Episode 15 – Circumstances
“Stay out of this, noble lady! It’s none of your business!”
Maxim shouted, waving his hands wildly at Everett, trying to push her aside. He knew she was a noble but was too drunk to care.
Everett didn’t move. Her voice was cold and clear.
“That money is for Nanny’s treatment. Her illness is serious—she needs medicine right now.”
Even after hearing that, Maxim just bit his lip and clutched the money pouch tighter.
Everett looked up at him with frozen, sharp eyes.
There was only so much patience she could have, even for Gemma’s family. She knew well that not all families were loving.
If he dared to harm Gemma, who was more precious to her than anyone, Everett was ready to punish him without mercy.
“I—I need money too!” Maxim stammered.
“And what if Nanny dies without that money?”
“I… please, Sis! I’ll pay it back soon!”
He pleaded with Gemma, but Everett stepped in front of him again.
“If you can pay it back soon, why do you need to borrow it?”
“Move! This is our family problem!”
“That’s the money I brought,” Everett said firmly. “If it’s not going to be used for her medicine, then I’ll take it back. Butler, retrieve the money.”
She had had enough. The butler helped Gemma to her feet and then stepped forward.
Seeing the strong butler approach, Maxim panicked and pulled a knife from his coat. The air instantly turned tense.
“D-don’t come any closer!” he shouted.
“Maxim! What are you doing? Put that down! Don’t point it at my lady!” Gemma cried.
Sweat dripped from Maxim’s face as he aimed the blade at Everett.
“Put away the knife! Don’t make me see you like this!” Gemma’s voice cracked in tears.
And then Everett understood why Gemma had become so thin and weak.
Her brother had been taking her money.
Even while she was sick and barely eating, she still helped him.
Family really is useless, Everett thought bitterly.
She couldn’t understand why Gemma hadn’t just abandoned him.
Why couldn’t she let him go?
The question faded as the knife flashed before her eyes. For now, she had to focus on fixing this situation—without hurting anyone, and without losing the medicine money.
“My lady, let’s just give him the money and leave,” whispered the butler urgently. “It’s dangerous.”
He was afraid something might happen on her first trip outside the mansion.
But Everett shook her head. “No. Nanny’s treatment comes first.”
She pushed the butler aside and faced Maxim head-on. The hand holding the knife trembled violently, ready to drop it at any moment.
“Maxim, right? Tell me—why do you need the money? It must be more important than your sister’s life.”
“W-what’s it matter to you? Even if I tell you, can you help? Just get out of the way!”
So there was a reason.
“I’m a noble,” Everett said quietly. “If I sold just this dress, I’d get more than that money you’re holding.”
She pulled off her robe to show her dress underneath.
Even though it wasn’t fancy, anyone could see it was made with care and skill—worth far more than a commoner could imagine.
“You’d really give that up?” Maxim asked, half doubting, half hoping.
Everett nodded. “If your reason makes sense.”
A few minutes later, Maxim was sitting on the floor, sobbing loudly, tears and snot running down his face.
When Everett said she’d listen, it was like a wall inside him had broken.
“I-I swear I’m innocent! I only borrowed 100 francs, but the interest doubled!” he cried.
He knelt properly and began his story.
When he heard that Gemma had left the Fellum family, he wanted to find a house for them both. But they were short 100 francs.
A friend told him about a company called Malasa Trading Company that lent money easily, so he went there and borrowed it.
A week later, they demanded he pay half the loan amount—50 francs—just in interest.
In this world, 100 francs was what a commoner earned in three months of hard labor.
And now, they wanted 200 francs in one month—twice the loan! It was impossible for Maxim to pay, even with Gemma’s retirement money.
They were nothing but swindlers—loan sharks who preyed on the poor, lending small amounts and taking everything in return.
“If I don’t bring them money today… they said they’ll cut off one of my ears,” Maxim whispered, trembling.
He covered both ears in fear. “There are already many people in the village with missing ears. They call the man who runs it a ‘collector of ears.’”
Everett frowned. “Disgusting. Cutting off ears? What kind of pervert does that?”
“Because they can still sell people as slaves even without ears!” Maxim explained desperately. “If you can’t pay, they sell you into slavery!”
Everett blinked, half shocked, half impressed. “So that’s why.”
Tears streamed down Maxim’s beard as he bowed his head to the floor. Drops fell onto Everett’s shoes.
“I’ll accept punishment for drawing my knife,” he said between sobs. “But please, save me from being sold as a slave. If that happens, I’ll really die.”
Gemma stood behind him, weeping quietly too.
Everett sighed. She had thought he’d wasted the money on gambling. But now she saw it wasn’t that—he was just desperate.
He wasn’t evil, just a pitiful man caught in a cruel world.
It reminded her of her own past—uneducated, too trusting, and tricked by others.
Everett stood up, brushing off her skirt.
“Let’s go.”
“Wh-what? I thought you were going to give me money,” Maxim said in confusion.
“I don’t give money to trash,” Everett replied with a cold smile.
Her rule was simple—trash should never be recycled.
Later — Central Street of Olberito.
The Malasa Trading Company, the place that had taken so much from the poor, stood proudly in the center of town.
“I-I can’t go in there. I’m too scared,” Maxim said, hiding behind Gemma. It was autumn, but he wore a hat that covered his ears.
“The dangerous part is mine and the butler’s job. What’s there to fear?” Everett said calmly. “Right, Butler?”
The butler nodded firmly. “My duty is to do whatever my lady commands.”
He looked surprisingly eager—perhaps still angry after hearing Maxim’s story. His eyes burned with righteous fire.
Good. Everett was glad he wasn’t going to stop her.
“My lady, please,” Gemma begged. “The people in there are rough and dangerous. Don’t get involved. We’ll handle it ourselves.”
“And what about your medicine?” Everett asked. “Should I just leave you to die? You think I can live happily without you?”
If she had wanted to ignore Gemma’s suffering, she wouldn’t have come here in the first place.
If Gemma had really died young not from sickness but from her brother’s troubles, Everett wasn’t going to let that happen again.
She gently pushed Gemma toward home.
“Nanny, go rest. When you wake up, everything will be solved.”
“But my lady… they have a written contract. You can’t change that.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Everett said confidently. “Don’t worry about anything—not even your brother.”
She glanced at Maxim, who flinched.
“Sis! Don’t worry!” Maxim said quickly. “I’ll fix what I caused!”
With both of them insisting, Gemma finally left.
Once she was gone, Everett’s face hardened again. She handed Maxim a bag.
“Your role is important.”
“W-what if they catch me?” he asked nervously.
“You’ll either get stabbed or burned alive,” Everett said flatly.
“W-what?!” Maxim squeaked.
“Unless you’d rather be sold as a slave. You’ll wish for death every day. This might be your only chance to escape that fate. Do you really want to waste it?”
“I-I’ll do it! I’ll do it!” Maxim cried. “I don’t want to die or make my sister sad!”
“Good. Then do it right. We’re risking our lives too.”
Realizing she was serious, Maxim wiped his sweat and tears with his sleeve. He hugged the bag tightly and, following Everett’s plan, ran into the Malasa Trading Company.
