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"Boss!"
Douglas tilted his head and looked out the door.
A heavily armed squadron had arrived.
Arriving now were ten members of the quick reaction force, on standby for immediate deployment.
Soon, hundreds of soldiers would be swarming the place.
The boy, leaning against the door, simply alternated his gaze between the arriving soldiers and Douglas, his expression blank.
He took no action.
His sturdy build suggested he had trained in swordsmanship, but he carried no sword.
'Young pups.'
"Then shall we write up a new promissory note, pretty student?"
Douglas dipped his pen into the inkwell.
Scratch, scratch.
The sharp nib of the pen scraped across the promissory note Bonita had presented, creating a chilling sound.
"Here, read it and sign."
Bonita picked up the promissory note.
As she examined the additions Douglas had made, Bonita's hands began to tremble.
"This... what the hell is this bastard saying? I only borrowed enough for academy tuition, how could there be this much debt?"
"Oh, should I show you the original promissory note? Just a moment."
Douglas opened a drawer and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper.
"This is the most important matter these days, so I keep it close. Take a look."
Douglas, excited, mixed informal and formal language as he sneered.
Bonita unfolded the promissory note she had received.
"What? If I can't repay the money within the period, he'll seize the Count's estate? And... what's with this interest? How can the principal increase more than tenfold in just one year!"
"Well, late fees keep accruing."
"You con artist...!"
Douglas stood up from his seat and walked around the desk.
He snatched the original promissory note and held it over the candlelight.
"How about it? If you sign the new promissory note, I'll burn the old one in front of your eyes right now. Then you won't have to worry about losing the Count's estate."
Bonita snatched the original promissory note back.
Douglas's shoulders flinched at the quick and concise movement.
"Bullshit. Don't underestimate me just because I'm young. Who's the most prestigious noble around here? I'll go and ask them to settle this dispute. An absurd interest rate, late fees, and even seizing the Count's estate bestowed by the royal family. Besides, this signature! It's not my mother's handwriting. You think you can get away with such dirty tricks?"
Douglas smirked.
"Suit yourself. The most prestigious noble in this area would undoubtedly be Marquis Harrington, the border lord guarding the western border."
"Good. I'll go there and you better be prepared. I'll take this opportunity to shut down this dirty loan shark business for good. Let's go, Davian!"
"What if you run off with the promissory note? Why would I trust you guys to go alone? I'll come with you. Let's go and settle this dispute as you said."
"Whatever."
Only then did Davian, who had been leaning against the door, enter the office.
Davian approached Douglas and pointed a finger at him.
"One more thing. We'll also hold you accountable for illegally imprisoning us with poison."
"What are you talking about? Imprisoned? Who imprisoned who? Aren't you the ones who broke into my office uninvited? How can people who are imprisoned wander around so freely?"
It's not easy to deal with this guy with words.
Davian turned to Bonita.
"Should we just kill him?"
"Not yet. I can't tarnish our family's honor. If we kill him now, it'll look like we killed him because we didn't want to repay the loan."
Douglas laughed mockingly.
'Kill? Who's going to kill who? There are already soldiers piled up like a mountain outside the office. These young punks are all bluster.'
Douglas grabbed his coat hanging on the coat rack and said,
"Let's go. To Marquis Harrington's estate. Let's go and see who's the culprit."
On the way to Marquis Harrington's estate.
Davian whispered,
"Bonita, you need to brace yourself."
"What?"
"We're going to the Marquis's estate. But look at how confident Douglas is. He even said the promissory note was fake."
"It is fake. That's not my mother's handwriting."
"But for him to be so confident, he must have someone backing him who isn't afraid of the Marquis, or..."
"The Marquis is backing him?"
Davian nodded.
"It's one of the two."
Meanwhile.
Douglas, having arrived at the gate, shouted confidently.
"Tell the Marquis that Douglas has arrived."
Douglas's guards remained outside the gate, and only the three of them were led to the reception room inside the estate.
"So you must be Bonita Portis. Indeed... you have a sharp edge, just like your father."
Bonita asked, surprised,
"Did you know my father, Marquis?"
"Of course I did. Your father, Count Carter Portis, was a longtime friend of mine."
"Really?"
"Yes. I also know your mother, Countess Alice Portis, very well. You resemble your father in your sharpness, and you inherited your mother's great beauty. And you're attending Elton Academy... you've grown up well, very well."
"Thank you, Marquis. The reason we came here is..."
Bonita explained in detail the situation between Douglas and the Portis family to Marquis Harrington.
Marquis Harrington slowly examined the two promissory notes and opened his mouth.
"Bonita, the power of nobles these days isn't what it used to be. Now, money is more important than noble power. Judging by these promissory notes, it seems difficult to make this debt disappear."
