MOSC 31

He spoke arrogantly with a confident attitude.

“I will take care of matters like this, so Your Highness the Princess may simply rest at ease. You will only be more confused if you look at ledgers you are not familiar with, and it will likely only give you a headache.”

It was at that moment that On leisurely opened her mouth.

“…That is right. Managing ledgers is not a job for just anyone. Especially the ledgers of a family that serves as a model for others, like this Shim family that I have married into.”

At that moment, Eunuch Gong’s expression stiffened.

‘Hmm…?’

With the corners of her mouth raised in a benevolent smile, On began to continue speaking without mispronouncing a single syllable.

From that point on, Eunuch Gong’s plan began to fall apart completely.

The princess, no, On showed no sign of being flustered in the slightest.

Even her manner of speaking was gentle, like the very model of a noble lady.

She clearly had a smiling face, yet with every single word, she did not yield.

…That was why it was all the more extraordinary.

“Eunuch Gong is right. Indeed, when managing the property ledgers of a clean-handed official’s family, one must be wary of personal gain, prioritize fairness and integrity, and transparently record all income and expenditures so that it may serve as an example for future generations, is that not the law?”

From that point on, Eunuch Gong’s expression began to rot.

‘What the…. They said she was a child. They said she was insolent.’

Then why does she have the dignity of someone who has lived for fifty years as the eldest daughter-in-law of an aristocratic family?

It was only natural.

Anyone who lived for half a lifetime as Princess Bonghwa’s personal court lady was bound to reach a state of enlightenment.

On had naturally acquired a conversational skill that combined a composure and patience comparable to that of a noble lady.

On’s counterattack continued.

“As the wife of a clean-handed official’s family, I believe it is my duty to be wary of luxury and waste, and to oversee that the family’s assets are used correctly.”

“Ah, no, there is no need for Your Highness the Princess to go that far….”

“Why would it not be so?”

Eunuch Gong tried to stop her, but On was not one to be stopped.

On’s eyes, tinged with a manic light, shone clearly.

Sparkle, sparkle.

Those were already the eyes of someone who could not be stopped.

The habits she had developed during her days as a court lady had already been triggered.

That was right.

It was not for nothing that On had worked under Princess Bonghwa for over a decade.

A dog at a village school learns to recite poetry after three years.

Moreover, On was not a dog, but a person.

And it was not three years, but a good ten-plus years.

That period was long enough for even the innocent and good-natured On to earn such a nickname.

‘The Palace Wall Ghost.’

It was a moniker given to her because she knew every nook and cranny of the palace as if she had eyes and ears attached to the walls.

On opened her mouth.

“Since marrying into this family, I intend to follow the spirit of this household and inspect Eunuch Gong, who is in charge of managing the family’s finances. Therefore, I plan to ensure that Eunuch Gong performs his financial management transparently and with integrity.”

“No, I….”

“There is no need for thanks.”

Without taking a single breath, she poured out a stream of words that overwhelmed Eunuch Gong.

Then, she began to spread open the ledger in earnest and question him point by point.

“You said one hundred sacks of rice were brought in. Yet there are only ten sacks in the warehouse. Explain yourself, Eunuch Gong, where the rest has gone.”

Flustered, Eunuch Gong mumbled evasively.

“Ah, that is… In commemoration of Your Highness the Princess’s marriage, we distributed gifts to several families….”

On cut him off as she asked.

“If that is the case, should that not also have been recorded in the ledger? However, I see no such entry anywhere. Are you saying it was omitted?”

Even more flustered, Eunuch Gong made an excuse.

“Ah, perhaps the person in charge of the records made a mistake… I failed to check….”

On smiled faintly and said.

“A mistake? Is it not your role to correct any mistakes in the ledger records? Yet you failed to check even when such a large amount of rice has disappeared. This seems to be a problem that goes beyond simple carelessness.”

All these words were hidden behind a gentle tone and a smile, but they ultimately boiled down to one sentence.

‘Do you want to die…?’

…Of course, there was not the slightest chance that the soft-hearted On would say such a thing, but that was how it sounded to Eunuch Gong’s ears anyway.

This was something anyone who had ever worked in the palace would empathize with.

Eunuch Gong eventually wiped away his sweat and bowed his head.

‘That woman is no ordinary person.’

His intuition, honed over some twenty years of service as a palace official, was kicking in.

The moment had come when his head would fly if he answered incorrectly now.

“I… will check again….”

His face turned pale in an instant.

However, he had picked a fight with the wrong person, very much so.

…Originally, when it came to work, On was a notorious hard case even in the palace.

How bad must she have been to get the nickname ‘The Palace Wall Ghost’?

