How I Ended Up Becoming the Imperial Princess While Trying to Pay Off an Illegal Loan - Chapter 28

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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028.
* * *
“Masked figures controlling Monsters and launching an assault?”
Theodore held the letter Brent had sent, and his mind grew heavy.
“My retainers are all skilled and reliable, and Tamia was old enough to come to the capital.”
He’d never imagined the estate could be attacked like this. And masked assailants at that—it meant someone had deliberately set their sights on Arderain Manor.
“Now that Tamia has a husband, perhaps I should return to Arderain County?”
But to entrust Tamia to Leon… it had only been a year of marriage.
His worries circled back to where they’d begun.
“Hmm, what am I to do……”
Just then, a visitor arrived at the house.
“Lord Arderain, are you in?”
Theodore quickly hid the letter and went to the door himself.
“Who might you—ah!”
Theodore’s face went pale. It was the man who had demanded payment of one thousand Der immediately, threatening to seize Arderain Manor if he refused.
“The Principal should be down to seven thousand Der by now—why has he come already?”
“Ah, well, the Principal remains quite substantial. Let me see… you still owe fifteen thousand Der.”
“What, what did you say? That can’t be right!”
“Come now, aren’t you curious why? This should explain everything!”
The man pulled a Contract from his pocket with a casual air.
It was the very Contract Theodore had signed when he’d arranged financing for the Town House purchase.
“You see here—the Interest rate is listed as 3.3%, yes?”
“Yes! Exactly—if it’s 3.3% per month, the Interest should only be about a thousand Der…!”
“Per month, you say? Where exactly does it say that?”
“…?!”
Theodore snatched the Contract from the man’s hands and let out something between a cry and a shout.
“What, what, what—3.3% per week?!”
“You signed it yourself, Lord Arderain.”
“You fraud! What kind of usurer collects Interest by the week?!”
“Yes, and you agreed to it.”
Theodore’s jaw fell slack, and he could not close it. Then the man dealt his killing blow.
“Moreover, there are additional charges.”
“What, what charges are those?”
“An Appraisal Fee to verify the currency you brought is genuine, compensation for extending your repayment period by one month after the loan, and so forth……”
A torrent of appalling terms poured from the man’s lips.
“This is, this is utterly absurd……”
“You should have read the Contract more carefully. At any rate, bring me a thousand Der in Interest every week.”
The man smirked and vanished as quickly as he’d arrived.
Theodore collapsed where he stood, overwhelmed.
“Just Interest alone—a thousand Der every week—what on earth am I to do……”
“Husband! What in heaven’s name is wrong?”
Grita dropped her needlework and rushed out to steady Theodore.
“The Interest, the Interest……”
“What about the Interest?”
“Uhh, ah……”
As Theodore stammered helplessly, Tamia’s party arrived.
As always, Tamia leapt from the carriage before it had fully stopped—then gasped when she saw her father sitting on the ground.
“Father! I’ve come—no, Father! Why are you sitting down like that?”
“The Lord Arderain?”
Leon descended from the carriage and hurried over.
“Fortunate timing, Sword Master! Please, help me steady him.”
As Tamia and Leon each took one of Theodore’s arms, he was hoisted up as though they were plucking a radish from the ground.
“Tamia, and Your Highness……”
Only then did Theodore find his voice, and he looked at them both with a thoroughly pitiful expression.
“They demand a thousand Der in Interest every week—what am I to do……”
“A thousand Der? By the week?”
‘This goes beyond mere usury—it’s outright brigandage.’
Leon’s face hardened swiftly at this rate that so far exceeded lawful bounds.
“May I see the Contract?”
“Of course. I’ve kept it safely in the Study.”
“Come along, then.”
Leon and Tamia hauled Theodore up bodily and carried him toward the study.
Theodore dropped into a chair with a thump and opened a drawer to retrieve the contract.
“Here it is.”
“Mm.”
Leon took the document and immediately spotted loopholes scattered throughout.
‘They’ve written “interest” absurdly small so you’d miss it. And they shouldn’t be collecting an appraisal fee at all, yet here it is……’
With the Empire’s finest lawyer, he could have nullified the entire contract.
‘And this company……’
Credit Imperial Capital.
A firm he’d never heard of. Leon resolved to investigate the company thoroughly later and handed the contract back.
“For now, forget about the principal. Just pay off the interest steadily.”
Leon intended to keep careful watch on the company before eventually bankrupting it and overturning the contract altogether.
And he meant to recover every last Der of the excess interest paid.
‘Of course, I could bankrupt them immediately, but first I need to understand why Duke Dupont orchestrated this in the first place.’
“But, Your Highness, if we only pay interest steadily, the Arderain house may well collapse.”
“Besides, Leon, my personal stipend is barely three thousand Der a month. I’d need at least another thousand Der monthly just to manage……”
The swollen sum seemed to have thrown Tamia’s family into something like panic.
“Tamia, you’ll be receiving a salary from the Griffin Squad too.”
“Oh? How much?”
“I promised you higher pay than the squad commander, so it should come to at least a thousand Der a month, yes?”
“Eek!!!”
“But that’s not all.”
Leon smiled meaningfully.
“There’s more money coming to me?”
Tamia asked him, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
“There’s the hazard pay for field assignments I mentioned before, and the Large-Type Monster subjugation bonus is quite substantial.”
“How much?”
“Five thousand Der, since you took that one down alone.”
“……!”
Tamia bounced to her feet and seized Leon’s sleeve, tugging urgently.
“Next time a Large-Type Monster shows up, I’m hunting it solo, no matter what! Or—should we tour the entire Empire searching for Large-Type Monsters?”
“Sword Master, you’ve been so generous to us, I don’t know what to say.”
Grita pressed her hand to her heart, thanking Leon over and over.
“Without Your Highness, our house would have collapsed long ago. I’m truly grateful.”
“Well, if that’s the case, I do have a favor to ask of you.”
“What would that be?”
“Hire the man I recommend as your gardener. I’ll cover his salary, so don’t worry about it.”
“That’s hardly an inconvenience at all. We shall do as you ask.”
“And don’t inquire into his past under any circumstances. Can you manage that?”
“You can count on us!”
Theodore nodded repeatedly.
* * *
When Tamia returned to the Imperial Palace, she seemed weighed down by thought.
“Is something troubling you?”
“Hm? No.”
Tamia smiled faintly before confessing to Leon.
“I didn’t realize interest could be so much. I should’ve paid proper attention when Mother tried to teach me economics.”
“That company is the abnormal one. Most banks operate at perfectly reasonable interest rates.”
“Really?”
Tamia’s face brightened for an instant, then darkened again.
“But we did borrow from Imperial…… anyway, we borrowed from them, so we have to keep paying that interest, don’t we?”
“That’s right.”
“We only borrowed thirty thousand Der, yet I have to pay back so much more. It’s so unfair!”
Leon found himself amused at hearing Tamia use the word “only” for thirty thousand Der.
“Anyway, Leon—should we set out searching for Large-Type Monsters?”
“That won’t work. Large-Type Monsters don’t appear on demand like that. You know that.”
“Ugh…… Then are there any requests that have come to the Griffin Squad?”
“Not yet.”
“When do you think the requests will arrive?”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Tsk!”
Tamia shot up from her seat.
“If we sit around waiting for commissions, we’ll drive ourselves straight into bankruptcy! Leon, we need to go out and hunt monsters.”
“Hunt monsters?”
“Remember the Dress I wore at the wedding?”
Leon nodded, his expression reluctant.
“There’s actually a story behind that Dress.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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