Blinding lights. The flash of cameras. Dozens of fans cheering endlessly.
This is the life Morgan Slate knows of. That all holds true until she's betrayed and sold out by the one she loved most and... dies.
When she opens her eyes the next day, she...
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Because I'm a hated empress, it's easy for bad employees to get away with some things. This world is also outdated in terms of technology, so a lot of things are still done by hand rather than a computer. With that being said, it seems easy for employees to embezzle funds from my palace. Somehow, one of these bad seeds was able to get access to the funds coming into my palace and has been slowly siphoning much of it out.
"Hmm." I tap my head as I read over things once again.
One month, one thousand dollars was taken. The next month, the amount was increased by two thousand. Each month brings about an increased amount and the most recent has now reached five digits. Until recently, they did just enough to not be caught. As long as things inside of the palace are maintained, it's easy for them to continue stealing.
My eyes burn from how long I've spent going over these numbers. Closing the ledger, I push it aside before grabbing onto the account book. Inside, I see a detailed list of every employee who works inside the empress' palace. The familiar faces of the kitchen staff pop up. Their faces piss me off and I turn away from that section before landing on the maids in my palace.
It takes me a total of two hours to go through the entire book. Half of these faces I haven't seen which made it easy to mark them as fired. When I spot the maid who served me earlier, I feel a deep sense of satisfaction as she's marked red as well. It'll feel terrible getting let go by a 'figurehead.'
Closing the book, I stand from my seat and march to the bed. A pain in my abdomen has been bothering me for a while now. For these moments, there's a golden string next to my bed. I'm supposed to just yank on it and it connects to the maid's quarters where they'll come if it's pulled. Well, for a while now I've been pulling on it as if my life depended on it, but to no avail. That is exactly why everyone is going to be fired.
If I were going into labor, they would be knowingly putting the heir into danger. Nevertheless, as the pain started to dull, I realized they were probably Braxton Hicks. Though I would love to be checked on by an actual doctor. Especially because these fake contractions indicate that labor is in fact on its way.
I lie on my bed and instant relief fills my body as I'm off my feet. I reckon it's time for bedrest with the approach of my due date. As I get under the covers, I give the thick string one last pull, already knowing nobody will come at my call.
That's fine. Tomorrow, I'll be doing some spring cleaning.
***
I've never considered myself a sadist, but as I hear the begging and crying from my previous staff, I can't help but smile.
Tear stained faces touch the ground as the old staff kowtows before me. Hands are folded together as they plead for their jobs and livelihood to be restored.They apologize frequently, expressing blame on each other for how I've been treated.
Half of the time, I've been zoning out as I think of what to do next. Where should I look to hire new staff? Most of these incompetent people came from recommendations of high ranking nobles while some have been with the imperial family since before my entrance.
