I Won’t Pick Up The T*ash I Threw Away Again - Chapter 11

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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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#11

The man who had been walking while gripping the girl’s hair suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He turned to look at me with an irritated expression.

After looking me up and down thoroughly, the man waved his hand dismissively as if annoyed.

“From the looks of it, you seem to be some noble young lady, so don’t get involved unnecessarily and just go on your way.”

“How dare that ruffian speak to…!”

When Sara flared up at the insolent man’s attitude, I raised my hand to calm her down.

“What are you doing right now?”

“What am I doing? I’m collecting a debt.”

Though the man was clearly annoyed, he obediently answered my question.

“These kids had the audacity to borrow money and haven’t paid it back for over 6 months. So wouldn’t I be angry? Or wouldn’t I?”

“Of course you’d be angry.”

“Right? As expected, a well-educated young lady knows what’s what.”

At my answer, the man laughed triumphantly, and the girl who had been looking at me like a savior hung her head low.

“Isn’t there a saying that if you don’t have money, you pay with your body? I’m taking them to collect payment with their bodies, just like that wise saying.”

“You’re planning to sell the child to a brothel.”

“Well, that’s one method among others.”

Unable to brazenly say yes, the man swallowed his words awkwardly.

“How much money do these children owe?”

“Why? Are you going to pay it back for them, young lady?”

Here, most noble young ladies would have shouted that they’d pay it back instead, but I had no such intention.

“No. Why should I do that?”

When I answered coldly, the man scratched his head awkwardly.

“Then why are you asking?”

“I was just curious. Is that not allowed?”

“It’s not that it’s not allowed… Well, there’s nothing I can’t tell you. It’s 500 gold total.”

Considering that a commoner family of four’s monthly living expenses were around 10 gold, it was quite a lot of money.

To think these children had borrowed such a large sum.

When I looked at the girl in surprise, she raised the veins on her neck and shouted.

“That’s not true! The money I first borrowed was 30 gold! But suddenly they’re telling me to pay back 500 gold!”

“It’s interest, interest. If you borrow money, it’s natural to pay back the interest too, isn’t it?”

“Interest…”

She borrowed 30 gold, but after 6 months it became 500 gold…

“You’re saying the interest rate is 60 percent?”

At my words, the man looked at me in great panic.

“The maximum interest rate for lending businesses set by the Empire is 30 percent.”

I continued speaking while looking straight into the man’s wavering eyes.

“You took a whole 30 percent more than that?”

“No, there are reasons for all that…”

Unlike his confident demeanor from before, his voice trembled. The man couldn’t even look me in the eye properly.

“Enough.”

Since I had no intention of listening to whatever the man had to say, I cut him off firmly.

There was no reason to listen anyway.

“Make your excuses in court. They’ll render judgment for you.”

“No, taking such a trivial matter to court…”

“Or shall I render judgment for you?”

I spread out the fan I was holding so the man could see it clearly and continued speaking.

“Breaking imperial law, committing fraud against a child, and even being insolent to me, a noble.”

The Williot Duchy’s crest was prominently engraved on the fan.

Whether he recognized the crest, the man’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s.

“Adding it all up, it would come to at least a thousand gold.”

“Wh-what kind of ridiculous… D-don’t try to swindle me!”

“Ah, you even used informal speech with me, so that’s an additional fine.”

At my words, the man’s pupils shook even more violently.

That’s what he gets—why did he use informal speech when he saw the crest? They say when your head is bad, your body suffers, and those words fit perfectly.

“And you told me not to swindle you? Shall we bet on whether what I said is a swindle or not?”

I covered my mouth with the open fan and smiled gently.

“If the amount comes out to less than what I stated, I’ll pay not only the money these children borrowed but all the fines as well.”

“…”

“How about it. Will you take the bet?”

At my words, the man hesitated and quickly surveyed my surroundings.

He was so fast I could almost hear his eyeballs rolling.

“…For a noble young lady to be walking around without even a guard knight.”

Having confirmed there were no guard knights or onlookers, the man’s eyes flashed wickedly.

The man threw the girl’s hair aside and drew the dagger he had at his waist.

“You’re fearless. Do you know what’s going to happen to you?”

“Isn’t it more about what you’re trying to do to me?”

“You haven’t just lost your fear—you’ve lost all sense of danger.”

The man let out a short battle cry and charged toward me.

Sara screamed softly and clung tightly to my back.

In contrast, I looked at the man with calm eyes.

I had been worried he might take the girl’s or child’s life hostage and threaten me, but he was charging at me instead.

‘That’s fortunate for me.’

I folded the fan I had spread open, and just as I was about to block the dagger the man was swinging—

Clang—

A sword suddenly shot out from behind and blocked the dagger.

