I Became the Keeper of a Suspicious Forest - Chapter 86

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 86

“….”

The silent Lord’s study.

Even though they were meeting their daughter who had returned home after a long time, the Lord and Lady couldn’t even look her in the eyes.

The Lord and Lady sat on the study sofa with their backs straight, hands quietly folded on their knees like children waiting to be punished.

They looked exactly like people waiting to receive punishment.

“Have you been well?”

Ponia, sitting across from them, said nothing else and only asked about their well-being.

That was even more terrifying.

The Lady spoke cautiously.

“We didn’t even know where you went, so how could we have been well? We couldn’t sleep from worry and anxiously waited only for news of you.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course, our daughter.”

“Your complexion seems much brighter than when I last saw you though.”

Ponia examined the Lady’s clothing.

“You’re also wearing a dress I haven’t seen before.”

The Lady reflexively glanced toward the wardrobe where her dresses were kept.

It seemed like Ponia might go to her wardrobe at any moment and confiscate all the dresses.

However, Ponia shifted her gaze to look at the Lord.

“Father, you’ve been well too, haven’t you?”

“Huh? Me? Well, as always, I’ve been doing we… I haven’t.”

The Lady’s foot lightly nudged the Lord’s foot. He quickly changed his words.

Ponia asked casually.

“How are your recent business investments going?”

“Ah, right! I made a friend at a banquet recently, and that friend was really a good person.”

“And then?”

“It turns out that friend is in trade. He said he’s going to import and sell good silk cheaply from another kingdom this time, so I’m thinking of investing too.”

“Oh, how much?”

“He originally said it would cost about 3000 gold, but he said I could invest just 2000 gold without overextending myself. Isn’t he really kind?”

“Wow, 2000 gold! With that money, it would be much better to just give it to the territory’s people!”

When Ponia smiled, the Lord didn’t understand the meaning behind her words and laughed along, until the Lady called his attention and he grasped the situation.

He had fallen for leading questions.

However, Ponia surprisingly answered readily.

“Well, since you haven’t invested yet, it’s fine.”

“….”

“You won’t do it, right?”

“Y-yes, of course.”

The Lord answered under subtle pressure.

The Lord was always swayed by what people around him said, and that applied to Ponia as well.

He was grateful that Ponia wasn’t yelling or scolding him as usual.

Ponia was already practically the head of the household in the manor. And Kustin was her aide.

However, the couple didn’t realize that Ponia had let them off easy today because they weren’t her target.

Ponia reassured them and brought up today’s main topic.

“Where did Albio go?”

That bastard who deserves to be chewed up and spat out.

Both parents froze completely.

“Yes? Mother, Father.”

Ponia used a gentle voice, but everyone knew it was nothing more than a deception.

“Albio, well… He’s been receiving heir training lately, and maybe because he’s under a lot of stress, he’s been going out frequently.”

“Right, how hard it must be for him too. He’s not doing anything strange, so don’t worry about your sibling and how about having dinner first.”

The Lady and Lord spoke in turn.

However, Ponia’s eyes couldn’t be fooled.

Extremely awkward smiles, unstable eye contact, trembling voices!

Her parents were lying.

Her heart, which had already grown cold, felt like it was freezing.

Her parents already knew about the trouble Albio had caused.

And yet they were protecting Albio from her.

‘And I’m the villain again, aren’t I?’

“It’s nothing new, but you two are really still the same as ever.”

For over a year, she had harbored some hope.

Perhaps due to her absence, her family might have recognized the hardships she had endured and come to their senses, no longer causing trouble.

Through Kustin’s letters, she had learned that such a thing hadn’t happened, but she still held onto that hope.

And Ponia confirmed what she had expected all along.

‘What’s the point of being surprised. It’s fine.’

We’re family, after all.

Family matters were her responsibility. Handling situations like this was naturally what family should do.

However, she didn’t feel as motivated as before.

Perhaps it was because she was thinking about cleaning up messes after such a long time, when suddenly the door burst open.

“Mother, Father! I’m here!”

It was the voice of Albio Harbel, whom Ponia had been desperately waiting for.

Albio approached, seeing the horrified expressions on the Lord and Lady’s faces. He failed to notice Lady’s gestures frantically signaling him to leave immediately.

He didn’t recognize the red hair of Ponia, who sat across from his parents with her back to him.

That was understandable, since Albio had been drinking heavily since the night before and was still intoxicated.

