Qin has always been an ambitious maid, unwilling to settle for being just an ordinary servant; her ultimate goal has always been to become a housekeeper.
The appearance of Wei Wei made Qin feel that she was one step closer to this goal. It could be said that, apart from the butler and Dolores, she was the most eager to see Wei Wei and Felix get together.
But she never expected that before becoming a housekeeper, she might first become an accountant.
And not just any accountant—the Earl's accountant.
The salary of a professional accountant is much higher than that of a maid, and it is a very respectable position. Typically, only well-educated men deeply trusted by their masters could hold such a role. Women were never allowed to become accountants; at most, they could assist their mistresses with some private financial calculations while serving as maids.
Qin was well aware that if it weren't for Wei Wei's intervention, she would never have had such an opportunity in her lifetime.
She didn't know if she would have the chance to continue working in this field after completing this task, but Qin was still immensely grateful to Wei Wei.
The same was true for Dolores's two maids.
The three maids, along with two male servants summoned by Butler Barton, including Ward, formed a temporary transcription team of five. After Wei Wei explained the workflow, they were assigned to another room to copy the forms.
The selected five were all intelligent individuals. Even the two maids, who were about the same age as Dolores, were no less capable. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to learn as much as Dolores just by listening in. Wei Wei checked on them from time to time and found that they quickly progressed from being unfamiliar to proficient, mastering the entire workflow.
They even knew how to divide the work among themselves: two would read the account books, two would transcribe, and the remaining one would verify that the content in the forms matched the account books exactly.
What was delivered to Wei Wei were the completed forms, with any errors discovered during transcription specially marked.
However, such errors were relatively few, occurring only in minor and easily overlooked areas, and the amounts involved were not significant—completely different from the new account books Felix had brought back.
When Felix learned of this, his expression remained impassive.
From the point when the frequency of errors suddenly increased, it was clear that the accountants who had worked for them for many years had started their misconduct after Felix's father and brother fell ill one after the other. After their deaths, likely aware of some of Felix's reputation, the accountants began to entertain improper ideas, tentatively increasing the scale of their fraudulent accounts, thinking they could deceive their young Earl.
Unfortunately for them, no one expected that Felix, wanting to spend time alone with Wei Wei, would ask for her help. The accountants' fraudulent accounts were laid bare under the new tabular format.
The conclusion was that these individuals had likely been embezzling the Earl's family assets for a long time, and the cumulative amount over the years was substantial.
Such crimes were enough for the enraged Earl to sentence them to death or strip them of their status as freemen, reducing them to slaves.
Felix chose the former, feeling that he did not need such slaves—they deserved to go to hell.
Moreover, their families would be confiscated, and their properties seized to compensate for the losses they had caused.
Wei Wei, who had been present throughout Felix's orders to his subordinates, offered no opinion.
Embezzlement is an unacceptable act, and those who committed it should be prepared to face punishment. Although the death penalty might seem excessively harsh, this was the Middle Ages, a time when lords treated their subjects as personal property.
However, this incident left Felix quite shaken. After the knights left to carry out his orders, he slumped into his chair like a deflated balloon, covering his face with his hands, his expression unreadable.
Dolores, sensing the tension, had fled the room before Felix's outburst, driven by her animal instincts. Wei Wei, seeing her reaction, didn't stop her and simply gave her the day off.
So, at this moment, only Felix and Wei Wei remained in the study. Wei Wei was the only one who saw Felix in this state.
Faced with the choice between offering comfort or silence, she chose the latter.
Thus, the study was filled only with the occasional sound of a quill scratching across parchment.
This forced Felix, who had been waiting for her to comfort him, to lift his head and look at the indifferent girl across from him with a gaze full of grievance and accusation.
Naturally, Wei Wei noticed his stare.
Putting down her quill, she met his gaze: "What's wrong?"
"You should comfort me at a time like this."
"But I thought you needed some quiet," Wei Wei said humorously, though her joke was lost on him.
She shook the abacus by her side, speaking earnestly: "See, I didn't even touch it for your sake."