“…?”

With a sharp cracking sound, the dagger the ruffian was holding fell to the ground.

The sword that had shot out didn’t stop there and struck the ruffian.

If it had been the blade, a terrible scene would have unfolded, but fortunately it was the back of the sword, so it ended with just the man falling backward.

“Be grateful it’s in front of a lady.”

Still, I was equally startled, so I was blinking and staring at the ruffian when someone appeared beside me.

I turned my head to check who it was.

“Otherwise your head would have flown off.”

Even though I was wearing low-heeled shoes, the man was so tall I had to crane my neck up to see him.

His blue hair, reminiscent of the ocean, was attractive.

His shoulders were appropriately broad, and his appearance was handsome like a sculpture someone had carefully crafted.

Overall he was a handsome man, but what caught the eye most were his pupils that sparkled transparently like sapphires.

Beautiful. Without realizing it, I stared intently at the man’s eyes.

Perhaps sensing my gaze, the man turned to look at me.

Soon his blue eyes curved prettily. His lips formed an arc as they smoothly lifted upward.

“Ah.”

Only then coming to my senses, I startled and bowed my head.

I’m crazy. To stare intently at a strange man’s face like that.

My face heated up hotly. When I covered my face with my fan and hung my head low, the man lifted the corners of his mouth smoothly and smiled mischievously.

“You bastard!”

The ruffian who had been looking for an opportunity immediately pounced when the man was distracted.

“Watch out…!”

Before I could finish shouting in alarm, the man’s hand moved first.

The man struck the ruffian’s face with the hilt of his sword.

“Gah!”

Blood gushed out of the ruffian’s nose like a fountain, as if his nasal bone had been broken.

The dagger the ruffian dropped from the shock went flying as the man kicked it away.

The ruffian clutched his nose and staggered backward.

“Are you going to attack again?”

The man pointed the tip of his sword blade toward the ruffian and smiled coldly.

“Then I’ll use this part to cut your throat.”

At the chilling threat, the ruffian hesitated before running away without looking back.

His awkward fleeing figure was so pathetic that I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Puhaha! Serves you right!”

Sara openly mocked the ruffian.

Once the ruffian completely disappeared from view, the man sheathed his sword in the scabbard at his waist and turned to look at me.

All his movements were as natural as flowing water, yet elegant.

Even with the same etiquette education, some people act unnaturally while others act as naturally as if they were born to it—this man was the latter.

The man seemed to be born with innate nobility.

In other words, he was no ordinary person in terms of status.

I could tell just by looking at the clothes he was wearing.

Could he be the heir of House Ballen?

I had never seen him before, but I knew that the heir of House Ballen was around my age.

This man also looked to be around my age, so it was quite possible.

Even if he wasn’t, it didn’t really matter.

What mattered was that this man was a noble and my benefactor.

As I was about to express my gratitude, the girl came running over, holding the child’s hand.

“Th-thank you!”

Then she bowed so deeply that her head nearly touched the ground.

“Thank you for helping us, truly thank you.”

“I only did what was natural, so you don’t need to thank me so much.”

I smiled gently and tidied up the girl’s disheveled hair.

I also wiped the dirt from her face.

“I don’t know what you needed money for, but using loan sharks is extremely dangerous. Something like what just happened might occur again, so never use them in the future.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you so much, miss.”

The girl and child bowed repeatedly before quickly disappearing.

Should I just let them go? I was worried that the ruffian from earlier might harm the children.

I should tell the guards about this on my way back.

“Having a warm heart is good, but your actions just now were quite reckless.”

As I was thinking this while watching the children grow distant, the man’s words made me turn to look at him.

“If I hadn’t been here, you would have suffered terrible things at the hands of that ruffian.”

“I don’t understand why you’re so certain of that.”

When I replied somewhat curtly, the man looked at me as if surprised.

Curiosity flickered in his blue eyes.

“Then are you saying that’s not the case?”

“Yes. Even if you hadn’t stepped in, I could have protected myself.”

“That’s remarkable confidence.”

“Because I truly have confidence.”

At my repeated words, the man narrowed his eyes languidly and smiled.

That expression was mysteriously beautiful like a fairy, yet strangely decadent.

I never knew there could be such a beautiful man in this world.

Without adding any lies, I thought this man was even prettier than Sisly.

Yet he didn’t give off any weak impression at all.

Rather, the man was strong and imposing. It was like looking at a beautiful beast of prey.

“If it’s not rude to ask, may I inquire how you planned to deal with that ruffian?”

He’s quite a curious person.

Since it wasn’t unpleasant curiosity, I answered obediently.

“With this.”

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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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