Chapter 38
“Haah!”
In a small dojo located in the territory of Duke Fred Izakhel, the sound of shouts echoed.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The sound of wooden swords clashing sounded threatening. Two people wearing protective gear were engaged in a fierce exchange. After a few rounds, the two pushed each other apart, creating distance.
“Hoo…”
“Haa…”
The dojo was filled with heavy breathing and a tense atmosphere. The two were wary of who would strike first. Eventually, the taller one made the first move.
Using his height, he extended his wooden sword over the shorter opponent’s head. But the opponent wasn’t easy. They blocked it with the side of their sword, deflecting the strike. The taller one staggered from the impact.
The opponent didn’t miss the opening.
Whack!
A satisfying sound, not the usual dull clashing of wooden swords, echoed through the dojo.
Beep!
The protective gear lit up red, signaling an alarm. It was over.
The magical protective gear slowly disappeared, revealing the face of the taller one.
“Whew, I can’t win. I surrender. I didn’t expect your swordsmanship to improve this much.”
The middle-aged man, Duke Fred Izakhel, wiped his sweat as he spoke. His opponent’s face was also revealed. Bella Izakhel’s shimmering silver hair glistened in the sunlight.
“Father, you’ve been neglecting your training. I come to the dojo every day. This is the natural result.”
Fred scratched his head at his daughter’s stern criticism.
“Ugh… You’re right. I have no excuse.”
“Then why don’t you start coming from now on? I’ll be your sparring partner.”
It had been a while since Fred last appeared at the dojo. At his daughter’s suggestion, Fred shook his head.
“No. I’m not as young as I used to be, and the gap between us has grown too wide. I won’t be of much help.”
“Hmm… That’s a shame.”
Bella shrugged. Just as she reached for the water bottle to take a drink.
“By the way, kiddo.”
“No.”
“…I haven’t even asked yet.”
“Anyway, no.”
Fred scratched his cheek as he spoke.
“Come on, can’t you ask your mom to lend me 200,000 kael?”
“…I knew it. I wondered why you came to the dojo this morning… Are you planning to go there again?”
“No. Didn’t I say I wouldn’t go back there? This time, Count Wellington said there’s a good place…”
“A good place? Sure, it must be great. Didn’t I tell you not to hang out with Count Wellington?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“Last time, you two went to the hotel casino, and I let it slide. But now you’re doing this again?”
“Don’t worry. Kiddo, casinos aren’t just about gambling. There are so many fun things there that you wouldn’t know about.”
Bella let out a deep sigh. She barely held back her curses. Then, she looked at Fred with the most pitiful eyes in the world.
“Father.”
“Hmm?”
“Please, get a grip. You still haven’t paid off the debt to Ruelberta, you know.”
“No, I’m paying it off little by little. Sometimes, I need some leisure time-”
“That’s all I have to say to you.”
“Hey, kiddo!”
Bella turned on her heel. She wanted to be anywhere but in front of Fred’s face for even a second. She walked back to the mansion without looking back even once. Then, she sank into the bathtub and lost herself in memories.
When Bella was young, Duke Fred’s gambling addiction had buried the Izakhel Ducal Family in debt. The family was on the verge of complete ruin, but the Ruelberta Family saved them.
At the time, Count William Ruelberta paid off the Izakhel Ducal Family’s debt in exchange for a portion of their territory. It was shameful for the prestigious Izakhel Ducal Family to owe money, but it was even more humiliating to borrow from a lower-ranking count.
The problem was that even after that, Duke Fred didn’t come to his senses. He sank deeper into his gambling addiction, and the debt kept growing. Eventually, even the remaining territory fell into Ruelberta’s hands. As their situation worsened, the once-lavish lifestyle of the ducal family changed. The number of servants decreased, and the artworks that decorated the mansion disappeared. People who didn’t know the situation praised the ducal family for their frugality, but in reality, they had just become poor.
“Hoo…”
In the hot water, Bella thought about it. The day the count paid off the Izakhel debt, everything of Izakhel was sold to Ruelberta. The honor, authority, and pride of the nobility were all sold. And… so was she.
After Count William’s death, Tristan, like his father, lent a large sum of money to the ducal family. It was undeniable that the Izakhel Ducal Family could maintain its existence thanks to Tristan. So, when he proposed marriage, Bella couldn’t refuse.
Perhaps, if she were still a child, she might have been happy about the engagement with Tristan. There was a time when he seemed like a prince on a white horse to her.
But after becoming a count, Tristan changed. He gained weight, started making sarcastic remarks at any time, and earned people’s resentment. He judged everything in the world by money, looked down on the poor, and enjoyed lording over them. His cold tone remained the same, but the Tristan Bella had fallen for was no longer a shining figure. The prince on her throne had become a tyrant.
The ducal family was steadily paying off the debt, but the enormous debt had grown to a level that could never be repaid in a lifetime. If Bella married Tristan, she could escape that debt. She knew that well, but she hated Tristan too much. She didn’t want to become the wife of such a villain.
Bella’s head sank into the water.
Everything was frustrating. The family buried in debt, her parents who didn’t oppose the engagement, and Tristan, who had changed. Bella had no choice but to accept the engagement, but she absolutely didn’t want to get married. So, she kept postponing the engagement, using busyness as an excuse. She didn’t want to sell her heart to him. That was her last bit of pride.
Bella consistently found faults with Tristan, asking him to cancel the engagement. Of course, he refused every time, but Bella didn’t give up. She vowed never to become that man’s possession.
But not long ago, Tristan accepted her request to cancel the engagement.
“I don’t like wasting money unnecessarily. By the same token, I don’t have enough time to invest in a hopeless love. Still… the time I spent with you was enjoyable. Thank you.”
It was strange. It was as if Tristan had known for a long time that Bella was rejecting him. Tristan gave up on her without any lingering feelings. It was a relief for Bella, but it felt oddly unsettling.
“I wanted to have you. I wanted to make you completely mine.”
“Why did you say that then…”
To make her completely his. What an arrogant thing to say. She wasn’t some object. Moreover, it was a statement that could be quite embarrassing to hear.
“……”
Her face grew hot, so Bella got out of the bathtub. If she stayed any longer, she felt like her head would spin.
Wrapping herself in a bath towel, Bella used wind magic to dry her wet hair. The droplets reflected the bathroom light, sparkling.
She looked in the mirror. A woman with shining silver hair met her eyes. It was a bit of a cliché, but Bella knew she was beautiful. She had been told she was pretty by everyone she met, so it would be stranger if she didn’t know.
Bella touched her face. Her skin felt elastic. Except for her slightly flushed cheeks from being in the bathtub for so long, everything was perfect.
When Bella left the bathroom, her hair was completely dry. She had been feeling down earlier, but now she felt good. Good enough to lie back in bed and sleep peacefully. But then, a frown appeared on her forehead.
“…Really? Dmitri.”
Her gaze fell on the doll lying on the bed. The bear doll she hugged when she couldn’t sleep, Dmitri. Specifically, the sight of its seams coming undone, with stuffing poking out.
It wasn’t a perfect morning.