The noise of the abacus was quite loud—how considerate of her.
Felix: "Are you serious or just joking?"
Wei Wei thought for a moment: "Alright, I was joking. So, how do you feel now?"
"Still angry," Felix said, his temper flaring at the thought: "I guess I'm not cut out to be a proper Earl."
"I think you're doing quite well," Wei Wei replied, flipping through the forms while continuing their conversation: "Everyone in the castle respects you, especially the knights. I doubt anyone else could have gained their loyalty as quickly as you did."
In Wei Wei's eyes, the fact that Felix commanded respect rather than fear was a sign of a good Earl. After all, most nobles didn't leave a positive impression on the lower classes.
Even the knights, romanticized in later times, were not seen as good people by the common folk of this era. Though they claimed to abide by the chivalric code, how righteous could they be when they often disguised themselves as bandits to rob others?
So, Wei Wei believed Felix was doing quite well. At least, unlike other nobles who would only send their knights to deal with threats, Felix personally went out to drive away wild beasts.
"All you lack is time and experience. Once you get used to these things, you'll find they're not so difficult to handle."
Who wasn't a bit clumsy when they first started working? Wei Wei recalled the month she spent doing part-time work with a friend—being an errand girl wasn't exactly a fond memory.
"Then would you be willing to accompany me?"
Wei Wei, who had been reminiscing, didn't catch his words: "What?"
Felix repeated: "Would you be willing to accompany me as I get familiar with these things? To help me manage Sardinson County together?"
His eyes, like sapphires under the light, sparkled with a unique brilliance.
It felt a bit warm.
Wei Wei guessed she was probably blushing, as Felix seemed even more delighted.
She wasn't oblivious and naturally understood the implication behind Felix's words.
But it was somewhat sudden—weren't they just discussing work a moment ago?
She asked for confirmation: "Do you mean what I think you mean?"
"That depends on what you're thinking," Felix said, staring at her: "If you're asking whether I'm pursuing you, then yes, it's quite obvious."
It was indeed quite obvious.
Wei Wei shook her head: "Then I can only tell you that I currently have no plans to end my single status."
She had a series of plans for herself, and romance wasn't one of them.
Felix, however, didn't seem discouraged by her rejection. Instead, he nodded understandingly: "I know. I overheard you telling Dolores that in your country, people don't marry until they're at least eighteen."
Wei Wei had indeed told Dolores this, and it wasn't entirely a fabrication. During the Song Dynasty, the average marriage age for women was eighteen (and twenty-four for men), though most would start discussing marriage arrangements as early as thirteen or even younger.
She had mentioned this to Dolores because girls in Pradi typically married at fourteen, and the young girl was curious why Wei Wei, at sixteen, was still unmarried. So, Wei Wei had half-truthfully explained it to her.
She hadn't expected Felix to overhear.
But she didn't mind continuing along this line: "Yes, so before I turn eighteen, I don't plan to consider this matter."
"I don't think that's a problem. We can start dating now and get married when you're eighteen."
In Felix's view, not being married didn't mean not being single, so dating now wouldn't conflict with Wei Wei's plans.
Wei Wei widened her eyes, utterly baffled by Felix's confidence in mapping out their relationship so clearly.
Had she ever shown any excessive affection toward him?
No!
Wei Wei looked at Felix with a gaze reserved for chauvinists: "I'm quite sure I never agreed to anything."
"Then do you dislike me?" Felix felt a bit hurt; he didn't like the way Wei Wei was looking at him now.
Wei Wei thought for a moment: "I don't dislike you, but I don't like you either."
She was clear about this. Indeed, compared to others, she did have some favorable impressions of Felix—mainly because he was clean—but it hadn't reached the level of affection.
Hearing her words, Felix was visibly stunned—perhaps he had thought Wei Wei had some feelings for him, given what everyone said.
Felix was truly resilient. He quickly adjusted his mood and perked up: "Then you don't like anyone else either, right?"
"No."
He smiled, regaining his confidence: "Then I still have a chance."