FERH 10

Chapter 10

Inside a high-class restaurant where the arranged meeting was to take place.

Bortain, who had arrived early, tugged at his bowtie while glancing at his reflection in the mirror.

When he was younger, marriage proposals had poured in endlessly. But after reaching his mid-forties, they had all but vanished.

Now, the only offers he received were remarriage talks with widows or introductions to women who had missed their prime for one reason or another.

What? Do they think I worked this hard and scraped together all this money just to meet those kinds of women?

Because Bortain believed that his wealth made him superior to most, he had turned down every match that didn’t satisfy him.

Perhaps heaven had finally recognized his persistence, for this time, he’d been offered a blind date with a much younger woman — almost as if as a reward.

What’s more, she came from a respectable noble family: the ducal house of Vinzenheim.

While sipping water and waiting, he heard a voice.

“Are you Marquis Farniel?”

Bortain quickly looked up and sized up the woman who had just arrived.

Her face was bare without a hint of makeup, her hair simply tied back in a loose ponytail.

She looked, unmistakably, like a woman who had just come straight from work.

Good grief, young people these days have no manners at all…

Bortain clicked his tongue. Still, he couldn’t deny that she was beautiful.

Well… once we’re married and she’s sitting at home, she’ll learn how to take care of herself properly.

In that brief moment, Bortain imagined walking down the wedding aisle with her — even having children — and smiled leisurely as he looked at her.

“Yes, that’s me. And you are…?”

“I’m Lionel Vinzenheim, from the Bureau of Special Taxation.”

Her introduction was as cold and barren as her expression.

Stranger than I expected. They did say she had some kind of personality defect—was this what they meant?

But Lionel’s true eccentricity was only just beginning.

“That ring… could it be the Morco Collection?”

Ah, of course. A woman noticing jewelry first thing.

“Indeed, you have a good eye. You’ve no idea how hard it was to win this at auction — cost me five thousand gold!”

Bortain puffed up proudly, ready to brag about how he had acquired the ring.

However—

“How curious. You ignored multiple tax delinquency notices and told the tax officers who visited your home that you couldn’t pay because you had no cash on hand, didn’t you?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Marquis. I’m not here for a marriage meeting. I’m here to verify evidence that you have willfully evaded your taxes.”

At the same time, Lionel slid a stack of documents across the table toward him.

“Under Article 24 of the National Tax Collection Act, concerning the immediate seizure of personal property from high-value delinquents, I will now begin the on-site confiscation process. This document is an administrative order authorizing me to execute such actions.”

Before Bortain could react, Lionel deftly removed the ring from his hand.

“This valuable item will be seized.”

A bright red confiscated tag was stuck to the ring in an instant.

Whispers began spreading among the waitstaff and patrons, drawn by the unmistakable red marker.

Bortain’s face flushed deep red.

This was one of his regular restaurants. He always slipped a few gold coins into the servers’ pockets when he visited.

He had taken pride in being known as “the generous, wealthy patron.”

And now — humiliation.

How dare she disgrace me like this?!

“You think you’ll get away with—”

“I’m simply following standard procedure. Ah, could you please raise your sleeve? Those cufflinks appear to be limited-edition Adamant Kingdom pieces.”

Bortain hastily grabbed his sleeve with his other hand.

“T-this was a gift! It has nothing to do with—!”

“You can explain that during questioning. Also, those handmade shoes appear quite valuable. Please remove them for appraisal.”

“You crazy—!”

More than anything, being humiliated by a woman so much younger than himself made his blood boil.

What does she even know?! Saving money this way is smart!

Shaking with rage, Bortain stood up.

But before he could even grab Lionel by the collar, he was slammed face-first onto the table.

It was the diners from nearby tables who had restrained him.

“Thank you for your assistance.”

A young man and an older woman — both strong. Bortain couldn’t move an inch.

“We’re just doing what we’re paid for.”

“As long as you pay us the fee stated in the contract, we’re good.”

“Don’t worry,” Lionel said coolly. “You’ll receive hazard pay, night duty compensation, and a performance bonus.”

She had plenty to pay them with — courtesy of a check the duke had given her earlier.

And then, realization struck Bortain.

“You filthy mercenaries! You dare restrain me?! Release me at once!”

“Please, Marquis. We’re mercenaries — we act according to who pays us.”

The mercenaries chuckled dryly.

Bortain trembled in humiliation, then suddenly shouted:

“Fine! I’ll hire you instead! I’ll pay you triple — no, ten times what she’s giving you!”

