Please Let Marriage Be Your Payment!,
Chapter 61 —
“Right. If I get married someday…”
“Then your husband will have to change his family name to Elpheus.”
Only now did Janice really imagine herself marrying someone.
Yes, if she became the Count of Elpheus, then the man who married her would become the Count Consort of Elpheus.
Of course, he would be the one to change his name and support her work. He would never dare to say things like ‘know your place’ to her.
…Yes. The man who will be my husband will be chosen by me.
With that one thought, Janice nodded firmly.
“Alright. Then it can’t be helped. Next year, as planned, I will inherit the title of Count.”
Leonard nodded at her words.
“Then the contract with the former Countess will safely come to an end.”
“Yes, it will.”
Then the contract that had tied the two of them together as family would lose its effect and disappear…
Thinking about that, Janice suddenly realized something.
Irenea knew all of this, yet she still treated Janice as part of Leonard’s family.
That meant, that was proof…
She never said anything like, ‘The contract will end, and you’ll become strangers, so I don’t care about you.’
That was why, as soon as the marriage was decided, Irenea called her to the capital, made her take responsibility for things, and even prepared seats for her family at the wedding ceremony.
“When you go home, put everything in your wardrobe and drawers, and try them all on, one by one. That way, you’ll really feel like—ah, this is truly mine.”
According to Leonard, even clothes she had only worn once were already hers.
Then, if that was true, why couldn’t she also see Leonard—whom she had called ‘brother’ for years—as her real older brother?
“Brother, please lend me some money.”
At that sudden request, Leonard choked a little on his coffee.
“Money? Why money all of a sudden?”
“I need it right now. Not too much, not too little—exactly ten million Lark. Please lend me that much.”
“Not too little…? That already sounds like a huge amount.”
Hiding his shock, Leonard asked calmly,
“Do you have some debt I don’t know about?”
“No. I’m going to start a business.”
“A business?”
“Yes. I haven’t decided exactly what yet. But I plan to get help from Marquis Blair.”
This time, Leonard couldn’t hide his startled expression.
“Wait. What are you talking about? Did you already discuss this with Lin?”
“I’m going to talk to him now. He’s such a busy person, he might refuse, but still, since we’re family, he might give me a little help, right?”
With those bold words, Janice smiled brightly. Her face was so confident it was hard to believe.
“I’ll work hard, make a lot of money, and help develop our land. I don’t want people to laugh when they hear the name Elpheus.”
Janice remembered the noble lady who had mocked her the first time she came to the capital with Hawk, asking if she had crawled out from some countryside village.
If Elpheus still had its old reputation, no one would have dared say that. Surely, over the last three years, Leonard must have endured countless such insults while participating in high society.
Brother is now the Marquis Consort of Blair…
But because of that, maybe he was ridiculed even more. After all, high society was full of the world’s best nitpickers.
Until now, Leonard had always been her shield. Now, Janice wanted to be the one to protect him. If she couldn’t, how could she call herself his sister?
And besides…
If Irenea’s feelings changed one day, and Leonard could no longer live comfortably here, Janice wanted to be able to say: Come home, Brother. I’ll take care of you.
But for that, she needed to be strong enough to support even a grown man by herself.
“Brother, I’ll really do my best.”
“If you’re going to take ten million Lark, of course you have to do your best…”
At Leonard’s helpless voice, Janice burst out laughing.
She felt a little thirsty and naturally lifted her cup.
The drink, softer and sweeter now than when it was black, warmly coated her tongue. For the first time, Janice drank her coffee down to the very bottom.
Just a little sugar and milk made it so delicious. Why had she hesitated for so long?
She should have been bolder from the start.
‘Ah, I’m no good at talking around things. I’ll just ask directly. Don’t you want to be friends with me? Does drinking coffee together like this feel awkward or uncomfortable?’
‘And you, Lady Elisabeth… do you want to be friends with me? Why?’
‘Because I want to escape a life without friends. And now we’re family, right? We’ll be seeing each other for a long time, so wouldn’t it be nice if we got closer?’
Yesterday, Janice hadn’t been sure if they really would see each other for long, so she couldn’t answer clearly. But before leaving for the estate, she would meet her once more and give her an answer.
She would say she didn’t actually like coffee because it was bitter, but thank you for wanting to be friends first. She would wear the hat Elisabeth had given her as a gift.
‘Should I also ask if it’s okay to write letters after I go back to the estate?’
And… she would also ask if she could call her Ellie.
