Chapter 244: Aim For Zero-Debt Fiscal Policy!!
Chapter 244: Aim For Zero-Debt Fiscal Policy!!
[A/N: At the end of every month, I’ll be mentioning the Top 3 Golden Ticket donators and the Top 5 Power Stone donators in the Author’s Note! Thank you all for the support! ❤️]She was completely hooked. This woman would buy any anti-aging scam without hesitation.
The baron finally gave up. He glared at me with pure venom and whispered low enough for only me to hear:
"You think you can just toy with me? This isn’t over! I’ll make you regret it! Forever!"
He looked like a dark-street boss who’d just been exposed. So this is the real face behind the noble mask. That’s why he’d dragged the previous ambassador into gambling until the debt snowballed—because he couldn’t resist the thrill of being in control.
From now on I planned to meet the baroness alone and avoid the baron as much as possible.
—-
After leaving the von Kirchhoff estate, we headed to the second-biggest debtor—Baron Mine, the future baron’s family. I ran the exact same sales pitch, but the results were completely different.
The future baron was in his early thirties, still young. His wife was even younger—early twenties, maybe late teens? I could barely tell. Is this even legal? I wondered. A guy in his thirties marrying a girl who looks like a teenager? Isn’t that...?
The young baron was surprisingly easy to talk to. He had a weak, almost timid air. When I mentioned I wanted to greet his wife, he looked a little reluctant but eventually nodded and let me in. His voice was soft, almost mumbled. He didn’t have the villainous face of Baron von Kirchhoff. He looked like a decent young man. Maybe he’s just one of the baron’s hangers-on? Did the baron tell him to lend some money too?
Since I doubted a teenage girl would be able to pay sixty gold coins, I switched tactics and called her mother instead—the current baron’s wife. She came out looking around thirty-five. What the hell is going on in this house?! I thought. If the son is in his early thirties, his mother should be pushing fifty, right? But she looked almost exactly the same age as him. Maybe it was the same age bracket? I’d expected her to refuse a medicine that promised rejuvenation, but she actually listened. I told her the same story I’d told the baroness and the sale ended in triumph.
The young baron’s face turned completely blue beside me. He’s the one who set me up and now he’s paying sixty gold coins.Good for you, haha! I thought. At least I’d get the debt money. No getting out of it.
When I said "sixty gold coins," the baroness barely flinched, but the son and his wife both opened their eyes wide. Kids are supposed to obey their parents, I thought. Having something hidden from them isn’t healthy. I didn’t say whose fault it was, but the whole thing felt wrong.
I’d been puzzled about their ages for a while. On the way back in the carriage, Rudolf explained:
"The baroness is the second wife, and she’s only a few years older than the young baron. That explains why she looks so young."