Chapter 4
“W-What the—! You scared me half to death!”
I was so startled that my real tone slipped out.
At my scream-like outburst, Linus just shrugged.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded.
“And what about you, Count?” he shot back coolly.
Linus’s sharp gaze fell on me.
It was obvious he had witnessed everything that had just happened inside the building.
I glanced at Edward; he must have come to the same conclusion because he nodded quietly in agreement.
Damn it.
“I had some business here,” I said brazenly.
Linus began walking toward me slowly. His expression was unreadable—almost frightening.
It happened to be sunset, and the reddish light cast a shadow over Linus’s beautiful face.
‘Wow… like a painting,’ I thought before slapping my cheeks. Get it together.
Right now, that man was the most dangerous and harmful person to me.
“You assigned someone to spy on me,” Linus said.
I glared at Edward.
It was my silent way of saying, You had one job.
Edward, looking even more irritated than me, scribbled something furiously on his notepad.
I began rambling nonsense, pretending to be nonchalant.
“I dislike Viscount Winston. So I followed Your Highness, thinking I might uncover some dirt on him.”
“Hah… You’re saying you tailed me to catch my uncle’s weakness? And you expect me to believe that?”
“What if you don’t?”
I asked because I was genuinely curious, but Linus looked at me like I was absurd.
I shrugged, playing along.
“There’s a saying—‘The enemy of my enemy is my ally.’”
Edward quietly informed me that no such saying existed in this world.
Fine. Maybe it doesn’t. Edward’s too kind.
I ignored him and continued,
“Then what about Your Highness? What were you doing here?”
“I was attacked. I believe they’re affiliated with the Ordo Guild, so I was observing them.”
So the Ordo assassins hadn’t even managed to lay a finger on Linus.
He really must be as skilled as rumored.
Even the capital’s elite assassins couldn’t kidnap a single man and ended up being tracked down instead.
“You seem to get attacked every time I see you, Your Highness,” I remarked.
Linus said nothing—perhaps because he had no retort.
At this rate, maybe I really should just protect him myself.
Then it hit me—
That might actually be a perfect plan.
Would anyone suspect that the one guarding him was actually the culprit who’d stolen his “heart”?
Only the real, now-dead Count Edute knew that truth.
“Would you like to stay at my estate? I’ll protect you from anyone targeting you.”
“It seems the Count has lost her mind,” Linus replied icily, turning his back on me.
Well, no need to humiliate me that much.
Feeling awkward, I scratched the back of my head. Edward met my eyes, and I shrugged.
Too bad. Worth a try.
Count Edute had managed to amass great wealth in a short time for two reasons.
First, by secretly selling Linus’s heart to a neighboring country for a massive fortune.
And second, by taking control of the LeMandinus merchant guilds and building an extensive intelligence network.
He also collaborated with every kind of shady organization—assassin guilds, thief guilds, you name it—never hesitating to use them if there was money to be made.
The Izak Merchant Guild, run by a man named Bilter, was no exception.
Bilter worked tirelessly to be Count Edute’s most loyal dog.
Now, sitting across from me, he looked pathetic.
He was supposedly in his thirties, yet already balding, his face slick with grease, and his narrow eyes darting over me in a way that made my skin crawl.
His vest strained dangerously over his obese belly, and I found myself watching the buttons wobble precariously.
Was it that late already?
When the button on his stomach popped off and hit my forehead, that meant it was time to wrap up the meeting.
Sure enough, ping!
The button flew and smacked me right on the forehead.
Bilter, sweating profusely, bowed his head, his usual signal that he was done groveling.
Honestly, all his clothes were tailor-made—why did he insist on wearing vests so tight that the buttons kept flying off?
Was he doing this just to mess with me?
I rubbed my forehead and glared at him. Under my icy stare, he stammered nervously.
“Then, about establishing the Edute Bank…”
He pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat. I picked up the fallen button and flicked it away in irritation, looking back at him.
The tea on the table in front of me had long gone cold.
