Chapter 14
“This is a scam!”
A fraudulent marriage, or whatever it was—he was screaming that he had to get his money.
Even though Finn Schneider was shouting his lungs out in front of me, none of that really mattered.
It just didn’t feel real yet.
Especially as I stared at the not-so-large house now swarming with naval officers.
So I’m supposed to be a witness in all this…?
I sat next to Johannes Schultz, facing Finn Schneider and Favid across from us.
To say it was uncomfortable would be an understatement.
Getting questioned as a witness about your fiancé right after receiving a proposal? Not exactly romantic.
“You’ll lose everything anyway once the Duke takes it all back! And yet you proposed? That’s beyond shocking!”
Finn Schneider kept yelling, even throwing threats at Duke Schultz.
“I’ll report everything during the formal investigation. This whole situation is a sham!”
“Why do you think this is a sham marriage?”
“Well, because…!”
“I don’t exactly look like the kind of man who’d waste a fortune for someone I don’t even know.”
“To the Duke of Schultz, it’s not a fortune!”
Schultz’s eyes narrowed as he stared at him.
Only then did Finn Schneider fall silent, seemingly realizing how serious things were.
“Loan company: Banuks. Known to work in pairs, mostly targeting women who are alone.”
Johannes Schultz finally spoke, breaking the silence. As he straightened his posture in the chair, even I felt the weight of his presence.
“They alter old contracts cleverly.”
Finn Schneider remained silent with his head down, lips sealed. Instead, Sir Pratt answered.
“Yes. Typically, they pair a likable man to gain trust and a thug like Favid to intimidate.”
“A likable man?”
Duke Schultz glanced between Finn and Favid with a look that clearly said, “Seriously? Which one?”
“They try to lower the target’s guard. Though I didn’t expect the company president himself to pose as the manager.”
Sir Pratt muttered as if disgusted. “Maybe he wanted to save on payroll costs.”
He added, “Still, Miss Prim seems to have low standards. That man doesn’t look ‘likable’ at all.”
“Agreed,” Duke Schultz said briefly.
I flailed my hands, flustered. “It’s not like that! He just… seemed nice. His attitude was polite…”
“Most criminals appear likable. Though, these two certainly aren’t,” Sir Pratt quipped mischievously.
Then, he began closely inspecting the worn promissory note.
“The smell’s almost gone. I’ll need a closer look, but…”
I swallowed hard.
“The method is simple. They use special ink—extracted from a shiny coal mined in Chakrassan.”
Sir Pratt pulled a fountain pen from his coat, then opened a vial handed to him by a sailor. A peculiar smell stung my nose.
“First, write using this special ink. When heat is applied, the writing disappears. Perfect for forgery.”
He dipped the pen in the ink and wrote on a paper. At first, everything looked fine.
But when he applied heat with a lighter, the letters began vanishing. The naval officers—and I—stared wide-eyed.
“Then, you overwrite the erased spot with normal ink…”
There was no trace of tampering. It looked like that’s how it had been written from the start.
“Impressive, right?” Sir Pratt said proudly, looking at Duke Schultz like a puppy begging for praise.
“A clear case of fraud. And human trafficking, no less. You’ll be getting a long sentence,” the Duke replied dryly.
Sir Pratt looked pleased, as if he took that as a compliment.
“You got proof I used that ink?!”
Finn Schneider’s desperate shout echoed in the room.
Technically, he had a point.
Even if he did use special ink, the evidence had evaporated—literally.
But Sir Pratt ignored him and continued.
“An interest rate of 50%? Ridiculous. Even without a legal cap, there’s an unwritten rule in the market: never go beyond 24%. Anything more is unethical.”
Then he pulled out a small vial with a dropper—containing clear liquid.
He dropped the liquid onto the promissory note, and red markings started to appear.
“Looks like someone forgot something important.”
“…”
“There are even signs of alteration.”
At the end of the digit ‘5’, a red stroke appeared, making it look like ‘6’, changing 50% to 60%.
“This proves the use of special ink. When exposed to acidic solutions, the hidden ink becomes visible. The original interest was probably 10%.”
“Then…”
“It means Miss Prim’s father repaid both the principal and the interest.”
Sir Pratt clicked his tongue with feigned sympathy, though his mint-colored eyes sparkled with delight. Even his smile curved with charm.
Duke Schultz remained composed, though his tone grew a bit more biting.
“To think they made a business out of this filth.”
“Well, about that…”
“Don’t tell me this was your first time.”
“N-no!”
All eyes turned to the burly man—Favid, who had been nervously watching Finn this whole time.
Wiping cold sweat, he started spilling everything in a panic, as if trying to save himself.
They used the Chakrassan ink to forge promissory notes, stored “repaid” ones separately, and once the women were alone, they scammed them.
“We’ve already gathered all the evidence and got a confession. It’s ready for court,” Sir Pratt said, slapping the table with a loud thud and grinning.
“How many women have you sold, you bastard?”
“Ugh…”
Finn glared at Favid like he wanted to kill him—as if this downfall was all his fault.
But mindful of Duke Schultz, he didn’t dare act out.
“What now?”
At Sir Pratt’s neutral question, I looked at Duke Schultz.
“Please… Just don’t let my father find out. I’ll cooperate with anything—anything!”
Finn Schneider finally broke down, tears streaming down his face.
But I felt no sympathy. He deceived me, stole my house, and tried to sell me off.
With a gracious expression, Duke Schultz spoke as if bestowing great mercy.
“Well, you must pay a price matching your crime. Something even lower than a dog deserves punishment.”
Then, with a nod to Sir Pratt, he rose from his seat without hesitation.
“We should go now.”
He extended his hand toward me in an impeccably gentlemanly gesture.
Startled, I stared at his large hand, then remembered I’d accepted his proposal. I quickly reached out.
Right now, it was important to look like a convincing couple in front of everyone.
“The house…”
“Pratt will clean it up.”
“Me?”
Sir Pratt looked confused, as if hearing this for the first time. But Duke Schultz paid him no mind.
“…Yes, of course.”
With a grumbling tone, Sir Pratt walked away, addressing Finn Schneider.
“His Excellency Duke Schultz—no, Colonel—intends to hand you over to the capital’s police bureau. Maybe you’ll even get a Citizen’s Courage Award. Is there a Colonel’s Courage Award? I want an Excellent Assistant Award…”
I could almost picture his smug face.
Outside, the navy had set up a perimeter.
Crowds had gathered. A moment ago, they had all ignored me and run away. Now they stared.
It left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Mrs. Pensler seemed to have woken up from the commotion. She spotted me and shouted.
“Edith! Edith!”
Her plump hands waved above the crowd.
I tried to go to her, but Duke Schultz stopped me. I looked up at him, confused. His lips, usually firm, parted.
“Not the best timing. Let’s head back to the mansion first.”
He glanced around.
“This isn’t the most pleasant scene.”
True. All eyes were on him.
Even camera shutters clicked faintly among the onlookers.
“Oh.”
Johannes Schultz was officially missing, wasn’t he?
“Wait—this is because of me?”
“No.”
He answered dryly, turning his blue eyes away.
“No more hiding. A bit earlier than planned, but not a bad situation.”
He said something cryptic, then escorted me to the waiting carriage. It bore the navy emblem.
Before boarding, I looked back at Mrs. Pensler and offered a silent, apologetic nod. She looked confused but nodded in return.
“Take care.”
Holding his hand, I climbed into the carriage.
Once seated across from me, Duke Schultz knocked on the carriage wall. The coachman called out for people to move, and the crowd reluctantly made way.
Neither of us spoke.
The carriage vibrated with a strange tension as it rolled forward…
