Chapter 01
I thought getting scammed was something that only happened to other people.
But it happened to me.
I lost everything… all my money.
One day I was completely blank.
One day I could only cry.
One day I was filled with anger.
Then the next day, the sound of knocking filled my ears.
“Lerit Bin.”
Someone was calling my name.
Bang! Bang!
“Lerit Bin.”
Why were they calling me? I was already furious from being scammed.
Then a louder sound than before echoed.
“Lerit Bin!”
It sounded like the door was about to break. Wondering why they were knocking so hard, I walked toward the door. As I got closer, I heard voices.
“Should we break it open?”
“Break it.”
Startled, I flung the door open. Our eyes met.
Gray eyes, dark like thick smoke. A chill ran through me, yet I couldn’t look away.
Neatly slicked-back black hair, a straight nose, and well-shaped lips.
He was breathtaking.
He wore a spotless black uniform, not a speck of dust on it. Near his shoulder stood out a crest shaped like the claw of a wild beast.
I’ve seen that emblem somewhere before…
A cold, unfamiliar gaze fell on me.
“Lerit Bin?”
I snapped back to my senses. This wasn’t the voice that had been knocking earlier.
It was lower. Colder.
My body shrank back, but I forced myself to stay calm.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“You must take responsibility.”
“…What?”
“You scammed me.”
“A scam?”
Thinking I had misheard, I asked again.
“You’re saying I scammed you?”
“Yes.”
His expression remained calm, almost unnaturally so.
Inside me, waves crashed violently.
“What are you talking about—”
Then the man gestured to the person beside him. That person quickly took out some documents and handed them to me. I examined them.
My name was clearly written there.
As the debtor who owed money to someone named Roadven.
Scanning further down, I saw the seal of Roadven Bank, along with a detailed explanation of the case.
“Ah… this is…”
My hands trembled as I read. No matter how many times I looked, it said the same thing. My grip on the paper tightened.
That bastard scammer had borrowed money from Roadven Bank under my name, pretended to invest it in Roadven Mining, pocketed the money, and ran.
Then a memory surfaced.
Last summer, I had received a letter from that investment firm.
[Hello, valued investor.
This is Hororok Investment.
We have discovered a way to increase returns by an additional 20%!
(★This method is offered only to investors who have entrusted us with their valuable funds for six months.)
Previously, we invested on your behalf using delegated authority.
This new method allows our firm to directly manage funds under your name.
This will raise returns by a full 20%.
Would you be willing to entrust your name fully to us?
If you agree, we will send the related documents. Please sign and return them.
Sincerely,
Hororok Investment, always thinking of our investors.]
The documents that came with the letter were complicated and full of hard-to-understand terms. At the time, my investment was showing a 10% return.
I was busy working as an escort for Count Heltrick, so I didn’t have time to look into it further. Since the firm had been performing well, I signed the papers without questioning anything.
And I often received letters about my aunt struggling to farm on someone else’s land. I wanted to save money as soon as possible and buy her land of her own.
Now that I thought about it, it was incredibly foolish.
The papers with my cleverly attached name shook in front of my eyes. My strength was about to give out.
“You had the nerve to scam me. Twenty billion.”
Twenty billion.
Money I would need eight years of hard work and saving to earn.
I couldn’t believe it. My words came out shaky.
“S-something seems wrong…”
“Didn’t you see the name on the documents?”
“I did, but in reality I—”
“Lerit Bin.”
“Yes?”
“That’s your name.”
His unusually low voice struck my ears.
I couldn’t deny the name written on the papers.
This is so unfair I could die.
I wanted to roll on the ground, cry, and scream that I wasn’t a scammer.
But as a mercenary who earned his keep, I could only clutch the documents and tremble.
“Because of you, everything we planned has fallen apart.”
I couldn’t accept this situation at all.
What if these documents are wrong? What if they’re forged?
I lifted my head and looked at the man in front of me.
He was extremely handsome, but I had never seen him before. Who was to say he wasn’t scamming me?
