“This is absurd…! How could this happen…!”
Inside the resplendent carriage, Baron Bjor shouted.
Today was finally the day to conclude the monster beast hunt and begin the first step in swallowing up the Evergarden family and their territory in earnest.
Baron Bjor had been using the money he lent to Count Evergarden as an excuse to conduct monster beast trading within the territory, threatening them to bring the Count family completely under his control.
Baron Bjor still remembers.
About 21 years ago, when the previous head of the Evergarden Count family was still in charge.
He was invited to a party held to celebrate the engagement of Dariann Evergarden, the Count family’s third son. He headed to the Evergarden Count family with his parents and siblings, who were the head of his family.
And there, Baron Bjor had a fateful encounter.
Freya Evergarden.
The fourth daughter of the Lyndra baronial family, she was a figure whose white hair was very striking.
From the moment he saw her smiling brightly like a white lily in bloom, her image was forever etched deeply into Baron Bjor’s heart.
Love? It wasn’t love.
It was a kind of twisted possessiveness and lust.
But she was promised in marriage to the Count family’s third son.
As a non-heir from a baronial family, he couldn’t possibly claim her.
But Baron Bjor couldn’t give up.
From that day on, Baron Bjor began mixing small amounts of poison into his father’s meals, and one by one, he disposed of his brothers in accidental incidents, seizing the position of the baronial family’s head stained with blood.
He thought that if he became the head of the family, he could somehow manage to get his hands on the wife of the Count family’s third son.
But what do you know?
Just like him, Dariann also rose to the position of heir and became the head of the Count family.
The result was the same, but the difference was that Dariann hadn’t intended it.
Therefore, even within the Count family, there wasn’t even a rumor that ‘perhaps Dariann did it on purpose?’
Because Dariann was a moron.
Anyway, Bjor was frustrated, but he didn’t give up.
Although he became the head of a baronial family and Dariann became the head of a Count family, Bjor steadily visited the Evergarden territory and was able to become close with the Count couple.
As time passed, the Count couple had children.
Even after giving birth to two children, Freya’s charm hadn’t disappeared.
Rather, her more mature figure (especially her breasts) and the unique allure of a married woman flowed out, making Bjor drool even more.
Bjor was persistent, and he encouraged Dariann and Freya’s vanity (Bjor himself knew very well that Freya’s head was an empty can), causing them to incur debt.
And coincidentally, his backing found a suitable place for monster beast trading, and his suggestion to manage the Evergarden territory himself and use it as the location was accepted.
Now, all that was left was to catch the monster beasts and then go to the territory, using the debt as an excuse to swallow up the Evergarden family.
The plan was going smoothly.
He was even surprised when he heard that the Boreas family, the ruler of the North, was on his side as well.
Under the protection of the Boreas family, he successfully hunted monster beasts and captured baby monster beasts without incident.
After that, all he had to do was come back down and head to the Evergarden territory.
But this mess had happened.
While Baron Bjor was in the North, many things had occurred.
That was because the Elixir developed by the Evergarden family was, to put it simply, amazing.
“Just by drinking it, Magical Power and stamina are restored….. and there are no side effects? How could such an absurd thing come out!?”
Even though Baron Bjor had no talent for magic, he was still a graduate of the academy.
Therefore, even if he didn’t want to, he couldn’t help but know how outstanding the value of that Elixir was.
While he was capturing baby monster beasts in the North, the capital of the empire was already buzzing with stories of the Evergarden family.
The enormous value of the Elixir.
Thanks to that, it had become difficult to recklessly touch the Evergarden family.
So much so that his backing had even told him to look for a family other than the Evergarden family.
However, Baron Bjor persistently persuaded them.
“How…! How can I give up this opportunity…!!”
He couldn’t give up.
Just one step.
If he took just one more step forward, he would finally be able to grasp those coveted breasts in his hands.
“Damn it…! Damn it…!”
As he entered the Evergarden territory and looked out the window, Baron Bjor constantly spewed out harsh words.
Because the Evergarden territory, which had been like a rural village when he lent them money and left in the past, had developed tremendously.
The chaotic and dirty streets were neatly paved, and newly built buildings were lined up in a row.
There were many jobs, the income was good, and the tax rate had been greatly reduced.
Wherever you went, the territory residents praised the Evergarden Count couple, and in the taverns, the heroic tales of Felix Evergarden and Rosaria Evergarden, the eldest children of the Evergarden Count family, flowed from the mouths of the excited musicians and the hands playing the instruments.
The people were full of energy, and the faces of the merchants were full of smiles.
The more that happened, the more Baron Bjor’s face rotted away.
“Hmph… still, if they’ve put so much effort into managing the territory, they won’t have the money to pay off the debt right away.”
“First, I’ll use that as an excuse to coax them somehow! It’s not over yet.”
Still, Baron Bjor had hope.
As the territory developed and the lords became more affluent, the territory owner’s vault would inevitably be empty.
Originally, medieval nobles were the kind of people who competed to see whose vault was fuller, and the more impoverished the territory residents were, the fuller their own vault would be.
Therefore, he judged that the Evergarden Count family would not have the capacity to pay off the debt they owed him right away.
So, he thought that if he pretended to be benevolent and gave them a grace period for the debt, and at the same time brought up the story of the monster beasts, they would definitely fall for it.
“Once I get the stamp on the contract, it’s over…!”
No matter how well the territory was doing, in the end, if the monster beast trade was approved, it would all work out somehow.
