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Chapter 4
After the Proposal Ended
Tok.
The sound of footsteps echoing across the marble floor broke the silence inside the mansion.
At the sound, the man sitting on the sofa with his back to the door immediately stood up.
“I’ve been wai—”
As he turned around while fixing his clothes, he suddenly stopped after seeing Serenia’s dress.
Then his eyes narrowed slightly when he noticed the scraped wound on one cheek and the split mark on her lips.
But only for a moment.
Soon, he covered his face with a perfectly managed smile and greeted her warmly.
“I’ve been waiting for you. It’s an honor to meet you again, Lady Barishart.”
Unlike last time, he was dressed rather normally today.
Without the strange wide-brimmed hat and long coat, he wore a light shirt and pants that suited him surprisingly well.
Still, the purple glasses remained the same, and his already eye-catching pink hair had now changed into an even brighter red color.
The color reminded her of someone, making her frown unconsciously.
Forcing herself to relax her expression, she answered his greeting.
“Thank you for welcoming me even this late at night.”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
After modestly brushing it off, he pointed toward the sofa.
“It may be humble, but please have a seat first.”
Contrary to his words, the sofa looked nothing like something humble. It was a luxurious piece made entirely of the finest leather.
‘If something that looks worth at least a thousand crovats is considered humble, then my house must be a ruin.’
Serenia calmed the irritation rising inside her and quietly sat down.
“It’s late, so I’ll skip the useless greetings and get straight to the point.”
“Yes. Please do.”
She stared at him for a moment as he answered willingly before finally speaking.
“I came to sell something that normally couldn’t be bought even with endless wealth. How much would you pay for it here?”
At her question, he paused briefly before replying with a polite smile.
“My lady. I’m sorry, but this is not a pawnshop.”
“I know that too. But lending money while holding collateral isn’t that different from a pawnshop, is it?”
“…Excuse me? Money… lending?”
His expression twisted slightly.
But whether he reacted or not, Serenia continued speaking calmly.
“If possible, I would’ve preferred a pawnshop too. But this is something that can’t be sold there.”
By then, the man seemed to understand the situation roughly and slowly nodded.
“Something that can’t be sold at a pawnshop… Now this has become interesting.”
Stretching out his words lazily, he crossed his legs elegantly and placed his clasped hands over them.
Then, like a worn-out loan shark, he replied strictly.
“Still, I need to know exactly what it is before I can tell you an approximate price.”
Serenia stared directly at him before answering expressionlessly.
“Me.”
At that short reply, the man who had remained relaxed until now stiffened slightly.
But soon, he hid his expression behind a smile like a mask and spoke meaningfully.
“Hm. Surely you know title trading is illegal, and if discovered, everyone involved is sentenced to death?”
Even at the subtle threat, Serenia did not so much as blink.
“Title trading? I don’t know what you mean. I clearly said I came to sell myself.”
“But human trafficking is also illegal—”
“Ah!”
Waving her hand dismissively, Serenia cut him off and continued.
“Then let’s just say I fell completely in love with you and willingly handed over my title and everything else. Then there’s no problem, right?”
At those words, his eyes sparkled as he asked,
“Oh? Then does that mean you’re giving it to me for free?”
Serenia glared at him.
“Am I crazy? I’m just saying we pretend that’s the case!”
“…Ah. What a shame.”
He muttered to himself with disappointment.
But there wasn’t even the slightest trace of regret on his face.
Serenia narrowed her eyes while watching him for a long moment before sighing lightly.
“So? How much can you offer?”
At the repeated question, he answered not with words but with a faint smile as he stood from the sofa.
Walking to the desk, he took out a checkbook from the drawer and returned.
Then, using an extremely expensive-looking fountain pen, he quickly scribbled something onto the check before tearing it out and handing it to her.
Serenia blinked several times after seeing the long number written on the white check.
3,000,000 crovats.
