Chapter 7: 7

“Come on, Ruth! One, two, three, and four!”

I stretched my arms widely and Ruth followed after me, stretching his arms out widely as well.

“Five, six, seven, and eight!”

At my command, we moved our bodies in sync.

These days, Ruth and I have been doing exercises every morning.

I started implementing it to help Ruth develop his stamina and to take care of his health since he had been neglected for so long. It turned out much better than I imagined.

I felt as if I’ve become more productive ever since I started exercising in the morning.

The maids were delighted and watched us from a distance.

Once they discovered that we have been exercising in the training hall every morning, they started to come visit one by one. Now the amount of visitors has considerably increased.

“Madam is such a blessing.”

“Indeed, she is the castle’s saving grace. Thanks to the Madam, the Duke is also getting healthier.” 

I’m still a little embarrassed by that title though.

After we finished with our exercises, with an embarrassed face, I pointed towards the field.

“Okay, Ruth. Now go and run.”

“Yes!” Ruth nodded his head and started running. 

Whenever Ruth ran, there would be dust everywhere. 

It was a rare sight to see for a high-ranking noble family.

Most wealthy nobles would use special stones that had been casted with magic instead of soil in the training hall. That wasn’t possible here.

I had to manage the training hall as well as many other places that required money for upkeep.

‘I also need to get a sword instructor for Ruth.’

Our Ruth is a sword prodigy.

He’s a genius but….

The problem right now, was that there was no one in the castle who could teach Ruth.

There were a few people to consider that had good swordsmanship skills, but it would be a struggle to correct bad postures and habits learned incorrectly down the line. 

I wanted to find the perfect teacher for Ruth from the beginning. 

‘There were a few people whom I’ve been considering.’ 

Ruth ran around and then stopped in front of me.

He doesn’t even lose his breath anymore so his stamina has definitely improved.

“Good job, Ruth!”

I hugged Ruth and patted his head while complimenting him at the same time. As I did so, Ruth embraced me back.

“Now, go and run one more lap.”

“Yes, Noona!”

He answered me obediently, but Ruth kept turning around and glancing my way as he ran.

“Oh, Ruth! You have to face forward! You’ll fall if you don’t!”

“Okay!”

Then…5 seconds later, he turned his head again.

In the end, I just kept laughing.

Ruth’s physical strength was growing steadily.

＊ ＊ ＊

After the morning’s exercise, Ruth went to reading lessons while I headed to the office for estate work.

I was slightly regretting my past decisions. Not a lot, though. Just a little bit.

No, this was actually something I should regret a lot…

If anyone saw the amount of reports stacked in front of me now, they would applaud me for not swearing up a storm.

“…Why are we in so much debt?”

We were in a lot of debt from more than one location. 

A high-ranking noble family, second to the Imperial family…was in considerable debt.

They borrowed every single penny they could get a hold of.

“We have a lot of debt….?”

The man standing next to me glanced at me. His name was Naol.

He was the man in charge of the estate’s accounting before Frug came along. Naol was also the man in charge of Frug’s embezzlement investigation last time.

After kicking Frug out, he was instructed to gather all of the Duke’s debts and profits.

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He had a pale complexion, as if he could collapse at any second and dark circles under his eyes. Only his eyes that stared at me glistened.

He looked at me and spoke in an earnest tone.

“Madam! Our lucky madam! Maybe there’s still more property hidden somewhere…!”

“No, I don’t think there’s any left.”

“But…!”

Problems don’t magically disappear just because we had managed to retrieve back what Frug had stolen.

“Why the hell do we have so much debt? Even if I were to gamble, I would hardly be in this much debt.”

“It costs a great deal of money to finance the maintenance of the estate. We have to pay taxes to the Imperial family every year and subjugate the monsters when they appear. Not to mention….”

Naol added timidly.

“The second son of the previous Duke was also highly addicted to gambling…”

“Okay, enough.”

I looked at the report and asked.

“Is there any debt that we need to pay up soon?”

That was the important issue.

If we make a mistake and fail to pay off the debt, we can kiss the castle and land goodbye.

Then…we might really have to sleep on the streets.

“I don’t think there are any that are urgent?”

“Really?”

Naol averted his eyes.

“It should be about time to pay back the 50 million marks borrowed from Fox Merchants Association…but I don’t think we have to pay much attention to it?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, we borrowed from them 30 years ago, but they never came by to ask for it. Maybe they were shut down? If they went bankrupt, we won’t need to pay our debts.”

“Then, that’s a relief….”

But what is this uneasy feeling?

As if my bout of anxiety was not for nothing, Bella entered the office and caused an uproar.

“Madam, madam! We’re in trouble!”

“What’s wrong, Bella? What’s going on?”

“De-Debt collectors are here! They want us to pay off the debt immediately!”

“Is it one or two debt collectors? Don’t tell me all of them came?

Then forget about saving the castle and land, we have to run right away!

“No, no! They’re from the Fox Merchant Association!”

I glanced at Naol.

Naol glanced back at me.

Even if we didn’t say a word, we were able to understand each other’s thoughts.

‘We’re doomed…’

Speak of the devil and he will appear. We were just talking about the Fox Merchant Association a moment ago.

“You said they would never come to ask for the debt…..”

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I stared at Naol with resentful eyes, Naol looked as if he was about to cry.

“No, it has always been like that…really…..”

＊ ＊ ＊

Naol and I decided to meet them for now.

