🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 1
Prologue
A chilly breeze swept through the afternoon.
The sky was clearly blue, clouds drifted by like soft wool, and the sunlight was warm. Yet that was not how Yuric Windsor felt.
“…Pardon
“I’m saying it’s been put up as collateral.”
“…What has?”
“Oh, why do you keep asking? This mansion. This very mansion!”
The Windsor family’s townhouse, located in the capital, was a historic estate. Three stories tall and built in the North Continental America style, it was considered one of the most elegant residences in the city. Its garden bloomed with red roses, and a pond filled with expensive koi shimmered beyond the pointed iron gates. It was so beautiful that painters often stood outside the fence just to capture it on canvas.
And that mansion… what?
Yuric could not comprehend the gentleman standing before him. The middle-aged man, who claimed to work in real estate, kept dabbing sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.
“Countess Natelin signed the documents the other day.”
“…Signed what?”
“She borrowed one hundred thousand gold using this mansion as collateral. The interest hasn’t been paid for months! Until the debt is fully repaid, this property belongs to Harnen Trading Company.”
One hundred thousand gold was enough for an imperial citizen to buy a two-story house on the outskirts of the capital, where prices were higher than anywhere else on the continent.
Natelin was his mother.
Yuric Windsor asked again, his face slack with disbelief.
“This mansion…?”
“I’ll give you a week. Please vacate the premises. No—actually, you must vacate it, Sir Windsor.”
After delivering the notice, the gentleman waddled back to his waiting carriage. A servant helped him climb in while holding his coat. Yuric stared blankly before pressing a hand to his forehead.
On a bright spring day, in front of a beautiful mansion covered in blooming rose vines, Yuric had suddenly lost his home.
How on earth had this absurd situation happened?
Yuric Windsor, the eldest son of the prestigious Windsor count family—recognized as contributors to the Halcon Empire—strode quickly across the garden. His face was stiff with fury, yet his platinum-blond hair fluttered lightly in the breeze, oblivious to his mood.
The butler hurried after him and spoke carefully.
“Y-Young master… the Count is not here…”
“My mother?”
“The Countess said she had business this morning and left. We sent servants to contact her, but we’ve received no reply.”
The mansion’s entrance hall was in complete chaos. Several maids were carrying large leather travel bags. Others clutched jewelry and finely crafted ornaments in their arms.
Seeing them, Yuric let out a hollow laugh.
“And what is all this?”
The head maid, who happened to be coming out, answered him.
“Her Ladyship instructed us to pack these. She said she and the Count are going on a trip…”
“So suddenly?”
Not a word had been said to him. They had been staying together at the capital townhouse. Well, not quite together. Count Yusef Windsor and Countess Natelin had only come down from their northern territory ten days ago. And now another trip?
Absurdly enough, a carriage was already waiting below the front steps, loaded with luggage.
Yuric stared in disbelief.
“Isn’t that practically the entire household?”
After a brief silence, the head maid replied,
“…She also ordered us to pack even the gold candlesticks.”
Yuric pressed his forehead again. At this point, he had no choice but to admit something was terribly wrong. He had sensed it the moment someone from the notoriously high-interest Harnen Trading Company showed up at their gates.
Still, he had clung to a sliver of hope.
That hope was mercilessly crushed.
He hurried past the entrance and toward his parents’ bedroom. He flung open the intricately carved double doors—only to find an empty room. Even the decorative pieces had been removed.
What in the world is this?
They had come to the capital for the social season—or so he thought. Clearly, they had other plans.
On the vanity table lay a small letter.
Yuric grabbed it roughly, tore off the seal, and unfolded it.
“To my beloved son, Yuri.
Your father and I have decided to take a short trip to the East.
After consecutive business failures, your father is deeply distressed. I worry he may fall ill. That is why we planned this journey.
In the meantime, Viscount Raviji has agreed to look after the estate.
A few people may visit the townhouse. There is no need to listen closely to what they say. Your father will resolve everything. It may take some time, but please be patient.
Yuri, we entrust this mansion to you. Endure for a short while, and we will return soon to settle everything. You need not concern yourself with anything else—just focus on your own work.
P.S. Please take care of your younger sibling. Even if the child runs wild, they listen to you…
…I am sorry.”* *
“This… this is…”
Yuric had heard the expression “blood rushing to one’s head,” but this was the first time he truly experienced it. He crushed the letter in one hand and ground his teeth.
Repeated business failures. One hundred thousand gold. The mansion was stripped of its valuables.
The conclusion was obvious.
His parents had failed in business, taken loans with the mansion as collateral, and then fled.
Leaving all the aftermath to him—Yuric.
“…”
As he stood speechless with rising fury, the butler approached cautiously and handed him something.
Debt certificates written on parchment.
Forgetting the servants watching him, Yuric quickly scanned them.
100,000 gold—Harnen Trading Company
150,000 gold—Imperial Bank
1,000,000 gold—Ryuzha Trading Company
Interest rate: 30%
Yuric nearly fainted.
He had no idea when these massive sums had been borrowed. At the bottom of each document were the thumbprints of the Count and Countess.
One million gold at thirty percent interest—just one day’s interest equaled his entire monthly salary as an administrative officer of the imperial government.
His legs nearly gave out. If the butler had not caught him, he might have collapsed onto the floor, forgetting all noble dignity.
“…Butler, am I dreaming?”
“…I regret to say, Young Master, this is reality.”
Despite the butler’s calm reply, Yuric stood dazed. The stack of parchment slipped from his hands and scattered across the floor.
…
A disaster had descended upon his once peaceful life.
