Chapter 1.3

“What… does that mean?”  

“Take a look. It should all be written there.”  

Vivianne’s expression remained perfectly composed, so much so that Jane momentarily forgot that this was, in fact, illegal.  

Jane rummaged through her belongings, searching for the parchment she had stuffed into her coat. Before she could find it, Vivianne spoke again, faster than Jane could act.  

“Check the second page of the parchment we sent you. Specifically, the sixth note under the terms listed on the envelope.”  

“…The envelope.”  

She had ripped it to shreds.  

When Jane’s expression froze in realization, Vivianne spoke as if she understood completely.  

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll prepare a new one for you later. We have plenty of envelopes. Many people throw them away, after all. Oh, really. People always forget that the inside of the envelope is also part of the contract.”  

“Well… thank you for that.”  

Compounded interest? And now, a new envelope?  

As Jane replied absentmindedly, she thought to herself. 

Shouldn’t I be reporting this to the authorities instead of going to meet the Master? How could a guild openly conduct such blatantly illegal operations with such confidence?  

‘No, Jane, think carefully. Don’t jump to conclusions.’  

If this really was an illegal operation, it made sense that they were working out of a narrow, dark, and crumbling building.  

‘That does add up. You can’t exactly run an illegal operation out of a fancy place.’  

If this was a deliberately illegal operation, it was highly likely they were bribing officials. Reporting them would only put her on the guild’s bad side.  

But still.  

Her worn-out, tattered shoes hesitated as she took a step back.  

“What will you do, Jane?”  

Vivianne’s question came as if she knew exactly what Jane was agonizing over. Though her tone was gentle, Jane could sense the unspoken pressure behind it.  

Jane realized she didn’t have much of a choice. Even if she went home, she couldn’t piece together the shredded envelope. And even if she somehow succeeded, she’d still have to come back here in the end. Reporting them to the authorities? If this shady loan guild was truly an illegal operation that moved around constantly, it would be pointless.  

In the end, she’d just be hounded for an even more absurd amount next month.  

“…Fine.”  

Feeling utterly defeated, Jane scowled. It felt as though someone had deliberately blocked her path. Or perhaps they had grabbed her by the ankle. Either way, she swore to herself that she wouldn’t let whoever had thrown a wrench into her life get away with it.  

With that thought in mind, Jane added.  

“Let’s go meet this so-called Master.”  

***

Magic and magical artifacts advanced rapidly over time.  

Thus, in the year 723 of Elpendor, the tides of change swept in at an unexpected moment. Among these changes, the most dramatic was the fall of the Great Temple.  

The gods had fallen.  

People often described that day in such terms. The gods, who once looked down upon humanity from lofty heights, had fallen.  

But Ian thought differently.  

“Your guest has arrived, Master Calrod.”  

It was not the gods themselves that had fallen, but rather their envoys, who had circled the young Queen Diana like hyenas. More precisely, it was the culmination of Ian’s achievements and long-held ambitions.  

“It’s the guest you mentioned earlier.”  

When Ian finally dragged those arrogant beings down, he laughed in satisfaction.  

But all matters required careful handling afterward. Some called it post-processing, others referred to it as cleaning up. Ian, however, preferred the term ‘tamping down.’ Stirred-up ground needed to be tamped down, or it would inevitably rise again.  

“Let them in.”  

In that sense, this matter was important. Even if it seemed trivial, such things often carried weight. Just as seemingly insignificant details sometimes played a decisive role—like how the fall of the gods’ envoys had been triggered by a novel they had mocked.  

Creak.

“Pleased to meet you, Jane Wilston.”  

Ian didn’t lift his head at the sound of the door opening. He had handled countless affairs of this nature. There was no response, but he didn’t mind. People often lost their words upon entering the room.  

Ian gestured with an expensive quill toward the equally luxurious sofa in the room.  

“Please, have a seat over there. I have some urgent paperwork to finish. If you could wait a moment, I’d appreciate it.”  

