"Listen carefully. Our wicked landlord is offering a low rent because of the stench. But what will he do when the stench goes away?"
"Are you raising the rent?"
Judith nodded vigorously at Tan's answer.
"Look, I couldn't work for days and I even got rid of the cause of the stench. But what if the result is that the rent goes up?"
"...That won't work, right?"
"So, we need to make that clear first."
Erne, who had been listening to Judith and Tan's conversation, muttered as if he finally felt relieved.
"Then that's right. Our Miss Harrington wouldn't care about other people's grudges."
"What on earth do you think of your wife?"
"You know Smith the moneylender?"
"I know."
"It's similar to that."
The last time Erne saw them, they were the same, the same. They were crazy about money.
***
"You have a big family? Why did you buy so much fruit?"
"Oh, I'm the person who opened the incense shop over there. This is my first time doing business, so I wanted to say hello and ask the people around here to take good care of me."
I handed the bag of bread I had bought in advance to the fruit shop owner.
"You sell fruit, but I can't give you fruit, so I bought bread. Please take good care of me."
"Oh my, what is this? The young lady is so lively."
"This is my first time doing business. Please teach me a lot of things."
As I added amiably, the fruit shop owner clapped his hands, saying that he was very pleased with his new neighbor.
"By the way, do you know who the person who used to do business there was?"
"You know, there was a young man named George who sold pickled vegetables, but after it was revealed that he was a Shartin, his business went out of business, I think."
"Do you know where he is now?"
"I don't know," the fruit shop owner muttered, then suddenly clapped his hands.
"Oh, right. Go to Grandpa Max, the chimney sweep. I heard George learning how to clean under him now."
"Where can I meet him?"
After much searching, I finally figured out who had placed the curse and what had happened.
Erne looked at Judith like that and thought seriously.
'Why not leave the tracking of the pursuers to Judith instead of the Marquis of Mosley?'
I think she'll find it sooner.
***
A cemetery on the outskirts of the capital.
A small fox scurried past a long-neglected headstone in this place where the poor were mostly buried. I and Erne looked at each other at the same time.
"It's a world of foxes."
"I think you've come to the right place."
As I gently wiped away the moss and dirt-covered gravestone, I saw the name of the owner of the gravestone
George.
There was no date of birth or death, only the name. Perhaps there was not enough money to engrave all of that.
"It used to be a pickled vegetable shop. There was a young man named George who was really good at it. He had a lot of customers."
"He was a good and honest young man. But he had a bad landlord. You've met a bad landlord, haven't you? He's a very bad man. He treated George like a servant."
According to what I heard from the merchants around the square, about five years ago, a man named George was selling pickled vegetables at the store that I had a contract with.
It is said that he had many customers because he was honest, kind, and had excellent pickling skills.
But one day, George closed up his shop and started doing business by pulling a cart.
"George said he left because his contract was over, but we can tell just by looking at him that that's not true."
A few days later, the landlord started selling pickled vegetables in that very store. Business was so good that he took the store away from George.
But even though he was pulling a cart, George's business was much better.
The landlord, who was jealous of this, spread a rumor that George was a Shartin and that he sold pickled vegetables with a spell.
The problem was that George was a real Shartin.
"George didn't look like a Shartin at all. So no one believed him, but the landlord dragged George's mother into the square. George's mother was obviously a Shartin."
George, who had been adamant that he was not a Shartin, could not bear to turn away from his old mother who had been brought in by the landlord.
People stopped buying the pickled vegetables made by the Chartins, and George eventually gave up the pickled vegetable business and took a job as a chimney sweep.
"Isn't it funny? They don't like the food the Shartins make, but they don't mind the chimneys they clean. George got really upset about that."
Grandpa Max, who taught George to sweep chimneys, closed his eyes tightly as if he felt sorry for George.
"The landlord knew from the beginning that George was a Shartin. He took advantage of that weakness and made George do all sorts of chores. Later, he even asked him to teach him the secret of pickling vegetables."
"But I guess George didn't tell him."
"No, George told him."
"And George revealed that he was a Shartin? Why?"
"Why? Because his store's sales will increase if George is gone."
It was the worst of the worst, making even the devil stick out his tongue.
"But what happened to George..."
"He fell off the roof while he was cleaning the chimney. He misstepped."
Grandpa Max is said to have helped George's old mother collect George's body.
According to the gravedigger of the cemetery where George's body was buried, the old woman was skipping meals and staying in front of her son's grave for days on end, when one day she came with tongs and a net and started catching foxes.
"She lost her mind because she was so sad. I felt bad for her so I went to stop her, but she was laughing while catching the fox."
"So?"
"So what? I told her where the foxes are located so she can catch as many as she wants. Anyway, you two should be careful. If you get bitten by a fox, it's a real pain."
And indeed, there were many foxes near where George was buried. At first, she thought George had a grudge and had cursed them.
But it wasn't George.
It was the work of his mother, who lost her son in vain.
"I see she knows about poison since she area Shartin."
Even if it was an imperfect method, it might have been the only way for the old mother to get revenge on the landlord.
"By the way, that landlord is really bad."
Even Erne stuck out his tongue.
"Can you deal with a guy like that?"
"I can't do it alone."
Judith's eyes grew dim.
You have to deal evil with evil."
***
Smith's office.
He was surprised that Judith barged in on a day that wasn't even the interest payment day, but he didn't kick her out because she was a loyal customer who paid her money regularly.
Besides, there was a rumor going around that Judith's candles were selling like hotcakes these days. Is there really a need to continue to turn a blind eye to debtors who will pay their debts promptly when the time comes?
"We have a guest, but you don't even offer me tea, Mr. Smith?"
"It will be out soon."
Smith frowned. Does he think this is a tea house?
"Is there any alcohol besides tea?"
Erne, who was standing behind Judith and Iooking around the office, asked.
"There is no alcohol."
Does that guy think this is a bar?
"No alcohol? How can that be, when there are guys out there who seem to be living with bottles of alcohol?"
"This is karma. Do you think it would be bad to drink alcohol while working?"
Did you leave the liquor? Smith gritted his teeth. These are really a pair of real things.
"So what brings you here? Are you saying y u can't pay the interest again?"
"Son."
"...?"
What, son? Smith flinched at the unexpected words that suddenly interrupted his words.
Son? I'm not the boss, I'm the son?
Of course, they made a contract that if Judith couldn't pay her debts, she would adopt Smith and pass on the title, but still, he was suddenly her son.
When the absurd Smith looked at Erne with eyes demanding an explanation, Erne looked away with an expression that said, 'I don't know.
"Son?"
"Please don't call me that. It's embarrassing to hear. Just tell me what's your business."
Smith frowned as he stood there. Judith pulled her chair closer to Smith.
"Are we on the same side?"
"It's not common to say that a creditor and a debtor are on the same side, but let's say so. Since you're talking about being on the same side, I think you came here to ask a favor, so please speak quickly."
"Please let me borrow my son's name and subordinates."
Smith was dumbfounded and speechless for a moment. After a brief silence, he opened his mouth.
"Is this a place that lends money?"
"I don't know that?"
Oh, I don't think I know, really.
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