Chapter 63 :Advice

As Rosa happily climbed into the carriage on her way back, Helena looked puzzled.

She had accompanied Rosa today when she went to the Griffiths’ mansion.

Since it was Rosa’s first outing in a while, Hugh was also in the carriage as her escort.

“Miss, what was the secret discussion about this time?” Helena inquired.

Rosa hadn’t told Helena about her inquiries regarding the new servants.

She didn’t think it would sit well with Helena, being a servant of the Croitzer family.

Therefore, she had been leaving matters of the shop to her lately.

“It wasn’t really a secret discussion. But more importantly, how’s the shop doing? I’m thinking of visiting tomorrow,” Rosa replied.

“The sales at the shop are going smoothly, and there haven’t been any issues with customers. Perhaps due to the addition of affordable bath bombs, we’ve expanded our customer base,” Helena reported, flipping through documents and checking figures. She was quite capable.

“Hey, have you ever thought about becoming the manager of the shop?”

“I am the lady’s maid,” Helena responded firmly, raising her eyebrows.

“Right, it might be a burden to take on both roles,” Rosa commented.

“It’s not a problem. Above all, with the recent increase in new servants at the estate, we can’t afford to be complacent,” Helena said.

“Hmm… What do you mean by not being complacent? Why not?” Rosa asked, surprised.

“We had silverware go missing the other day.”

“What?!” Rosa hadn’t heard this report from her mother.

“Fortunately, when we checked all the cupboards, it turned up,” Helena explained.

“Ah, well, that’s a relief. Perhaps the new servants just misplaced it,” Rosa said.

“That’s not the case. It was intentional,” Helena continued.

“Huh?”

“In cases of theft at the estate, sometimes the items are hidden elsewhere to observe the situation. Then, they are sold off after some time,” Helena elaborated.

“What?!”

“Since this incident is still under suspicion, it seems Madam hasn’t been informed. It might be the mistake of one of the new hires. However, if such incidents continue, it’s dangerous,” Helena cautioned.

“My goodness, what a situation!” Rosa then turned her gaze to Hugh.

“Do you have any updates on your end?”

“As for the escorts, there’s nothing specific, but there’s been a change in the gatekeeper,”

“What?!”

(Isn’t this getting really serious? But still, I want to make bath bombs!)

Without going home, Rosa followed her desires and headed straight to the shop.

—

After that, Rosa continued her life of assisting her mother at home and occasionally visiting the shop. With this routine, her “Bubble Bath” evangelism campaign wasn’t progressing at all.

After finishing her duties helping her mother and the servant’s education, Rosa sat alone in her room drinking tea.

From Rosa’s bedroom on the second floor, she could see a beautiful garden outside the window, and beyond that, the city of the capital spread out.

“I’m not the type to just sit around waiting for things to happen,” she said, snapping her fan shut.

Incidentally, Helena was nowhere to be seen in the room.

She had been sent to the shop.

Therefore, Rosa brewed the tea herself.

Why did she have to keep an eye on the movements of the servants while she was at her own home? She desperately wanted to find a way out of this situation.

“I guess I’ll just have to go out shopping to clear my head!”

As Rosa stood up with determination, there was a knock on the door of her room.

When she answered, a new maid brought a letter.

It was from Ethan.

After finishing reading the letter, Rosa immediately began preparing to go out again, heading once more to the Griffiths’ mansion.

However, her family was busy, and there was no one keeping an eye on Rosa’s movements, so there was no mention of Ethan’s affairs.

—

Upon arriving at the mansion, she was promptly escorted to the salon by the usual butler.

Inside, Ethan was already seated on the sofa.

Then, the butler briskly prepared tea and left the room.

Beyond the French doors, there was a garden with a greenhouse.

Rosa cut to the chase without much preamble. This was no time to be elegant.

The luxurious and glamorous life of Rosa, and the fate of the Croitzer family, depended on what was to come next.

“If you’ve called me here like this, it means there’s been some development, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, the copies of the resumes you gave me were impressive, but all of the candidates had some kind of issue.”

“What?!”

Ethan proceeded to tell her each name one by one.

No matter how much they investigated, they couldn’t ascertain the backgrounds of these individuals. They were excellent officials, but had substantial debts, and there were those who suddenly repaid large debts recently. The list went on.

Rosa trembled with anger.

“Why would Prince Alex introduce such individuals?” she demanded.

“I’m not defending Alex, but he doesn’t personally handpick them. He simply signs off on the paperwork brought by the officials after ensuring there are no apparent issues,” Ethan explained.

Certainly, a prince of a nation couldn’t be involved in such trivial matters.

“And there’s another piece of rather unpleasant news,” Ethan continued.

“What is it?” Rosa swallowed nervously.

“It seems that the intermediary agency where nobles arrange for lower-tier servant positions has been bought out by the Oliver Company.”

“What?!”

“While it’s true we should be wary of the senior staff, we can’t underestimate the lower-tier servants and gatekeepers either,” Ethan warned.

This raised a question in Rosa’s mind.

“Where do you get this kind of information, Your Excellency? Is it from Marpin Ross, by any chance?”

“No, it’s not. I can’t disclose my sources. Information is vital to me as well. But if you can’t trust what I say because of that, then so be it,” Ethan replied.

Unable to press further after that statement, Rosa couldn’t deny that information about royals and palace officials wouldn’t reach Marpin.

Ethan had his own network of information and had survived within the palace using it.

“Normally, when we hire someone, we put out proper job postings and conduct thorough investigations. This is the first time we’ve relied on His Highness,” Rosa explained.

“And usually, my mother interviews each lower-tier servant individually, but this time, with so many people leaving at once, there wasn’t even time for proper interviews,” she added.

Ethan nodded in understanding at Rosa’s words.

“What I can do is just raise awareness and conduct a little investigation,”

“No, that’s more than enough. I’ll make sure to repay this debt in some form or another,”

With determination in her voice, Rosa declared, prompting a refreshing smile from Ethan.

“Alright then. I’ll be looking forward to it,”

“Yes! If you ever need help with money troubles, feel free to consult me anytime,”

Ethan chuckled at Rosa’s response.

Then, as Rosa was about to leave, Ethan added one more thing.

“Miss Croitzer, be cautious around Alex,”

Seeing Ethan’s serious expression as he spoke, Rosa realized that the close relationship between nephew and uncle had come to an end.