Chapter 17
“Yeah. There’s a ton of unpaid… I mean, overdue money! Once all the debt is repaid, I’ll calculate it properly.”
I shouldn’t come off as too mature.
Trying to use the simplest words possible, I smiled innocently and waved my arms up and down.
“A lot of the debt has already been repaid.”
“…?”
“I’ll be able to pay the rest off soon too, so I hope everyone comes back. It’s tough doing it all alone.”
The retainers, including Chervan, still looked bewildered.
“Grandfather is very sick, so I’ve been taking care of everything.”
“…Has Lord Wood’s condition really worsened that much?”
To the point where a seven-year-old has to take over?
—was likely the thought running through their minds.
I nodded calmly.
“Albus said there’s been improvement after he took the medicine I gave him. But he still needs absolute rest.”
“Yes… Sorry, what? Medicine the Duke gave him…?”
Chervan stared in shock, alternating his gaze between Albus and me.
The look he gave Albus screamed a thousand unspoken curses.
Are you insane?!?!
—That’s pretty much what his face said.
But Albus just scoffed proudly. His shoulders were stretched wide with confidence.
Seeing that, Chervan let out a disbelieving laugh and roughly rubbed his head with his calloused hand.
“What the hell… Has everyone lost their minds? What the hell is going on here?”
A curse finally escaped his lips.
I blinked at the strong profanity.
Albus quickly covered my ears with a pale face.
“Count Wetherby! Please watch your language in front of the young Duke!”
“What the hell are you doing?! I came because you said something about debt repayment, and now there’s this talk about medicine?!”
Of course, with how loud he was, I heard everything anyway.
“Here.”
Honestly, I thought they wouldn’t believe me. So I pulled out a piece of paper I had prepared in advance.
[Auction Winning Bid Payment]
Winning Bid: 75,500,000,000 Ld
Fee (Special Rate: 5%): 3,775,000,000 Ld
Final Amount Received: 71,725,000,000 Ld
It was a receipt with the official seal of the Merchant Guild that I’d gotten from Moneypan earlier.
It was printed with the multicolored ink used exclusively by the Guild, so there was no way they could say it was fake.
Chervan’s eyes widened at the numbers. Then he froze.
“What the… seriously?”
Another retainer nearby snatched the paper from Chervan’s hand.
He rubbed his eyes, and then suddenly splashed tea into them.
“AAARGH!!”
The tea hadn’t completely cooled, and he screamed.
“What the hell are you guys doing? Show some dignity in front of the Duke!”
Another retainer picked up the paper from the floor next to the man rolling around in pain.
Upon seeing it, he also poured tea onto his face.
I silently watched the chaos unfold.
Honestly, if I were them, I wouldn’t believe it either. Who would believe that 80% of a lifetime’s worth of debt had been cleared overnight?
Frankly, I could’ve paid off 86% of the debt with that money. But I kept 6% aside.
6%.
That’s still 4.2 billion Ld.
I urgently needed to hire contractors for mansion repairs, doctors, chefs, and other staff.
No way was I going to keep sharing a room with mice and spiders.
“U-Uhhh… uh…”
Not satisfied with just pouring tea, the third retainer rubbed his eyes until they turned bloodshot.
“Ten… hundred times… th-thousand, ten thousand times… What the—how much is this?”
His eyes red from excessive rubbing, he passed the paper to the person next to him.
“You look at it. You’re better with numbers than me. I think I’ve gone blind…”
The third retainer even started speaking in a thick rural dialect from a northern mountain village—he was that overwhelmed.
Eventually, the fourth retainer got the paper.
This is going to make its rounds through everyone, huh.
Actually, it didn’t need to.
The fifth retainer was already peeking over shoulders, unable to contain his curiosity.
“…717.25 billion Ld…?”
“Yup.”
Finally, someone properly read the number.
“A scam…?”
“It’s real.”
I smiled brightly.
“But how…”
“Hmm. I discovered this super rare diamond and put it up for auction.”
“Uh… come again?”
They all sat down in a line, their eyes red and their jaws hanging open in confusion.
And with such huge men doing that, it was honestly a little scary.
Seriously? They’re reacting this much?
Feeling a little embarrassed, I scratched my cheek.
Ahem.
As I cleared my throat, even more eyes turned toward me.
“So I was planning to repay the high-interest loans first, but it was too much for me to handle alone, so I called you all.”
“But how could that possibly—”
Someone mumbled, lips barely moving.
Should I explain it from the beginning?
I briefly summarized how I discovered the Aurora Diamond and what happened.
A hush fell over the room.
Was I too mature again?
I coughed quietly and began chewing on a cookie that Albus had brought.
“Is this… really true?”
“Yup.”
“This makes no sense… How could…”
The fourth retainer stammered, his face full of disbelief, his eyes moist.
“It’s true.”
Someone entered the drawing room.
Ah, it was my uncle.
He must have come after hearing about the retainers’ return.
Still, he looked much healthier than the last time I saw him.
“Graaaandpaaa!”
I shouted childishly and ran over to him, clinging to his leg like a koala.
He looked at me quietly for a moment, then let out a hearty laugh.
His expression was a bit strange for a second—was I imagining things?
“You sure are clingy.”
He gently patted my head with his wrinkled hand.
I beamed up at him.
Since the diamond had been sold at a high price, my uncle had clearly been more at ease.
The medicine I gave must’ve helped, too.
According to Albus, the dark red blotches covering his body were slowly starting to fade.
“It’s been a while, Lord Wood.”
“Yes, it’s been a while for all of us.”
Clinging to my uncle’s leg, I looked at the now-standing retainers.
“Everyone, sit. No need to be so stiff.”
“…It is an honor to see you again. We’re all deeply grateful for everything you’ve done for us.”
Chervan Wetherby bowed deeply.
My uncle waved his hand.
“That’s enough.”
He sat on the sofa and placed me on his lap.
“Is what she said really true?”
“Yes. So I’d like you to repay the urgent and high-interest debts first.”
“…I see.”
The retainer holding the paper still looked confused.
“Ah, but… we can’t have no money left, so I plan to save a little.”
I fidgeted with my fingers and added timidly.
That should be enough to make the retainers leave aside funds to rebuild the mansion.
Smiling, my uncle stroked my head.
The first time is hard, but the second time’s easy.
This was even easier than the first time I tried winning over my uncle in my past life.
Visiting his room every day to chat had paid off.
Anyway, this was perfect. Since everyone was gathered, I had something to say.
“And I have an announcement to make.”
I raised my hand high and smiled brightly.
The retainers, still pinching and slapping themselves as if they couldn’t believe what was happening, turned to me.
With all eyes suddenly on me, I gulped and opened my mouth.
“Can I be adopted?”
Silence.
The entire room fell dead quiet.
