I Need to Raise My Younger Sister Right

Chapter 2

The drawing room connected to the bedroom.

After they’d locked up the lady-in-waiting inside the closet, Marcus broke the awkward silence.

“I believe it’s been half a year since I’ve last seen you sober.”

At such harsh words, Rachel cleared her throat several times in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.

Why am I the only one who needs to deal with her shame?!

He was right.

During the past six months, there wasn’t a single day when Rachel was sober. How could she be when her meals were substituted with alcohol?

Considering that was how she lived, her body wasn’t in any pain, and it looked fine for the most part…

Could it be that I’m a mage of some sort?

The pointless thought brushed past her mind, but eventually she shook her head. If this body was truly that of a mage, she wouldn’t have died like that in the original novel.

Indeed, magical power was a type of energy that held a strong vital force.

How was it that Marcus looked much more sickly than herself?

“So have you been taking care of your meals?” she asked worriedly once she’d wrested herself from her thoughts.

Marcus responded by holding out a stack of papers. “Your Grace, these are the reports that I’ve gathered and organized while forgoing my meals to the point that I’ve become like this. These reports require your attention.”

Despite his tired appearance, his brown eyes gleamed with determination.

“Hmm...”

She quickly scanned the thick bundle of papers. It contained budget plans, expenditure statements, and information regarding the actual condition of the territory.

“You’ve managed to gather all of these on your own?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Rachel’s eyes flashed.

I always thought he was very skilled while reading the novel, but I guess people like him are just exceptional to begin with!

“I shall take a closer look later. For now, will you briefly explain the situation?”

“The territory is a mess. The soldiers and knights haven’t received their wages in months, and the people are fleeing due to the high tax rates.”

She was aware that the territory was halfway driven into ruin, but this was a little harsh, wasn’t it?

Her head began to spin.

“How did it come to this?”

He glared at her and said, “Did you forget that you’ve delegated full authority to the head lady-in-waiting?”

“Ah...”

“All reports have been going to her. She’s the one running House Agnus as of right now, rather than you, Your Grace.”

Her eyes darkened. Rachel wasn’t fit to be the heir of such a powerful family.

After losing her parents, she wasn’t able to overcome the pressure of having to lead her household and delegated everything to the head lady-in-waiting while she wasted herself away with alcohol.

As a result of that, her territory had fallen into a miserable state.

How pathetic…

It was time to leave behind the weak personality that had belonged to this body.

If she were to act according to Rachel’s original personality, she wouldn’t be able to resolve this mess.

She opened her mouth and said in a cold voice, “I suppose our first order of business will be to track down her people and get rid of them at once.”

“D-do you really mean that?”

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you a favor regarding the head lady-in-waiting.”

“A favor?”

Rachel got up from her seat, grabbed the wine glass that she’d hidden in the corner of the bathroom, and came back out.

Marcus knit his brow. His expression indicated he’d known this would happen.

“Don’t be mistaken. I didn’t bring this out to drink it.”

“Then why...?”

“It was served to me by the head lady-in-waiting. I was wondering if you would be able to investigate the contents of this glass.”

At her words, he spoke angrily. “Don’t tell me...!”

“We’ll have to see. I don’t know what it is, but I’m certain that she’s done something to it.”

“How could a person do something so heinous?!”

Rachel bit her lip to stop herself from bursting into laughter.

To hear such words from a man who would later become a cold-hearted backstabber capable of resorting to any means necessary to get what he wanted…

Well, I guess he probably wouldn’t have been able to protect the young duchess if he hadn’t become that way…

At the sudden reminder of the harsh life that her favorite character had to endure, a corner of her heart felt heavy.

She continued to speak in a sullen voice. “Then I shall leave it up to you to find out what that is.”

“Indeed. I shall find out as soon as possible and let you know.”

Marcus nodded with determination in his eyes and left the room.

However, Marcus’ loyalty didn’t belong to her. His heart was devoted to his loving hometown and the former duke.

But this is a man who will eventually become Liz’s hands and feet.

In other words, he could be trusted to get the job done.

She skimmed through the papers he had left behind.

This should be enough.

She had an organized list of all the names of the sneaky little rats. There was no need for her to wait until all the evidence was in her hands.

Then shall I slowly get started?

She smiled resolutely as she stood up from her seat.

Quick judgment and initiative would be crucial to trapping her prey and preventing them from escaping.

***

The Agnus Estate Drill Hall should’ve been filled with loud noises and a sweltering heat, but it was in disarray.

There was a group of men drinking in broad daylight and another group attending to their duties with stern expressions on their faces.

“Sir, please excuse me, but can I have a moment of your time?”

