A Ruthless Repayment

“Tch!”

Hearing the disturbance, Claire’s face instantly darkened.

“What are they doing here at a time like this? How bothersome.”

“Gus, can’t you handle them for me and direct them to the consortium’s office?”

“I’m afraid not, Miss,” Gus replied, wiping sweat from his brow. “One of them is quite loud, insisting she’s a noble. She demands to be received by you personally, claiming the Lopital and Krieg families are old acquaintances. She says if you don’t see her, it means you look down on the Lopital family…”

“Hmph, as if the Lopital family still holds any value,” Claire scoffed, gritting her teeth with an expression of utter disdain.

Just then, a sharp shriek suddenly echoed from outside the collection room door.

“Let go of me! I demand to see Lady Krieg!”

“You lowly servants, how dare you grab my arm?! Release me at once!”

“You let them in?” Claire glared fiercely at her butler. “Gus, you disappoint me greatly.”

“My deepest apologies…”

“Never mind. Since she’s already found her way inside…”

Claire took a deep breath, then swiftly altered her expression, turning to Seraphina with an infinitely gentle gaze, as soft as a spring breeze.

“Seraphina… please forgive me,” she said, taking Seraphina’s hand. “We have some pests in the house that I need to deal with…”

“Of course, my esteemed Lady,” Seraphina replied.

“Oh, I keep telling you, don’t be so formal with me~” Claire said, reluctantly releasing Seraphina’s hands. “I’ll be quick, truly quick~”

Then, she turned, her expression shifting seamlessly like a seasoned actress, becoming chillingly cold once more.

“Let her in!” she clapped her hands, raising her voice to issue the command towards the door.

The very next second after the command was given, a face incredibly familiar to Seraphina appeared outside the door.

‘Oh my heavens…’

Gazing at the face she had once seen day in and day out, Seraphina felt a profound sense of unreality.

‘It’s actually her…’

Ailur Bernoulli.

The moment Seraphina heard the name “Lopital,” she had already guessed the identity of the intruder.

However, she had initially expected it to be Avril. She never imagined that Ailur, bearing the Bernoulli surname, would be the one to burst into the room.

“Release my arm, you wretches!”

This haughty noble, this fierce scout, was now being restrained like a common criminal. Several footmen held her arms and pressed her head down, escorting her before Claire as if she were a prisoner.

“Kindly hold your tongue, Miss Lopital!” Gus fumed, his voice sharp with reprimand. “The esteemed Miss Krieg has shown great mercy by deigning to see you! Speak your piece quickly!”

“Ah! Aaaah!” Hearing Claire’s presence directly before her, the hysteria on Ailur’s face vanished instantly.

“Lady Krieg! Oh no, Lord Krieg! I am profoundly relieved to see you looking so radiant…”

“Your greeting is rather clumsy. Spare me the details,” Claire said, her expression one of utter impatience as she looked at the fawning Ailur before her.

“State your business quickly! I don’t have all day to waste on you!”

“Ah, yes, yes!”

Ailur, who had been so unruly moments before, now acted like a tail-wagging puppy in Claire’s presence.

“It’s just… I wonder if you recall, a few days ago at the bank, you happened to be there as well, and I borrowed a substantial sum from you in my personal and family name…”

“Hmm… I vaguely recall. What about it?”

“A week has passed now… and it’s the agreed-upon repayment date.”

“Hmph… What kind of loan agreement requires such quick repayment? I don’t remember that…” Claire rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Besides, for something like that, couldn’t you just go to the bank? Why bother me?”

“Uh… that’s the awkward part,” Ailur stammered, her words catching. “Do you know Miss Sevillas? Sevilya the Blessed, that is. I took that money to her…”

“I don’t have time for your rambling. Get to the point.”

“Ah, yes, yes, yes! It’s just, I was originally going to hire her to fight a BOSS… Gaaak!“

Seemingly annoyed by Ailur’s dawdling, Claire instantly lifted her high-heeled shoe and stomped it down hard on Ailur’s foot.

“I have no interest in what you did with the money,” Claire said, twisting the tip of her shoe, grinding it into Ailur’s toes. “Just tell me: can you repay the money, or not?”

“I… I can’t repay it… Eek!“

“If you can’t repay it, then you can’t. Stop with the pointless chatter.” Claire frowned, delivering another harsh kick. “Gus, fetch Miss Lopital’s loan agreement.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“Lady Krieg, I, I…”

“Silence,” Claire interjected, seizing Ailur’s hair and roughly yanking her forward. “You can’t repay your debt, and you’re still causing a ruckus in my home. Have you no shame?”

“Eek! I was wrong! I was wrong!”

The hair pulling at her scalp violently shook Ailur’s body. The excruciating pain of her scalp being yanked caused Ailur’s eyes to roll back, her vision gradually blurring.

Yet, in that daze, she saw a figure standing behind Claire, a presence more familiar to her than any other.

