Butler Oren handed me a letter. The envelope had a familiar mark. It was the symbol of the information guild I was dealing with. The letter contained the expected content.
[As you assured me, Edward Lopez has indeed offered up his title of Count.]
That must be so. I raised one corner of my mouth. There was still hope for Edward. The last big dream of make a fortune. In that dream, Edward would become a wealthy man like before, no, even more splendid than before, wielding money and power. There was no way Edward, who was so obsessed with vanity, could give up such a sweet dream.
'Foolish brother.'
Not knowing that the illusion I was seeing was a false mirage in the distant desert. Enclosed in the envelope was a copy of the title certificate for Count Lopez...
It was long. I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh. Finally, Edward gives up the title of Count Lopez with his own hands. I planned to use the inheritance my grandfather had left me to purchase the title. Before he died, Edward had insisted on giving it to me, saying he would use it to build a "heaven," and he had coveted it even as I was dying, stamping my blood on it. Since unmarried women were not allowed to own property in the Empire, my grandfather had resorted to a trick. He had rented a safe in my grandfather's name at the Imperial Bank and made a special provision that only I, an adult, could open it. I had never touched it until today, thinking that I wanted to use it for something very meaningful.
Until today. As I was getting ready to go to the bank and walking down the hallway, I heard a whispering voice.
"Should I buy it now...?"
"You mean the stocks of that trading company? Aren't they already too expensive?"
I stopped walking quietly and turned in the direction of the sound. Linda muttered with a worried face.
"If I break my savings, I can live off of it for a few weeks."
"Hey, you said that was the money you were saving for your youngest sister's dowry."
"Yeah, that's true. If this investment is successful, I might be able to marry her off to a much better family."
"Well, if it were me,"
Linda and her colleague were startled when I suddenly interrupted. I smiled awkwardly and continued.
"I'll think about it for three more days."
"Yes?!"
"The price has already gone up as much as it could. Waiting three more days won't make any difference, so I'll just endure it for now."
Linda looked quite flustered but soon nodded quickly.
"Yes! If that's your advice, madam!"
Two days later. Linda, who had picked up today's <Empire's Morning>, as usual, to give it to Ariana, absentmindedly glanced at the front page and was startled.
"T-what is this?!"
<Empire's Morning>, which has been bringing up a hot topic almost every day, has sent out a special report today as well.
The Eastern Maritime Trade Company's trading ship has sunk!
[Even the trade goods that should have been loaded inside disappeared without a trace, raising suspicions that it may have been a fraudulent act from the beginning...]
Oh my. Linda covered her mouth. What <Empire's Morning> was accusing was the very trading company that she had tried to invest her savings in two days ago.
'That place may have been a group of fraudsters...?'
No, whether it was a fraud or a truly tragic accident, the important thing was that the trading ship had sunk. The ship that should have been carrying treasures more valuable than gold from Eastern countries had become a mere empty can. This would turn the system upside down. Linda felt dizzy.
'If I had disobeyed Madam that day and poured in all the money I had saved...'
Just thinking about it sent chills down her spine. Linda's legs almost gave out and she collapsed.
***
"Hehe, hehehehe."
Dark Count Lopez. Edward, who was letting out a strange laugh, suddenly shouted.
"Bring me more alcohol!"
However, no servant listened to the order. The moment they realized that Edward could not pay his salary, not a single servant chose to stay in the mansion.
"What, why isn't anyone answering! Are you ignoring me? I can't get you alcohol right away-."
"What are you going to do now?"
Elena, who appeared stomping her feet, glared at Edward as if she was going to kill him. Her once trustworthy brother could not have looked so pathetic. How could he make things this bad?
He ruined the founding of the country, and even the investment he had made with all his family assets, believing that it would definitely succeed, failed miserably!
It was even more painful because it was a fall from grace at the moment when he had the highest hopes after the founding of the country, which he had thought would succeed brilliantly, ended up like that.
'But, but...'
But Elena couldn't just throw everything away and drink alcohol like that stupid brother. Elena barely managed to calm her anger and said.
"... Let's go down to the estate for now."
Lopez County was small and far from the system, but the siblings were still the masters there. If they fired the agent who had been managing the estate and raised the tax rate, they could live a decent life in the countryside. They would wait there quietly until the scandal about the Lopez siblings died down in the system. That was the best they could do for now. But then a thunderbolt came out of Edward's mouth.
"There's no estate."
Edward chuckled, clutching the bottle of wine.
"I sold my title."
"What... What did you say?"
Elena's expression went blank.
After a moment, she came to her senses and shouted with a distorted face.
"Are you kidding me? How could you have no title? Tell me right now that you're joking!"
"Shut up. Shut up!"
Clang!
Edward shouted and threw the bottle of wine against the wall. With a loud noise, the bottle shattered into pieces, and Elena instinctively flinched. Edward, who was drunk to the max, muttered.
"As expected... As expected, Ariana, that girl was the seed of disaster."
A voice hissed like a snake.
"Father should have made a decision back then. When he was worried that he wouldn't have any troubles if he dealt with that girl, I should have urged him more..."
"What the... are you talking about?"
"Damn it, be quiet. Don't bother me and get out of here!"
It was the moment Edward raised the bottle toward Elena.
Bang bang, bang bang bang!
"Miss Elena, Miss Elena! It's me, Adolf!"
She heard Adolf knocking on the door with an urgent voice. Contempt crossed Elena's expression. In fact, the one who suffered the most when the trading ship sank was Adolf, not Edward. It is said that he was kicked out of the Schmidt Baron's house because he lost all his investment money and squandered the family fortune.
"What are you doing? Your husband is here."
Edward grumbled meanly.
"Since you've been flirting with that guy in front of everyone like that, you won't be able to marry off to someone else. What can I do? If you don't want to grow old and die as a spinster, you have no choice but to marry that guy."
Elena clenched her teeth in contempt. It might have been the old Adolf, but to marry that shabby, worthless man who lost his family and all his money?
"Who is brother to say such things? It's all because of you that I'm in this mess. I... I was definitely doing well."
Until just a few months ago, she had been a promising soprano. Even her sister's fiancé drooled over her and bought her jewels as gifts. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before she would be reborn as the best soprano in the system, the most glamorous flower of the social world.
Yes. It was definitely like that...
'Since when did everything go so terribly wrong?'
"No. I'm going to... become the best soprano and live a glamorous life."
Elena muttered absentmindedly, shaking her head. Edward laughed at his younger sister.
"You still haven't come to your senses. I'll have to sell you off to that guy before you go completely crazy."
Edward opened the door as he said that.
"Oh, Elena!"
Adolf, who was just as drunk
as Edward, stumbled in, his eyes bloodshot and his chin a mess of whiskers.
"My dear Elena..."
Adolf approached Elena with a theatrical smile. Having lost all his money and even been abandoned by his family, his only hope was to become the son-in-law of a Count. Although the family was mired in scandal, it was still a noble family. They had estates and titles.
"You've had a hard time lately, haven't you? Because of all the gossip from those mean people... By the way, I heard a strange rumor on the way here."
Adolf looked at Elena with his mean eyes.
"A rumor that the Duchess of Heigenberg has taken the title of Countess of Lopez... Of course, it's a rumor, right? Women can't receive titles."
"What?"
Elena's face turned pale. Edward, who had been blowing the whistle, also turned his head. Elena absentmindedly groped her lips.
"The Count Lopez throne... went to .y sister?"
"It went to that woman?!"
Both of them shouted at the same time.
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