15. An Impure Debt Relationship

“What’s all this commotion so early in the morning?”

The innkeeper’s wife rubbed her eyes as she entered the kitchen, awakened by the clatter.

She was startled the moment she looked inside. Her husband, who usually avoided the kitchen as if his life depended on it, was cooking.

“Oh my, what’s going on? Are you dying or something?”

“You’re awake? Good timing. Go to the backyard and catch a goose quickly. We need to have everything ready before the guests wake up.”

“What are you talking about? Business has been bad lately, and now you want to catch a goose? What about our family’s dinner?”

In response, the innkeeper pulled out a gold coin from his pocket, stirring the soup with a ladle.

His wife, wide-eyed, bit into the coin to check if it was real.

Gold coins were rare, as they’re typically only used by nobles or those with considerable wealth. Small merchants rarely saw gold coins unless they exchanged their saved silver coins at a bank.

“It’s real?”

“He gave me a whole bag of them, as an advance! Who cares about a goose? We could close shop for the month and go on a trip.”

“Do you think just a goose will do? We should catch a sheep too!”

“Alright, let’s catch them together.”

A while later, Nikolai returned with a bucket full of trout.

He even said they could keep everything except what Katya would eat.

With the advance payment and the trout, the innkeeper and his wife were delighted to serve fish dishes as complimentary meals to all their guests.

That’s how this breakfast spread came to be.

“Does it suit your taste?”

“Yeah. This and that, everything is just so delicious.”

The homemade dishes, crafted with care by the innkeeper’s wife for the first time in a while, were made soft and mildly seasoned as per Nikolai’s request, ensuring easy digestion.

Despite having starved, Katya’s stomach surprisingly accepted the food without any trouble.

Her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel’s, and her plump, soft-looking lips moved constantly as she ate.

She ate so heartily.

Nikolai watched her with a satisfied expression, like a mother bird watching her chick eat.

Seeing her enjoy the meal made all the early morning fuss worthwhile.

After finishing her satisfying meal, Katya patted her full stomach and leaned against the headboard.

“I think I ate too much. I don’t think I can move now.”

“Then rest until it digests.”

Nikolai moved the table aside and suddenly grabbed both her ankles, placing her slender legs on his lap.

He wrapped one ankle in a warm wet towel.

“What are you doing?”

“I should have done this yesterday, but I forgot. You need to apply a warm compress when you sprain your ankle.”

“You know how to do that? Oh, right, you said you were something like a mercenary.”

Nodding vaguely, he grabbed her other leg with both hands and began pressing down on her calf.

“This one’s not hurt, though?”

“You’ve been walking more on this leg, so the muscles are stiff. They need to be loosened.”

Just then, Boris, who came to report that preparations for departure were complete, stood at the door with the knights.

As he was about to knock, he heard a woman’s moan from inside.

“Huh… Ah! Don’t touch there.”

“If I don’t loosen it now, it’ll only be harder for you.”

“Ah, no… No…”

“Don’t tense up, just relax. It’ll be over soon.”

Despite the woman’s protests, Nikolai was busy with his task.

“Ah… Ouch! It hurts!”

“Just bear with it a little longer. Almost done.”

“How long are you going to do this? Ah! Ah!”

“It shouldn’t hurt for much longer.”

“Ahh, stop, stop…!”

While the new knights blushed like beets at the suggestive dialogue, the other knights stifled their laughter.

“Ahem! His Highness, really, from the morning…”

Boris cleared his throat and stepped back.

“He’s in his prime. You should understand.”

“I was worried since he seemed uninterested in women, but isn’t this good?”

“I thought he was ruthless only during training, but he’s rough in this too.”

“Seems like it’ll take a while, so we should head down.”

Unaware of the big misunderstanding Boris and the knights had, Nikolai focused on the massage.

“Didn’t I tell you not to tense up?”

Katya shook her head and folded her leg to stop him from pressing her calf further.

As a result, Nikolai’s hand got sandwiched between her thigh and calf.

Though unsatisfied, he eventually stopped the massage.

“That’s enough. Try moving your leg.”

Katya finally released his hand and moved her leg around.

It indeed felt lighter and less swollen.

“Sorry for struggling so much.”

“As long as you know.”

“Thank you. But I feel burdened as my debt keeps increasing.”

