Chapter 57

That's right! The exam schedule was announced yesterday, for the first time since I entered the school. It will start the day after the event!

......I'll have to put those plans on hold for now. I'm sorry, brother.

"Of course I will. If I can be of service to my brother, I will be very happy."

I tried to smile like a lady, not letting my inner storm of tears of blood get the better of me.

"Thank you...Ekaterina, I wish I had a way to tell you how happy I am to have a sister as sweet as you."

"My, dear brother! What a nice thing to say. If you knew how happy I am to be with you, you would be surprised."

After all, he was my favorite character from my previous life!

But I definitely don't want people to know that the sister you have is actually an over 30-year-old woman or a company employee. When people say that I'm kind or smart, my heart hurts because I feel guilty for being a fraud.

I'm not nice. Even now, I understand that Nona has been fired and has no one to turn to, but I don't want to care anymore about her.

The name "Nona" means "ninth". She was a high class servant at the duke's house, so she must have been born into the nobility. However, if she was born as the ninth child as her name suggests, she must have had no expectations or hopes from the time she was born.

In this society, a dowry is required for marriage. Probably, it has been used up by her brother or sister, and they cannot provide it for her. In fact, it seems that Nona has been serving the old hag without ever getting married. And yet, she can't be taken care of in her parents' home for the rest of her life. There was no place for her in her parents' house, and it was the greatest fortune of her life to be the old hag's maid, and she would have never been thrown out in a fit of displeasure.

When the master she was attached to passed away, and the servants at her side were fired one by one, she tried to use me to continue leeching off our resources out of the situation. It was the end of her luck that she had been accustomed to trying to manipulate me in an attempt to cling on to me.

If it had been the real Ekaterina, a naive young lady who had been imprisoned for many years, she might have been swallowed up by the madness (like how the original Ekaterina of the game ended, probably..?) But I'm not sure.

I guess that's how she had to live her life, worshiping and cheating others while accumulating money, just like how the old hag lived. When I imagine that, I feel sorry for Nona.

But the result is something that she has to accept. I'm sure they didn't give her any severance pay or a letter of introduction to get a new job. They didn't take away the money she accumulated, and I hope she can live the rest of her life with whatever amount she has embezzled.

...This is the first time I realize that the hiring side is also going to be troubled by it. I'm sure you've been an employer all your life and have taken on that responsibility. I respect you again.

As the acting duchess, I am in charge of this huge mansion (including the gardeners, the number of servants must be close to three digits..?) I was a commoner in my previous life, so it's an incredible experience to me that I'm still shying away from it like an American crayfish.

I'll do my best for my brother!