I raised my chin stubbornly. The man looked at me with a crooked gaze.
“After scamming twenty billion, you’re awfully confident.”
Clutching the papers tightly, I said,
“I can’t accept being called a scammer until we go to the bank and confirm these documents aren’t forged.”
I needed certainty. Anything involving money could be confirmed at the bank. Especially since bank documents were managed with magic seals—they couldn’t be forged.
The man’s eyebrows hardened. The person beside him let out a dry laugh and looked at me.
“Lerit Bin, how dare you—”
Before he could finish, the man in front raised a hand. The other man shut his mouth, watching his expression.
Gray eyes calmly fixed on me.
“So you’re saying you won’t admit to the scam?”
The heavy atmosphere made me hesitate, but I spoke anyway.
“Something’s wrong. I’ve never met you before, and I don’t even know your name. How could I scam you?”
One corner of the man’s lips lifted.
“Your acting is impressive.”
“…What?”
“There’s no one who wouldn’t recognize my face.”
“I don’t. I really don’t.”
“Then have you heard of the Duke of Demerut?”
“I’ve heard of him. Men all hate him, but noblewomen love him, so they go crazy trying to see him at banquets. Something about appearing only once every two years.”
As I spoke, I felt uneasy. Like I had made a mistake.
“…Don’t tell me.”
“That’s me.”
“……”
“The Duke of Demerut.”
I went completely silent.
I thought he was unbelievably handsome, but… the Duke of Demerut?
No wonder the claw emblem had looked familiar.
He was the undisputed power behind the throne in this kingdom.
His name was Calyx, surname Demerut.
An enemy of the royal family, possessing military power greater than theirs, and the only man who could stand against them—simply by being the Duke of Demerut.
I looked at him with even more tension than before. His expression wasn’t twisted. He just stared firmly at me.
I quickly thought.
“The documents said Roadven—”
Then the person beside him interrupted.
“The Duke uses his middle name while on official business.”
My face froze instantly. The gazes directed at me were anything but friendly.
I’m really screwed.
Calyx Demerut was famous for being handsome—and infamous for his terrible personality. I had never met him before, but the rumors were brutal.
Realizing my earlier slip of the tongue, I hurried to speak.
“I spoke wrongly. The Duke is extremely popular in high society, so there are always rumors—”
“……”
“And those rumors aren’t all bad, they’re good ones too—”
Calyx’s brow twisted. I felt like crying. Every word I said only made things worse. There was no fixing this.
I quickly pulled out documents about the scammer and pleaded.
“Sir, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I was scammed too. No, really—we should go to the bank and check. I was scammed by Prod Swindel. I lost the money I saved to buy land for my aunt. I lost everything.”
Calyx gestured to the people around him. Large men moved closer, reaching for my arms.
I shouted immediately.
“I may not look it, but I graduated from Rollend Sword School, and I work as a high-class mercenary. I’m not someone who would scam people. I do my job well and have a reputation. Why would I scam you of all people?”
Silence fell.
As I took a shallow breath, the Duke stepped forward.
A cold gaze looking down at me.
An overwhelming presence blocking my view.
The air around us froze.
Suddenly, I smelled deep forest air, and a low voice brushed my ear.
“Exactly. There’s nothing to gain from provoking me.”
His tone was gentle, but dangerous.
Dark rumors about the Duke flashed through my mind—killer, bathing in the blood of Berok, killing anyone who crossed him.
I stepped back uneasily.
“That’s what I mean. There’s only loss in provoking you, so why would I—”
The Duke took another step forward. Before I could retreat, he leaned down to my ear.
“That’s why I thought the opposite. That you provoked me on purpose—because you’re someone who has a contract with the king.”
Calyx pulled his face back slightly and looked at me. Murderous intent flickered in his gray eyes. My body screamed danger.
I stumbled backward, stammering.
“W-wait, I—”
“Grab him.”
In an instant, two men rushed at me. They were the ones standing beside the Duke. Despite their large frames, they moved fast—but I lightly avoided their arms and drove my elbow into one of their stomachs at the same time.
