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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 6
“I heard you sent a letter saying it’s hard to maintain the contract? I came to find out what’s going on.”
“Well, there’s nothing much to say. It’s as the letter states. I can’t keep the contract anymore. I plan to wrap up my management business and leave this place.”
He waved his hand as if he had no more to say.
“So stop overthinking and go back.”
Was it his uncooperative attitude?
At some point, one of the escort knights, who had followed us in, placed a hand on the hilt of his sword and growled.
“How rude! Show respect! Craftsman Verus!”
“Stand down. We’re not here to threaten him.”
Breaking down his door and claiming not to be a threat—it was no wonder the knights looked incredulous.
Yet, I calmly asked.
“Talking doesn’t cost you money, does it? Don’t you have something to offer?”
“Ha.”
Verus looked at me with disbelief.
“First, you smash someone’s door, and now you’re asking for hospitality?”
“So the tales of dwarves being bold and generous are just old stories now, huh?”
“Wait here.”
He staggered to his feet, and soon returned from the storeroom with a large oak barrel.
“Oh, dwarven brew. That’s good stuff.”
“...You’re an unusual human, aren’t you?”
“You two.”
Sitting down, I called over the two knights who had accompanied me.
Then I told them,
“There’s been someone tailing us for a while now. Don’t make it obvious, but try tracking them instead.”
At my words, both Verus and the knights flinched.
“Excuse me? What do you mean...?”
“Don’t make it obvious—just act like you’re running an errand. Got it?”
The two knights looked a little reluctant at my command.
“But, sir, our orders are to ensure your safety...”
“Who’s going to cause trouble here? I’ll be fine, so go. It might be hard to track them alone, so take care of it together. I’ll stay here until you get back.”
Reluctantly, they left.
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from their pursuit, but I wanted some time to speak one-on-one.
“You flinched just now.”
“...”
“Seems like you’re not entirely unrelated to whoever’s tailing us.”
“Just eat and go.”
Feigning disinterest, he gulped down his drink.
“Verus, you’ve been active in the Cascadia County since my father’s days, even during my grandfather’s time, haven’t you?”
Even though dwarves live longer than humans, the fact that he spent much of his life in Cascadia was undeniable.
“It’s all in the past. Now that my lord is gone, there’s no reason for me to stay attached to this place.”
“Unlike with my father, do you find my sister unreliable?”
At my question, his brow furrowed as if he were deep in thought.
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“We’ve assessed your reasons for breaking the contract, and they don’t make sense to us. Moreover, you don’t seem like the type to flip your promises so easily...”
My suggestion was met with a scoff.
“Hmph, what could two immature kids possibly accomplish...?”
He stared into his drink, remaining silent for a long time.
“Won’t you talk to me?”
“As you get older, you start seeing things more clearly. You might call me arrogant, but let me ask you one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Does the Cascadia family currently have the capacity to focus on this matter?”
There was distrust in his voice.
“The Cascadia family has significantly fallen in just a few months. The overwhelming power that a margrave should possess has been reduced to half its strength. To put it simply, neither your sister nor you can handle this situation.”
Melissa hadn’t shared critical family details with me.
But such changes were evident even to an outsider.
Lately, I had noticed that the troops guarding the walls and the household knights felt oddly sparse.
“I may not be a noble, but here’s some advice from an elder. After the margrave’s death, hungry wolves are circling. If you want to survive, would pride even matter? Your sister should marry into a good family, and you could become a son-in-law somewhere...”
“Verus.”
I cut him off, and he looked at me.
“Let’s make one thing clear. My sister will become a great lord of the Cascadia family. That’s a fact I’ve decided, and nothing—absolutely nothing—will change it.”
“Hah, such youthful arrogance.”
“Does this seem like just youthful arrogance to you?”
Melissa had been trained as an heir since childhood.
To her, inheriting the Cascadia Margraviate wasn’t just a duty—it was her life’s goal.
I had no intention of taking that position from her.
And I certainly wouldn’t tolerate my sister being disrespected by anyone, least of all a subject of the territory.
As if to emphasize my determination, I crushed the glass I was holding with my bare hand.
His eyes widened in surprise.
“Ha... Hahaha!”
For some reason, he burst into laughter like a madman.
“A scholar who’s never held a sword talks so big?”
“You said you’re planning to leave anyway. Then let’s do this: I won’t stop you from leaving. But at the very least, in honor of your relationship with my father, tell me everything you know.”
I’ll clean up the mess.
At my words, he fell silent.
“We need to know who’s targeting us, at the very least.”
“...It’s nothing major. Lately, some unsavory types have taken root in the area.”
“Unsavory types?”
“Yes. They seem to be loan sharks. At first, they posed as respectable businessmen, offering low-interest loans to establish themselves.”
“Hmm...”
“But the problem started after that. As soon as the margrave passed, they began raising interest rates at will.”
“They raised the rates without consent? Did you report them to the guards?”
At my question, he let out a sigh and shook his head.
“Did you know? More than half the guards are already in cahoots with them. Slip them some money, and they’ll turn a blind eye to anything.”
He spoke with a weary expression.
