Upon entering the official residence, Zoe looked around at the interior and spoke.
"So this mansion weathered the earthquake, then."
"Yeah, it's the official residence the previous governor-general used. Even here in Larak, the provincial capital, many houses collapsed, but this mansion supposedly didn't flinch in the slightest."
"They must have poured a tremendous amount of money into it."
"If the money went toward making the building robust, it's hardly an issue. If even the governor-general had been crushed under the rubble during an emergency, the chaos would have spread even further."
"It is just as you say."
Nobles, and the high-ranking officials equivalent to them, carry numerous duties.
One of them is to preserve their own lives until the very end, keeping themselves in a state where they can take command and assume responsibility.
The same applied to this matter.
If the governor-general had been crushed under rubble the moment the earthquake struck, the confusion would have grown far worse, and the damage would have expanded.
In that sense, spending money on a residence to live safely was by no means a bad thing; rather, it was an absolute necessity.
"While one must be prepared to work down to the bone during an emergency, it is equally necessary to keep oneself in prime condition until such a time arrives—how much do you usually receive in bribes?"
"Huh?"
"You wouldn't embezzle, but aren't there people who send bribes your way?"
"Yes, there are."
Zoe declared without a trace of hesitation in her tone.
"However, I firmly refuse them all. I have never accepted a single bribe."
"Why?"
"Why?"
A comical, flabbergasted squeak escaped Zoe's mouth.
An instantaneous reaction—what one might call a knee-jerk move in board games.
The question must have taken her that much by surprise.
Though it was the same word, "Why?", mine and Zoe's carried entirely different meanings, with the emotions and nuances behind them being a full hundred and eighty degrees apart.
To me, who was asking why she didn't take bribes, Zoe was half-astonished, wondering, Why are you asking why?
Having served me for a long time, there was no fear in her expression, but precisely because of that long service, her bewilderment showed distinctly.
"I want to know the logic. On what logical basis do you refuse bribes and the like?"
With that single phrase, I want to know the logic, Zoe reconsidered the matter.
When asked to explain the logic behind something they take for granted in everyday life, most people find themselves at a total loss.
Such things are surprisingly common.
For instance, if you ask commoners why they work, you get the simple, clear-cut answer: "Because I can't eat if I don't work." But if you ask why they start families and have children, they surprisingly stumble over the answer, and the responses they squeeze out vary wildly.
In the same way, Zoe was now wracking her brains desperately.
After a brief pause, Zoe answered in a tone that still held a slight trace of hesitation.
"Because it is not what Master desires, and furthermore, it would tarnish Master's name."
"Hmm. So if I grant permission, like I just did, there is no problem?"
"Yes. In this instance, it is also part of a stratagem."
"I see."
"In any case, I believe it is based on the absolute premise of not tarnishing Master's name."
Having gathered her thoughts at last, the hesitation vanished from Zoe's tone.
I gave a faint nod.
"Which means you have zero extra income whatsoever, correct?"
"...Yes."
"Hmm. But if that's the case... compared to officials of the same rank as you, isn't your income considerably inferior?"
"That is true. However, the stipend is more than enough to feed myself, and considering that I am able to work for Master's sake, it is of no consequence."
"Is that so..."
I came to a halt.
Stopping in front of a large window, I gazed out at the garden.
"Master?"
"What about the income of those serving beneath you? Not their stipends—their total income."
"That is..."
"Aren't they reading your mood to some extent, refraining from bribes or keeping them modest? If that is the kind of person you are and what you expect of them."
"...Most likely."
"Those people are not devoted to me like you—no, like all of you are."
"I apologize, Master, but I do not quite understand what Master is trying to say..."
"The Empire's stipends are too low."
I declared plainly.
Naturally, my gaze took on a faraway look.
"Especially for civil officials. Even First Prime Minister Don's official stipend is only around 1,000 Rien a year. You could call that a lot, but you could also call it very little. Do you know roughly how much an average man earns in the imperial capital?"
"According to last year's statistics, it was 250 Rien for a man. For a working woman, I believe it was around 50."
Zoe added the women's earnings as supplementary information.
"Right. And so, you see. There is a rough standard for supporting a single servant: a rule of thumb is that your income needs to be roughly ten times theirs. That is the standard for having them as a servant, not as family. Because a servant, in turn, needs enough earnings to support their own family."
"Yes."
Zoe nodded clearly and chimed in.
No longer just a maid, she was now a local magistrate.
She seemed to possess this kind of knowledge naturally in her mind.
"If that's the case, it means someone of the stature of the First Prime Minister could only support one or two maids on his official stipend. Naturally, that is absurd. To maintain the dignity fitting of the First Prime Minister, his estate would require at least twenty people."
