dallas for them. He simply decided to give 1,000 Dallas each to his wife and children, and 2,000 Dallas to young Marquis.
Edward also never asked for more money than what Marquis allocated. However, in the past few years, he felt nervous about his wife's slowly rising spending. Last year, he even cut his own budget to cover his wife's expenses.
Then came the budget cut declaration from Marquis. This forced Edward to tell his wife to be more careful.
"Grandfather cut the budget because of the heavy debts of the territory, right?"
"Yes. He explained it that way."
"But since it’s a crisis for the Grandchester family itself, why did it turn into a fight?"
It's true that Elizabeth had a strong sense of vanity and liked to be treated like a VIP. However, she wasn’t foolish enough not to bear a little inconvenience in an emergency.
"I think it’s because young Marquis told her to 'cut back on shopping' without explaining the reasons."
"He didn’t explain why?"
"Basically, noble men don't talk about money with women."
"But he’s telling her not to buy dresses and accessories?"
"Yes. So, she interpreted it as young Marquis blaming her for her spending."
"And that’s how the fight started."
Rick nodded.
"However, the real problem is what happens next."
"What happened?"
"Of course, young Marquis told her that the budget was cut, but..."
"Did he maybe not explain why the budget was cut?"
"Yes. It seems that the lady doesn't even know about the embezzlement incident itself."
"So, does my aunt think that grandfather got angry and cut the budget?"
"You guessed it correctly."
"This is the worst. That means she thinks she got in trouble for bullying me! What if my aunt goes completely out of control...?"
Sara buried her face in her hands. Considering that Elizabeth had dramatically shown her regret in front of the Marquis, it was clear that she was worried about her husband Edward inheriting the Marquis title. And that worry wasn’t completely off base. Generally, the eldest son inherits the title, but there are exceptions. It all depends on the Marquis. Yet, she had upset the Marquis.
Since Lady Grandchester was not present, she was practically the mistress of the Grandchester family now. For Elizabeth, who had wielded power as the next Marquis's wife, losing that position would be an unbearable pain.
'If Uncle Rob gets married, he will be granted a title through the agreement with Miss Rebecca and the king. But it seems they don’t plan to leave Grandchester. In that case, it will end up bringing a new title and territory to the Grandchester family... Thinking about it that way, Grandfather might really disinherit Uncle Edward.'
As Sara sank deeper into her thoughts, Sedrick, back in his original form, spoke to her.
"Milady Sara. It's true that the Marquis might want to pass the title of young Marquis to Sir Robert. However, since he has already been presented as young Marquis, there needs to be a convincing reason to remove him. It's not that easy to change the next Marquis."
"You can still read my thoughts by my expression, huh? That might be true. But, I think my aunt is feeling more anxious. Since her finances are already shaky, her position isn't safe either, right? People who feel cornered can act unpredictably, and that's scary."
"I see. I understand your worries, Milady."
'I really don't think Uncle Rob or Miss Rebecca will get hurt, though...'
At that moment, Rick spoke up.
"For now, I'll check who the lady is meeting and what they are discussing. I feel like there isn't enough information to make a judgment right now."
"You're right, Rick. I would appreciate it if you keep me updated on what's happening at the Grandchester estate."
"Understood."
"Well then, I'll share some of my magic with you."
Sara patted Rick's head and infused him with magic.
"Thank you so much!"
"I know it’s tough, but do your best."
"Yes!"
Rick replied cheerfully and then returned home to the Grandchester estate through a fairy path in the air.
"Milady Sara... won't you share some magic with me too?"
"Without any unnecessary formalities, I might consider just patting your head."
"How boring!"
"Then it's decided, Sedrick doesn't need any magic, right?"
"Please do!"
Sedrick changed into an even younger boy and bowed his head.
"How sly."
"That's the best compliment!"
He's a fairy with a unique charm. However, surprisingly, Sara actually liked Sedrick.
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