CHAPTER 55………………
Marie played no small role in all this.
To win the Marchioness’ favor, she always brought little gifts and, with honeyed words, subtly encouraged overspending.
“You look so stunning, my lady. And if you paired this ruby-adorned pair of shoes with the dress, it would be absolutely perfect.”
“Really?”
“Yes! And these lace gloves—made with fabric imported from abroad—would complete the set.”
Once again, Marie skillfully recommended this and that, steering her toward extra purchases.
If the former head maid Maggie were still around, she would have scolded the Marchioness for such reckless spending.
“I’ll buy them all.”
But now, there was no one by her side.
The younger maids were too afraid of displeasing her to speak honestly.
“Bring me a credit slip.”
As always, the Marchioness signed off on yet another debt without a thought.
And while faithfully attending her, Marie let slip carefully chosen words.
“I’m so glad you visit us so often, my lady. To be honest, Lady Claire… well, she’s rather difficult to deal with.”
It was, of course, intentional—designed to lower the Marchioness’ guard and get closer to her.
“She is like that, isn’t she? So haughty for her station, and so unpleasant.”
The Marchioness, oblivious to Marie’s intention, nodded in agreement, recalling Claire’s somewhat imperious behavior in the past.
At some point, she had begun to feel Marie had taken her side, and now she opened her heart completely—so much that she even confided her woes.
“Ever since my son was unfairly forced into breaking off his engagement, my own standing in society has suffered. If only I could get invited to a prominent noblewoman’s party at a time like this….”
“Don’t worry, my lady. People will soon recognize your true worth—just as I have.”
Touched, the Marchioness looked at her with gratitude, while Marie, with a coy voice, smoothly shifted the subject.
“My lady, when will you visit us again?”
“Well, today’s spending was quite extravagant, so for a while…”
“I heard that among noble ladies, dresses adorned with rare gemstones are the latest trend?”
The Marchioness nodded.
It was precisely that trend that had made her all the more obsessed with adorning herself and shopping.
“As it happens, I just acquired one of those rare gem-flowers! I was thinking of making a dress with it—”
Marie deliberately let her words trail off.
“But alas, if you can’t come soon, I’ll just have to offer it to another client. Most likely to the next appointment… the Countess of Merrison.”
“…Merrison?”
The Marchioness’ lips twisted at the unpleasant name.
Feigning innocence, Marie beamed.
“Yes. The countess and her daughter visited yesterday. They promised to become our regular patrons.”
The Marchioness scowled deeply.
She had sent her only son far away, and yet Nina’s household—who had, in her mind, helped bring that about—was thriving.
‘Ha! Living luxuriously off the money you sucked out of our house and Alex!’
Grinding her teeth, her misplaced anger turned toward Nina and her daughter.
She grabbed Marie’s shoulder tightly, almost shouting,
“Absolutely not! Make me that dress!”
“But my lady, didn’t you just say you wouldn’t be coming for a while…”
“No? What nonsense—you’ll see me again tomorrow!”
She had no money, yet her voice was loud.
In truth, it was more that she had lost all sense of reality, with Marie pampering her like a tongue inside her mouth.
“Then I’ll prepare a brand new dress for you, my lady.”
Marie widened her eyes prettily and handed her another credit slip.
“Of course, that’s what I expect.”
The Marchioness hesitated slightly at the thought of Claire noticing her debts piling up. But she’s my granddaughter, she thought. Surely Claire would forgive her this much.
At worst, she could claim she’d paid for the previous ones herself, and ask Claire to cover just this most expensive one.
Utterly blind to the mountain of debt she had already amassed, the Marchioness signed again, satisfied.
Crown Prince’s Office.
Theodore sat back on the sofa, leisurely reading through Jake’s report.
Recently, under his orders, Jake had disguised himself as a wealthy commoner merchant and played cards with Marquis Ravello.
Thus, the bulk of the report described how, through several games, he had stripped the Marquis of money.
Among his peers, Jake was called the god of cards, and he had driven the Marquis to the edge with ease.
The latest results were—
“6 games, 6 wins, 0 losses.
Marquis Ravello: 5,000 gold lost.”
At this rate, it would not be long before the Marquis came running to “Bear,” the moneylender, for a loan.
Closing the document, Theodore looked at his subordinate, standing with his hands clasped behind his back.
“How was playing against the Marquis, Jake?”
“For all his years of gambling, his skills were abysmal. Especially vulnerable to provocation—just a little needling, and he raised the stakes immediately.”
Which had made achieving his lord’s order easy.
