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Chapter 25
“Pay back the money already! If you just return what you owe, I’ll walk out of here myself!”
The man’s voice was sharp with irritation, and that was when Leandros pushed open the door.
The inside of the house was even worse than the ruined exterior. Shattered furniture littered the floor, a dagger flashed in Lize’s trembling hand, and across from her stood a burly, mean-looking man with a thuggish glare.
“Who the hell are you?”
The man had been cautious of the dagger, but his tone turned harsh the moment he saw us intrude.
“You—why are you here?”
Lize’s gaze snapped not to Leandros, nor to the others, but directly to me.
“Why did you come here? Get out! Get out right now!”
In an instant, I had become the enemy. Her dagger shook in her hand, not from aggression but from fear.
“Miss Lize, it’s dangerous. Please, put down the weapon—”
Leandros tried to reason with her, but Lize seemed deaf to his words.
“Holy knight?”
“Yes!” Mila, peeking out from behind Leandros’s back, shouted as if seizing the chance. “He’s the most renowned holy knight in the entire Empire! If you don’t want to be punished, leave now!”
The thug’s eyes flickered, glancing at Leandros. But when his gaze dropped to Leandros’s belt, he let out a derisive laugh.
“Oh, I see. You’re that so-called holy knight who isn’t even allowed to carry a sword without permission, aren’t you?”
He knew exactly who Leandros was, yet his words carried no respect, only scorn.
“What can you do without a sword, huh? Step aside before I embarrass you in front of everyone—”
The man’s words died in his throat.
A sudden chill filled the air, raising goosebumps along my arms. Leandros hadn’t moved, hadn’t drawn a weapon—he merely stood there, staring.
And yet the thug froze, like prey caught in a predator’s gaze.
Leandros’s presence alone pressed down like a heavy weight.
The man swallowed hard, his bravado cracking.
“Well… it seems you’ve got company. I’ll return later. Have the money ready by then!”
Even as he blustered at Lize, his eyes darted nervously back toward Leandros. Then, flinching as if struck, he bolted out of the house, slamming the door behind him.
The air grew lighter the moment he left, and Lize collapsed onto the floor, trembling.
She burst into sobs, only to suddenly raise her head and scream at me.
“Why did you come here? Did you come to mock me? To punish me for daring to block your path to becoming Saintess? Well, look around you! I’ve already fallen this far—there’s nowhere lower to go!”
She wasn’t wrong.
The house was a ruin, filthy and dark, unfit for human life.
My gaze lingered on the pile of empty flask bottles in the corner, and Lize snapped.
“Do you know what happened after you left? The academy expelled me for tarnishing its reputation! My dream of becoming an apothecary, crushed to pieces!”
She didn’t wait for an answer—her bitterness poured like poison.
“Do you feel wronged? You shouldn’t. Everything I said about you was true, wasn’t it? Or are you going to deny it? Go on, say it wasn’t true!”
“It was true.”
The words left my lips with ease, but the moment they did, her eyes grew darker, sharper.
“They said you promised my father. You said you’d make amends—that because this disaster was born from your greed, you’d never abandon us. You swore that to him! So why? Why did you betray us?”
Her accusations clawed at memories that weren’t there.
That accident… those words… why do I remember nothing?
It was as though pieces of my past had been carved out and stolen.
“I lost everything because of you,” she whispered, voice trembling with grief and hate.
“I hope you lose everything too. I hope your life turns to wreckage. I hope you live without hope, without a future.”
Her sobs filled the room. Mila stepped forward, face stricken with sympathy.
“Lize… I’m sorry. If I had known your situation, I would have helped you sooner.”
Her gentle words soothed where mine had only wounded.
“No… you can’t help me.” Lize shook her head. “I only borrowed ten gold. Ten. But with the interest, it’s turned into over a thousand. I haven’t even touched the principal, yet my debt just keeps growing…”
Her confession spilled out, and Leandros stepped forward.
“Charging interest beyond the legal limit is a crime. You are entitled to protection under the law. Allow me to help you.”
“I already tried. I went to the guards, but they said the same thing—if you borrow money, you must repay it.”
Lize bit her lip until it bled.
Leandros’s voice was steady, resolute.
“I will help you. That, I promise.”
For the first time, a flicker of hope crossed her eyes. She stifled her sobs and nodded, as if clinging to the lifeline he offered.
Then a faint voice called from beneath the table.
“L… Lize?”
“Father!”
She wiped her tears in a hurry and rushed to a small wooden trapdoor beneath the dining table. From there came the weakened voice again.
“Is someone here?”
“No, Father. It’s nothing.”
The house was so small, they had carved a living space underground.
Lize glanced at Leandros, then Mila—never once at me.
“I know it’s shameless… but please, I beg for your help.”
With that, she excused herself and disappeared into the hidden room below.
By the time we left the house, the sun had already sunk low in the sky.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
Mila’s voice lashed at me the moment we stepped outside.
“You saw Lize’s state. Didn’t you feel anything? Not pity, not regret, not even guilt? How could you stand there without a word, without even an apology? You never intended to apologize, did you?”
Her expression hardened with disgust. She didn’t wait for my answer, waving it away as meaningless.
“All you can do is throw money at her debts. But do you really think that’s what she wants? I don’t.”
She turned on her heel, tugging Leandros’s arm.
“I’m going straight to the local authority to report this. They’ll have no choice but to act. Come with me, Sir Leandros!”
Leandros hesitated, glancing back at me.
“Grace, will you join us?”
If she meant the authority, then the Cardinal himself was surely involved.
“I agree it’s worth speaking to the Cardinal. But I’ll need some time first. I must contact my household.”
“The Apferdita house? The same family that cast you aside like trash? You’d beg their help now? Ha! Giving poison with one hand and medicine with the other. I want nothing to do with them.”
She pulled Leandros along. He looked back once more.
“Then… I’ll see you soon.”
He gave me a nod, suppressing whatever words he wished to say.
Mila shot me a look of sheer contempt before storming off with him.
I watched his retreating back, and only then let the faint smile fade from my lips.
He avoids conflict. Holds back his doubts. Believes in me even when reason tells him not to. How strange… how unlike me.
If he chose to trust me, then I had no choice but to meet his expectations.
“Wendy. You’re there, aren’t you?”
The street was quiet, save for the cool night breeze rustling by.
“I saw you hiding, you know.”
From the shadows of the alley, a sheepish voice replied.
“Hehe… when did you notice?”
Wendy emerged, embarrassed, scratching her cheek. I had spotted her slipping into the alley just before we entered Lize’s home.
“It was obvious.”
She blinked at me, wide-eyed.
“…Why does that make me feel… kind of touched?”
