TMRM 7

Chapter: 7

“All right, Ruth! One, two, three, four.”

As I swung my arms widely, Ruth followed along, copying my movements.

“Five, six, seven, eight.”

We moved our bodies in time with my count.

Lately, Ruth and I had been doing calisthenics together every morning.

Ruth had been neglected for so long that he was physically weak, so this was to help him build stamina—and to look after my own health as well. It had started on a whim, but it turned out to be better than expected.

Moving around first thing in the morning made me feel strangely productive, too.

From a distance, the maids watched us with warm smiles.

Once they found out that we exercised at the training grounds every morning, they began coming one by one to watch, and now there were quite a few spectators.

“Madam really is a blessing.”

“Of course she is. She’s the castle’s lucky charm. Thanks to her, the Duke’s health has improved so much.”

That title still made me feel a bit embarrassed.

Keeping a straight face, I finished the exercises and pointed toward the training field.

“All right, Ruth. Go run a lap.”

Ruth nodded enthusiastically.
“Okay!”

Then he ran off into the distance.

Every time Ruth ran, clouds of dust kicked up.

It was a sight you’d never see in a truly prosperous noble household.

Wealthy noble families didn’t leave dirt in their training grounds—they paved them with specially enchanted stones instead.

Just maintaining a training ground cost money, and there were so many places where expenses piled up.

‘I need to find a sword instructor for Ruth soon.’

Ruth was a genius with the sword.

A true prodigy… but there was a problem.

There was no one in this castle qualified to teach him properly.

There were a few people with decent sword skills, but correcting bad habits was far harder than teaching from scratch.

From the very beginning, I wanted to find Ruth the perfect teacher.

‘And I already have someone in mind.’

Ruth soon finished his lap and returned to stand in front of me.

Judging by how he wasn’t even panting anymore, his stamina had definitely improved a lot.

“Ruth, you did really well.”

When I hugged him and patted his head in praise, Ruth hugged me back.

“Now go run one more lap.”

“Okay, sis!”

He answered eagerly, but as if he didn’t want to leave me, he kept glancing back over his shoulder while running.

“H-Hey, Ruth! Watch where you’re going! You’ll fall!”

“Okay!”

Five seconds later, he turned his head again.

In the end, I burst out laughing.

Ruth’s strength was steadily improving.

After morning exercise, Ruth went to study, and I headed to the office to deal with territorial affairs.

And that was when I began to regret my past decision—just a little.

No, actually, this was more than enough to justify regret.

Anyone who saw the territory reports stacked in front of me would applaud me just for not cursing out loud.

“…Why do we have this much debt?”

And it wasn’t just to one place.

We owed money to the imperial family, other nobles, and merchant guilds.

We’d borrowed from everywhere we possibly could.

“It is… quite a lot of debt, isn’t it?”

The man standing beside me cautiously read my expression.

His name was Naol.

He was the man who had handled the territory’s finances before Pruge arrived—and now he was also in charge of investigating Pruge’s embezzlement.

After kicking Pruge out, I’d ordered him to organize the duchy’s debts and income so they could be reviewed at a glance.

His face was pale, as though he might collapse at any moment, and dark circles hung beneath his eyes—but his gaze shone brightly as he looked at me.

In a desperate tone, he said,

“Madam! Our blessed Madam! Is there… perhaps some hidden asset someone left behind?!”

“No, I don’t think that would even come close.”

“But still…!”

There was no point celebrating just because we’d wrung out everything Pruge had embezzled.

“What on earth did they do to rack up this much debt? Even gambling wouldn’t make it this bad.”

“Well… it costs a lot to maintain a noble house. There’s the upkeep of the castle, annual taxes to the imperial family, monster subjugation whenever they appear, and then…”

Naol added hesitantly,

“The second son of the previous Duke was truly obsessed with gambling at one point…”

“Okay, enough.”

I scanned the report and asked,

“There’s nothing we have to repay immediately, right?”

It was an important question.

If we failed to repay on time, the land or even the castle used as collateral could be seized all at once.

Then we really would be sleeping on the streets.

“There shouldn’t be anything urgent?”

“Are you sure?”

Naol averted his eyes.

“Well… repayment for the fifty million marks we borrowed from the Fox Merchant Union is due soon, but… I don’t think you need to worry too much?”

“Really?”

“Yes. We borrowed it thirty years ago, and they’ve never once come to collect. Maybe they went bankrupt? If they did, we wouldn’t have to repay it.”

“That would be nice, but…”

Why did I feel so uneasy?

As if to prove that uneasy feelings are never wrong, Bella burst into the office in a panic.

“Madam! Madam! Something terrible has happened!”

“What is it, Bella?”

“The— the creditors are here! They’re demanding immediate repayment!”

“We owe money to more than one group. Don’t tell me they all came at once?”

If that were the case, forget reviving the family—we’d have to flee in the middle of the night.

“No, no! It’s the Fox Merchant Union!”

I turned to look at Naol.

Naol turned to look at me.

Without saying a word, we understood each other perfectly.

‘We’re doomed.’

