“You have now become the heir to the Rainland family. Everything that belongs to the Rainland family is now yours.”
The title of Count, the beautiful and historic mansion… and even the countless debts left behind by the Count of Rainland—all of it.
‘The debt is a staggering… 200 million gold.’
In truth, Judith had somewhat anticipated things would turn out this way. Ever since Cliff handed her the inheritance papers and some emergency funds, then ran off as if fleeing.
Actually, she had a bad feeling the moment they transferred the entire estate of the family to her, when she was forced to marry a dying man.
‘I think I understand what’s going on.’
According to Cliff, the reason for the marriage was:
“The extended family couldn’t bear to see the Rainland family line die out, so we had to rush the marriage. I apologize if the process of bringing you here was rude.”
That’s what he said, but it didn’t seem to be the truth.
It wasn’t about preserving the family line—it was more likely they were worried about the Count’s debts falling on them.
‘Still, it wouldn’t have looked good to take a commoner and make her Erne’s bride.’
They must have needed a noblewoman who was desperate for money. As they inquired around, they must have found out that Baron Harrington had amassed a lot of gambling debt, and that he had a sister of marriageable age.
‘I was sold off to pay gambling debts, and now I’m being made to pay off the Rainland family’s debt.’
Judith was sick and tired of debts.
She had already struggled so much in her previous life trying to escape a mountain of debt: her father’s debts from a failed business, her mother’s debts from a loan to a cult—debt, debt, and more debt!
And now, after dying and possessing a new body, here she was, dealing with her brother’s gambling debt and…
“Husband’s debt? In-laws’ debt?”
Technically, it was the Rainland family’s debt, not Erne’s, so it was more accurate to say it was the in-laws’ debt. But really, who cares whose debt it was? What mattered now was that it had become her debt.
When Judith saw the loan details in the inheritance documents, she considered running away. But somehow, the loan shark found her immediately.
“Ah, congratulations on your marriage, Madam. It seems the day has come for me to finally collect the 200 million gold I lent to the Count.”
The loan shark’s name was Smith.
Just by looking at his face, she could tell how ruthless he was.
“The deadline is the end of this month. If you can’t manage the principal, at least bring the overdue interest.”
“Mr. Smith… That’s impossible. How am I supposed to come up with the overdue interest all of a sudden? If you could give me just a little more time…”
“Ah, Madam, I’ve already been more than generous. I’m giving you a month to enjoy your newlywed life. Even if your husband is dead.”
How could she enjoy a newlywed life with a dead husband? That was absurd.
Smith and his underlings burst into laughter at their crude joke, clutching their stomachs in amusement.
“Madam, did you know? If you squeeze even a dry rag, water will come out.”
He mimicked squeezing an invisible rag in the air, his thick lips parting to reveal yellow, greed-filled teeth.
“If you can’t pay by the end of this month, you’ll have to repay with your body. I believe you know what that means without further explanation.”
Repaying with her body meant selling her off. The threats from loan sharks in this life were no different from her previous life, and that realization brought a surge of anger.
200 million gold? A single silver coin here seemed enough to live on for a week, and it wasn’t 200 million silver, but gold? Judith clutched her head in frustration.
“Alright, let’s sell the mansion.”
Fortunately, the situation wasn’t entirely hopeless. At least the mansion remained.
When settling the debts after the Count’s death, the mansion was not taken away.
To be honest, that was a bit strange. Did the ‘extended family’ people overseeing the marriage leave it behind to save face?
Well, it didn’t matter. It was Judith’s now, and she didn’t care about such formalities. Her only concern was to clear the debts and live a normal life.
A life where she wouldn’t lose everything over one mistake and could return to a place of rest after a weary day. A simple life that was never easily granted to her.
‘Of course, it would be even better if I could make a lot of money and live comfortably. Now that I have the title of Count, if I had enough money, I could live proudly anywhere.’
With that vision of her future self, Judith cheered herself up. Yes, she had repaid a debt once before; why couldn’t she do it again?
“So, shall we start by clearing the debts?”
Fortunately, the Rainland mansion was in quite good condition.
It was beautiful and old-fashioned. Although it was an empty mansion with no caretaker, it seemed like someone had lived there until recently, as it was clean.
The garden had no weeds, no cobwebs, and not even a speck of dust in the window frames or the secluded corners. It was as if someone had maintained it just a few days ago. A well-maintained house fetches a good price.
Expecting a high price, Judith sought out a real estate agent.
But reality wasn’t so kind.