Rupert Archer, a man with short, brown, grass-like hair, blue eyes, and bulky muscles in his mid-to-late thirties, smiled bitterly at his subordinate, who approached him with a darkened expression.

“Indeed. Why don’t we talk over here?”

He walked with his subordinate to a corner of the drill hall.

“I’m in a very difficult situation right now. If I don’t receive my wages this month, I won’t be able to hold out.”

“I shall try to have a word with Sir Tayle.”

“I apologize, sir.”

Rupert sighed as he approached the knight commander, who leisurely drank a beer.

Tayle Weiber was the head lady-in-waiting’s brother-in-law.

His attendance was so poor that it was rare to see him inside the drill hall, but on the days when he would make an appearance, he would ruin the atmosphere by drinking like he did today.

But even then, there was no one who could discipline him.

While the vice knight commander, Rupert, was a viscount, Tayle Weiber held the title of count.

When the former Count Weiber suddenly perished without an heir in line, the title passed to his younger brother.

Being that he was a high-ranking noble and backed by the head lady-in-waiting, who received the duchess’s favor, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to act like a lazy fool.

“Sir, there is something I must ask you.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

Tayle, who was drunk and frivolously chatting, lifted his red face.

“How much longer will it take to pay the people who haven’t received their wages yet?”

“Ah, that? Just tell them to wait a bit longer.”

When Tayle waved his hand in annoyance, Rupert clenched his teeth.

Half a year had already gone by since Rupert and the knights who followed him were paid.

On the other hand, the knight commander, along with a few other knights, seemed to receive their wages strictly on time and even threw feasts as rewards for their good performance.

Yet he wanted Rupert to wait?

“How much longer must we wait? Are you saying that the people who’ve already received their wages will continue to receive them while the rest of us simply suck on our fingers and wait quietly?”

“Hah, look at this guy. You dare to rudely talk back to me?”

Tayle wobbled as he stood up, a knight commander who couldn’t even control his own body.

Rupert was flooded with doubt. How had such a powerful family as House Agnus come to such a miserable state?

“It’s not like I said anything wro—”

At that moment, Tayle’s hand came swooping down to smack Rupert’s cheek.

“What? Then are you saying that I’m in the wrong? Huh?”

Rupert, having unexpectedly received a slap to the face, clenched his jaw.

“Hey, come on. Sir, that’s enough. You’ll make the vice knight commander cry at that rate,” said one of the other knights.

“You tactless bastard. When something like this happens, you’re just supposed to pretend you didn’t see it. You bastard,” came another voice.

The outpouring of mockery and humiliation enveloped Rupert.

He was slowly being pushed to his limits.

Although he had engraved in his entire body and mind that he would remain loyal to House Agnus for the rest of his life…

“That’s enough,” he said.

The head of the family had abandoned her duties, secluded herself from the world, and wasted herself away with alcohol.

There was no one left in this family whom he had to serve with loyalty.

“What are you going to do if I don’t stop?”

Tayle smirked dumbly as he continued slapping Rupert’s cheek.

“What are you going to do? Huh?”

Was it necessary for Rupert to endure such humiliation?

Finally, he grabbed Tayle’s wrist.

“Hey. L-let go of my hand. Are you really challenging me right now?”

“I believe I told you to stop.”

“Y-you bastard, one word is all I need to fire bastards like you. Huh? Is that what you want? To get fired?”

Reminded of the knights who followed him, the strength in his hand slowly gave out.

If he were to leave this household, who would take care of his subordinates left behind?

But at that moment, a knight who’d been cleaning the weaponry threw his rag on the floor and stood up.

“Damn it. I’ve had enough of this filthy mess,” he said. “Goddamn it, do you think we have nowhere else to go if not here?”

At those words, the others nodded in agreement.

They had simply remained out of courtesy and loyalty to their former master, but there were a lot of other places that sought them out.

“There’s a limit to what a person is allowed to do. That’s enough of your filthy crap. Sir Rupert, why don’t we put an end to this nonsense and just leave?”

“He’s right. There’s no reason for us to stay here while being treated like this.”

As the knights who’d been harboring ill will towards the situation chimed in one by one, the atmosphere began to turn chaotic.

To take back control, Tayle drew his sword and shouted, “Have all of you gone mad? Do you want to die?”

However, the knights, who had already made up their minds to leave, packed their belongings and stood up one by one.

“You bastards. If you don’t stop now...!”

A very unexpected voice came from the entrance of the drill hall. “If they don’t stop now, then what?”

The knights all turned to see who had spoken.

That’s…

Someone who shouldn’t have been in this sort of place.

Rachel Agnus watched with an intrigued look on her face.