Janice happily dropped sugar cubes one by one into the fresh cup Leonard had poured for her.
Strangely enough, the dress she was wearing didn’t feel uncomfortable anymore.
At that very same time, while the siblings enjoyed their peaceful tea time—
“So, why did you call us here separately?”
The three mercenaries were also being treated to fragrant tea and sweet desserts in the mansion’s reception room.
By none other than Irenea.
“I want to hire you. Kiri.”
At her signal, Kiri handed a contract to Michel, who was sitting closest.
Michel looked at Irenea’s unreadable face while checking the contract she had been given.
“Let’s see… What? An advance payment of five million Lark, and another five million upon completion?”
“Ten million in total?”
The one who nearly jumped out of his seat was Bin.
Only three mercenaries, yet such a fortune? And an advance payment of five million—this was as good as saying: risk your lives.
“What exactly is the job?”
Bin asked, shifting his gaze from Michel to Irenea. She would explain it faster herself.
Irenea answered without hesitation.
“There are several tasks I want to entrust to you. First, that advance payment already includes payment for what you’re doing right now.”
“The young lady’s matter, then.”
Even they now called her the youngest lady.
Thinking of how much more lively Charlotte had become since training with the mercenaries, Irenea smiled warmly.
“Yes. And I hear you’ve been teaching her something fun.”
Irenea moved her hands in shapes toward Bin.
Bin, surprised, moved his hands in return, and Irenea responded back.
He muttered in disbelief, “We only created that a few days ago…”
“Charlotte taught me. I’ll have all her attendants learn it, too. The advance payment includes that as well.”
Bin’s eyes widened, and he quickly turned to his comrades.
“You heard her, right? Advance payment split six to two to two.”
“Fine, take it all yourself.”
Grumbling, Michel passed the contract to Heath, who asked in his deep voice,
“So what more do we need to do?”
“It’s simple. Keep teaching Charlotte until the day she wants. Since the timeframe isn’t clear, I wrote five years in the contract.”
“Five years… as her sword instructor.”
For teaching swordsmanship alone, the advance money was more than enough.
“But why us? Surely there are better teachers for a noble young lady than mercenaries.”
“Rey said you were perfect. And Charlotte likes you.”
“Well, that’s true…”
The youngest lady really did like them.
Bin nodded proudly, and Heath, a little flushed, nodded too.
But then Michel’s serious voice cut in.
“The other five million is for an investigation request, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. While teaching Charlotte, I want you to look for a certain item.”
“What item?”
Unable to resist, Heath leaned toward Michel as he read quickly through the contract. Suddenly, Heath’s face went stiff. Seeing that, Bin frowned.
“What kind of item is it…?”
“The Cameo of the Wise Woman.”
At Irenea’s words, Bin’s face stiffened too. But she wasn’t done.
“I want you to find the family treasure that disappeared from the Mathias family vault fifteen years ago.”
Everyone’s eyes widened. Silence filled the room, heavy with shock.
Michel reacted most strongly—her clenched fists shook with anger, and just before she could act, Heath quickly grabbed her wrist.
“What is the meaning of this…”
“Please explain.”
Bin was the first to control himself. Gesturing for the others to stay calm, he stared straight at Irenea.
“Why does the Marchioness want to find the treasure of House Mathias?”
“Because they first tried to steal the Elpheus treasure to destroy it. So I’ll destroy theirs in return.”
Her casual answer shook the tense air like a storm.
“House Mathias… tried to steal the Elpheus treasure? Wasn’t that the act of the Second Prince?”
“More accurately, it was Lloyd Mathias who instigated the Second Prince. Simply because he hated Rey.”
Recalling the story Leonard had once told her, Irenea smiled coldly.
This is why you can’t trust spoiled brats who’ve never gone hungry. With full bellies and warm beds, their heads are stuffed with nonsense… She coughed and cut herself off.
“Anyway, there’s no deadline for this request. Whenever you find it, bring it to me. I’ll pay you five million immediately.”
“But why us?”
Michel handed the contract to Heath after confirming there were no hidden traps. Still, Bin asked again.
“You could find it faster using the information guild, couldn’t you?”
“I already got help from them. That’s why I’m asking you.”
Irenea’s blue eyes locked on Michel.
“You understand what I mean, don’t you?”
—I know you have it.
Her smile said exactly that.
The mercenaries stayed silent.
Because truly, they did.
The Mathias family’s lost treasure was in their hands.
