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Chapter 1
At this very moment, there was only one word that came to Aileen’s mind.
“I’m screwed.”
Anyone would think the same if they watched their only remaining possession—their home—collapse before their eyes.
Just like Aileen did now.
“Hey, hey! Are you not destroying it properly? I told you not to leave even the shape of a mansion behind!”
“We apologize!”
Following the orders of Damon, Aileen’s creditor and a loan shark, his subordinates smashed even the few remaining intact pillars. The building, having lost its support, collapsed completely.
“Hey, hey! Move away!”
“Woohoo! Now this is a sight to see!”
Unlike Aileen, who was drowning in despair, the men destroying the house were simply enjoying the situation. Their faces looked refreshed, as if all the stress they had accumulated had vanished.
“Stop! I said stop!”
Hearing the desperate cry, Aileen finally snapped back to reality. Adrian, who had been in her arms, had somehow run over and started hitting Damon repeatedly.
However, his small fists like soft cotton balls had no effect whatsoever. Damon glanced at Adrian with annoyance before grabbing him by the back of his neck.
“Let go of me! Let go!”
Adrian struggled beneath his grip, filled with anger.
Without hesitation, Damon roughly threw the child toward the collapsed fountain.
Adrian’s body went limp.
Aileen, startled, rushed toward him.
“Adrian!”
Blood trickled down from the child’s head. With trembling hands, Aileen placed her fingers beneath Adrian’s nose.
Thankfully, he was still breathing.
He was alive.
Aileen tightly hugged the unconscious Adrian in her arms. At that moment, the sound of shoes stopped in front of her.
When she raised her head, Damon was looking down at her. Behind him stood the ruins of the collapsed mansion.
Aileen gritted her teeth and shouted at him.
“Why are you doing this to us? I’ve been paying back the money steadily! Then why… why are you…!”
“How long do you think it would take to repay everything with such trivial amounts?”
“Trivial? Do you even know how much money I’ve sent you until now? From the beginning, do you really think it makes sense for the interest to be more than half of the principal amount…!”
Damon unfolded a document and held it out toward her. Aileen’s eyes shook as she read its contents.
“The money your late father, Count Walker, borrowed from me for gambling was 500,000 Sloans. And regarding the interest rate, it is written right here, is it not?”
She wanted to argue.
But unfortunately, the seal stamped on the document was indeed that of her family.
Meaning, the document was valid.
“Miss, you haven’t even finished paying the interest yet.”
Damon declared with a mocking smile.
His eyes seemed to ask what she planned to do now.
Aileen bit her lips tightly.
There was no way she could repay such a huge amount of money.
With her abilities, it would probably take her entire lifetime.
Aileen’s eyes moved as she thought desperately.
What should I do? What in the world should I do…?
“There is a way for you to repay the money.”
At that moment, Damon spoke in a gentle voice.
Like someone who had found hope, Aileen quickly lifted her head.
Damon smiled and pointed toward Adrian in her arms with his chin.
“You are a clever young lady, so you know what I mean, don’t you?”
Aileen’s face turned pale.
The thought of casually telling her to sell her family to another country as slaves filled her with instinctive fear.
As Aileen trembled silently, one of Damon’s men reached toward Adrian.
Aileen came to her senses too late and hugged Adrian even tighter.
“N-No! Not Adrian! You can’t take Adrian!”
How could she solve this situation while protecting Adrian?
Aileen bit her lips and finally spoke.
“One year. Please wait just one year. I’ll somehow repay everything within that time, so please…”
Hearing Aileen’s desperate plea, Damon let out a deep sigh.
“How can I simply wait for one year? What benefit would I get from doing that?”
Without saying anything, Aileen grabbed the pendant hanging around her neck.
It was the keepsake her mother had given her just before she died.
It was something so precious, something she treasured more than anything.
Even when the family had fallen into ruin, she couldn’t bring herself to sell it.
But now, for Adrian’s sake, she had to let it go.
“I’ll give you this.”
Aileen removed the pendant from her neck and held it out to him.
Damon’s eyes lit up when he saw the jewel embedded in it.
“Oh? A pendant containing a top-grade magic stone. It must be worth quite a bit.”
“That’s right. It is the only thing I have left. I’ll give it to you as collateral, so please wait just one year.”
After estimating the value of the pendant, Damon placed it inside his clothes and nodded.
“Very well. I’ll do that.”
“Then…”
“However, exactly one year. If you still cannot repay my money after one year…”
Damon lowered his head toward Aileen.
He painfully grabbed her pale chin and whispered.
