“Ahahaha!”
Camille laughed heartily, causing Max to frown slightly. But even he couldn’t keep a slight smile from tugging at his lips.
“You crazy fool! You really mentioned Lady Bastian?”
“The less chance there is, the better.”
“Well, that’s true. There’s no way Lady Bastian would choose you. But I bet the Empress Dowager was shocked.”
“It actually worked out for the best. I should at least go along with my grandmother’s wishes once. If she realizes there’s nothing even she can do about this, she’ll naturally give up on the idea of my marriage.”
“But who’s the lady helping you? Where did the Empress Dowager find someone like that?”
Camille asked with curiosity as he downed the last of his brandy.
Max smirked. The image of a bold woman with chestnut-colored hair and eyes the color of young leaves flashed through his mind. He shrugged.
“Whether she’s talented or not remains to be seen.”
Max deftly dodged the question and finished his own drink.
***
Anais had been busy since early morning.
She was heading to a back alley teeming with rats, where every step brought the stench of filth. It was a shadowy place, devoid of sunlight, a far cry from where a noble lady should be.
The sidelong glances from homeless people and street wanderers followed her every move. Though such stares might have made others uneasy or fearful, Anais kept a bright expression on her face.
Finally, she arrived at her destination, and a broad smile spread across her face. The crooked sign read “Franklin & Jeffrey.” It was a moneylender’s office.
Bang—!
Anais stormed into the office with a fierce energy, slamming a money pouch onto the wooden desk with such force that it seemed like she might break it.
Franklin, who had been dozing off in his chair, was startled awake, his hat falling off in the process. Meanwhile, Jeffrey, who had been smoking a cigar, started coughing violently, tears streaming from his eyes.
“Lady Brienne?”
The two men exchanged knowing glances upon recognizing her. Franklin smirked, as if he understood the situation.
“Lady Brienne, what have you brought this time to try and settle your debt…?”
It was a familiar routine for Anais to bring in various worthless items, begging for the interest on her loans to be reduced. Considering the demand notice she must have received yesterday, it made sense that she had rushed over here so early in the morning.
Anticipating that he might finally seize the Brienne family’s estate, Franklin eagerly opened the heavy pouch. Inside, to his shock…
“Mo-Money?!”
He blinked in disbelief, checking the pouch again and even stirring its contents with his hand. There was no trickery. He gripped the cold, metallic coins tightly between his stubby fingers.
“What is this?”
“Can’t you see? It’s money. Four thousand pounds.”
Anais replied coolly. Jeffrey snatched the pouch from Franklin and inspected it, turning it over in his hands. It was unmistakably money, and by the experienced eye of a moneylender like him, it was easily four thousand pounds.
“How did you…?”
“This can’t be real. Where on earth did you…?”
Tsk. Why were they making such a fuss when I’m here to repay my debt? Anais answered in a tone of mild irritation.
“You don’t need to know that. We’re done here, right?”
“…….”
As Anais gestured with her hand, Jeffrey retrieved the promissory note and the repayment confirmation from the safe. While carefully taking the promissory note, she swiftly signed the repayment confirmation.
“Glad to be rid of you. Let’s not meet again, alright?”
Anais, shivering with disgust at the thought of dealing with these moneylenders, turned her back on them without any hesitation. Franklin and Jeffrey stared blankly at her retreating figure and then at the money pouch.
“Hey, shouldn’t we stop her?”
“How could we? Damn, this shouldn’t be happening…”
“Ah, crap. I should have raised the interest by three times instead of just doubling it.”
“That’s not the point, you idiot! Hurry up and get ready!”
“Ready for what?”
“We need to report that the Count’s daughter has paid off her debt!”
***
Leaving the bewildered loan sharks behind, Anais took a deep breath of the fresh outside air. The spring breeze, which she hadn’t noticed until today, seemed to wrap around her entire body with a newfound sweetness.
From the moment she was drawn into this mess by her distant cousin, Lady Valerie, until now, she had endured the ridiculous increase of her debt from 5,000 pennies to 4,000 pounds. She felt a surge of pride at having survived such an ordeal.
‘I need to write a letter to Lady Valerie and tell her she no longer needs to feel guilty.’
When Anais had suddenly become an orphan, it was Lady Valerie who had reached out to help. A distant relative whom even the Brienne household staff barely knew, Lady Valerie had been the only one to come when she heard of the Count and Countess’s passing.
In the early days, Anais had managed to keep herself together thanks to Lady Valerie staying at the estate to help with the household. Though not all of her advice had led to good outcomes, it had kept Anais going.
Is this what it feels like to be reborn?
Anais smiled contentedly, but soon after, her shoulders slumped. One worry had been lifted, only for another to take its place.
Though she had severed ties with the dreadful moneylenders, another entanglement clung to her like a lingering debt.
“Anais Brienne, you’ve crossed a river you can’t return from now.”
Anais muttered to herself, as if giving herself a warning. The 4,000 pounds were no longer in her hands, and she now had to fulfill the task that was worth that amount.
“I’ll make it happen. The marriage. Without fail.”
Max Barbier. I’ll make sure he gets married!
Yes. There’s no reason I can’t do it. Anais repeatedly steeled her resolve as she emerged from the dark alleyway.
***
Sigh.
Anais let out a deep sigh, as if the ground beneath her would give way. She had been holed up in her office at the salon for three hours now. Her butler watched from a few steps away, concern evident in his gaze.
“Miss, is something troubling you?”
For a moment, Anais almost opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself.
“Remember this: no one, especially the Bastien Marquisate, should ever find out that we’re involved in this.”
Ugh. I can’t talk to anyone about this.
The butler, with a dark expression, asked again.
“Miss, is this about the debt?”
“No, we’ve paid off the 4,000 pounds. But now I have to deal with inheriting the title, and that’s a whole new headache…”
“What? How on earth did you manage to pay off that debt? Miss! You didn’t take out another loan to cover it, did you?”
“No, nothing like that! It was just… a good opportunity came up. Do you trust me, butler?”
“…….”
Anais waved off the butler’s ominous question, but his half-lidded eyes seemed to say he didn’t quite believe her.
“Never mind that. Could you bring me some tea?”
“Miss…”
“It’s not something to worry about! Butler, could you also bring some cookies?”
The butler lingered next to her, wanting to inquire further, but Anaïs didn’t give him a glance, focusing instead on the imminent difficulties with Max and Roxanne.
“Ugh!”
Max Barbier and Roxanne de Bastian.
Their standards are high. No, of course their standards are high. But why in the world is it Roxanne de Bastian? Thinking of these two polar opposites—darkness and light—just made everything seem even more unclear.
‘Aren’t they too different from each other?’
At first glance, Max and Roxanne had absolutely no common points. And even more so on the inside. Usually, having shared interests or similar personalities is essential for good conversation, isn’t it?
Anaïs lightly patted her cheeks with her hands. Let’s think about this calmly. Let’s list it out on paper.
‘They must have at least one common point, apart from having two eyes, one nose, and one mouth!’
Anaïs unfolded a cream-colored sheet of paper and boldly picked up her pen.
“……”
The pen, having hovered in the air for a while, ended up dripping useless ink. Anaïs eventually put down the pen without writing a single word.
“There’s absolutely no common ground, no common ground at all.”
