Chapter 1.2

Steeling herself, Jane nodded and resumed her halted steps.  

“…Is anyone here?”  

Creeeak… 

Her voice, as she pushed open the dilapidated door with rolled-up sleeves, was timid. Not because she was scared. Absolutely not.  

Rather, Jane was just a little…  

Trying to deny it, Jane quickly changed her mind.  

She was scared.  

Of this strange and bizarre guild.  

“Oh, finally! Come on in!”  

At that moment, a cheerful voice rang out as a woman suddenly poked her head out from around a corner.  

“Ahhh!”  

Only her face.  

Startled, Jane let out a scream and jumped back. Her cheap heels slipped, and Jane flailed her arms to avoid falling. If she hadn’t managed to grab the wall, she would have fallen flat on her face.  

“Oh dear.”  

The woman, who had just stepped fully around the corner, saw Jane frozen in an awkward pose. Her eyes widened. No matter how generously one viewed it, Jane’s appearance was…  

“Sorry, did I scare you?”  

…a complete mess.  

However, the woman neither laughed nor seemed flustered. She simply smiled gracefully, as if such a thing couldn’t disturb her, and extended a hand to Jane. Jane hesitantly grabbed the hand and stood up.  

“I was starting to get bored from waiting so long. You’re not hurt, are you?”  

“Ah… no.”  

“That’s a relief. Alright, come in. The doors of Calrod are always open. What can I help you with?”  

After confirming Jane wasn’t hurt, the woman let go of her hand and took a step back. Then, with a practiced elegance, she waved her hand and asked. Her movements were so unnaturally graceful that Jane seriously considered running away.  

Run away now and drag Hobbs here. He was the one who handled her debts at Castle Guild, so he should at least do that much, right? Thinking about it, Hobbs did seem somewhat responsible. Deep in thought, Jane completely forgot how disheveled she looked. She also forgot how odd and bizarre she must have appeared to the people in the square.  

When Jane didn’t respond, the woman shrugged and spoke instead.  

“Even if we save the reason for later… we should do something about your hair first. Shall I lend you a comb?”  

“…I’m fine.”  

Finally noticing her own appearance, Jane hastily tried to fix her hair with her hands. No, it was more accurate to say she tried to make an effort. As she clumsily twisted her hair up, Jane changed her mind.  

No, she couldn’t just leave after coming all this way. What kind of inefficient behavior would that be? At the very least, she should meet the person in charge. With that thought, she tugged at her tangled hair and spoke.  

“Well, um, I came to see the person in charge here. Where is the person handling W? I’m not sure how things are done here, but… ah!”  

At that moment, Jane accidentally pulled too hard on her tangled hair, letting out a genuine scream and tearing up slightly. The woman kindly pretended not to notice Jane’s cry of pain.  

“The person in charge? Ah, that’s how it’s usually done, isn’t it? I’ve heard it’s quite an efficient method. But Jane, this place operates a little differently. We don’t assign handlers based on name initials.”  

Jane, who had instinctively taken the pin the woman handed her, quickly realized its purpose and used it to pin up her tangled hair entirely before responding.  

“No handler? Then how do you operate?”  

At Jane’s question, the woman smiled. Then, narrowing her eyes as if sharing a secret, she lowered her voice and whispered.  

“We offer a very special service, available to only a select few. Of course, it’s done in a special way.”  

“Special…?”  

A loan guild? This was starting to feel ominous.  

Jane stifled her grimace and forced an awkward smile. Her steps, as she subtly tried to back away, were slow. For a moment, she had forgotten where she was and what situation she was in, distracted by the woman’s unexpected kindness. Jane rolled her eyes, scanning her surroundings.  

‘Come to think of it, this place is too quiet.’  

It was another stark difference from Castle, which she had forgotten in the chaos.  

Castle was always bustling with people. Just past the counter near the entrance, rows of teller windows awaited, where debtors could immediately speak with their assigned staff. Through glass windows, one could see bored employees and debt representatives—or impoverished nobles—lining up. Castle was always crowded with such people.  

But here?  

‘There’s no one.’  

The counter consisted of nothing more than an old, rickety desk that looked ready to collapse. There were no teller windows, no staff, and no debtors. Only the woman and Jane were present. To make matters worse, the woman’s attire didn’t match the setting at all.  

