TLWRO 03

Chapter 03

It wasn’t just that.

“L-Lord! My Lord!”
The aide who had gone to review the contract came running over, looking as pale as a sheet.

“All the signatures on the contract have disappeared!”
“…W-what did you say?”
“All but one signature have vanished! The only contract with a remaining signature is this one—please take a look!”

The aide shakily pulled out the Property Transfer Contract.
It was the contract transferring all the properties of the former Duke Michele Fiokedad Lionet to Hugo Lionet.

Even in the chaos, Hugo thought it wouldn’t matter as long as this contract remained intact.

But then?

“All of the Duke’s properties are just this house!”
“What?! That’s impossible! Even if it’s the private treasure or personal safe, there’s still the pawnshop!”
“No, please read this!”

The aide handed over documents issued by the bank concerning the property.

After reading them, Hugo pressed his palm to his forehead, feeling dizzy.

“Three days ago… all properties except this house were transferred to the granddaughter…?”
“That’s not all! A loan was taken out using this house as collateral!”
“What do you mean, a loan? How much?”
“Thirty million gold.”

Staggering, Hugo finally collapsed to the floor.

“Tell me there’s nothing more surprising.”
“Well… about that…”

To think a decrepit old house was used as collateral for a loan of thirty million gold.
Is that even possible?

Thirty million gold was enough to buy the count’s manor in Panon, Hugo’s domain. Although Panon was a backwater with cheap land.

Hugo was half in a daze when the aide continued.

“Because it wasn’t a formal bank but a private lender, the interest rate is a staggering 50% per month…”
“…”
“And Lord Count, you also assumed the debt along with the house, so you have to repay it all…”

Hugo groaned and clutched the back of his neck, collapsing.

The aide, not knowing what to do, anxiously looked around the empty house and suddenly jumped up.

“No, wait! Why is the house completely empty?! Where is the Duke? What on earth is going on?!”

No one knew how things got this bad, but one thing was certain:

“That brat, she’s completely inherited your temper, Uncle!”

Eventually, Hugo passed out.

Coming down the mountain, I looked at the clock tower.
By now, Hugo would have opened the door to the house.

Imagining him sitting there dazed made me laugh.

“Ha, that feels good.”

After my return, the first thing I did was inherit all of Grandfather’s property.
Except the house.

It wasn’t that the house wasn’t precious. After all, it was the place I’d lived from birth until I turned twenty.

But if I had to choose between keeping the pawnshop or the house?
Obviously, the pawnshop.

“I bet Grandfather would think so too.”

Besides, I needed the money and wanted a way to make Hugo suffer, so I decided to abandon the house.

Then I went to the most notorious loan shark in the capital.

“I want to borrow thirty million gold using my house as collateral. Charge the highest interest rate.”

The loan shark looked bewildered.
Who willingly agrees to the highest interest rate?

But my situation was different!

‘After all, I’m the one who will pay it back.’

I even recorded the conversation so they couldn’t object.

Hugo had said it himself, right? That as long as there was debt, it wouldn’t be a problem.

‘So I gave him a debt with no problem. Exactly.’

I got the thirty million gold.
Of that, twenty million was sent to Grandfather.

‘I read about it in a newspaper in my previous life. The Belcato Nursing Home.’

The facility had the best equipment, staff, and top-level security.
I was relieved knowing Grandfather was living somewhere so nice.

‘…In reality, he wasn’t in a fancy facility, but abandoned in the slums.’

Just thinking about it made me ache.

So I prepaid one year’s fee in full.
The best room, the best treatment program, the best nursing staff — VVIP level.

I also requested a confidentiality agreement from the nursing home and had it signed.

‘You’re quite generous with the money, aren’t you?’

I also bought the magic recording device and the magic ink that evaporates, which I had used to record the conversation with Hugo earlier.

After contracting a warehouse to store the things I took out of the house, I had 9.5 million gold left.

‘I need to save the rest.’

Because I have to spend it on the pawnshop.

Stretching as hard as I could, I rummaged through the pocket of my paint-stained apron.

Even in the dark, the pawnshop key sparkled.

‘By now, Hugo must have seen all the property documents.’

He would definitely come to the pawnshop soon.
But not yet. He was simple-minded enough to be fooled for a while.

‘That’s why he was cooperative. He was happy things were going better than expected, so he didn’t check properly.’

There was another reason he behaved obediently.

In my previous life, I had flatly refused Hugo’s proposal.

Because I refused to sign, he reluctantly called in reinforcements.

A woman named Rosanne, Hugo’s older sister and a viscountess.

Unlike her brother, she was cold and cruel.

‘If it were her, she wouldn’t care about paint or anything. She’d have gone straight into the house to check if Grandfather was there. It would have been hard to fool her.’

Fortunately, Hugo was afraid of Rosanne.

He had rashly signed the contract alone, ended up not only deceived but burdened with huge debts. He wouldn’t report it to her and would desperately try to hide it.

He would foolishly try to fix things secretly.

I bought myself time.

Playing with the necklace like a talisman, I headed toward a small hotel in town.

“I’d like to rent a room.”

Grandfather said:
Before doing anything big, you should eat well, rest well, and sleep well.

I was going to follow his advice.

While waiting for the bath water and room service, I took out my notebook.

To-Do List

Writing it large on the front page gave me a fresh sense of determination.

After returning, I pressed down the thoughts about death that had come to me repeatedly and started writing carefully.

To-Do List

[1. Take back the Lionet family]

Thinking about what the most devastating revenge on them would be, the answer was this.

After three days of investigation, the Lionet family was a total mess.

They were eating each other alive; all titles were torn apart, and the prime territories had been sold off.

I wanted to take back the Lionet family that those people were ruining.

Along with the honor of my disgraced grandfather.

‘Is it even possible for someone to be disgraced when they are a duke?’

Unless someone framed him to snatch away his title and lands.

Moreover, the reason for Grandfather’s disgrace was confidential.

Would they just disgrace someone who committed a great crime in secret and leave them alone?

That made no sense.

‘I have to find out who dared do such a thing.’

To-Do List

[1. Take back the Lionet family]
[2. Run the pawnshop well]

Since I inherited the pawnshop, I wasn’t going to do it half-heartedly.

It was a means to earn money, and a store my grandfather treasured. But more than anything, I liked it.

The pawnshop, full of curious items, was like a treasure trove to me as a child.

‘He didn’t bring me often, probably because he worried I might break something.’

I always dreamed of running the pawnshop together with Grandfather.

Now it was time to put what I’d learned to use.

To-Do List

[1. Take back the Lionet family]
[2. Run the pawnshop well]
[3. ]

I paused while writing the last item.

For some reason, my eyes felt warm.

Taking a deep breath, I carefully wrote it down beautifully.

To-Do List

[1. Take back the Lionet family]
[2. Run the pawnshop well]
[3. Find a way to treat Grandfather]

In truth, it would be easier if I asked Grandfather for help.

Running the pawnshop, getting revenge on the Lionets, even figuring out the exact size of Grandfather’s personal fortune that those people were desperately trying to seize.

‘But…’

I couldn’t.

I wasn’t allowed.

“…Who are you? What are you doing here?”
“Grandfather, what do you mean? It’s me. Your granddaughter, Elisha…”

Because Grandfather sometimes forgets even me.