“Do you know about the large-scale territorial war happening in neighboring lands recently? After the margrave passed and Cascadia’s military strength weakened, we had to find a way to survive. That’s why I signed a contract to supply weapons for the war.”
It wasn’t particularly surprising since this was part of the business we occasionally engaged in.
“So you borrowed money because you needed raw materials?”
“That’s right. There’s no issue with the contract, and the interest is manageable, so we accepted it.”
The interest wasn’t that high, and given the current state of the family with its reduced military capacity, he had to venture into business to sustain the armory.
But once he borrowed the money, the payment from the other domain was delayed repeatedly, and when the timing was perfect, the interest began to skyrocket.
It didn’t end there.
The loan sharks refused to meet with Verus, who was trying to pay off the interest, using all sorts of excuses while inflating the interest even further.
The amount he owed had already far surpassed the principal.
The total debt had swelled to nearly ten times the original amount.
A vicious scheme.
Scoundrels like this don’t change, whether in my past life or this one.
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“This was a rigged game from the start.”
“It’s not just us. Most of the businesses in which the Cascadia Count’s family has shares are in a similar state. I’ve been managing businesses for the Count’s family for a long time, but this is the limit.”
A sudden suspicion crossed my mind.
“Are you telling me Melissa allowed this situation to happen?”
“Allowed it... That’s not the right word. Those loan sharks claim that the current head of Cascadia has no authority since the Count is absent.”
“Authority, huh...”
I suppressed a sigh.
After my father passed away, the position of Margrave has been vacant.
Melissa, acting as the temporary head, has been managing the estate’s affairs, but she has yet to receive the royal family’s approval to officially take over the responsibilities of the Margrave.
She’s only been recognized as the heir.
In another family, this might be seen as overstepping her bounds, but in the Kingdom of Bata, Cascadia holds significant importance.
Because of Melissa’s position, someone exploited this gap to carry out their scheme.
“Someone used ridiculous excuses to usurp the Count’s authority.”
I asked coldly, my mood darkening.
It’s plausible that another domain would interfere with Cascadia, as there were always forces seeking to weaken the Count’s power.
But such a thing wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance of someone within, someone with partial authority.
“Who allowed this to happen?”
“That’s…”
“No, wait. Anyone who could wield the Cascadia family’s authority is already obvious.”
In the current situation, only one person within the Count’s family could carry out such actions with impunity: Melissa.
However, there’s another person outside the Count’s manor who could assert authority.
A member of the Cascadia bloodline, from a branch of the Count’s family.
My father’s brother, Tyvel Cascadia.
Melissa and I’s uncle.
Even when my father was alive, he could hardly hide his ambition for the Margrave’s position.
Melissa didn’t seem to have mentioned him much to me.
Six months might seem like a long time, but when you’re constantly dealing with things, it’s barely enough.
I held out my hand to Verus.
“Can I see the promissory note?”
“Sure, here it is.”
He pulled a piece of paper from an old box and showed it to me.
The note was skillfully manipulated to allow an interest rate exceeding the maximum allowed by the royal decree.
There were traces of tricks used to avoid legal repercussions.
But it wasn’t unsolvable.
It was well within the Count’s power to mediate and reduce the excessive interest to a reasonable level.
Considering this, their desire to leave isn’t solely about the debt.
It becomes clear the debt is just an excuse.
“This is something we can handle.”
“No need. I’ve already made up my mind…”
“Let’s be honest. The debt isn’t the real reason you’re leaving, is it? In the end, this debt is just a pretext.”
He avoided answering my question, but his gaze betrayed him.
He was staring at a cracked photo frame hanging on the wall.
People’s eyes often reveal more than their words.
It’s an instinct of mine—learning to read where my enemies are looking, where their focus lies, and using that in battles.
The photo showed a cheerful dwarf, Verus, standing with a young dwarf beside him.
The background appeared to be Verus’ smithy.
The place was familiar, but someone who should’ve been there was missing.
I had a hunch.
“That photo—is that your son?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he now?”
At my question, he flinched.
This was it.
The talk of loan sharks and lack of money were all just excuses.
The reality was that his son had been kidnapped and used as leverage.
“I…”
“So, it’s a kidnapping… I see. They’ve gone that far. Makes sense now why they’ve been following you. That means they’ll bite soon.”
“I haven’t said a word…”
“Am I wrong? It is a kidnapping.”
At my confident assertion, he let out a dry laugh.
“You’re not just a soft noble, are you? Fine. What you said is true. But what do you mean by ‘bite soon’?”
At that moment—
Clang! Clang!
“Lord Leon, Count Tyvel requests your presence. You must come with us.”
While the guards were away, uninvited guests arrived.
Verus looked alarmed, but I wasn’t surprised.
I had anticipated this while talking to him.
“The Count? Since when did my uncle become a Count?”
Without even turning my head, I asked as the sound of swords being drawn filled the air.
Their intention to openly threaten was clear.
“Lord, it would be wise for you to come with us voluntarily.”
At his words, I smirked and whispered quietly to Verus.
“See? Told you they’d bite.”
“What are you…”
“To them, the tastiest hostage would obviously be me.”
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HELHEIM SCANS
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