“Um. You said special? A special service?”  

Jane asked again, carefully observing the smiling woman.  

The woman had ordinary brown hair and deep chestnut-colored eyes. She wore a calm white blouse paired with a bright floral skirt that stood out in stark contrast, which suited her very well. She eagerly elaborated.  

“Of course. Only very special clients can set foot in Calrod.”  

“I don’t care who it is. I just need to meet the person in charge. You see, I’m…”  

“Jane Wilston, of course.”  

“Ah. You already know. Just call me Jane.”  

So flustered, Jane didn’t even realize how strange it was that the woman knew her name. Her response, saying it was embarrassing to be addressed so formally, made the woman smile with her eyes.  

“Vivianne. You can call me Vivi.”  

When the woman immediately offered her nickname, Jane didn’t respond, prompting Vivianne to add,  

“I prefer nicknames over my full name. It’s easier to say, don’t you think?”  

“Ah… yes.”  

Jane awkwardly smiled, omitting any form of address in her reply, thinking, ‘A nickname, right after meeting? And in this kind of relationship?’  

Vivianne, reading Jane’s thoughts, didn’t press the matter. She stepped aside and got to the point.  

“Alright then. Now that we’ve introduced ourselves, shall we head inside, Jane? The Master has been waiting for you.”  

“The Master? By Master, you mean, surely not the guild’s…”  

“The guild’s Master, of course.”  

“Wait… did you say I can meet the Master? Me?”  

The Master? 

Jane had been repaying Castle’s debts for three generations, yet she had never seen anyone higher than her assigned handler. The reason was simple. The amount Jane owed, which she couldn’t repay in her lifetime, was laughably small to them.  

“Yes, Jane.”  

But now, out of nowhere, they were talking about the Master. Jane, unable to comprehend any of this, asked with a dumbfounded expression.  

“Why?”  

“What do you mean, why?”  

“I mean… why would the Master want to see me?”  

She even pointed to her chest with the hand that had been tugging at her hair just moments ago. Despite Jane’s dazed question, Vivianne’s smile didn’t falter. Her long, curved eyes twinkled as if she had just heard something amusing.  

“I told you, didn’t I? Only special clients can set foot in Calrod. Jane, of course the Master would want to speak to you directly. Now, this way.”  

With that, Vivianne turned around, revealing a long, dark hallway behind her. Jane swallowed nervously as she stared at the suspicious-looking corridor. The hallway, devoid of even a single picture frame, seemed as though it might swallow her whole.  

If something feels off, always back out, Jane. Don’t be like your grandfather, signing contracts blindly. That’s how you end up struggling for generations!  

Why was her mother’s advice coming to mind at this moment? Jane, feeling an ominous sense of foreboding, unconsciously gulped. Thankfully, she hadn’t had many chances to sign documents in her life, but she had tried to live cautiously nonetheless.  

And according to that advice, now was the time to back out. Her instincts told her so. If she’d been holding a pen, she would’ve scribbled this down: ‘It feels like a red warning light is going off somewhere.’

‘Something is wrong.’  

Jane’s gaze followed Vivianne, who was walking down the long, dark, and narrow hallway. This place was dangerous. She could retreat for now, regroup, and come back later. After all, her accumulated debt wasn’t going anywhere.  

Hesitating, Jane took a step back. Vivianne turned to look at her, tilting her head as if to ask why she wasn’t following.  

“Jane? What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”  

“Um… I just remembered something urgent I need to take care of. I’ll handle that first and come back right away. Maybe tomorrow or the day after…”  

“Oh my. If that’s the case, I suppose there’s no helping it. What a shame.”  

Vivianne sighed dramatically, covering her face with one hand. Her expression, however, showed no sign of disappointment. Her softly curved eyes glinted faintly in the darkness.  

“The Master said that if you came to the guild today, Jane, the compounded interest would be waived. Such generous terms. But to miss out on that… I don’t know what urgent matter you have, but isn’t this worth postponing?”  

“…Compounded interest?”  

Jane repeated, doubting her ears. She knew what it meant. She was just shocked to hear such a term in the context of loan sharking. Interest on interest? What kind of ridiculous nonsense was that? And it was illegal—yes, even in Elpendor.