Not that I would’ve drunk it anyway. Who knows what Bilter might’ve put in it? He was competent—but definitely not trustworthy.
It was safer for both of us not to trust each other.
“The Izak Bank already handles currency exchange, doesn’t it?” I began. “But limiting it to that seems wasteful. Let’s integrate it under a new name—Edute Bank. You’ll be its president.”
I intentionally mentioned Izak’s existing institution to make my point.
Acquiring and expanding Izak Bank would be efficient—it would bring in its existing clients too.
I glanced at the stack of documents messily spread before him.
They were the ones I had given him a few days ago, now smudged and yellowed from frequent handling.
“A-Amazing! The Count truly has a nose for money! How can you be so sharp about financial matters?”
I ignored his useless flattery and raised a hand without looking back.
My secretary, Angela, immediately understood and handed me another document.
I threw it onto the table.
“A contract. Read it carefully. Don’t come whining later.”
As shady as Bilter was, he was the best person for handling money efficiently. That’s why I kept dealing with him.
“L-Loaning war funds? What is this…?”
Bilter’s face turned pale as he read.
“The reason I’m creating Edute Bank,” I explained, “is for transfers and loans between deposit accounts. We’ll open branches across regions so anyone can withdraw cash from anywhere.”
Given how underdeveloped communications were, transfer speeds would be slow—but better than nothing.
What I really needed the loan system for was to reclaim Linus’s heart.
The real Count Edute had sold it to the Kingdom of Verodi.
When I requested they return it, they, of course, flatly refused.
So after much thought, I came to a conclusion—
I’d help their enemy, the Kingdom of Elrot, win the ongoing war.
I’d loan Elrot war funds, and in return, demand Linus’s heart from Verodi. That was my first plan.
And while I was at it, I’d make a fortune.
Money was the ultimate truth of life—the best thing in the world. Nothing beat money.
“There’s a war in the southern region of the Western Continent, right? It’s been five years now. Smaller nations like Elrot must be suffering from financial strain. We’ll lend them ‘war funds’—and once we do, we’ll monopolize the financial market from the south upward.”
“Why not start the banking business here in our own country first…?” Bilter asked weakly.
“This business relies on credit and trust,” I replied. “Building that takes time and effort. But if we deal with a country desperate for money, we can skip that part. Desperation makes for easy clients.”
Bilter gasped in admiration.
It was the first time I’d seen him genuinely interested.
There were already banks with similar roles, like Izak’s.
But none had a systematic financial network like the Edute Bank I envisioned.
The Izak Bank mainly handled currency exchange for travelers, coin storage, and issuing promissory notes.
They did lend money privately, but it wasn’t organized—and they had never financed a noble house or royal family.
So the idea of such a small-scale bank suddenly loaning war funds was bound to tempt him.
Besides, my plan couldn’t fail.
I knew the future.
I knew exactly where to invest, where profit would flow.
Even if the story changed and the future shifted, it didn’t matter.
With Edute’s information network, creating a Plan B would be easy.
“We’ll start there,” I said. “This country—LeMandinus—will be last. In the end, we’ll dominate the entire continent’s finance.”
Bilter’s eyes gleamed with greed. The idea of becoming the president of Edute Bank thrilled him beyond measure.
I stood, looking down at him.
“While I’m dealing with Elrot, make sure our foundation here in LeMandinus is solid. Convincing the merchant guilds is your job. I’ll make them our first clients—their funds circulate faster and wider than any noble’s.”
“Leave the merchant guilds to me, Count!” he said eagerly.
I smiled faintly and waved him off.
That was exactly why I’d brought him in—he had considerable influence among the guilds.
“Good. I’m counting on you. Now, I’ll take my leave.”
I gave a brief farewell and hurried out of the office toward the guild’s entrance before the staff could swarm me.
Unfortunately, my hopes were crushed when Bilter and his employees rushed after me and bowed deeply.
“Safe travels, Count!”
And so, once again, I left the Izak Guild being treated like some kind of mob boss.
Ugh, I hate this!
How embarrassing!