Technically, it was Nikolai who drove away the assassin, so it was hard to say she had repaid her debt to him for yesterday’s incident.

Yet, this man kept doing kind things for her.

“In a relationship with solid trust, the debtor feels burdened, but the lender feels light.”

“Still…”

“If the debtor has no intention of repaying and makes the lender anxious, that’s shameless. But you’re going to repay, right?”

“Yes, I’ll definitely repay.”

Katya nodded with innocent eyes, like a lamb.

Nikolai watched her with a deep smile.

He intended to make Katya owe him as much as possible, to the point of accruing interest.

Ideally, so much that she could never repay it in her lifetime.

He was confident that the day would come soon when he could collect her debt.

***

After receiving a warm send-off from the innkeeper couple, the two arrived at the Smirnov ducal residence before noon.

Katya’s father, Baptiski Smirnov, was a late riser, usually waking after noon.

She hurried home to avoid having to explain the situation if she ran into him.

But first, she wanted to rest and unwind in her room.

A ribbon Katya had tied to the tree before was tied to the gate’s bars.

Fortunately, it seemed Bianca had arrived first.

“Didn’t you say we need to get in unnoticed by your father? Someone should come out, then.”

“Luckily, I have reinforcements.”

Katya put her hand to her mouth and whistled loudly.

At that moment, her reinforcement burst out through a small door under the porch.

Though now an old dog, Laika, who hadn’t lost her energy, ran excitedly toward Katya at the gate.

“Reinforce…ment?”

“Just step back and hide. She’s gentle but dislikes men other than my father—”

Before she could finish, Laika charged not at Katya but at her side.

Since they were close to the gate, there was a risk of being bitten if Laika stuck her snout through the bars.

“Niki, watch out!”

Katya turned her head in surprise.

But before her unfolded a truly bizarre scene.

Laika, who had been wary of men since being mistreated by Ivan’s group 12 years ago, was now wagging her tail ecstatically and licking Nikolai’s hand.

It was like a touching reunion with a long-lost owner.

Nikolai crouched down and smiled as he reached through the bars to pet Laika’s head.

It was unclear who the real owner was.

“She’s never like this…”

“Hmm? What did you say?”

Nikolai looked up at her, asking with a warm smile.

Seeing his face full of warmth, Katya couldn’t help but chuckle.

She seemed to understand why Laika was behaving this way.

There’s a saying that animals recognize good people first.

“Is this friend Laika? The one you said looked like me.”

“Yes. Cute, right?”

“Cute indeed.”

Seeing Laika, whom he had only heard about, in real life made Nikolai inexplicably happy.

Did he also look this cute in her eyes?

“Laika, go fetch Bianca.”

Understanding her owner perfectly, Laika joyfully ran back toward the building to fulfill her mission.

Nikolai stood up, holding his hand covered in drool.

Seeing this, Katya laughed heartily.

“Let me see.”

She took his hand, which had been licked by the dog, and began to meticulously wipe his large palm with a handkerchief from her pocket.

As Katya moved closer, the scent of soap he noticed yesterday tickled Nikolai’s nose.

The hand she held tingled.

Before long, Laika returned with Bianca.

While the sisters had an emotional reunion, Nikolai quietly slipped away.

By the time Katya looked back, he had already disappeared.

“When did he leave? I didn’t even get to ask where he lives…”

She murmured regretfully.

From a distance, Nikolai watched Katya safely enter the building before setting off on his horse.

The horse, having grown fond of Katya, reluctantly moved, dragging its feet.

“You feel the same as I do, huh?”

Nikolai said, stroking the horse’s mane with a smile, only for it to snort angrily as if refusing anyone’s touch but Katya’s.

With a chuckle, Boris and the knights, who had been hiding and waiting nearby, appeared before him.

“Now that everything in Padovangrad is settled, you must depart as planned. Lady Oksana, the former Grand Duchess, is urging you to return quickly.”

She had selected candidates meeting the requirements for the Grand Duchess, urging him to choose one and marry soon.

Oksana, his stepmother, still wielded significant power in the palace even after the previous grand duke’s passing.

The candidates she chose were all daughters from families allied with Oksana, destined to live as her loyal informants, monitoring Nikolai’s every move rather than as a Grand Duchess.

“Since Mother so wishes for me to take a Grand Duchess, I must fulfill her wish.”

Nikolai murmured with a meaningful smile.