The moment I saw the face that was tightly hidden under the hood, I froze like a statue.
That's understandable, as the man's true identity is none other than Marquis Arnold Zenger, namely...
“Grandpa Landlady?”
Although he had Ibis-red eyes instead of the familiar gray ones, its facial features were clearly those of the Marquis of Zenger, whom I had seen countless times since I was a child.
‘What is this...’
As I looked at him with astonishment, Marquis Zenger's mouth widened.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that title. Even when I asked to be called that, you politely called me Marquis, Marquis. Now you seem like the Shayne I used to know.”
It was a playful tone that was completely out of place with the current situation.
Because of that, I was even more dazed, and after a while, I came to my senses and asked.
“Why did Grandpa say Ibis....”
“Is there any other reason? It’s all for the prosperity of the family.”
The old man's wrinkled eyes gently curved.
Arnold Zenger.
Born as the fifth son of the famous writer Zenger, he received congratulations from many people from the moment he was born.
However, he did not grow up as nobly as he had thought, because although the Zenger family was of a long and prestigious family, their circumstances were not very good due to a long history of business failures since their ancestors.
In short, it was a minus hand that went bankrupt as soon as it started a business for generations.
As the family's wealth gradually dwindled, the family was in dire straits by the time his father arrived.
Only about ten servants are working in a huge mansion that is over several thousand square meters.
The only source of income was the fief, and since it was located in the harsh north, the taxes coming in were not that high.
Because of this, he could not have his clothes tailored like other nobles and had to wear ready-made clothes, and he could not even dream of holding banquets on special occasions like birthdays or year-ends.
It was so much so that the wedding expenses were even covered by the Veloce family, with whom the family had deep ties for generations.
Although he is the successor to a prestigious noble family, his life is not much different from that of a commoner.
Arnold was sometimes ashamed of his life, but it was okay.
Although he was poor, he grew up in a harmonious family with lots of love, and his wife was affectionate and not extravagant.
His life began to become unhappy after his children were born.
“Father, my family is a family of Marquises, so why are we so poor?”
“All the other kids have designers come to their house and have clothes tailored to fit them. We’re the only kids among the nobility who wear baggy or short clothes like this.”
“And the son of a half-baron wears better clothes than we do?”
That's understandable, as the man's true identity is none other than Marquis Arnold Zenger, namely...
“Grandpa Landlady?”
Although he had Ibis-red eyes instead of the familiar gray ones, its facial features were clearly those of the Marquis of Zenger, whom I had seen countless times since I was a child.
‘What is this...’
As I looked at him with astonishment, Marquis Zenger's mouth widened.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that title. Even when I asked to be called that, you politely called me Marquis, Marquis. Now you seem like the Shayne I used to know.”
It was a playful tone that was completely out of place with the current situation.
Because of that, I was even more dazed, and after a while, I came to my senses and asked.
“Why did Grandpa say Ibis....”
“Is there any other reason? It’s all for the prosperity of the family.”
The old man's wrinkled eyes gently curved.
***
Arnold Zenger.
Born as the fifth son of the famous writer Zenger, he received congratulations from many people from the moment he was born.
However, he did not grow up as nobly as he had thought, because although the Zenger family was of a long and prestigious family, their circumstances were not very good due to a long history of business failures since their ancestors.
In short, it was a minus hand that went bankrupt as soon as it started a business for generations.
As the family's wealth gradually dwindled, the family was in dire straits by the time his father arrived.
Only about ten servants are working in a huge mansion that is over several thousand square meters.
The only source of income was the fief, and since it was located in the harsh north, the taxes coming in were not that high.
Because of this, he could not have his clothes tailored like other nobles and had to wear ready-made clothes, and he could not even dream of holding banquets on special occasions like birthdays or year-ends.
It was so much so that the wedding expenses were even covered by the Veloce family, with whom the family had deep ties for generations.
Although he is the successor to a prestigious noble family, his life is not much different from that of a commoner.
Arnold was sometimes ashamed of his life, but it was okay.
Although he was poor, he grew up in a harmonious family with lots of love, and his wife was affectionate and not extravagant.
His life began to become unhappy after his children were born.
“Father, my family is a family of Marquises, so why are we so poor?”
“All the other kids have designers come to their house and have clothes tailored to fit them. We’re the only kids among the nobility who wear baggy or short clothes like this.”
“And the son of a half-baron wears better clothes than we do?”
“Father, can we have a banquet for our birthday this year? We want to have a big banquet and invite our friends.”
Unlike Arnold, who was somewhat satisfied with his life, his children felt a lack of comfort in their lives.
It was only a matter of time before the lack of an ideal that could not be fulfilled no matter how much one longed for it turned into a sense of entitlement.