‘…Hm? What? Are my eyes broken?’
She rubbed her eyes hard and checked the number again.
But no matter how many times she reread it, the number did not change.
‘One zero, two zeros, three… six zeros.’
One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million.
Three million.
Only after counting it carefully several times with her fingers did Serenia finally accept that the number was real.
‘It’s real. Three million crovats?’
She had expected maybe a hundred thousand at most, so the absurd amount completely stunned her.
A middle-class family of four spent around two hundred fifty crovats a month.
That meant three million crovats was enough for a middle-class family to live comfortably for a thousand years.
‘No, wait. That’s only counting the principal.’
If three million crovats were deposited into a bank, even with only a five percent annual interest rate, it would generate one hundred fifty thousand crovats every year.
In other words, the interest alone could support fifty families annually!
This should have been a situation she welcomed with open arms.
After all, more money was always better.
But paying such an enormous amount for a useless count title with no power, fame, or honor?
‘Something is wrong!!’
Serenia’s eyes sharpened immediately.
There was no such thing as free money in this world.
Having learned that truth long ago, Serenia raised her guard to the limit and stared at him suspiciously.
“What exactly are you planning?”
But he only maintained his mysterious smile as he answered.
“My, my. Planning? I’m simply very accurate with calculations.”
“…What?”
As she reacted like she had just heard complete nonsense, he smiled and added shortly,
“And besides, I happened to need a title anyway.”
Unlike his smiling face, there was something strangely cold in his voice.
Serenia immediately noticed it.
Frowning deeply, she questioned him again.
“You don’t want a title… you need one?”
“That’s right.”
Instead of denying it, he nodded as though he had been waiting for her to ask.
“In fact, that’s the very reason I approached you in front of the bank.”
Serenia’s already stiff expression hardened even more.
She had realized he approached her on purpose, but she never imagined it was because of her title.
After carefully choosing her words, she finally asked,
“What exactly do you need a title for?”
He quietly watched her tense expression before smiling brightly.
“I want to retire.”
“…Excuse me?”
The answer completely exceeded her expectations, leaving Serenia speechless.
Not entering politics.
Not expanding business.
Not making a glamorous debut into high society.
Retirement?
Serenia could only open and close her mouth blankly.
Shrugging his shoulders, he continued.
“To be honest, this profession has a very short life expectancy, and society doesn’t think very highly of it either.”
At those words, Serenia looked confused.
‘Short life expectancy? Aren’t there plenty of loan sharks who work for decades?’
Still, the part about society looking down on it was certainly true, so she nodded anyway.
“Well… yes. I suppose that’s true.”
“But honestly, it’s a bit embarrassing to say this myself, but I’m rather successful in this field.”
As he suddenly began praising himself in the middle of explaining, Serenia gave him a very sour look.
“Ah, yes. Good for you.”
Yet instead of being offended by her cold reaction, he smiled even more brightly and continued.
“Our boss always told me this job was my true calling. That using my natural talent to work forever was contributing to society and the nation.”
“I see… right…”
“So unless I received a title somewhere and became a noble lord, I should forget about retirement and work like an ox until I die.”
Only then did Serenia finally understand why he had dragged out his self-praise for so long.
“So that’s why you need a title…”
“Yes. Exactly.”
At his immediate answer, Serenia let out a quiet hum and mocked lightly.
“So you can’t even retire freely. Sounds like your industry is run like some violent organization these days.”
But instead of getting angry, the man laughed cheerfully.
“Well, extorting money from people over insignificant things is something both sides have in common.”
Serenia glanced sideways at the joking man.
At the same time, she carefully thought over everything he had said.
In a way, his situation was understandable.
Of course, spending three million crovats just to retire was ridiculous, but perhaps people really did act that way when they had money rotting away in piles.
The man quietly watched her with fox-like smiling eyes before asking,
“Then… deal?”
Serenia took a deep breath before answering.
“…Deal.”