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

“Didn’t you say they’d never come to collect…?”

When I glared at Naol reproachfully, he looked like he was about to cry.

“No, really… it’s always been like that. I swear…”

Naol and I decided to meet them first.

We needed to figure out what they were really after.

While the visitors were still flustered at the sight of me—a young girl—Naol introduced me.

“This is the Duchess. Show proper respect.”

“Oh—yes!”

They bowed hurriedly.

After acknowledging their greeting, I leaned back in my chair and asked,

“So. What brings you to our castle all of a sudden?”

“As stated, the repayment date is approaching. We’ve come to collect.”

A man with long, narrow eyes stepped forward and spoke.

“Your name?”

At my question, he bowed.

“Rwan, Madam.”

Naol spoke up.

“But the repayment date is next week, isn’t it? There’s no need for you to come this early.”

“This time, we intend to collect without fail.”

The two sides faced each other tensely, neither willing to give an inch.

It wasn’t an amount they’d give up easily.

The moment we heard it was the Fox Merchant Union, Naol and I had already made our decision.

The amount borrowed was fifty million marks.

It was a large expense, but if we sold all our jewelry, it would be manageable.

It was best to repay debts we could repay as soon as possible.

“Fine. We’ll repay the debt.”

“Thank you for your decisive judgment.”

Rwan smiled and bowed.

“Naol.”

Naol presented a small box.

“This is a necklace decorated with blue diamonds and pearls. Depending on the buyer, it should easily fetch fifty million marks. What do you think?”

At Naol’s words, the Fox Merchant Union members stirred uneasily.

What was this reaction?

Rwan opened his mouth with an awkward expression.

“Duchess… the total amount the Valfruga family owes us is one billion marks.”

“…What? One billion?!”

“Th-That’s impossible. The family definitely borrowed only fifty million—”

When Naol faltered, Rwan explained in a gentle, almost patronizing tone.

“It’s true that Valfruga borrowed fifty million marks.”

“Then why…?”

“You must account for the interest. Over thirty years, the accumulated interest—and additional fees—have grown considerably. If you doubt me, we’ve brought the contract. You may review it.”

Naol snatched the document from Rwan’s hand.

After a long silence, he looked at me.

The despair in his eyes confirmed that Rwan was telling the truth.

In an instant, everything had turned upside down.

“…I’ll need to discuss this with my husband.”

A strategic retreat.

“Wow! They wait thirty years and only then show up to collect? They really won’t let this go, will they?!”

“Yes. They look completely determined. If we don’t pay, they’d probably start tearing bricks out of the castle.”

“What a bunch of vultures. So this is why they never showed up for thirty years!”

Naol and I returned to the office and rummaged through piles of documents.

At last, we found the contract shoved into a corner of a bookshelf.

“Was the former Duke actually insane? How could he borrow money under these conditions?”

Naol cursed the previous Duke without restraint, and I didn’t stop him.

If I opened my mouth right now, I’d start swearing too.

The Fox Merchant Union hadn’t lied.

We really had borrowed fifty million marks.

And over thirty years, interest had compounded upon interest until it became one billion marks.

This was loan sharking.

No— even loan sharks wouldn’t impose terms this vicious.

Pressing my fingers to my forehead, I asked Naol,

“What happens if we just… don’t pay?”

If possible, abandoning the collateral might be the better option.

There was nothing in this castle worth one billion marks anyway.

“I’d like that too, but… the collateral we put up is significant, Madam.”

“What is it?”

“This castle.”

“…What?! Was he trying to destroy the family on purpose?!”

“Exactly…”

Naol stared at the contract with lifeless eyes.

“If we sell all the jewelry and borrow elsewhere, we could maybe raise around one hundred million marks. That would put out the immediate fire, and we could ask to defer the rest.”

“But if we hand over all that money right now, we’ll be living off wild roots.”

And that wouldn’t even begin to solve the problem of reviving the family.

Handing over the castle might actually be—

“But if we lose the castle, we’ll have nowhere to go. Worse, we’ll become a laughingstock across the continent.”

Right. That would disgrace the entire family.

“Why did the former Duke even borrow this money?”

I muttered without expecting an answer.

Surprisingly, one came.

“He probably trusted them. The Fox Merchant Union used to be run by Marquis Reholas, and Marquis Reholas was the former Duchess’s family.”

“…Marquis Reholas?”

“Yes. That wealthy Marquis Reholas. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more infuriating it is.”

“Wait. So the Fox Merchant Union originally belonged to Marquis Reholas?”

My reaction must have been strange, because Naol answered with a puzzled look.

“Yes. It wasn’t a merchant union back then—it was a business solely owned by Marquis Reholas. About twenty years ago, he suddenly claimed financial difficulties and sold ownership shares to other merchants. Once ownership changed, our debt was transferred to them as well.”

In the original story, Marquis Reholas was killed by Ruth, the male lead.

Because he had been caught scamming Ruth.

Marquis Reholas used the merchant union to defraud Ruth and made a huge profit.

And when it came to scams…

“Naol. We don’t have to repay this debt.”