“Know this. You and your younger brother will both become my property.”
“……I understand.”
After Aileen answered unwillingly, Damon released her.
Then he gave orders to his waiting subordinates behind him.
“Let’s go. We’re done for today.”
“Eh? Can’t we continue a little longer?”
“There will be plenty of opportunities. Today is enough.”
Aileen watched the men leave through the mansion gates before turning back to look at the house.
The mansion, having lost its original shape and collapsed into ruins, could hardly even be called a mansion anymore.
‘What should I do now, Mother…?’
Aileen stared blankly at the terrible sight and asked her deceased mother inside her heart.
But of course, no answer came back.
❧ ❧ ❧
Aileen carried Adrian on her back and entered the ruined mansion.
She wanted to at least lay him down on a broken bed.
She placed Adrian on the bed, where feathers were sticking out everywhere, and sat down on the edge beside him.
Then she slowly brushed his cheek with her hand.
“Big sister…”
Soon, Adrian regained consciousness.
Aileen quickly leaned down and met his eyes.
“Adrian, are you okay? How does your body feel?”
“I’m fine. What about you, sister?”
“I’m fine too. Thank goodness. Really… thank goodness.”
Aileen hugged her younger brother.
Adrian sniffled and cried in her arms.
He must have been very frightened.
Even so, he had gathered his courage and charged at Damon.
Proud of her brother, Aileen gently stroked Adrian’s head.
Growl—
At that moment, Adrian’s stomach made a loud noise.
Embarrassed, he turned red.
Aileen chuckled softly and brushed his hair aside.
“Are you very hungry?”
“I’m okay! I can endure it.”
Adrian answered energetically, but his stomach growled again.
He frowned and held his stomach.
Unable to watch anymore, Aileen stood up.
“Wait here for a moment. I’ll go buy some bread.”
“But…”
“Don’t worry. We still have to eat to survive.”
Aileen left Adrian behind, who had a guilty expression, and walked outside the mansion.
People who had been peeking inside from beyond the wall quickly avoided her gaze when they saw her.
Ignoring them, Aileen headed toward the shopping district.
Behind her, she heard people whispering.
“That young lady is the one from the rumors…”
“Oh dear, how pitiful…”
“It’s all because she was born to the wrong parents.”
Leaving the whispers behind, Aileen entered the shopping district with a firm expression and stopped in front of a bakery.
However, she couldn’t enter right away.
Because she had no money left.
‘Just one. Let’s make just one small one.’
Standing in front of the bakery, Aileen opened her palm upward.
When she closed her eyes and concentrated, her mana gathered into her palm.
After a while, a small crystal dropped onto her hand, where purple light shimmered.
It was a purple crystal that resembled the color of her eyes.
Aileen slowly opened her eyes and sighed as she looked at it.
“Only a low-grade one…”
Aileen’s way of earning money was simple.
She created these magic stones and sold them.
Mana was the source of magic.
In other words, by using mana, one could cast magic.
And magic stones, which could be called crystallized mana, were highly valuable in the world where Aileen lived.
They could be used as tools for magician experiments and were also the source of magical devices that formed the center of everyday life.
The clearer the color of a magic stone, the higher its purity, and therefore the more expensive it became.
However, the one in Aileen’s hand was a dull purple magic stone.
Because people capable of creating magic stones were extremely rare, even this could be sold.
But she could not receive a high price for it.
‘I wonder if I can even buy one piece of bread with this.’
Aileen considered making another one but shook her head.
She had almost no mana left after spending the entire previous night creating magic stones.
In the end, she held the crystal in her hand and entered the bakery.
“Welcome—”
The employee, who had been greeting her warmly, frowned when he saw her.
After sitting on the dirt floor, Aileen’s appearance was a mess.
Aileen smiled awkwardly and held out the magic stone she had just created.
“Could I exchange this for bread of equal value?”
The employee examined the magic stone in his hand from different angles before entering the kitchen.
After a while, he returned with a piece of bread and placed it down in front of her.
“Here. This is about all I can give you.”
The bread he offered looked like it had been made several days ago.
It was dry and hard.
And instead of giving her a whole loaf, he had only cut off half.
Surprised, Aileen pleaded.
“Could you give me a little more?”
“This is already more than enough.”
The employee openly showed his annoyance.
Seeing his attitude, Aileen couldn’t bring herself to ask again.
In the end, she left the bakery holding half a piece of hard bread.
Her slow steps back to the mansion were filled with exhaustion.
That day, Aileen fell asleep without eating anything.
