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Nonna stormed into the study where Aleksei was conferring with the butler about arrangements for the imperial visit, furious, and began to pour out her complaints about Ekaterina.
Aleksei fixed the former lady’s waiting maid with neon-blue eyes that shone like ice. After letting Nonna vent until she ran out of breath, he spoke calmly.

“She asked what you thought you were, believing yourself greater than the mistress of the house? I’ll tell you what you are—You are a vermin. For years you cozied up under the tiger’s pelt, living warm and secure and borrowing its prestige, so you came to believe yourself the tiger—a foolish little vermin, nothing more.”

Nonna was stunned by the harshness of his words, and Aleksei pressed on.

“Did you really think that by bringing this to me I would let that girl be at your mercy? Did you truly believe I would allow you to attach yourself to her like a parasite after my grandmother’s death and suck her dry? Anyone who served close to my grandmother ought to know that I repeatedly reproached her for her extravagance. They should also know how she would rage and hurl insults at me in return. What did she call me? So many things. ‘Cold-blooded.’ ‘Disrespectful,’ ‘unfilial,’ ‘ignorant of a noble’s pride’… and in the end it was always the same: ‘Be gone from my sight.’ —Did you think I desired to remake my kind little sister into someone like that grandmother of mine? Fool.”

He spat the words out and turned his gaze to the butler.

“Graham. I apologize for asking this of you this late.”
“It is not a great problem, Your Grace. We have the evidence.”

Aleksei gave a brief nod.

Then he addressed Nonna.

“Nonna Zares, I believe that’s your name—I hereby dismiss you. We know you embezzled payments meant for the tradespeople who supplied my late grandmother. If you refuse to leave, I will hand you over to the capital guard. You may choose: you can walk out now, or you can go to prison. Make your choice.”

.

Since both days of the weekend would be spent attending to matters at the ducal residence, the siblings didn’t return to the dormitory and stayed overnight instead.
During dinner together, Aleksei briefly informed Ekaterina that he had dismissed Nonna, leaving out the detailed exchange.

“I know you purposely kept it from me—most likely because you knew how busy things are right now and didn’t want to trouble me. I’m sorry for having made your kindness go to waste.”
“Please don’t say such a thing, Onii-sama. On the contrary, I feel terrible for having made you worry. You called me the Mistress of House Jurnova. Supervising the servants should be the mistress’s duty, yet through my own inexperience, I ended up placing that burden upon you. I am truly sorry.”

Now that I think about it—before talking about helping with his work, I really should have taken on the role of acting duchess right away…
I *had* intended to start with things like checking the old hag’s dresses and meeting with the remaining attendants, but… Yeah, I’m still not ready.
I have a vague idea of what a lady of the house is supposed to do, but putting it into practice is another matter entirely.
I can make up for my academy studies by reading books, but household management—the sort of thing that never made it into public records—is another story. Even in my previous life, there hasn’t been much historical material about it, and a house that’s lasted four hundred years probably has its own customs and traditions anyway.

Aleksei smiled.

“Those words are just like you—so responsible. But there’s no need to worry. Graham manages the inner workings of the capital residence. He’s been serving as butler since our grandfather’s time; he’s the living archive of the house. I simply leave it all to him.”

Behind Aleksei stood Graham, who bowed respectfully. He looked a little younger than our grandfather, perhaps around sixty, his silver hair gleaming and his features dignified in that quintessentially butler-like way.

“But if you wish, I can grant you the authority befitting a true lady of the house.”
“No, I would rather have Graham—whom you trust—continue overseeing the capital residence as he has. I only wish to learn, little by little, about the duties of the household. —Graham, would you be so kind as to teach me?”
“Of course, my lady, as you wish.”

Ekaterina smiled at him, and Graham bowed deeply in return.

“On the contrary, it would be my honor if you would truly preside over us as lady of the house. The arrangement thus far was merely one of necessity. To see our kind young lady support His Grace and for the two of you to strengthen the ducal house together—it is a wonderful thing indeed.”
“…I see. Seems I’ve come to rely on you too much, Graham. I’ll have to start lightening your workload soon.”

Uh oh—come to think of it, in a world where life expectancy isn’t as long as in my previous one, does that mean Graham’s about due for retirement…?

“Ekaterina, if you truly wish to, how about this—on weekends, you can come here with me and oversee the household together with Graham. After the imperial visit, once things settle down. And after your exams, of course.”
“Yes, that would be appropriate…”

Ugh…
That’s right! Yesterday they announced the dates for the first exams since enrollment. They start the day after the imperial visit!
…Guess I’ll have to give that up. Sorry, Onii-sama.

“Of course, I would be honored. If I can be of help to you, Onii-sama, I shall be truly happy.”

So she said with a graceful smile, hiding the storm of despair in her heart.

“Thank you. …Ekaterina, I wish there were words to tell you how blessed I am to have such a kind sister.”
“Oh, Onii-sama! What a delightful thing to hear. But if you knew how happy *I* am to be by your side, I’m sure you would be astonished!”

After all—you’ve been my fave even in my previous life!

Though I would never let him find out his “sister” was actually a thirty-something office worker on the inside. Every time he called me kind or wise, I felt like a fraud.
I’m not kind at all. Even now, I understand that Nonna probably has nowhere to turn after being dismissed, yet she hasn’t felt any urge to help her.

The name “Nonna” means “ninth.” For her to have served as a lady’s waiting maid—a high-ranking servant—she must have been born to nobility. But as the ninth child, she’d have been born into a life without expectations or prospects.
In this society, marriage requires a dowry. Most likely, it had already been spent on her older siblings. In the end, Nonna had entered service under that wretched old woman without ever marrying, with no home waiting for her. Becoming the old woman’s maid must have been her greatest stroke of luck, and she couldn’t afford to anger her mistress and be thrown out.
When her employer died and the attendants were gradually dismissed, Nonna tried to use Ekaterina next, to keep living off someone else’s favor. But her ingrained arrogance and habit of lording it over others sealed her fate.
Had it been the naïve, sheltered Ekaterina from before—who’d spent her life locked away—she might’ve been swallowed up by that madness (*Is that why the game-version Ekaterina’s dresses were so weird…?*). But with a thirty-something working woman mixed in here, things are different.
Maybe Nonna had spent her life obeying the old hag, hoarding embezzled money because that was the only way she knew how to survive. Thinking about that, I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for her.
Still, she’d have to live with the consequences herself. She wasn’t given severance pay or a letter of recommendation for future employment, but at least they hadn’t confiscated the money she’d stashed away. Hopefully, she could make do with that for the rest of her life.

…For the first time, I realized how difficult it must be to be on the employer’s side.
Onii-sama has been born into that position, carrying such responsibility all his life. I gained a newfound deep respect for you.

Overseeing this enormous residence as acting duchess (counting the gardeners, maybe it’s nearly a hundred servants…?) and entertaining the imperial family—For someone who’d been a commoner in my previous life, it all still feels overwhelming, like I’m about to collapse like a crayfish out of water.
But if it’s for Onii-sama, then I’d do my best!

And so, the next day, Ekaterina spent the entire day training in etiquette for dealing with the imperial family under the guidance of a manners instructor.