He yanked out his wallet — and that was his fatal mistake.

“Oh, so you do have cash on hand. That, too, will be seized.”

“W-wait! No, not—!”

Bortain struggled helplessly as another bright red confiscation tag was slapped onto his wallet.

At that same moment.

The staff at the Bureau of Special Taxation were busy plotting to sabotage Lionel’s blind date.

“Of course we have to stop it!”

“Right, we can’t let our accounting genius be snatched away in some political marriage.”

Once they’d grown used to her efficiency, they couldn’t imagine life without her.

So, after finding out the restaurant where the meeting was held, they burst in — right on cue — ready to “intervene.”

Especially when they heard that the man she was meeting was a tax delinquent.

“We won’t take long. Sir, you must accompany us for questioning regarding your delinquent—”

They planned to overwhelm him before he could react.

But when they entered the restaurant and saw the scene — they froze.

In the middle of the luxurious dining room, steeped in eerie silence—

Lionel sat there, looking bored, tapping her foot.

“You’re here.”

Across from her lay a half-dressed middle-aged man sprawled over the table — looking utterly broken, as if his soul had left his body.

It took several minutes before they realized that this man was, in fact, Marquis Bortain.

And even more shocking—

“…Good heavens, what is all this?”

Before Lionel was an immaculate arrangement of confiscated items, each tagged with a red SEIZED label.

“These are the goods seized on-site. The marquis owned quite a collection of high-value assets.”

She then placed a ring of keys on the table.

“I’ve also secured access keys to his residence and storage facilities. You can begin the next round of seizures.”

“Wow…”

The agents were speechless.

At that moment, they all realized—

Tax delinquency was fake madness.

Confiscating assets during a blind date was real madness.

No contest — real madness always wins.

From that day onward, everyone avoided being set up with Lionel.

“They say if you meet her, the tax bureau shows up too.”

“Yeah, she’s like a walking audit.”

“Let’s be real — who among us has nothing to hide?”

Every man Vanessa arranged as a potential suitor had skeletons in their closets — which made them even more unwilling. One by one, they sent polite refusals.

“Due to an urgent matter, I regret to inform you I cannot attend…”

“My chronic illness has flared up, leaving me bedridden…”

At best, they declined quietly. Some, however, sent angry letters to Vanessa:

“Are you working with Lionel to entrap us?”

How dare they say that!

Vanessa crumpled the letter in fury.

She had known Lionel wouldn’t meekly accept an arranged marriage.

But she’d only expected Lionel to ruin the date — to be branded as rude or unladylike.

Then I’d say something like this: “I tried so hard for her, but she doesn’t appreciate a thing.”

She’d even planned to lament how Lionel would look down on her if she returned to the duke’s household.

That was the extent of Vanessa’s expectations. Never in her life had she imagined Lionel would turn a matchmaking event into an operation for tax collection.

Just as she was fuming and trying to compose herself—

“M-my lady, wait! You can’t just go in—!”

Hearing the commotion, Vanessa turned— and there was Lionel.

Her maid hovered nervously between the two women, not knowing what to do.

“What are you doing here? What’s with that look? Are you here to lecture me?”

Vanessa thought Lionel had come to scold her.

But instead—

“No, I came to request another matchmaking meeting of the same kind.”

The words that came out of Lionel’s mouth left her stunned.

“What?”

“If possible, with Count Ledain or Viscount Mashu — they have the largest outstanding debts. Oh, and Baron Kirn too…”

Lionel listed only the most profitable tax delinquents.

They were the very people the Bureau of Special Taxation most wanted to meet.

“Get out!” Vanessa finally exploded.

Life really isn’t easy.

Lionel sighed, disappointed at her failed attempt to exploit another high-value debtor.

Still… why is she even here?

Vanessa’s anger quickly gave way to confusion.

Lionel had left the ducal house three years ago — surely she wouldn’t return just for a matchmaking event.

“The Duke invited me to the memorial dinner,” Lionel said calmly.

“What? That’s impossible—”

“Today is the late Duchess’s memorial day.”

Though the duchess had not been Lionel’s birth mother, she had loved her as her own child.

That was why Lionel could ignore the duke — but never the duchess’s memorial.

The duchess had been one of the few sources of warmth in Lionel’s life.

And what does that have to do with me?

Vanessa was just about to snap when a shadow fell over Lionel’s head.

“Also, we need to discuss how you arranged Lionel’s marriage meetings without my approval.”

When Vanessa met the Duke’s eyes—

“F-father…”

Her face drained of all color.