"I'm not asking you to make it disappear, Marquis. I can repay it. Once I graduate, I can easily clear this debt. But to seize the Count's estate? And the new promissory note says that if I can't repay the debt, I'll be sold to a brothel!"
Marquis Harrington glared at Douglas for a moment.
Douglas flinched and lowered his head, staring at the floor in feigned innocence.
"The second promissory note doesn't matter since you don't have to sign it. But the problem is this promissory note. Rumors have already spread that the Countess borrowed money, and I don't know what to do."
"Marquis! The interest rate and late fees are outrageous! This doesn't make sense!"
Marquis Harrington placed his hand on Bonita's shoulder.
Bonita flinched.
For some reason, a chill ran down Bonita's spine.
"I'll take care of it. You must be tired from the long journey, so I'll give you a guest room to rest in. I'll go with this loan shark and visit your mother to settle this matter."
"Would you do that?"
"Yes. Didn't I say I was a friend of your father? I'll resolve this cleanly and return, so stay comfortably in my estate."
"...Thank you."
"It's late today, so I'll visit your mother with this loan shark tomorrow afternoon. You, loan shark. If there's even a hint of falsehood in the promissory note, you'll lose your head."
"Yes? Yes..."
"Let's go, I have something to discuss with you separately."
"Yes, Marquis."
Harrington led the way, and Douglas followed behind.
Douglas's gaze was fixed on the back of Harrington's head.
'He's the one who made the promissory note...'
The next evening.
"Well, I understand the Countess's wishes, so we'll be on our way. Let's go, Douglas. I'll visit again on the promised date. It would be nice if you were a little more polite then. For each other's sake."
"..."
Only after Harrington and Douglas had left did tears stream down Countess Alice Portis's eyes.
Alice gazed at her husband's sword, which was displayed on the mantelpiece above the fireplace.
"Honey... I'm sorry... but I have to protect our daughter..."
Alice's eyes turned to the door through which Harrington had left.
"Dirty bastard... someday I'll embrace your filthy body and die with you."
In the end...
She had succumbed to Marquis Harrington's request.
"Haa..."
Countess Alice Portis staggered and collapsed onto a nearby chair.
What was she supposed to do?
She still believed that Harrington was the one who orchestrated her husband's assassination.
But her daughter Bonita was being held captive in his estate.
There was nothing Countess Alice could do.
The Countess covered her face with both hands and slumped over the tea table.
Whoosh.
A gust of wind stirred the Countess's golden hair as she despaired.
"Was the window open...? No matter."
The Countess sighed deeply and hung her head low.
In the meantime.
She was completely unaware of the presence moving in the shadows.
That night.
Bonita's room in Marquis Harrington's estate.
"Is that true?"
"Yes. I hesitated for a long time whether to tell you on the way here."
Marquis Harrington had long coveted Bonita's mother.
Although there was no concrete evidence, Bonita's mother was convinced that Marquis Harrington had killed Bonita's father.
This incident was also orchestrated by Marquis Harrington.
The loan shark, Douglas, was merely a pawn of Marquis Harrington.
Davian had followed Harrington and Douglas and overheard the conversation at the Portis estate.
Thanks to the Shadow Assimilation skill, it wasn't difficult to eavesdrop on the conversation between Harrington and Bonita's mother.
However, the content he overheard was so shocking that it took time to decide whether to convey it to Bonita.
But.
He felt that Bonita would be able to overcome it.
She was Bonita Portis, after all.
Like Bonita's swordsmanship.
Bonita's temperament was also sharp but resilient.
If it had been Latia, Luna, or Bellum, he wouldn't have conveyed this information directly.
The fact that the enemy who killed her father was coveting her mother, and that her mother was now forced to yield to that enemy because of her.
"My father's enemy... is this all because of my mother?"
"Well, that's what your mother seems to believe."
"If my mother is convinced, then it must be true. That bastard. How many years has he been harassing my mother... and he even killed my father because of it..."
Bonita's eyes trembled greatly.
Her fists trembled.
The trembling soon spread throughout her body.
"I'll kill him... that bastard."
"Calm down."
"Calm down? You want me to let such a bastard live?"
Davian shook his head.
"No. I'm saying you need to calm down to kill him without fail. This is inside the Marquis's estate. It's the heart of enemy territory. And even if you succeed in killing the Marquis right now..."
Bonita replied with a composed expression.
"I'll just become a murderer who killed the Marquis."
"Yes."
"That's not what my mother wants."
That's right.
Bonita.
I knew you could overcome it.
"What should we do? Do you have a plan, Davian?"
"Well, time is on our side for now. The Marquis said he'll visit your estate again next week. We have five days until then. We can fix what's wrong in that time."
"Fix what's wrong, and kill the Marquis."
"Yes."
"And kill the loan shark."
"Yes."
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