“Father! Is it true that you reached out to the Duke of Veloce again?”
“I told you not to do that! Do you know how much that bastard is strutting around in front of us, Mushikan?”
“Please don’t go out and beg! You’re already being called a beggar, so how much more shameful must you be?”
Watching his sons, whom he would never mind putting in his eyes, struggle with poverty and a sense of inferiority was truly heartbreaking.
Only then did he feel the keen importance of capital and belatedly began to focus on business.
However, he was also a descendant of the Zenger family, and like his ancestors, he had no talent for managing money.
His business ventures failed time and time again, and contrary to his intentions, his family became increasingly impoverished.
To make matters worse, his second son had an accident.
He got into a fight with the son of Count Shippen, who used to tease Marquis Arnold by calling him a beggar Marquis whenever he got the chance.
The young Shippen's entire face turned blue and one of his arms was broken because he was squeezed so hard.
Naturally, Count Shippen went on a rampage.
He claimed that he could not just ignore the fact that his precious baby's face was treated like this and that he was demanding significant compensation in addition to the medical expenses.
A huge sum of money, amounting to a thousand gold coins.
It was a huge amount of money for the late writer Zenger to afford.
Arnold was troubled.
If it had been a normal situation, Maitland, his long-time friend and someone who knew his circumstances well, would have been the first to reach out, but he was in deep sorrow after losing his wife not long ago.
There was no way he would have time to look into Arnold's plight, so he had to go and ask him in person, but it felt too shameful to ask for help from a friend who was grieving the loss of his companion.
He went to the main gate of the Veloce ducal residence and then turned back several times.
He, who had not been able to cross the threshold of the Duke's residence yet again, returned and was sitting in the backyard of the Marquis' residence sighing.
“You look troubled.”
An unfamiliar voice flew in.
Arnold turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw a woman standing there, wrapped tightly in a black robe.
No matter how he looked at it, she didn't look like the Marquis' servant.
“Who are you? How dare you enter the Marquis’ residence without permission? Take off that robe and show me your face immediately!”
He scolded her in a stern voice, but the woman pretended not to hear him.
“Rumors spread throughout the empire. That the second son of the Marquis Zenger family had half-killed the successor of the Count Shippen family.”
“...”
“They say that the compensation requested by Count Shippen is quite large, so Marquis Zenger will truly become a beggar Marquis this time.”
Arnold was furious.
Isn't this incident caused by the term 'beggar Marquis'?
Although he was usually a gentle person, this time he couldn't control his anger.
“How dare you say such nonsense in front of me. Do you really want to die?”
He shouted.
But this time, the woman showed no sign of flinching. Instead, she raised the corners of her lips bitterly and continued to make absurd suggestions.
“I will help you.”
“What?”
Arnold was embarrassed.
Although her facial features were not fully visible because she was wrapped tightly in a robe, the woman's lower body, which was briefly visible, was pale and gaunt, as if she had starved for several days.
How can you make such a suggestion when you are in a position where you should be begging for help rather than helping yourself?
The woman waved her hands in the air as she burst out laughing in amazement.
Okay then.
“...!”
Something fell from his hand.
They were all gold coins.
Gold coins that appear to number in the thousands.
“What is this...”
It was at a time when Arnold just had a blank expression on his face in an unbelievable situation.
The woman who had been playing with the coins picked up a gold coin from the pile and threw it into the air, then threw it at Arnold.
“This is nothing to me. I will give it to you as much as you want if you become my servant.”
An earthquake struck Arnold's eyes.
The gold coins in his hand were real.
Elaborate patterns, solid weight.
A clear gold coin, exactly the same as those issued by the Empire.
If only he could get his hands on the gold coins piled up at that woman's feet, he would be able to pay off the entire ransom offered by Count Shippen's family, and give his sons the banquets and tailored clothes they so desperately wanted.
'But...'
However, the reason he hesitated was because of his strong doubts about the woman's identity.
A being that can make that much gold with just one gesture.
It's definitely not human.
Arnold felt it instinctively.
That he shouldn't hold that hand.
“No matter how urgent my situation is, I cannot accept help from a suspicious person like you. Get out of my mansion immediately.”
He tried to shake off the fear that was building up in his chest and gave the woman a curfew, then ran away from the backyard.
It was when he barely managed to enter the mansion on trembling legs.
“We’re in trouble, Master!”
The butler came running in a hurry.
Looking at his face, which had turned completely ashen, it seemed like something had happened again.
He asked calmly, suppressing the anxiety that was creeping up on him.
“What's going on?”
But when the butler's lips parted again, he too could not help but become contemplative.
“The Count of Shippen has sent an ultimatum. If you do not pay the compensation by today, the second son’s assault case will be taken to court!”
“What?”
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