The first thing we had to do was to figure out their purpose.

While they were taken aback to see a little girl appear, Naol introduced me.

“This is the Duchess. Please show respect, everyone.”

“Oh, yes….!”

Only then they bow their heads in embarrassment.

After receiving their greetings, I leaned back in the chair and asked.

“Well, what is the purpose of your visit to our castle?”

“Like I said before, debt payment is due soon. We are here to collect the money.” The man with narrow eyes replied to my inquiry.

“What’s your name?”

At my question, he bowed his head slightly.

“I’m Rwan.”

Naol spoke up.

“But the payment is due next week, right? You didn’t have to come here so soon.”

“We came early because we really need the money back.”

The two faced each other without wavering. 

Indeed, it was not an easy amount to let go.

When Naol and I heard that the Fox Merchant Association had arrived, we already made a decision.

We had owed them a total of 50 million marks.

It was a large amount, but it was enough to repay back if we sold all the jewels. 

It was better to pay off the debts that can be repaid quickly.

“Okay, I’ll pay off the debt.”

“Excellent choice, thank you Duchess.”

Rwan smiled and bowed his head.

“Bring it out.”

Naol pulled out a small box. 

“It’s a necklace adorned with blue diamonds and pearls. It may depend on the seller’s judgement, but 50 million marks should be about its worth. What do you think?”

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At Naol’s words, the Fox Merchant Association subtly shifted.

What is with this change of atmosphere?

Rwan opened his mouth with a troubled face.

“Duchess, the Valruga family has to pay back a total of 1 billion marks.”

What? A billion marks?!

“Th-That’s absurd. The family only borrowed 50 million marks……”

When Naol panicked, Rwan explained in a calm tone as if he was talking to a child.

“It looks like you didn’t read the IOU properly. Yes, the Valruga family did borrow 50 million marks initially.”

“Then why…..”

“You have to keep in mind that there is also interest. The interest and additional money accumulated over the past 30 years, when added up, are quite large in sum. If you don’t believe me, you may check the IOU I’ve brought here.”

Naol snatched the IOU from Rwan’s hand.

After a while, Naol faced me with despair.

Those desperate eyes meant that what Rwan had said were true. In an instant, the situation had changed.

“…I’ll have to discuss this with my husband first.”

Operational retreat is best for now.

＊ ＊ ＊

“Wow! I can’t believe they are only coming now to demand back what we had borrowed 30 years ago! This is impossible, isn’t it?”

“Yes, don’t you think they were trying to suck a lot of money out from us? If we don’t repay them back, they are going to tear down every brick of this castle!”

“Rude bastards. That’s why they haven’t appeared for 30 years! Interest!”

Naol and I went back to the office and dug through the pile of documents.

Finally, I was able to find the original IOU shoved in the corner of a bookshelf.

“Was that bastard insane? How could you agree to borrow money under these conditions?”

Naol swore at the former Duke without hesitation, but I didn’t stop him.

If I opened my mouth now, I felt like I was going to curse him as well.

The Fox Merchant Association did not lie. The total amount of money we borrowed was 50 million marks.

But it was also true that an interest will be charged after 30 years and the amount would be two-folds. Making the loan now a total of 1 billion marks.

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They weren’t debt collectors, they were loan sharks!

No, even loan sharks wouldn’t place such vicious terms.

I rubbed my forehead and asked Naol.

“What if we don’t pay them back and just endure it?”

If it’s possible, it would be better to pay off using a collateral.

I had no idea what was secured as a collateral, but nothing in this castle was worth more than 1 billion marks.

“I want to, but…what we agreed as the collateral is quite a big deal, Madam.”

“What is it?”

“The castle.”

“What?! Did they really want to drive the family’s name into ruins?!”

“I know……”

Naol stared at the document with unfocused eyes, having no energy to curse anymore.

“If we sell all the jewellery and borrow money from other places, the most we can get is 100 million marks, let alone 1 billion marks. It would be impossible! With that, it should be enough to put out the fire first and ask the rest to be delayed.”

Naol tapped the calculator and said, “But if we had to pay off all the debt now, we would have to pull weeds to make a living.”

Then…there’s no solution that would work to save the family. 

I’d rather give up the castle….

“But if we give up the castle, we would have nowhere to go. Not to mention, it would be considered a huge joke across the continent.”

That’s right, it would be a disgrace to the family.

“Why did we even borrow money?”

I said it out of grief and didn’t really expect an answer, but somehow a reply was returned.

“If I remember correctly, the Fox Merchant Association was originally run by the Marquis of Reholas, home to the former Duchess.”

“Marquis Reholas?”

“Yes, the wealthy Marquis Reholas. No, the more I think about it, the more I believe he was just a nouveau riche.”

“Wait, so the Fox Merchant Association was originally by Marquis Reholas?”

Perhaps wondering about my strange reaction, Naol answered me with a puzzled face.

“Yes? Originally, it was not a merchant association, but a business owned by Marquis Reholas. About 20 years ago, he sold the ownership to the merchants because he had said that his financial situation was getting difficult. Since the owners had changed, our debt was also passed to the merchants.”

In the original story, Marquis Reholas was killed by the male lead, Ruth.

Because Ruth found out he was scammed.

The Marquis of Reholas had used the merchant association to fraud Ruth and reaped a considerable amount of profit.

So, if it was a scam…..

“Let’s go. We don’t have to pay this money back!”

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