"20,000 Rien..."
Following the flow of the conversation, Zoe voiced the number derived from simple arithmetic.
"The First Prime Minister—no, anyone who reaches a reasonably high position becomes busy. They can't be bothered with the chores that servants handle. Ah, you and Evelyn must feel that more acutely than anyone else."
"..................Yes. Rather than doing maid work, I wish to spend that time working for Master and for the people of the domain."
After a long silence, Zoe spoke with some difficulty.
Coming from a maid background herself, she likely felt some resistance to saying with her own mouth that she couldn't be bothered to handle maid work—that is, household chores.
To convey without words that it was fine, I gently patted Zoe on the shoulder.
"Then money is required for that purpose. So, what do we do? Mind you, I will not permit embezzlement or bribery; the law dictates as much."
"Then what will you do?"
"The answer is already decided. We can only take the frontal approach."
"The frontal approach."
"We raise the stipends."
"Indeed..."
"We raise the basic stipends. In fact, we can raise them enough that they can live luxuriously on their legitimate earnings. However."
"However?"
"We make the punishments for bribery and embezzlement even heavier than they are now."
"Even heavier than before, you say?"
Zoe asked back with a cautious expression and tone.
"Yeah."
"Earlier, you stated that ten thousand Rien or more carries the death penalty."
"Correct."
"Though I have not accepted any, I believe I know the going rates. Once someone dips their hands into it, for them to keep it under ten thousand is almost..."
Zoe trailed off with difficulty.
"In short, that is precisely the point."
I stated firmly.
I continued, affirming Zoe's words.
"We will raise their legitimate stipends. They will be able to live without want, and even indulge in luxury. If the stipend were low, they might have some excuse, but if they still take bribes or embezzle despite being highly paid, then it cannot be forgiven—that is the logic."
"That is wonderful, Master. That makes complete sense."
"It's just like what we spoke of earlier with you. It's about following the proper procedures."
I chuckled faintly.
"Yes!"
"So there is one thing I want to ask you. This is something I have yet to decide."
"Yes...?"
Zoe looked surprised.
It seemed quite unexpected to her that I would consult her on something I had not yet settled.
"That the perpetrator themselves receives no leniency is fine. But what about their family—for example, in your case, your mother?"
"...!"
Zoe gasped.
Zoe's mother was a woman whom I had once helped as well.
"Your mother is a simple woman. However, in the eyes of malicious individuals, she would be judged as foolish and easy to manipulate."
"Yes..."
"What would you do if, behind your back, someone smooth-talked that mother of yours, telling her, 'This is all for your daughter's sake'?"
"That is..."
Zoe was at a loss for words, her gaze darting about frantically.
When I stopped and turned back, I saw cold sweat pouring down her face.
Perhaps she had grown anxious, wondering if her mother had actually...
Therefore, I decided to put her mind at ease first.
"Rest assured, I've already investigated."
"Huh?"
"Your mother hasn't done anything of the sort. That much has been verified."
"W-When did you... That is amazing, Master."
"I still fall far short of the late Emperor, though."
I laughed with a hearty "Hahaha," intentionally trying to blow away the heavy mood.
Saying I fell far short of the late Emperor was not mere modesty.
Upon summoning Zoe, and before bringing up this topic, I had her mother investigated.
She still lived with her mother to this day, and her devotion to her mother was well-known.
If that was the case, no matter how impregnable she herself might be—no, precisely because she was an impenetrable fortress, it was only natural to assume they would attack from the periphery.
So I had it looked into, but it seemed Zoe's mother had done no such thing.
Embezzlement was out of the question (there are numerous ways for immediate relatives of high officials to embezzle), and she hadn't accepted bribes either.
Though I managed to thoroughly investigate these matters, I was well aware that I was still far beneath the late Emperor's intelligence network.
"Let's get back on topic. Because I verified that, I can speak to you with peace of mind. I am simply asking you a hypothetical."
"Yes... If it were my mother, then..."
Zoe thought for a moment, then looked up at me with a slightly somber, yet resolute expression.
"I would have to take responsibility."
"...I see."
I pondered briefly and summarized my thoughts.
"Then I shall have the legislation drafted."
Having declared that, I added:
"Regardless of whether it is the official or their family, bribery and embezzlement shall carry the sole penalty of death. However, in actual practice regarding families, we will grant a grace period until the example has been made and fully circulated."
"That is wonderful, Master. I believe that is flawless."
I nodded slightly.
It would undoubtedly serve as a greater deterrent than what existed now.
Some new problem might arise, but we could simply adjust things as they came.
Fearing that would get us nowhere.
Deciding to try it in this form first, I organized the contents finalized with my confidante Zoe in my head, preparing to send them off to legislation.