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Chapter 29
“Volunteered to be a bodyguard? Care to explain why?”
“I wished to serve because the Duchess is kind and wise,” he replied.
Kind? Wise? Licio couldn’t help but chuckle at the transparent excuse, clearly seeing the male gaze hidden behind the words.
“How amusing. Should I respond to this provocation?”
“Excuse me? What do you mean?”
Licio, annoyed, closed his eyes and rubbed his temple.
“You were supposed to stay in your place as a paladin, yet you’re being so disrespectful.”
“They said they had already left the temple. It seems they even found a house nearby.”
One corner of Licio’s mouth twitched into a slight smile as he lazily opened his eyes.
“So they’ve made up their mind. I’ll discuss this with my wife.”
Licio, eager to know her intentions immediately, stood up abruptly.
Ellen anxiously waited for Licio to arrive. Yet, when he finally stepped in, she couldn’t even meet his gaze.
“Alex has calculated the amount. They borrowed from six different sources—over 50,000 gold in total.”
“Ugh!”
It was the price of a high-class mansion. The sheer amount was suffocating, far beyond anything she could hope to repay in her lifetime.
“Moreover, foolishly, they borrowed at high interest rates. It increases by 20 gold per day.”
Good heavens! Even working all day, she couldn’t cover the interest alone.
Ellen fully agreed with his assessment of foolishness.
‘Anais, curse you!’
Her vision darkened and dizziness overtook her.
“Say something. Where on earth did all this money go?”
Her green eyes glistened and soon tears streamed down uncontrollably.
“Ugh. I… I don’t know…”
“Are you crying now? Is this the time for tears?”
Her life had completely fallen apart—tears were inevitable.
She was strong-willed, but this was beyond her ability to manage.
Far from uncovering Anais’s secrets, it seemed her remaining life would be spent repaying Anais’s debts.
The answer was clear: she needed to find a naive, manageable saint to replace her, just like Anais had done.
Perhaps… just perhaps… if she pleaded to God, things might change.
“I need to go to the temple!”
“Why? Do you expect money will fall from God?”
“What else can I do?”
Licio slowly brushed Ellen’s tear-streaked cheek.
“The person you need to plead with is right in front of you.”
Blinking through the tears that blurred her vision, she saw Licio smiling calmly.
“The Duke?”
“I can’t just give it to you,” he said.
Ellen, already caught in an unfair contract, felt a chill at his words.
“Are you collecting slaves or something?”
“It’s leniency toward a naive wife. I’ll lend it to you, and I’ll even lower the interest rate by half. How’s that?”
No interest, huh… but even that was a relief. Ellen nodded weakly.
“Will you really do that?”
“You know you can’t leave the duke’s mansion until it’s all repaid, right?”
She pictured herself sweeping and cleaning at the mansion as an old, white-haired lady.
Feeling faint, Ellen was urged to respond as Licio pulled out the documents.
“Sign here.”
With an angelic face and devilish smile, Licio waited. With no other choice, Ellen took the quill.
“You can repay slowly, Anais.”
“Yes, Master… no, Duke.”
Her only thought was to find some sewing work starting tomorrow. Lost in thought, she barely noticed Licio speaking.
“Paladin Rohan wants to be your bodyguard.”
“Excuse me? Why?”
“Don’t you know?”
“Is the Duke family’s knight’s salary high? No… Rohan wouldn’t care about money…”
“You speak as if you know him well.”
Rohan had liked the temple, hadn’t he? He had been ecstatic when he entered it.
Perhaps it was due to the archbishop’s torment… Many questions lingered.
“What are you thinking? Do you have feelings for him?”
“Feelings?”
“Do you see him as a man?”
Rohan had always been like a friend and a younger brother to her. Matureer than she was, perhaps, but his awkward first impression lingered.
“Not at all.”
Licio’s eyes curved slightly, as if pleased but trying to hide it.
“Forget the interest. You’ll only repay the principal. And I’ll appoint Rohan as your bodyguard.”
Her heart raced at the sweet words.
No interest, and she could have Rohan by her side as a loyal protector. It felt like life had finally shown mercy.
“You’re amazing, Duke!”
Licio spread his arms as if inviting her into a hug.
Unable to contain her joy, Ellen threw herself into his embrace without a second thought.
Yet when his hand traced her back, he was pushed away immediately.
‘First, I need to figure out where Anais spent the money,’ he thought.
Even if she had been scammed, he hoped she could recover at least something, even items that could be sold.
“I want to visit the Lahone Count family.”
“Why? Do you think there’s money hidden there?”
“How did you know?”
“It’s written on your face. If you want, we can go. But I’ll come too.”
“Okay. I’ll write a letter immediately.”
Licio brought paper and quill, watching Ellen write at the desk beside the bed.
‘Why is he staring so intently?’
Feeling watched, she hid the letter behind her hands like a wall.
Licio rested his chin on the desk like a loyal dog.
“Your handwriting is elegant. You could even copy texts with it.”
Why hadn’t she thought of that before? She unconsciously pinched Licio’s cheek.
“Good idea! I’ll find transcription work starting tomorrow.”
“You’re a commendable debtor. But why aren’t you repaying other debts?”
“Other debts?”
Fear made her heart skip a beat.
“We agreed to repay them together.”
“Oh, that…”
As Ellen’s shocked heart settled, Licio slowly pushed the desk aside and rested his head on her lap.
Looking up like a dog waiting for affection, Ellen put down the quill and stroked his hair.
“Too much happened today. I’m tired. Not in the mood either…”
“Going with the mood? Fine. This interest is expensive, so I’ll get something bigger in return.”
Though tense, it seemed Licio would let it slide. Not wanting to provoke a sleeping lion, Ellen kept stroking him without stopping.
On the day they were to visit the Lahone Count family, Rohan, now her bodyguard, reported to Ellen.
“It’s true—the Duchess borrowed the money.”
She had asked Rohan to check, clinging to a small hope that it might not be true. That hope was shattered.
“Ha… I wonder how the debt grew so large. I’ll find whatever’s left in the Count family and repay at least some of it.”
“Now that you have a bodyguard, speak freely. Shall we search the Count family for valuables?”
“Is that okay? Then call me by name too.”
It felt like things had returned to the way they were, and she smiled naturally. Rohan smiled back gently.
“Yes, Anais.”
“Let’s find everything that can be turned into money, if it exists.”
“I’ll do my best.”
As departure time arrived, Rohan opened doors to ease Ellen’s wheelchair out.
“Did you come from the temple for a Divine Power inspection?”
“Divine Power inspection? Why suddenly?”
Ellen worried her carefully cultivated Divine Power might be discovered.
“On the way out, I overheard the archbishop and Duke Marcel talking. It seems the Duke requested a Divine Power inspection of you, Anais.”
Before she could ask why, a large shadow fell over her.
“I refused the Divine Power inspection.”
Recognizing the familiar voice, she turned to see Licio.
Giving Rohan a glance to step aside, Licio pushed the wheelchair himself.
“You have no Divine Power, so it’s a waste of time.”
“…Exactly,” Ellen whispered.
“It’s suspicious. Even if you did have Divine Power, a Duchess like you couldn’t be a saint. Yet Duke Marcel persistently requested it… seems he has some scheme.”
“What scheme?”
Startled, Ellen flinched. Licio patted her shoulder reassuringly.
“No matter what, they won’t touch you. I’m here protecting you.”
Licio’s gaze was intense.
‘Even with Rohan here, why is he like this?’
Sure enough, Rohan turned his head, averting his gaze.