***
“I’m sorry, Madam, but no one is interested in buying that mansion.”
“What? Why not?”
“It’s because of the rumors. Haven’t you heard them, Madam? The rumors that the mansion eats people.”
“What?”
“You really haven’t heard of it?”
That must be why you accepted the cursed mansion without hesitation. The real estate agent clicked his tongue and began recounting the rumors surrounding the Rainland mansion.
The Rainland family had lost their estate long ago and had never made it into the central political sphere. But one day, they suddenly became wealthy.
However, their joy was short-lived, as tragedy soon struck. People began dying.
The strange deaths were limited to the Count’s family. First the Countess, then the Count’s daughter who had returned after a divorce, and even her son—one by one, they died.
“The mansion staff said they all died completely drained of blood, shriveled up like dried husks. There were marks on their bodies as if bitten by insects. There were many witnesses.”
It was the mansion. They said the cursed mansion devoured the Rainland family.
“They say the mansion eats people, so even if it’s put up for sale, no one will buy it.”
Thanks to the people who spread the story, claiming the mansion was cursed and had devoured the family, the rumor became widely known to anyone who cared—everyone except for Judith, who had been too busy struggling to survive.
“I wonder, isn’t there anyone who doesn’t believe in the rumors? If I sell it for less than the market price, maybe someone will show interest.”
“Hmm…”
The real estate agent’s expression was troubled. Judith visited other agents, but they all said the same thing.
“Well, of course. That’s just my luck.”*
That was why only the mansion was left. It couldn’t be sold, so even the loan sharks didn’t take it.
As she walked back with heavy steps, Judith mulled over what the last real estate agent had told her.
“The mansion not selling isn’t just because of the rumors.”
“Then why?”
“Can’t you tell? The mansion looks like a haunted house at first glance.”
The agent’s words echoed in her mind. It’s not just an abandoned house; it’s a haunted house. You can tell just by looking at it.
“What’s the difference between a haunted house and an abandoned house?”
“Well, an abandoned house is just a house that has been left empty. It’s dirty, and there might be rats, but that’s something you can clean up. A haunted house, however…”
A haunted house looks completely fine, as if someone had lived in it until just yesterday, despite having been empty for a long time.
Just like the Rainland mansion, without a single cobweb.
“Surely, a caretaker must have been coming in to clean it.”
“You really don’t know, do you, Madam? No one has entered this mansion for almost two years.”
Was that why the lawyer fled, thinking he might catch the curse if he stayed too long? But then, is the curse real?
“But Erne died looking perfectly fine.”
His body had no marks, no signs of insect bites. Besides, in the original story, curses and magic existed, but ghost stories didn’t. Tales of mansions eating people weren’t a thing in that world.
It made more sense to believe it was a curse aimed at the Count of Rainland. If the mansion had been eating people, why hadn’t the servants died too? The mansion wouldn’t discriminate based on bloodlines.
“If the previous Counts lived just fine and only this generation died, it has to be a curse on the Count.”
Didn’t they suddenly come into a lot of money? Whenever large sums of money are involved, envy and jealousy are sure to follow.
Even though Judith believed there was nothing wrong with the mansion, the eerie cleanliness of it still gave her chills.
But Judith opened the mansion’s door resolutely. There were more reasons not to believe the rumors than there were to believe them.
‘It’s not because the mansion could fetch 400 million gold once its value is restored that I’m doing this.’
In fact, that was precisely why. 400 million gold would not only clear her debt but also give her a chance to turn her life around. Real estate was the way to make real money.
‘That’s the truth no matter what life you’re in.’
In this strange world, the only things Judith had left were the mansion and her title, so there was no way she would give up.
Being homeless was far worse than living in a mansion that supposedly ate people, and loan sharks were scarier than haunted houses.
“I just have to hold out! If I stay in this mansion for over a year, the rumors will die down. Then the mansion’s value will go back to normal.”
“But even while holding out, I’ll have to pay interest. How am I going to manage that?”
Crossing the eerily silent garden, where not even the sound of crickets could be heard, Judith was lost in thought.
***
A few days later, Judith walked into the loan shark’s office, her expression calm.
“I need to borrow some money.”
🍓 ; *Is typically used to express frustration or resignation when something unfortunate happens, especially if the person feels that bad luck is a common occurrence for them. It’s a way of acknowledging a negative outcome as unsurprising or inevitable given past experiences. The speaker is essentially saying that this kind of bad luck seems to happen to them frequently.