As cold sweat flowed, the carriage carrying Baron Bjor, who was wearing a bitter smile, continued to head towards the Count family’s mansion.
“Oh my~ Baron Bjor~ It’s been a while~”
“It has been a while? How have you been?”
“Y-you, you two…!? H-how did all that…?”
Baron Bjor’s eyes widened at the sight of the couple he saw upon visiting the mansion.
Because from their simple clothes to their entire bodies, they were dangling with resplendent jewels and brooches.
‘T-they definitely shouldn’t have any money…? How did they buy all that…!?’
Unlike Baron Bjor, who had expected that they themselves would be quite poor due to the territory development, the various jewels they were wearing and adorning were enough to pay off at least a third of the debt they owed him.
“Oh, the reason I came to see you today is…”
“Ah, right, dear. Baron Bjor, you know. The money! You lent us money, right?”
“Ah… did I? I didn’t know because I don’t remember very well. Hey! Butler!”
“Yes, you called?”
“How much money did we borrow from Baron Bjor?”
“Yes. The principal is 1.72 million dinars, and the interest is 8.79 million dinars… for a total of 10.51 million dinars.”
Gordon faithfully answered Dariann’s question and told him the total amount of the debt.
A whopping debt of 1.72 million in principal and 8.79 million in interest, which was no different from a usurious loan.
In Korean currency alone, it was 15 billion won.
Moreover, the interest had increased even more from the amount they had confirmed when their family first possessed this body.
‘Still… there’s no way they can pay off that much money all at once—’
“What? Is that all? Hahaha! This friend here? Did you come running all the way here to get that small change?”
“…Yes?”
“Hey, Butler. Bring that money and bring it here.”
“Understood.”
“….Yes?!”
But even after hearing that amount, Dariann snorted and treated it like small change, and immediately told Gordon to bring the money.
‘It’s a bluff. It’s definitely a bluff…! There’s no way they can pay that much money all at once—’
“Here is a check worth 10.51 million dinars.”
“A-ah…? N-no… ch… what?”
As if to shatter the dreams of Baron Bjor, who was turning his happiness circuit while thinking that even that appearance was a
bluff, Gordon immediately handed over a check with an enormous number written on it.
“A check from the Imperial Bank..?!”
Bjor was shocked that the Evergarden family not only paid that amount but also presented a check.
In order to use a check in the Empire, you had to deposit at least 10 million dinars in the bank in advance.
Even he was still using platinum coins instead of using checks, so he couldn’t help but be surprised that the Evergarden family,
whom he thought had no money, suddenly paid with a check.
‘It’s certain…! This is genuine…! It’s really a check from the Imperial Bank…!’
Bjor checked to see if it was fake, but the check he received was definitely genuine.
“Master. Now that we’ve paid off the debt, the IOU…”
“Ah, that’s right… that’s right… that IOU? IOU? Anyway, bring that.”
“….Yes.”
“Huh?”
While Baron Bjor was in shock at the check, a document stating that the debt had been completely paid off was drawn up so that he couldn’t even change his words later, and now he was in a situation where he couldn’t back out.
“E-excuse me… how did you earn so much money…”
“Ohoho! That’s because the Elixir that our eldest son made was s~o good, that there are people who want to buy it in advance even
before we sell it yet, you know?”
“I raised a son well! Hahahaha!!!”
“…..”
Crack-
‘That damn Elixir…! Elixir…! That damn eldest son…!’
Following that, Bjor, who learned that all that wealth was thanks to the Elixir made by Felix Evergarden (most of the world knows it that way), trembled with anger, wriggling his invisible hands under the table.
With the last method he believed in blocked, Bjor’s mind was on the verge of breaking.
“Still, it’s good to have a lot of money. Don’t you think?”
“Of course~ I want to buy a new dress to wear to this year’s New Year’s party~”
“By the way, Bjor. Do you… happen to know about that?”
“…Yes?”
“Monster beasts, I mean monster beasts!”
“Monster beasts… you mean?”
“Yeah! I heard it’s famous among wealthy nobles these days? They say you have to have at least one monster beast to be a real noble.”
“……”
“….Yes! Yes yes!!! That’s right!!! That’s right!!!”
“What? What’s wrong?”
‘This is an opportunity! This is an opportunity!!’
Just when he thought the sky had fallen, a hole to emerge from appeared before his eyes.
He was going to bring up the story of the monster beasts through threats and persuasion due to the debt, but rather, they brought up the story of the monster beasts.
“…Ahem, excuse me… are you two… interested in monster beasts?”
“Of course! If you’re a successful noble, you have to have at least one! I! I, the head of the Evergarden Count family, can’t fall behind!”
“That’s right! You can’t fall behind. I also have a cute puppy, but I don’t have a monster beast, so I wanted to have one!”
“Haha, I understand! These days, nobles tame at least one monster beast.”
‘You stupid fools, you’re digging your own graves!’
“But…if we get caught, it’s over, and there’s no way to get it anywhere…tsk…”
“I’m so sad, honey…I wanted to have one of those demon beasts…”
“Um…if you’re interested in demon beasts…I have a good story for you…”
“Really?!”
‘Hehehe…finally, I can make that bitch mine…!’
With those thoughts, Bjor inwardly mocked the foolish Count and Countess, his eyes fixed on Freya’s chest.
His mind was already vividly painting the lewd acts that would take place in the bedroom with Freya after he had Dariann’s head chopped off.