Chapter 02
Many people cried when they saw him.
In front of the body of the former duke—his older brother—he had cried for three days and three nights without stopping.
His pitiful appearance made many people feel even more sorrow than the death of the deceased himself.
It was obvious that this tragic sight, along with his beautiful appearance, helped clear the shameful suspicion that he had harmed his own brother.
Under his long, thick eyelashes, his deep dark-blue eyes slowly looked over the people around him.
They were not clear eyes.
They were heavy and deep—almost like they could pull people into a swamp.
Yet people still fluttered around him like butterflies chasing honey.
They circled around him, trying to get close.
They didn’t even realize the flower they admired was actually poisonous.
They were begging for death without knowing it.
The duke, who had been quietly observing everyone, stood up.
They called this place the city of pleasure, but he did not feel very entertained.
Compared to this trivial card game, the small commoner girl he had just seen was far more interesting.
She had almost looked like a professional gambler while controlling the game.
But the moment the guards arrived, she quickly threw off her robe and began acting like an innocent child.
Judging by her face and small body, she looked about sixteen years old.
But her behavior was completely different from that innocent face.
She looked like a swindler who had spent her entire life inside gambling dens.
For a moment, the duke felt curious and almost stood up to follow her.
But he soon stopped.
A boy from a family that had served the Miramonte house for generations respectfully handed him a yellow paper.
Just one look showed it was no ordinary item.
The paper was high-quality, wrapped tightly with a red string.
“What is it?”
“It is a message from Castillo Baha.”
Castillo Baha.
If a message came from the royal palace, there was only one possible sender.
The king of Willetan.
The one and only ruler of Baha.
And the duke’s only lord.
The duke took the paper and opened it.
Only a few seconds later, his handsome face twisted in annoyance—and he crumpled the paper.
[Dear Dioner Shantak del Casa Miramonte.
Oh, Del. How have you been?
Thinking about you missing me in unfamiliar Ardel makes my heart ache terribly.
There are already too many idle people around me, but I purposely sent you all the way to Ardel because there are many beautiful women there.
Of course, no matter how many beauties there are, none could be more beautiful than you. But still, who knows?
Perhaps while enjoying Ardel’s pleasures, you might finally break that stone-like heart of yours and share a small piece of it with some woman.
Anyway, do not even think about setting foot in Baha until you find a duchess.
I’m not trying to bully you on purpose.
You don’t even have an heir. If you suddenly die, Miramonte would be empty, and that thought makes my heart hurt.
You do know that your title as duke has not yet received my official approval, right?
I never intended to grant the title of duke to someone without a duchess.
So hurry up and get married.
From your lord who cares for you dearly,
Xavier.]
In truth, everything written above was useless nonsense.
The king only wanted to say one thing.
“Get married. Just get married.”
The duke let out a dry laugh and tore the crumpled letter apart.
No one nearby dared to complain about him tearing the king’s message.
In other words, if he did not bring a woman back with him, the title of duke would not be officially granted.
Of course, there was no suitable heir to inherit Miramonte anyway.
But imagining Miramonte without the king’s approval made his shoulders feel stiff.
Still…
“Damn it.”
The duke pressed his fingers against his eyes.
He was tired.
Recently, he had not slept properly even once.
* * *
Although Su was technically an orphan with no relatives, she was not truly without family.
The commercial city Ardel looked glamorous on the outside, but beneath that shining surface it was terribly rotten.
Because of that, the city was filled with orphans like Su.
Many poor couples came here chasing dreams of success, holding their children’s tiny hands.
But after losing all their money and being chased by debt, they abandoned their children like objects.
There were also children born to gamblers, or to shameless noblemen and prostitutes.
That was the kind of place Ardel was.
So Su had never pitied her own situation.
To be honest, she believed she was actually luckier than many other children.
At least she had experienced motherly love.
Even though they were not related by blood, she had once shared warmth with someone she could call “mother.”
It was strange that you could feel such love with someone who was not family.
But Su had grown up feeling that warmth.
And because of that, she also had a younger brother.
They shared not a single drop of blood.
But Mel was still her brother.
Even if he was unbelievably stubborn and had not even an ant’s worth of cuteness.
“Hey!”
“Why?”
Even though Su shouted angrily, Mel answered with an extremely shameless attitude.
