K-Eldest Daughter Possessed a Childcare Novel - Ch. 35

“W-what, ten million…!”

At Zeppelin’s response, the man stammered, coughing repeatedly in surprise.

Zeppelin watched him, speaking in a calm voice.

“Why? Is it not possible?”

“Well, it’s just that… this is the first time we’ve heard such an amount on our side…”

“Hahaha, I know everything. I know that your people have the capacity to lend ten million at once.”

“That might be true, but…”

“Look at these pearls. If I sold them to another dealer, they’d easily go for over a hundred million.”

Zeppelin’s words were true. Even if sold to a merchant, these pearls would easily fetch over a billion.

It was a given.

‘After all, these are… these are the jewels Duke Alton personally won at an auction for the duchess.’

The price that Theodore paid at the time was a staggering 600 million gold. Remembering that made even Zeppelin’s heart race.

What on earth was Belladi thinking, using the deceased duchess’ treasures this way? Zeppelin couldn’t fathom it.

But his task was clear…

‘My job is to carry out the mission my master gave me, without any questions…!’

The man, unaware of this backstory, quietly agreed with Zeppelin’s statement.

“I’ve appraised many jewels while running a pawnshop, but… this is the first time I’ve seen such high-quality items.”

“Even if I fail to repay the money, it’s a win for you. Where else can you find such jewels that can’t simply be bought with money?”

That was true as well. Typically, such top-quality jewels ended up in the hands of the nobility first.

And not just any nobility, but the highest-ranking nobles of the empire, who commoners could never even dream of encountering.

Occasionally, daring thieves would steal jewels from these high-ranking nobles, causing them to circulate through underground channels. Though such cases were rare.

Successfully stealing such jewels was one thing, but both the thief and the buyer often met grim ends.

Yet, despite knowing this, the man’s eyes gleamed with greed.

“This… won’t cause any problems for us, right?”

The man, who had managed the mercenary group’s treasury for a long time, knew the regular customer standing before him well.

The second son of the Northern Dermi Barony.

Driven by greed, he got involved in this murky business, but he was cautious and careful due to his timid nature. A man like him wouldn’t have stolen such valuable jewels without a plan.

Adding weight to his speculation, the second son—or rather, Zeppelin—nodded.

“Of course. I can’t share the details, but I’m offering these as collateral to avoid any trouble. If I wasn’t serious, I would have sold them to a dealer.”

Indeed, no matter what happened, they could claim that they simply lent the money and held onto the jewels. They could insist they knew nothing and were, in fact, victims themselves.

After a brief moment of contemplation, the man whispered to the burly guard. Listening to his whispers, the guard nodded and disappeared somewhere.

In the meantime, the man smiled at Zeppelin.

“Very well. Shall we draft the loan agreement first?”

“I like how efficient you are.”

“Speed is key for us, after all. But since the collateral is so valuable, we’ll set a higher interest rate than usual.”

“Hahaha, that’s fine.”

The man filled out two copies of the loan agreement and handed one to Zeppelin.

Zeppelin, skilled at maintaining his composure and imitating handwriting, signed the document without reading the details.

The man, seeing this, smirked greedily and handed one copy back to Zeppelin. At that moment, the burly guard returned, carrying a bag.

Thud.

When he placed the bag on the desk, a heavy sound reverberated. The man with the thin smile removed his monocle and opened the bag.

Click.

With the sound, the large bag opened, revealing a stash of gold bars.

“Since Mr. Act has a preference for gold, we prepared it this way. Would you like to verify it?”

“Hahaha, that’s not necessary. We trust each other, don’t we? And this.”

Zeppelin handed back the loan agreement he had received to the man.

“Send this to me by mail in three days. I’ll write down the address.”

“By mail, you say?”

“Yes. And since the gold bars are quite heavy, I’ll keep them in my vault for now. Here, take my key.”

Zeppelin handed over a pen he had shown to the tavern owner earlier.

The man took it and casually opened the cap. Inside was not a pen tip but a key with a complex design.

The man handed it to the burly guard with a smile.

“Indeed, it is very heavy. Understood, we’ll keep the gold bars safe, so feel free to retrieve them whenever you need.”

The burly guard took the bag filled with gold bars and the pen-key.

A man who had been waiting opened the heavy double doors. As the door creaked open, a wide room filled with neatly lined safes came into view for a moment.

