Chapter 44
Life on Mortgage
“…Don’t tell me Damian got banished? Is he a traitor or something? Did he commit treason?”
“The truth is…”
Irina leaned in at Damian’s serious tone.
“In Arendor, there’s a law that exiles good-looking people.”
“……”
Irina’s eyes instantly filled with disbelief.
“It’s true. You didn’t know?”
Damian asked back as if she was the ignorant one.
Irina ignored him and spoke to Howard instead.
“Howard. Let’s make a law like that too. Damian goes first.”
“Excellent idea.”
Damian gasped dramatically.
“Wow, you two really are the same! Married couples really do think alike.”
“Sorry for leaving without a word. So I brought a gift.”
Of course, the gift wasn’t prepared by Irina.
When she heard Damian came, she told Casey to grab something from the mountain-pile of local specialties and brought one.
“Well, the duchess is at least a little better than this jerk.”
“…I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It’s a pretty good compliment, actually.”
“Get out.”
Eventually, Howard, unable to watch anymore, tried to throw him out.
Even after finishing his tea, Damian stubbornly stayed seated.
“Well then, I’ll be going. You two have a talk.”
Irina stood first.
Seeing the thick stack of documents Damian brought, it was obvious he had been trying to deliver them for a while.
Since she already passed the gift, she felt she should step away.
They might have important matters to discuss alone.
But apparently, they didn’t think so.
“You don’t need to leave.”
Howard stopped her.
“He’s right. You can stay and listen.”
Damian agreed.
This wasn’t the plan.
“No, I want to go.”
Irina just wanted to rest.
Damian waved the stack of papers, insisting she must be curious.
“It’s about him. He dumped all this on me and ran off to Arendor.”
“…I also ran off, you know.”
Irina said quietly.
“Right. So listen. It’s interesting.”
What she wanted was for them to awkwardly send her away.
But in the end, she couldn’t escape and sat back down with a half-grumpy face.
The papers were from a certain merchant guild.
“You know what’s dangerous in investment?”
He suddenly asked something random.
“Putting everything in one place?”
Irina thought hard before answering.
Damian wagged his finger and shook his head.
“That too, but also trusting people and being lazy.”
Doing both is worse. Add greed, and you’re doomed.
He continued, explaining the documents.
It showed a guild trading consistently with someone over a long period.
Rare-colored jewels, special products from far desert nations…
All high-value investment goods.
The trade volume grew steadily.
The last page showed a huge sum transferred in multiple transactions.
That total was larger than everything before it combined.
But the product name was a word Irina couldn’t read.
“What is this they invested so much in?”
“It’s a code. It means large, fist-sized high-grade mana stones. They’re now too important, so private trading is banned. That’s why they used code. They wanted exclusive rights to them.”
“There are that many?”
Irina had some, but she’d never seen one that big.
That many?
Enough to swallow a large nation whole.
“There aren’t.”
“What isn’t?”
“There are no stones.”
Irina blinked, confused.
“How can you invest if they don’t exist?”
“That’s why you shouldn’t trust people. Even if they did exist, they could just deny it. How would you know?”
“…They invested blindly without checking the goods? And in advance?”
“They must’ve been desperate.”
Their conversation spiraled into mystery.
Damian shrugged, arms crossed.
“So who’s that idiot?”
“Here.”
He pointed to the signature line.
A familiar name was signed there.
“Decant… Ah! I know him. The Marquis of Lingester, right?”
“Correct.”
“Oh… serves him right. He’s in big trouble.”
When Irina muttered, Damian burst out laughing.
“You looked so worried for a second.”
“I don’t need to worry about him. He’s been dying to swallow Howard whole. What gave him the confidence to do something this big?”
“Once he inherits the Duchy of Lingester, that money’s nothing to him.”
He was greedy, trusting, lazy, and never verified anything.
Thankfully, that kind of idiot was on the enemy’s side.
Irina stared at the signature and the one opposite.
“Leonardo Dinac… the guild master?”
“By tomorrow the guild will vanish. Nobody’s ever seen him, so they can’t find him. Even if they try, this is a false ledger. The real one’s separate. They can’t claim contraband anyway.”
“Then what about the guild master? Did he get rich? Won’t he get caught for fraud?”
“Am I explaining this because I’m upset? I’m in a great mood.”
“Huh?”
Irina’s eyes widened.
Where? What explanation?
Damian was the only one smiling here.
Irina pointed between the signature and Damian in disbelief.
His expression was bright, carefree.
“No way. Damian doesn’t have a trustworthy face. This is a joke, right?”
“Duchess. I’ve told you before: stop smiling while punching my solar plexus. Even if we’re friends, it hurts inside.”
“S-sorry. I meant it though, so next time I’ll be discreet. Is it true?”
“It’s not fake.”
Irina gasped, covering her mouth.
“…Wow. What a bad person.”
Damian looked deeply offended.
“Huh? I just did what I was told?”
“Then who’s worse than the scammer who made you scam someone?”
“There’s only one person in Bormann worse than me.”
“Howard?”
Irina blurted before she could stop herself.
She immediately tried to scoot away, but Howard grabbed her waist and foiled her escape.
“Well, well—Duchess, you’re likable again.”
“I clearly heard her true feelings.”
“…You know it wasn’t, right?”
Irina grinned awkwardly, coaxing Howard.
His grip slowly eased.
“Wow, you treat me differently? Now you choose who gets the truth?”
“Of course I do. I’m human…”
Damian leaving meant being alone with Howard.
She sounded helpless.
“It’s okay to be honest every once in a while.”
Damian looked theatrically heartbroken.
“Enough jokes. Did you two scam the marquis together? What if you get caught?”
“As long as the duchess keeps her mouth shut, we won’t.”
That thought suddenly made her mouth feel light enough to float away.
Like her words might fly out on their own.
“What if I accidentally tell someone?”
She regretted hearing all this.
Irina shot Howard a resentful look.
He only shrugged.
Irina felt stuck.
Why trust her this much?
“What if someone helps him? What if the Grand Duke backs him?”
Fear spawned more fear, and doubt followed.
“Considering he sold every estate His Highness gifted him, he won’t forgive him. Maybe exile. His Highness adores Bormann. And this isn’t the only mess he made.”
Looks like he really tried to strike it rich all at once.
“His Highness will be very upset.”
“It’s fine. We’ll just say he worked hard to recover it. And I made good money. I swear, listening to him makes money drop from the sky.”
Irina glanced between Damian and Howard.
The worst villain was right beside her.
Lucky she was on their good side—also a bit scary.
If she hadn’t gotten close, she might’ve been ruined.
She inched closer to Howard instinctively.
They talked a long time after, but nothing Irina cared to retain.
“Thanks for the gift. I’ll enjoy it at home.”
“It’s nothing. Next time, I’ll bring something better. Lady DiCaprio of the Merchant Guild.”
Irina half-covered her mouth and whispered.
Damian chuckled and promised to visit again.
“He’s really so cheerful. No wrinkles in his heart.”
Once Damian’s carriage left and she was alone with Howard, she spoke.
“The harsher life is, the better you learn to hide yourself.”
“Hm? Damian?”
He didn’t seem the type.
“No. Not him. Anyway… why have you been avoiding me since earlier?”