He was sitting on the dining table, swinging one leg while calmly peeling an orange.
Seeing that relaxed face made Su’s vision go white with anger.
“Hey, you crazy brat! What twelve-year-old gambles?!”
“You said you started when you were twelve.”
“That’s because I—”
“Because you’re a genius at swindling? Yeah, I know I can’t cheat as well as you. But I’m trying.”
“Stop trying at something useless and go to school properly!”
Su felt deeply upset that Mel wanted to follow her path and become a swindler.
Even she was surprised by how much it hurt.
She had no shame about being a swindler.
In fact, she was secretly proud of being one of the best.
But she wanted her brother to walk a different path.
At least a job he could proudly tell his future spouse about.
Su had never had a choice.
But Mel could still choose another life.
And Su was willing to risk her life to help him.
Now, she had the ability to do that.
“Big sister.”
“What?”
Mel jumped down from the table and looked at his short sister.
His face looked nothing like a swindler.
His bright brown eyes could easily see what Su was worried about.
She wanted him to escape the back alleys.
Even though Su had almost nothing to do with Mel except that his real mother once cared for her, she still raised him like this.
That made Mel feel guilty sometimes.
In truth, Su had entered the gambling world at a young age only to raise him.
A twelve-year-old girl had been holding a newborn baby.
She fought desperately to keep the adults from taking him away.
And the method she finally chose to survive was gambling.
“Some things in this world can’t be achieved with effort alone.”
Mel showed a bitter smile that didn’t match his young face.
Seeing it made Su’s heart ache again.
Mel wanted to become a knight.
But in this kingdom with its strict class system, a boy like Mel becoming a knight was a dream beyond a dream.
In Ardel, there were very few things Su couldn’t do.
But even she couldn’t do everything.
Seeing Mel’s distant expression, Su tightly closed her eyes.
“I can’t make Mel give up on his dream too.”
She clenched her teeth.
“Let’s buy one.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s buy a status.”
“What…?”
Mel looked confused.
No matter how good Su was at gambling and swindling, there was a limit to the money she could make.
And buying a noble status?
That was not something money alone could solve.
You would need connections with at least a count-level noble.
“I heard it costs around two hundred thousand gold. If I pull off a few big jobs, it’s not impossible.”
Two hundred thousand gold.
Mel’s eyes widened.
A normal commoner family spent less than ten gold a month.
Two hundred thousand gold was an unbelievable amount.
“S-sister…”
“You think I don’t have that much money?”
Su puffed out her chest proudly.
It looked like she really did have some savings.
After all, Su was a famous swindler in the area.
Even though most people didn’t know that the swindler Roland was actually her.
And she was also extremely stingy.
She had earned money with her genius gambling skills and never wasted even a single coin.
Still, Mel had never imagined she might have two hundred thousand gold.
That amount was so large that even some viscounts might never see it in their lifetime.
“Do you really have it?”
“Of course!”
Su loudly slapped his shoulder.
“You trust your sister, right? Hmm?”
Her grin looked as confident as a heroic warrior.
Seeing Mel’s face brighten with hope made Su’s heart feel warm.
Her smile toward her brother was strong and reliable.
But after Mel left the house to practice swordsmanship, that smile slowly disappeared.
In truth—
Su did not have two hundred thousand gold.
At best, she had about one hundred thousand.
Even that was an incredible amount for a girl from the back alleys.
But two hundred thousand?
That was almost impossible.
She had struggled for twelve years just to save one hundred thousand.
And now she had promised twice that amount.
She sighed deeply.
“Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?”
Ah… this is driving me crazy.
She wondered if she had just given Mel false hope.
Regret already made her head spin.
Su shook her head and stood up.
Time was money.
It was better to go out and think of ways to earn money than sit at home regretting things.
After leaving the house, she smiled warmly as she watched Mel practicing his sword.
Then she walked toward an older, more run-down part of town.
It was a deeper alley than the one she and Mel lived in.
A place she had strictly warned Mel never to approach.
“Oh? Isn’t that Su!”
The moment she entered the alley, men smelling of cheap alcohol gathered around her.
Even though some people said she looked too young or childish, it was still hard to find a beauty like Su in the back alleys.
So men swarmed around her like flies.
Su didn’t hesitate for a second.
She simply punched them in the face.