Though it did mean he had to endure the Marquis grabbing him by the collar and spewing insults.
And sure enough, less than a day later, Jake handed Theodore a letter.
“From Marquis Ravello, sent to the Episteme Guild building.”
“Hm.”
Reading the contents, a faint smile appeared on Theodore’s lips.
“This is Marquis Ravello, whom you met before.
I wish to borrow money.
I’ll be coming by tomorrow!”
Immediately, he prepared a letter in return.
The recipient was, of course, Claire. He had to deliver this delightful news quickly.
The next day.
Claire, once more disguised as a boy, visited the Episteme Guild.
Rune’s eyes widened when he saw her.
“Wow! Pretty noona, you’re amazing at disguises. If I didn’t see you up close, I wouldn’t know it was you.”
“Really? I’m glad.”
Claire gently patted his small head and handed him a dessert she had brought along the way.
“Rune, the adults need to talk. Could you eat this somewhere quiet?”
“Mm… I’m not a baby anymore, you know…”
“Please?”
“…Alright. Since it’s pretty noona asking. If it were our guildmaster, I’d have ignored him.”
Muttering the last part under his breath, Rune happily took the bread bag and skipped off.
Once the child was gone, Claire sat on the sofa and asked Theodore,
“When is Grandfather arriving?”
“In about ten minutes.”
She nodded, her eyes drifting to the newspaper on the table—it was what Theodore had been reading.
“Lady Lennox! Defeats monster raid, continues purifying contaminated zones.”
The article praised the youngest daughter of House Lennox, one of the noble houses of Blessing.
Flipping to the front page, Claire saw the current hot topic: the plague in the slums.
“Slum citizens crying out over outrageous cost of treatment!”
Unfortunately, the treatment’s main ingredient was mana stones, so the price was unavoidably steep.
As she read the article with sympathy, a knock sounded. Claire straightened her posture.
The Marquis had arrived ten minutes early.
“I’m here.”
Clearly desperate for money, he wanted to discuss a loan with Theodore right away.
Theodore, however, deliberately sat next to Claire and spoke slowly, as though to tease him.
“So you actually came.”
“You said anyone could borrow, right?”
“As long as you sign a promissory note.”
Even at the boy’s arrogant shrug and reply, the Marquis held back his retort.
Dark circles under his eyes, cheeks hollow.
After losing miserably to Jake, he was itching to win it all back.
Next time, I’ll surely win…!
With the typical mindset of an addict, he had scraped the bottom of his purse and finally dragged himself here.
“How much would you like to borrow?”
“….”
The Marquis’ lips trembled.
Though he had only a shallow acquaintance with this young lender, he still knew he shouldn’t borrow too much.
At most, he thought, an amount he could repay by selling some of his estate’s assets if things went wrong.
After a moment of fierce calculation, he spoke.
“About… ten thousand gold—”
“I hear your estate is worth around two hundred thousand gold, is it not?”
Cutting him off, a youthful voice rang out—high and clear as though mid-puberty. Claire.
“In that case, you can safely borrow much more. Even if things go poorly, it won’t be catastrophic.”
This was knowledge she had gained from Ron, who, having worked in trade since childhood, had deep financial savvy.
With his help, she had learned enough to convincingly play the role of a moneylender. He had even drafted and reviewed the promissory note paperwork.
“…Ahem. And how would you know that?”
“To do this kind of work, one must understand the profit margins of many fields.”
Claire smiled slyly, prodding him.
“A noble of your stature wouldn’t be ruined by losing just one estate, would you? And with such a small loan, would the games even feel worth playing?”
Though the boy before him hardly seemed trustworthy, his words made sense.
If the worst-case scenario was losing the capital estate, then he could always retreat to his fiefdom and rebuild.
“Then… I’ll borrow fifty thousand gold.”
He made his decision.
It was five times what he had originally considered, but with the estate as a safeguard, his fear evaporated.
Claire clapped approvingly and produced a thick sheaf of papers.
“Here, please fill this out.”
“A promissory note? Wait—I’ll read it carefully first.”
The Marquis suddenly grew meticulous, combing through the clauses.
Theodore and Claire let him.
After all, this first contract contained nothing unusual.
Finding no suspicious terms, the Marquis finally signed his name.
“Thank you, valued client.”
Claire quickly collected the contract and stood. Theodore handed him a bag.
“Fifty thousand gold.”
“Oho, thank you.”
“May you use it without regret.”
Blissfully unaware of the smile hidden beneath the mask, the Marquis happily carried the bag away.
Watching his departing back, a smile tugged at Claire’s lips as well.
This was only the beginning.
