‘The world is in turmoil.’
Even after his secretary left, Lucent could not escape his deep contemplation.
Lowly gypsies ran racetracks and amassed great wealth, while an old noble family like Count Hapen’s fell into ruin—such things had become common.
In the aftermath, the world’s order was shaking, and a redistribution of wealth was taking place.
On the surface, it seemed that with enough money, status could be reversed.
Even so, the evil custom of dividing and classifying people remained unchanged.
Lucent firmly believed in the philosophers’ theory that a person’s social position was proven not by bloodline but by sweat.
‘Regrettably……. Even if you placed first on the theory exam, that does not grant you admission to the Imperial University. One must be worthy of the reputation of the finest university.’
Long ago, they had not only given him humiliation.
They had also taught him the answer in a thoroughly humiliating way.
Therefore, Lucent wanted to become not merely someone with a lot of money, but a perfect member of the upper class, recognized by the people of the world.
To do that, he needed someone who could fill the void in him.
Soon, the person who came to mind was Aeplin von Hapen.
She was the Crown Prince’s longtime lover, and a perfect lady whose family, beauty, intellect, and reputation in high society were all flawless.
In his life, it was the first time he had taken an interest in a person—especially a woman—and felt desire.
Ever since Lucent learned of Aeplin’s existence, he had desired her fiercely.
From experience, success was never obtained for free, so he had lent Count Hapen 6 billion sallings at low interest.
Not only that, even when the interest was overdue for a year, he had not pressed him.
‘I have gone to such lengths, so it would be a shame if she did not appreciate it.’
Just then, as if to break Lucent’s thoughts, his office door burst open roughly, and a familiar noise made the atmosphere turn hostile.
They were the ones who regularly reminded him of his inferiority.
“Brother!”
“Son!”
‘Damn it……!’
Lucent’s mother and younger sister stormed in.
He had told them not to come to the bank, but his mother came holding a bottle of liquor, and his sister, who had not long been married, came with her face a wreck.
The mother and daughter saw Lucent and wailed at the top of their lungs.
His sister even threw herself onto the sofa and pounded her fists without hesitation.
“Why is your face like that?”
“My husband hit me. I’m telling you, he’s the worst scoundrel in the world.”
Her makeup was smeared with tears, her hair was disheveled, and Lucent’s temples throbbed.
“You knew what kind of man he was when you married him.”
“I loved him, but he was a good-for-nothing. He didn’t come home for days, so I sent people to find him, and in the meantime, he’d taken a mistress. The two of them were completely naked doing that. So I grabbed the mistress by the hair, and my husband did this to me.”
“What happened to you, Mother?”
“Son, I’ve been scammed and humiliated. Those wretched women!”
His mother Monica gulped down liquor straight from the bottle and poured out her troubles.
She had spent a huge sum to join the gatherings of the capital’s upper-class ladies, but they kept putting her off and would not let her join, so she sat on the floor and kicked her limbs.
“Baroness Camus said that if I paid 100 million sallings, I could definitely join the Rubelr Ladies’ Society, but do you know what she said to me just now? She said the other noble ladies are opposed because a former courtesan like me lowers their class. And I even hosted parties with my own money…….”
Lucent clutched his forehead with his hand.
It was not the first time his mother and sister had complained, but his head throbbed just the same.
His mother and sister wore dresses far more expensive than any noblewoman’s and adorned themselves with every kind of jewel, but that splendor did not hide their vulgarity—it only made it more conspicuous.
No, the more brilliant the shell, the more easily the empty interior showed.
“Hoo—”
Lucent rose from his seat and walked over to the two.
“Mother, what shall I do for you? Marie, shall I divorce him for you, or shall I kill your husband?”
* * *
Aeplin was beside herself trying to devise a plan with Attorney Edmon.
Her mother Lilien had collapsed from the shock, so she was the only one who could resolve this matter.
Aeplin met with relatives and visited every large and small bank in the capital without exception.
But the results were utterly miserable.
‘You must have collateral worth 3 billion sallings.’
‘Is an unsecured loan impossible?’
‘It is possible, but the head of the family must apply in person.’
It meant she could not obtain a loan.
Aeplin had always thought the capital, Lount, was as beautiful as a landscape painting.
But for the first time, the whole world looked like a world of ash with not a single ray of light.
“Why? Is there no solution at all, my lady?”
Her maid Laurel muttered as if about to burst into tears.
“For now, that is so.”
“What if you asked His Highness the Crown Prince for help?”
“Laurel, one must distinguish between public and private matters.”
No one knew yet.
The fact that her relationship with the Crown Prince had ended at the party that closed out the year.
Aeplin did not want to think of Serge for even a single second in this situation.
Just then, Attorney Edmon spoke in a gloomy tone.
“My lady, there are ten days left. And this arrived yesterday.”
Edmon took a black-and-white photograph from his breast pocket and handed it to Aeplin.
She swallowed dryly without realizing it and checked the photo.
“……?!”
It was a photograph of her father Marcel bound with ropes, with the Senebaron rebels aiming their gun barrels at him from both sides.
Aeplin felt as though the blood in her veins was turning cold.
She trembled, and then shuddered.
Even when she had only heard the news, she had trembled with fear, but now that she was seeing the tragedy with her own eyes, her body and soul were consumed by terror.
A scream surged up to her throat, and she barely held back the tears that were about to burst out.
It felt as though if she collapsed here, she would never be able to rise again…….
“Edmon, is there no other way…… to save Father?”
Aeplin asked in a trembling voice.
“There is. But it depends on your choice, my lady.”
“This does not seem like a situation where I have a choice.”
Even as she answered, her mind was flooded with the cruel things that would come after her father’s death.
“There is Lucent Credit Bank.”
“That is the bank where Father has already taken out a huge loan.”
* * *
Aeplin arrived at Queens Street, the busiest street in the capital, Lount.
She stepped down from the carriage and looked up at the Lucent Bank building.
The five-story main building, built of the finest marble, had enormous Corinthian columns on its facade, and every wall was engraved with intricate gold leaf decorations and delicate sculptures.
[We will become a single ray of light for customers in hardship.]
Just looking at the inscription engraved on the marble cornerstone in front of the bank building, it was hard to believe that this was Lucent Credit Bank, notorious for its high interest rates.
‘I did not want to come here…….’
“Lady Aeplin von Hapen?”
As Leon, who had been standing in front of the building, approached with a gentle smile, Attorney Edmon stepped forward.
“I am Edmon Mirtley, attorney for the Hapen count family.”
“Ah, you are the one who contacted me in advance? I am Leon Shammers, the bank president’s secretary.”
Even in the brief moment the two exchanged polite greetings, Aeplin’s tension only grew.
In the end, she had come here.
Her father had borrowed a staggering 6 billion sallings, putting up not only his entire fortune but also her mother’s inheritance from her maternal family as collateral.
Leon, in a neat suit with a company badge, approached Aeplin and greeted her politely.
Meeting an employee here was different from what she had imagined, and it was disconcerting.
The Blackakson family, owners of Lucent Credit Bank, had a very poor reputation.
There were widespread rumors that the bank president’s father had been a villain who made his money by trafficking weapons.
Even if that were true, what did it matter?
The image of her father in the photograph was vivid in Aeplin’s mind.
“One moment, please.”
Aeplin asked Leon for a moment and then looked at Laurel with a straight posture.
“Laurel, check if anything is disheveled.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Though the fire was at her own feet, she did not want to be frightened and flustered.
She knew well that now was not the time to tremble and weep, but the time to act as rationally as possible.
