My father was dead.
When I was told the news, I couldn't bring myself to cry... not because there was no love between us, but because the moment I opened my eyes, I was already Vain Razgrim—the heir to House Razgrim and a villainous noble—standing before a coffin.
Silver hair fell over my shoulders. The face reflected in the mirror was frustratingly handsome. However, my eyes were sharp... and my mouth looked cruel. If I stayed silent, I could pass for a cold young nobleman, but with even the slightest smile, I looked as if I were plotting to cast someone into the abyss.
But that was fine with me!
In my previous life, I was the one being used. I was made to work from morning until night, unable to go home even after dark, bowing with a smile while shouldering the failures of my superiors. Just when I thought I had finally died, I had been reborn into a noble family. Now, with my father gone, the mansion and the territory were mine.
—In that case, it’s my turn to do the exploiting!
I would be pampered by beautiful women while enjoying a massive bed, warm wine, and tender meat, throwing every bothersome task to those beneath me. I would reclaim everything that was stolen from me in my previous life! At the moment I made that decision, my heart felt a little lighter, even in front of the coffin.
However, reality was not so kind. Three days after the funeral ended, I sat in my office, staring down at the ledgers piled on the desk and pressing my fingers to my forehead.
"...Hey."
The steward standing in the corner of the room slowly looked up. He was a man with a well-groomed gray beard and an unusually large potbelly. His name was Baldo. He was a veteran who had served since the previous head's time, but the look in his eyes held more calculated appraisal than loyalty.
"Yes, young master?"
"What’s the meaning of these larder expenses? The cost of wine for banquets is three times higher than the medicine prepared for my father on his deathbed. Was he trying to cure himself with alcohol instead of medicine?"
Baldo's cheek twitched slightly.
"Those were the previous master's wishes. We often had to welcome guests—"
"I heard my father was bedridden for six months and couldn't even stand, though?"
When I snapped the ledger shut, the sound of the leather cover echoed through the room. The maid standing behind Baldo flinched. The elderly cook looked down, and the gardener stared out the window. No one looked surprised. In other words, they all knew.
—Ah, I've seen this before.
There were plenty of people like this at my old job. When a superior collapses, the people below them scavenge through the cabinets, pocketing money and pushing all the responsibility onto the newcomer. They were the rotten roots of the establishment. If I left them alone, I’d be the one drowning in their filth.
Don't make me laugh!
I want to live a life of ease, not clean up after a rotting mansion.
"Hand over the keys. Now."
"The keys... you say?"
"The larder, the silver room, the medicine cabinet, the stables, the ledger shelves. All of them."
Baldo's eyes narrowed. He likely thought that if the young master acted a bit assertive, he could just soothe me with a practiced face... that was the kind of dynamic he was used to. However, I wasn't my father. I wasn't a man weakened by illness, surrounded by sycophants and doing whatever they said.
"Young master... a mansion has its own flow. Since the time of the previous master—"
"The previous master is dead."
I didn't raise my voice. Even so, a small gasp escaped the maid's lips.
"And right now, the place being bled dry is my mansion... my safe... my larder. Not your pockets."
Finally, the smile vanished from Baldo's face.
I lined up three documents on the desk. The entries for the larder. The horse feed. The records of my father's medicine. None of the numbers matched. They probably thought they had hidden it well, but it was amateurish. In my previous life, I was forced to pick up the slack from my superiors' hidden failures time and time again. Whether I liked it or not, I had developed an eye for discrepancies in paperwork.
"As of today, every one of you is to leave this house."
The air in the room froze.
"...E-Everyone, my lord?"
"Yes. Every last one of you. I'll pay this month's wages, and as a courtesy to those who served my father, I'll even add two silver coins on top. However, return what you stole. Those who cannot will be taken to the territorial capital’s office."
"This is tyranny! We have served your father for years—"
"And this is the result of those years? In that case, I’d have been better off with less experienced help."
Baldo's face flushed a deep red. One of the maids began to sob. The cook fell to his knees, and the gardener couldn't hide his clicking tongue. My heart didn't ache even as I watched them. It was more accurate to say I couldn't afford to let it ache.
If I let these people stay, I'm the one who ends up working.
And I absolutely refuse to let that happen.
"Get out. I'm not a good man... and I have no interest in keeping people who cause me losses in my own home."
The moment I said that, terror took root in their eyes. A cold-hearted young master. A villainous noble who purged his father's vassals in a single night. It was the perfect story for the rumor mills.
But I didn't care. I already had the face of a villain. Silver hair, a sharp gaze, and a look of pure malice whenever I smiled. I would use what I could use. I would squeeze what I could squeeze. To do that, I first had to cut away the rot.
◇
That night, I was nibbling on a piece of cold bread.
"...This is terrible."
I sat alone in a dining hall that was far too large. Half the candles on the candelabra had gone out, the plates were crooked, and the soup was lukewarm. After kicking out all the servants, the mansion had ground to a halt. No morning tea. No hot bath. Even the ashes in the fireplace sat untouched.
