Interstellar Beastworld: Raising A Cub With My Mummy System!-Chapter 36: TIME TO LURE THE RAT

"How many staff are there?"

[THIRTY-SEVEN FULL-TIME. TWELVE PART-TIME. FORTY-NINE TOTAL.]

Forty-nine people. Any one of them could be the rat. But if it was about funds and payroll, that narrowed it down. Someone with access to accounts. Someone with authority.

"Who has access to the money?"

[THAT IS FOR YOU TO DISCOVER. I CAN ONLY GIVE CLUES, NOT ANSWERS.]

Right. Of course.

"Give me the clues then."

[THE RAT HAS BEEN HERE LONGER THAN MOST. THEY ARE TRUSTED. THEY HAVE KEYS. THEY HAVE CODES. AND THEY HAVE BEEN STEALING RIGHT UNDER EVERYONE’S NOSES.]

Lin Yue leaned against the wall, pretending to admire a painting while her mind worked. To find a rat, you had to lure it out with what it liked. If it was stealing funds, then money was its weakness.

She needed to set a trap.

"Where would someone go to steal funds? Where is the money kept?"

[THE HOUSEHOLD ACCOUNTS ARE MANAGED IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE WING. THERE IS AN OFFICE. TERMINALS. RECORDS. IF SOMEONE IS MANIPULATING NUMBERS, THE EVIDENCE IS THERE.]

Mira appeared at her elbow, Auriel still in her arms. "Madam? Shall I take the little prince to the nursery?"

Lin Yue looked at her son, so peaceful, so unaware. "Yes. I will be there soon. I just want to... familiarize myself with the house first."

Mira nodded and glided away.

Lin Yue watched her go.

Mira had been here for years.

Mira had access to everything.

Mira was trusted.

But so were others. She could not jump to conclusions.

"MS, if I start asking questions, the rat will know someone is onto them."

[CORRECT. YOU WILL NEED TO BE SUBTLE. OBSERVE. LISTEN. THE RAT WILL EVENTUALLY REVEAL THEMSELVES.]

Lin Yue pushed off from the wall and began walking. Not toward the nursery. Toward the administrative wing.

If someone was stealing, they would have left traces. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Discrepancies.

Patterns.

She just had to find them.

She leaned against the wall again, pretending to adjust her shoe while her mind raced.

"MS, if Uriel does not know what is going on in his own house, that means he is not around often. Right?"

[YES. HE SPENDS MOST OF HIS TIME AT THE PALACE OR ON MILITARY MATTERS. THE ESTATE IS MANAGED BY OTHERS.]

"So someone else runs things here day to day. Someone with authority. Someone the staff answer to."

[MOST LIKELY THE HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD OR THE ESTATE MANAGER. THEY WOULD HAVE THE MOST ACCESS AND THE LEAST OVERSIGHT.]

Lin Yue nodded slowly.

That made sense.

The rat was probably someone in charge, someone who could manipulate accounts without anyone checking their work.

"If I go poking around the administrative wing on my own, I will look suspicious. People will notice. The rat might get spooked."

[A VALID CONCERN.]

"I need access. Real access. The kind that lets me look at anything without raising questions."

[AND HOW WILL YOU GET THAT? YOU JUST GOT HERE]

Lin Yue straightened up and turned. Not toward the administrative wing. Toward Uriel’s study.

"I need to be the one in charge of this house. At least temporarily. If Uriel makes me the house manager, I can look at everything. Accounts. Payroll. Staff records. No one will question it."

[THAT IS... ACTUALLY CLEVER. BUT WILL HE AGREE?]

"I have to make him agree without making him suspicious. But I doubt he’ll say no to me."

[-_-]

[DON’T GET COCKY]

She walked through the corridors, her steps steady, her expression calm.

A woman exploring her new home.

Nothing more.

She found Uriel’s study easily enough.

The door was slightly ajar, and she could hear him speaking quietly to someone inside.

She waited a respectful distance away until the door opened and a staff member exited, bowing to her as they passed.

Lin Yue knocked lightly.

"Enter."

She pushed the door open. Uriel looked up from his data tablet, his expression shifting slightly when he saw her.

"Lin Yue. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing wrong." She walked in and sat in the chair across from his desk. "I was just thinking."

"About?"

"About this place. The estate. It is beautiful. Huge. I do not even know where half of it is yet."

Uriel set down his tablet. "You will learn. It takes time."

"I know." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "But you are not here often, are you? You spend most of your time at the palace or on military matters."

His ear twitched slightly. "That is true. The estate runs itself, mostly. Staff have been here for years. They know what to do."

"Right. They do." She leaned forward slightly. "But I am going to be here. A lot. With Auriel. And I was thinking... I would like to be more involved. In running things. It would give me something to do, you know? Something to keep me busy while you are away."

Uriel studied her for a moment. "You want to help manage the estate?"

"I want to learn it. Understand it. If I am going to live here, I should know how things work. Who does what. Where everything is." She smiled. "It will give me something to focus on. Pass the time."

He considered this. "You have no experience with estate management."

"I have experience with spreadsheets and organization. Customer service taught me how to handle people." She shrugged. "How hard can it be?"

Uriel’s lips twitched. "Famous last words."

"Come on. Give me something to do. Let me be useful." She tilted her head. "Make me the house manager or something. Temporarily. Let me learn."

He was quiet for a long moment. Then he picked up his tablet and made a note.

"I will have the necessary access set up for you. Accounts, payroll, staff records. You can review everything, learn how it works." He looked at her. "If you have questions, ask Mira. She has been here the longest."

Lin Yue kept her expression neutral, but inside she was smiling.

Perfect.

"Thank you," she said warmly. "I will not let you down."

"I know you will not." He paused. "You are full of surprises, Lin Yue."

She stood and walked around the desk, leaning down to kiss his cheek. "I try."

As she left the study, she felt MS’s approval.

[WELL PLAYED. NOW YOU HAVE ACCESS. THE HUNT BEGINS.]

Lin Yue walked down the corridor, her mind already working.

Time to find a rat.