For over a decade, from before the sun rose until the sun set, she had tended to the princess with one hand and coordinated the internal affairs of the princess’s palace with the other.

Behind her dazed and innocent impression and personality, the meticulousness and tenacity to cling to rules and etiquette to the very end were the reasons On had been able to survive in the palace.

Her eyes sharp, On flipped a page of the ledger and began to point things out meticulously.

…Eunuch Gong had well and truly met his match.

“Here, the seasoning entry is also strange. It is written that fifty geun each of salt, soy sauce, and soybean paste were brought in. However, the kitchen jars are empty, and the servants are only using a few handfuls. Where did that salt and sauce go?”

Eunuch Gong waved his hands dismissively and made an excuse.

“Ah, that! Perhaps… there was a problem during storage….”

On smiled and cut him off.

“If there was a problem during storage, would it not be a proper ledger if the location and details were recorded in detail? That is how I learned to prepare ledgers in the palace.”

On smiled sweetly and kindly.

But that smile was somehow eerie.

Wiping away his sweat, Eunuch Gong did not know what to do.

On’s hands flipped through the ledger, pointing out clear evidence, and her every word relentlessly shattered his sophistry.

This woman, her skill at berating someone with a smile was no ordinary thing.

It was only natural.

…It was the law that those who have been berated berate others better.

On’s life with Princess Bonghwa was berating itself.

In other words, when it came to thoroughly tearing a person apart, On was more skilled than anyone else here.

And she did it more sweetly than anyone else.

“I will handle the task of organizing this ledger and re-matching the supplies myself. Eunuch Gong, do not even think about touching the Shim family’s ledgers until you have re-learned how to correct the supply records.”

It was a bolt from the blue.

On looked down at the bewildered middle-aged man and smiled brightly.

“If you wish to re-learn how to organize ledgers, I will personally teach you.”

The way she had learned from Princess Bonghwa.

‘So give me back my severance pay while I’m asking nicely.’

This should be enough.

On looked at Eunuch Gong with an indifferent gaze.

In truth, On’s goal was only to put a little pressure on Eunuch Gong.

‘There’s no way a seasoned palace official would be scared by a threat like this.’

On had taken the minimum possible measure.

And she actually believed that Eunuch Gong would indeed react just about as much as she had expected.

However, at that moment, something completely different from what On had imagined happened.

‘I misjudged him…!’

Eunuch Gong had overestimated the severity of the situation.

…And by a lot more than On had anticipated.

In that instant, Princess Bonghwa’s nicknames had popped into Eunuch Gong’s mind.

In the past, he had simply let those rumors pass him by.

He had thought that rumors circulating in the world were always bound to be exaggerated.

Besides, with On’s more innocent impression than he had anticipated, Eunuch Gong had completely let his guard down.

But now, seeing On pressuring him while pointing out every item in the ledger, it made him think that those rumors might not be exaggerations but perhaps even more than the truth.

‘The God of Destruction of the Royal Family.’

‘The Tomb of the Palace.’

‘The Deserter Maker.’

The numerous past achievements of Princess Bonghwa, which he had overlooked, unfolded in Eunuch Gong’s mind.

Of course, the one before Eunuch Gong’s eyes was not Princess Bonghwa, but On, who had been her personal court lady.

However, Eunuch Gong’s tremendous misunderstanding had already begun.

‘I’m fucked…!’

His imagination spun tale after tale.

‘She must have gotten even more vicious nicknames because she cut off the heads of palace servants so nonchalantly with such a gentle face…!’

…Eunuch Gong was completely mistaken all on his own.

And so, he fell to his knees without realizing it and cried out.

“Your Highness the Princess, please forgive me! From now on, I will not misplace a single fingertip!”

Indeed, a desirable palace official had to be quick to change their tune.

From that point, On became flustered.

‘Hmm…?’

He’s apologizing to this extent?

She was bewildered, never dreaming that this situation had occurred because Eunuch Gong had firmly mistaken her for Princess Bonghwa.

In fact, On had not even thoroughly scanned all of those ledgers.

Her objective from the start was only to poke at Eunuch Gong a little.

This was because usually, when scolding court ladies, if you just recited the first few items correctly, they would get scared and start confessing to things you had not even investigated.

On had only one goal.

‘My severance pay…!’

Her two eyes glinting like silver ingots, On really had been planning to receive only that and quietly withdraw.

From the start, Wigyeom had earnestly asked her not to get involved in household affairs, and she herself was reluctant to impersonate Princess Bonghwa, so she had intended to be cautious.

‘She is being so quiet, she must be contemplating how to punish me…!’

However, Eunuch Gong misunderstood her silence in an even more terrifying way.