Volume IV

Chapter 5. The Ripples Created by Revenge

Lucian returned to his seat. He crossed his legs and leisurely drank his tea as if he had no intention of leaving in the first place.

“When I’m with you, I feel like I’m being fooled.”

The surprisingly stern and cold Adelia couldn’t be harsh to Lucian.

Not just Lucian, but Adelia was weak to the imperial family.

Adelia narrowed her eyes and glared at Lucian with a half-deceived feeling.

Lucian, who welcomed even that gaze, put down his teacup and said,

“So when are you going to dispose of that person?”

“On the day of the banquet. On that day, the people from the merchant guild will either leave early or be at the banquet hall due to the event. That’s the perfect timing to minimize potential risks around.”

“I understand. I’ll bring the holy sword then.”

“Thank you for helping me. Even though this is a contract, I didn’t expect you to help me this much.”

“Don’t mention it……”

Adelia curved her eyes and drew her usual gentle smile. It was a smile born from gratitude towards Lucian, who had made their contract marriage softer than it could have been.

But Lucian turned his head away while trailing off his words somewhat bitterly. A dark shadow fell across his face.

‘Contract…..’

His heart felt heavy hearing the definition of their relationship from Adelia’s own mouth.

Contract marriage was a double-edged sword. While legally bound as husband and wife, they kept an invisible wall between each other. A relationship where they shared more than others yet had lines they couldn’t cross.

Lucian wanted to break down that wall right away, but he couldn’t. He had to approach carefully so as not to startle Adelia.

‘I wish this wasn’t a contract.’

Lucian swallowed the words he couldn’t speak aloud. For now, he was happy just being by her side.

* * *

Count Vita was enjoying his days more prosperously than ever before. As usual, the Count was leisurely snacking in his office where there wasn’t a single document to be found.

Before Adelia left, she had arranged things so that the territory could run for several years without much paperwork processing. Of course, there were aspects that the lord should oversee, but even without doing so, the territory ran well, and taxes came in regularly.

“Haha, this is good. This is the life of nobility.”

Count Vita took long naps during the day and slithered into gambling houses in the evening. He would spend money lavishly, lose dozens of gold, and only then trudge back home.

He hadn’t done any work in a long time and borrowed money from various places using the name of Adelia and the Eileen Merchant Guild.

“Ah, she needs to send money quickly. Why is the imperial palace system so complicated that the letter hasn’t arrived yet?”

The Count, whose only position in the imperial palace was a seat in the noble council, had no way of knowing the imperial palace system.

He simply assumed the letter hadn’t arrived yet since there was no reply to the letter he sent. He never dreamed that Adelia was deliberately not responding.

Gradually, people who had lent him money began to pressure him subtly. From polite letters at the lighter end to some even tracking him down at gambling houses at the more severe end.

Of course, the Count didn’t repay any of their money. He continued to spend money freely, waiting for Adelia to resolve everything.

After eating plenty of food and snacks, the Count patted his round belly and yawned lazily. His eyes grew heavy under the warm sunlight.

Just as Count Vita was about to drift off to sleep while leisurely closing his eyes, someone urgently knocked on the office door.

“Count! Count! A letter has arrived from the Eileen Merchant Guild!”

The townhouse butler shouted while banging on the door.

At the mention of Eileen Merchant Guild, Count Vita jumped up. Life returned to his face that had been full of drowsiness. The Count urged the butler to come in quickly, expressing his delight.

The butler’s expression wasn’t bright when he entered through the door. But the Count didn’t care about such things and quickly snatched the letter the butler was holding.

“That thing finally did its part! I don’t know where this connection came from, but it’s useful.”

The Count opened the letter with a vile smile. Thinking it would be a letter offering money or asking for participation in an investment, the Count pulled out the document with a happy heart.

“Haha, yes yes. As expected, this is a collection…… What? Collection notice?”

The Count who had been smiling vilely grabbed the document with both hands while scrunching up his ugly face. He brought the document right up to his eyes, stretched taut almost to the point of tearing. He read and reread the document as if he couldn’t believe it.

The content of the document was demanding repayment of money he borrowed from the merchant guild so far. The envelope also contained contracts and evidence materials.

“What is this? I never borrowed money!”

Though the Count cried out desperately, the seal stamped on the contract was clearly that of the Count’s family. The contract and the ledger certified by magic were irrefutable evidence.

The Count trembled while holding the documents. His face turned red and sweat beaded on his forehead.

“Who is it! Who! Who dares to use the Count family’s seal…!”

The Count expressed his anger while stomping the ground.

At that moment, one person flashed through the Count’s mind. The person who held the Count family’s seal besides the Count himself. The person who could handle the family ledgers and conceal the fact of borrowing money from the merchant guild.

“Adelia! You dare! Borrowing money under the Count family’s name and keeping quiet?”

The Count’s anger was directed at Adelia.

Of course, the money borrowed from Eileen Merchant Guild was sent to the townhouse under the name of the territory where the Count resided. Adelia hadn’t spent a single coin.

Not knowing the fact that they had spent all that money themselves, the Count called Adelia a damned woman and spewed all sorts of curses.

“So that’s why you insolently didn’t contact me! It’s because you felt guilty about this. You damned thing. Cursed thing!”

But raging alone was all he could manage. The fact that Adelia had taken on the territory work in place of the Count was a closely guarded secret, even within the family.  

For a head of the family to delegate their responsibilities to anyone other than the heir was a grave offense. The law was clear: those who enjoyed the privileges of leadership had an obligation to care for their territories. This rule had been established to prevent leaders from indulging in the benefits while neglecting their duties.  

If Adelia were to officially bring this to light, the Count would not escape punishment.  

As the Count flailed in frustration, a memo slipped from the back of the document and fluttered to the floor. He groaned, clutching his large belly as he bent down to pick it up with difficulty.  

Panting, he read the memo, and his face darkened as his blood pressure surged.  

[You have one week. If not repaid within that time, these documents will be handed over to the imperial palace. We will collect through the imperial court if necessary, so please make a wise choice.]  

The idea of the imperial court intervening to collect a debt was humiliating. Nobles, despite their love for wealth, considered an open obsession with money to be beneath them.  

For the Eileen Merchant Guild, a profit-driven organization, it was expected to pursue financial matters aggressively. But for the Count, it was different. Being exposed as someone who borrowed money and failed to repay it would tarnish his reputation, branding him as vulgar.  

Furious, the Count stomped on the memo.

“Adelia! I’ll kill that thing!”

The Count shouted while sweeping everything off the desk. With his dull mind, he couldn’t think of a way to escape this situation.

As decorative items fell to the floor with a loud noise, family members from downstairs came up.

“Honey, what’s wrong?”

“Dad, why are you like this?”

“Father, what’s the matter?”

They were shocked seeing the office through the open door. The decorative items the Count had cherished were rolling on the floor.

The Countess and Robelia hesitated to enter with round eyes. Copious sweat was flying everywhere from the Count who was breathing heavily filled with anger. Robelia frowned and hid behind the Countess.

“What documents are you holding?”

The young count, trying to grasp the situation in his own way, showed interest in what the Count was holding. The Count threw the documents into the young count’s arms with irritation.

“See what that cursed thing has done to our family!”

The young count looked at the documents with a bewildered face. His expression gradually hardened as he read them.

The debt accumulated over three years was staggering—equivalent to several months’ operating costs for a decently managed territory. Even if the Count scraped together all the money he had borrowed from various sources, it still wouldn’t be enough.