“Hmm? Who is this guest?”

The Lord shook his head, but there was no way Albio would understand.

Albio finally looked at the guest’s face.

“…Si, Sister?”

“It’s been a while, my sibling.”

Even though his mind was numbed by alcohol, Albio’s survival instincts kicked in. He immediately tried to leave, but Kustin blocked the doorway.

“Move aside, Kustin!”

“Seeing you try to run away like this, you do seem to know you’ve done something wrong.”

Ponia grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

Ponia carefully observed her sibling’s appearance.

The room reeked of alcohol from how much he had been drinking, and his hair was greasy.

His beard was unkempt, and the shirt he wore, ignoring his weight gain, looked ready to burst at any moment.

Who would see him as Ponia’s sibling with only a 6-year age difference?

“You’ve been going to parties lately, haven’t you?”

“Huh? That’s right! I have so many heir lessons to take, so I’ve been going to them for a change of pace when I have time.”

“Hey.”

There it was.

Albio abandoned all hope.

That ominously sinister voice.

It wasn’t a voice that could come from Ponia with her high-pitched tone.

When Ponia uttered that single word, it meant she was truly furious to the core.

“You’ve been gambling.”

Albio squeezed his eyes shut. He desperately wished he could lose consciousness right then and there.

Ponia had once thought to herself.

Even though Father repeatedly failed at business investments, even though Mother indulged in excessive luxury, even though Albio remained immature and put her through trials.

At least they weren’t doing other strange things.

Like the secretive private lives or gambling entertainment that nobles commonly engaged in.

But now, Albio Harbel was apparently doing just that.

Gambling, no less.

“You’ve lost a total of 2000 gold there. And you still haven’t repaid the 1000 gold debt you owe.”

“I’ll recover that quickly and pay it back! So please, just forgive me this once!”

With terrified Albio before her, Ponia looked around the room.

Albio was horrified and tried to escape from Ponia’s grasp.

She was looking for a weapon to hit him with. He had to get out of the room immediately.

Just then, Kustin stepped in front of him.

“Kustin!”

Albio looked at him as if seeing a savior.

If Kustin spoke well for him, Ponia would quickly cool her anger.

However, Kustin, the faithful butler of the Lord’s family—no, faithful to Ponia—held out the thick sword sheath he had been holding to her.

“Here it is.”

“Ah, thanks, Kustin.”

Feeling betrayed was a luxury.

Thwack! Thwack!

Ponia began beating him mercilessly.

“I knew you’d cause trouble someday!”

“Ahhh!”

“Your sister risked her life going to dangerous places to save the family, and you dare cause trouble?!”

“Sister! I’m sorry! I was wrong! Agh!”

“I told you so many times to become a proper person, and you became nothing but a gambler?!”

“Agh! Stop, please!”

“When I told you to quit gambling, why didn’t you listen then?”

Head, chest, back, legs—Ponia beat him thoroughly, and no one stopped her.

Especially Kustin, who rarely showed personal emotions, couldn’t wipe the subtle smile from his lips.

It felt like all the pent-up frustration was disappearing in real time.

With a small regret that he should have prepared an iron rod instead of a sword sheath, Kustin raised a private toast to the young lady’s return.

* * *

“What should we do?”

Ponia looked at Kustin anxiously.

Her parents had hurriedly left with Albio, whose face was swollen all over.

Kustin wrote down numbers and held them out to her.

“The young master owes 500 gold. With compound interest of 20% per month. Since he borrowed the money four months ago.”

Kustin wrote down the numbers.

“Even after paying back 1000 gold, we still owe about 36 more gold.”

It was double the principal.

Ponia held her head in her hands.

“How did that bastard bring that much money to the party hall? It’s not like you gave it to him, Kustin.”

“He borrowed money from other young nobles first, using the excuse that he was the next heir to the Lord’s family.”

“Cunning little shit.”

Ponia looked at the documents despairingly.

There was nowhere to get the money. The family’s budget was already being used for essential needs in the territory.

At least with father’s investment scam, there were people to get money back from, but Albio had incurred this debt entirely on his own.

Moreover, she had no motivation to find money for a gambling addict.

Where could she possibly get that much money right away?

Having thought that far, Ponia suddenly raised her head.

“Kustin.”

“Yes.”

“I can pay back that money.”

Why hadn’t she thought of that?

The job posting that had offered a whopping 20,000 gold as compensation.

Ponia was the recipient of that compensation.

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