Zeppelin smiled, watching as the large man opened the largest safe and stored gold bars.

‘Just as Lady Belladi said.’

Everything Zeppelin demanded had been instructed by Belladi.

As he listened to Belladi’s instructions, Zeppelin voiced one opinion.

–If I do something the Act Dermi never did, they might get suspicious.

–They won’t, will they?

Belladi smirked at Zeppelin’s words and slowly tilted her head.

–They’re probably too focused on the pearls to notice anything else. They’re just as greedy as the second son.

Indeed, Belladi’s words proved true.

Even though Zeppelin made demands that were unlike the usual second son, the man with the sly look complied without any suspicion.

He kept glancing at the box containing pearls, which was quite amusing.

‘As expected of our Lady Belladi! Her insight into people is unmatched…!’

Watching the scene, Zeppelin couldn’t help but fawn over her again.

He was eager to see the vision his master was crafting.

***

Meanwhile, Act Dermi was leisurely reviewing paperwork, like a hyena looking for an opportunity to skim some money.

Then, someone knocked on the door of Act’s temporary office.

Knock, knock.

Hearing the sound, Act, who had been rifling through the documents with greedy hands, cleared his throat and spoke.

“Come in.”

By the time he said this, his expression had already returned to an innocent look.

“Excuse me.”

The one who entered was a maid working for the Duke of Alton’s household.

She approached the desk and handed a letter to Act.

“A letter has arrived for you, Mr. Dermi.”

“He-he-he, I see.”

Act received the letter in a friendly tone.

His laugh was as warm as that of a kind village baker, causing the maid to let her guard down and smile back at him without realizing it.

“Then, I’ll take my leave.”

“Yes, thank you for delivering it.”

Once the door closed, Act was alone in the office.

He habitually stroked his moustache and smiled.

‘I really owe my father.’

Act was fond of his own face, which resembled his father’s honest expression. Thanks to this innocent look, he had been able to embezzle money without arousing any suspicion.

Of course, the harmless image built up by Baron Dermi also greatly aided Act in his embezzlement. Recently, he had even tricked an innocent young lady into a big scam.

‘And Duke Alton—honestly, entrusting the household finances to such a young, naive girl?’

That was why he could steal money right under her nose.

‘I’ll keep squeezing money from that lady for a long time.’

Just looking at the budget documents, there seemed to be plenty of gaps. So, just like with the furniture for the annex, he could quietly siphon off money bit by bit without anyone noticing his embezzlement.

Completely unaware of whose heart was truly the darkest, Act continued to mock Belladi.

‘Now, about that letter…’

Act examined the envelope the maid had left behind. The sender’s name was one he recognized.

‘This is from the mercenary group…’

Did I have any business with them?

… could there be an issue with the vault?

With a sense of foreboding, Act hastily tore open the envelope.

And the moment he read the contents inside—

“A promissory note?!”

He had no choice but to leap up. He hadn’t borrowed any money from the mercenary group recently.

Yet here was a promissory note! And the amount written was beyond his wildest expectations.

“T-ten million?!”

He checked if the promissory note had been sent to the wrong person, but no matter how he looked at it, the name written was his.

And even the signature at the bottom matched his own.

“This is ridiculous!”

Something was seriously wrong.

Act quickly put on his coat, clutching the letter tightly, and stormed out of the office. He intended to head straight to the mercenary group to get to the bottom of this.

As Act dashed out.

A shadow that had been observing the office from behind a corridor pillar stepped out.

Once Act was confirmed to have left the mansion completely, the shadow moved swiftly.

‘Just as Lady Belladi said, Act Dermi took the bait!’

–A letter will arrive for Act Dermi within a few days. Wait in front of his office, and when he leaves, notify me.

–Yes, Lady Belladi. But is there a specific reason to keep an eye on Act Dermi?

–Why? Are you questioning my orders again?

–N-no, not at all! Never!

–Just kidding.

With those words, Belladi smirked.

–When he leaves, take a good look at his face. It’ll be twisted with anger, unlike his usual calm demeanor.

Just as Belladi had predicted, Act was not his usual self.

As he rushed out of the office, his expression was so distorted that he looked like a completely different person.

‘I have to inform her immediately…!’

Thinking that, the shadow quickened his pace, but he still followed his ingrained habits of proper conduct.

This man was none other than Rover, who had become Belladi’s loyal right-hand man.