Once again, there was only silence. Ian, engrossed in the truly important documents before him, began to sense something unusual.  

Typically, at this point, he would hear hesitant footsteps, followed by the soft creak of someone carefully sitting on the sofa. People would hold their breath, watching him nervously as he finished his paperwork. By the time he turned his attention to them, they would already be subdued.  

Ten out of ten, a hundred out of a hundred. Ian always began negotiations from a position of dominance.  

The young Queen often described his methods as “underhanded yet clever.” When she teased him with a cookie in her mouth, saying, “One day, you’ll get burned by your own habits,” Ian would hand her a handkerchief and reply, “It’s my pleasure.” All the while thinking to himself that such a day would never come.  

And yet.  

“Hah.”  

This time, something was different. Instead of hesitant footsteps or nervous answers, a scoffing sigh reached Ian’s ears. For a moment, Ian was startled by the thought.  

Scoffing?  

Ian slowly lifted his gaze from the documents.  

The room, decorated with furnishings worth thousands of gold coins, came into view. A woman stood against the wall, her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised.  

“Excuse me.”  

The first thing that caught his attention was her green eyes. A shade so rare that it was almost impossible to find in the imperial capital these days. The kind of green you’d only see if you rode far into the countryside or entered the grand palace gardens—a color reminiscent of a forest.  

“Urgent paperwork? Are you joking?”  

Next, his gaze was drawn to her golden hair, like sunlight. It wasn’t the bright brown hair that some ladies and gentlemen insisted on calling blonde. Hers was the real deal, a true golden hue that resembled the sun hanging high in the sky on the rare clear days in a misty season.  

She stood out in every way. Her appearance was striking enough to turn heads wherever she went, but Ian’s evaluation of her was simple and mechanical.  

Ian’s gaze lingered on her furrowed brow, her hand gripping the hem of her dress, and then moved back up.  

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you finish your work before letting me in? What kind of nonsense is this?”  

Her sharp features, eyebrows arched like printed letters, pale white face, and red lips. Slim limbs and… an angry lady.  

It was only then that Ian snapped out of his thoughts and composed his expression.  

“Well, I’d say you’re the one who barged in unannounced. Do I look like someone with so little to do that I can immediately drop everything for an uninvited guest?”  

His voice was low as he tapped the stack of documents on his desk. His head tilted slightly, and his black hair spilled over his shoulder.  

Jane bit her lip at the sight. She couldn’t bring herself to say he looked idle when there was such a mountain of paperwork piled on one side of his desk.  

“Well, you do seem quite busy.”  

When Jane had first entered the room, following Vivianne’s lead, she had been utterly shocked. Unlike the rest of the crumbling building, the room was lavishly decorated with the finest furnishings.  

But what shocked her the most was the young man seated at the mahogany desk.  

Jet-black hair and red eyes—features that seemed fit for a villain. He was an incredibly handsome man, reviewing documents with an air of detachment.  

“But that’s none of my concern. At least one thing is crystal clear.”  

A detestable loan shark.  

Jane straightened her posture. She had survived countless hardships. She’d even been abandoned like luggage for hours on end. Jane knew better than anyone that you couldn’t get anything by cowering in such situations. When someone tried to intimidate her, she knew the only way to respond was to push back harder—like now.  

Jane twisted her lips into a smirk and met the gaze of the man who had not only thrown dirt at her but was now trying to crush her underfoot.  

“You didn’t even bother to greet your guest properly or show the slightest courtesy. Most people would call that rude.”  

With that biting remark, Jane bid farewell to the abysmal first impression she’d had of him.  

Ian furrowed his brows at her words—words he had never heard in his life.  

Rude?  

She dared to say I was rude?  

It took Ian a moment to process what she had just said. Then, he let out a dry laugh. That alone was enough to confirm something. The woman standing before him was unlike anyone he’d dealt with before.  

She wasn’t going to be easy.  

Realizing this, Ian decided to change his approach.