“Shu… Shulk!?”

Hearing her former name, Seraphina offered a faint smile and waved lightly at Ailur.

“Hello there~”

“Th-this, how is this possible!? You, you commoner, how can you be standing in the Krieg family’s manor!?”

Staring directly into Seraphina’s eyes, Ailur’s pupils trembled, and the mad-dog arrogance returned to her face.

“What’s wrong with you? Having a rabies attack?”

Observing the prisoner in her grasp steadily losing control, Claire, as if fearing a rabid dog’s bite, immediately released Ailur’s hair. She then pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and meticulously wiped her hands.

“Lady Krieg! Please listen to me!”

As if grasping a lifeline, Ailur’s previously dispirited demeanor instantly became agitated.

She abruptly lifted her head, pointing at Seraphina and shouting:

“This person, she’s a commoner! A country bumpkin from the boonies!”

“Not only that, she’s also a Bloodkin! A filthy Bloodkin!”

“Miss Krieg, please, you must quickly… Guh!?“

Mid-sentence, an incredibly potent force suddenly struck her abdomen, sending her flying straight backward.

‘Wow, such formidable strength.’

Watching Claire deliver such a swift punch to Ailur, Seraphina’s curiosity piqued. She couldn’t help but use her [All-Seeing Eye] to scan her.

Claire Krieg:

[Strength: 51], [Endurance: 30], [Health: 20], [Magic: 11]

‘Such incredible power!’

Seraphina recalled her former captain. If Avril’s strategy was to allocate all points to health, then Claire’s strategy was to maximize attack and endurance, pursuing a fragile assassin build.

‘No wonder her injuries are so severe; her health is only 20, quite similar to mine…’

“Ugh, ugh…”

Ailur, who had been sent flying by Claire, struggled to pick herself up from the ground. Suddenly, she coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

“You… what did you just say?”

“Ugh!“

Claire stepped in front of Ailur, abruptly raising her leg and striking her directly in the chin. The blow sent Ailur reeling backward, causing her to fall to the ground.

“What’s wrong with you? Is your brain addled?”

Claire planted her foot squarely on Ailur’s head.

“Firstly, her name isn’t Shulk. That’s a male name, and she is a female named Seraphina.”

“Secondly, she is a priest capable of wielding [Divine]-tier magic. It would be difficult to find another like her on the entire continent. That alone makes the word ‘common’ completely inapplicable.”

“Thirdly… are you insane? How could a Bloodkin possibly be active during the day?”

“But, but! I saw her with my own eyes, colluding with the BOSS of the Blood Manor!”

Even beaten to her knees by Claire, Ailur remained stubbornly defiant. “And! Her eyes are red!”

“Are you blind? Look up again?” Claire pointed to Seraphina’s eyes. “They are clearly black!”

‘Oh dear.’

Witnessing this utterly delightful scene, Seraphina secretly chuckled.

‘Ailur, Ailur, every single word you’ve spoken is not wrong; in fact, it’s practically the truth.’

‘But alas, right now, you are simply a mistake~’

“But, but the person I hired, she said that person was…”

“Silence!” Claire delivered another fierce kick, sending Ailur’s head slamming into the ground. “You have no right to insult my friend!”

****

Meanwhile…

“Third Miss!”

Gus, clutching a parchment, jogged over to Claire, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead.

“The contract is here.”

“According to the contract, Miss Ailur Bernoulli is unable to repay her debts, and willingly relinquishes her personal freedom, while also surrendering all family interests she possesses…”

“Oh,” Claire remarked, taking the parchment. She unfolded it, scanned its contents, then looked down at the “kneeling noble” at her feet with a surprised expression.

“So you’re not a Lopital after all, but a Bernoulli?”

“Ugh…”

“Well, never mind. What your surname is no longer matters.”

Claire lifted her foot and casually tossed the contract aside. A flash of purple light erupted, and purple flames instantly engulfed the parchment, incinerating the entire document into ash.

Concurrently—

“Ah! Ah!”

Ailur let out a cry of agony.

“Didn’t you just call Seraphina a commoner?” Claire said to Ailur without turning her head. “Now, you are the commoner.”

“No, you are even lower than a commoner… a s*ave!”

“No, don’t!” Ailur’s face turned stark white, and she instantly erupted into a wail of desperate defiance. “Lady Krieg! I beg you! Please give me another chance!”

“Silence!”

The moment Claire’s voice rang out, it acted like a constraint, and Ailur’s cries abruptly ceased.

“So noisy, spouting such nonsense. Truly disgusting…”

“Still… your hand-feel… oh, no, your foot-feel, was quite comfortable. You might just make an adequate footrest.”

“Hey, hey, Seraphina?”

Without any warning, Claire suddenly turned to Seraphina, her previous coldness vanishing as she offered a bright smile.

“Weren’t you dissatisfied with those previous gifts?”

“How about… I give you this ‘footrest’ as a present?”