I set down the silver spoon and stared at the ceiling.
"Wait... at this rate, I’m the one who’s going to be working."
That's a problem... a massive problem. My dream is a life of luxury and excess, not washing dishes! A villainous noble scrubbing pots in the kitchen on his very first day as head of the house is too pathetic for words.
So, the next morning, I headed to the employment agency in the territorial capital myself, since I had kicked out the coachman as well. Dark clouds were already gathering over my life of exploitation.
The employment agency was an old stone building with a warped front door. Inside, it was packed with the unemployed, people seeking service, and those who had been cast out by their masters. The moment I stepped inside, the room fell silent.
—Well, of course it did.
The young head of House Razgrim had fired every single servant overnight. The rumors had clearly traveled fast. Everyone looked at me with the same expression. They were looking at a cold-blooded villain.
I didn't mind.
If anything, it was convenient. Being feared was better than being seen as soft; otherwise, people like Baldo would just keep appearing.
"I'm looking to hire a live-in maid. Someone who can handle cleaning, laundry, and simple serving. Ideally someone young and attractive, and I’d prefer they weren’t prone to sticky fingers."
The man at the reception desk froze.
"...My lord, you are quite blunt."
"I have to look at this person every day, don't I? Of course I’d prefer someone easy on the eyes. Even if they're skilled, having a gloomy face served with my tea every morning would just ruin the wine."
After saying it, I realized how crass I sounded. But it was the truth. In my previous life, I was forced to look at my screaming bosses all the time. In this life, I at least wanted my tea brought to me by someone beautiful.
The receptionist let out a dry laugh and called into the back.
After a short while, a girl stepped out.
She had beautiful white hair. It was cut into a bob that barely reached her shoulders, the trimmed ends brushing her cheeks. Her skin was pale, and her features were as delicate as a doll’s. However, rather than being simply beautiful, she had a fragile air about her, like a broken thing hidden in the back of a cupboard. Her gray eyes dropped the moment they met mine, and her hands gripped the edges of her worn apron.
"...My name is Mylene."
Her voice was quiet, but her bow was perfect. Her movements were graceful. Her clothes were old, but her collar was impeccably neat. She must have had discipline drilled into her at her previous job.
Her face was good. Her demeanor was good. On top of that, if her reputation was damaged, I could hire her for cheap.
Not bad. For the first addition to my life of exploitation, she was an excellent find.
"Why did you leave your previous house?"
Mylene's shoulders gave a small jolt.
"A silver plate went missing from the guest room, and I was suspected of the theft. There were... several other ways in which I fell short as well."
She wasn't lying.
But that wasn't the whole story, either. People who spoke like that usually took more than their share of the blame. In my previous life, I’d seen many people take responsibility for failures forced upon them. Those people were useful because they felt responsible. But if you left them alone, they’d eventually break.
I couldn't have her breaking on me.
That would make the training a waste of time.
"Your wages will be six silver coins a month. I'll provide a room. Meals are provided in the morning and evening; lunch depends on the work, but you can eat in the kitchen. You get one day off every seven days. I'll provide the uniforms. Any work-related injuries will be treated at the estate's expense. You are only to be called at night for fires, illness, or thieves."
The receptionist's eyes went wide. For a maid with a checkered past, those conditions were surprisingly generous. However, compared to the money those old leeches were siphoning off, it was a pittance. To get someone to work properly, you have to give them enough food, a bed, and money so they don't collapse. If I cut corners and she broke down, I’d just have to come back and find someone else.
Mylene looked up, her gray eyes trembling.
"...My lord. What did you just say?"
"I don't expect you to memorize it all at once. I'll have it written down. I don't want any disputes later."
"No, not that... You're giving me a room and meals?"
"Of course. How are you supposed to live in without a place to sleep? In the stables? You'd just get sick and die on me."
Mylene's lips quivered. I thought she was going to cry, but she fought it back. Perhaps she had been forbidden from crying at her previous job as well. She was carrying some baggage, clearly. But she was pretty, she moved well, and people with nowhere else to go were the easiest to employ.
I signed the contract.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Mylene. I'm not a good man. You're going to work so that I can live comfortably. Brew the tea, tidy the rooms, and make sure the mansion runs even if I don't lift a finger."
"...Yes."
"That was too quiet. Can you do it?"
Mylene clutched the contract to her chest. Her white hair swayed as her downcast eyes rose just a fraction.
"I can!...No, I will. I promise. If you will employ me as a human being."
Those words were far heavier than I had anticipated.
I had intended to pick up a pretty maid I could use for cheap. Yet Mylene looked at me as if I had just salvaged a discarded life.
Stop that... Don't look at me like that.
I'm only hiring you so I can live a life of decadence. I have no intention of becoming some kind-hearted lord.
"...We're going back to the mansion. First, boil some water. Yesterday's bread was like a rock."
"Yes, my lord!"
Mylene bowed deeply.
There was a trace of warmth in her voice that hadn't been there before.
The first step of my easy life somehow began with nearly making my new white-haired maid cry.