Chapter 75

As Lino blinked silently, holding the bankbook, Grondil kindly pointed to the deposit history printed inside and explained.

‘I used Limone Bank, the universal bank across the continent. From now on, the interest and principal repayments from the Haklan family will be deposited into this account. See here, this month’s repayment has just arrived.’

Despite Grondil’s explanation, Lino couldn’t understand. Why did this man open an account in his name, and why were the principal and interest owed by the Haklan family being deposited there?

So he asked. Perhaps because he was carrying Grondil’s child, the Beast’s attitude toward him had become significantly gentler.

Truthfully, aside from in bed, Grondil had never treated Lino roughly, but… how to describe it? The atmosphere between them felt much more intimate now.

‘Let’s call it alimony or compensation. You suffered a lot because of the Baron, didn’t you?’

Alimony.

Lino nodded. If it was alimony, he certainly deserved it. It wasn’t just a day or two of suffering; toward the end, they were planning to sell him off to someone in Isberg regardless of his own wishes.

However, he needed to clear up one nagging concern. The monthly repayment amount was staggering. What do they have to do to earn this much money? Won’t they end up crippled or dead after a month or two of this? Baron Haklan… well, he wasn’t even a baron anymore, so Ovel Lun Haklan, Iscazel Noth Haklan, and the woman whose name he couldn’t even remember who used to be the Baroness. Even if all three worked their fingers to the bone, this amount was impossible to meet.

Though they had lived under the same roof, there had never been any positive interaction, so he felt not a shred of affection for them. However, if they were severely injured or killed while trying to earn the money deposited into his account… that would make him uncomfortable. So he asked if they were doing dangerous work, or if there was any risk of them being severely injured or killed.

—‘Ah, that. You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve made sure they can’t die even if they want to. If they want to die, they can only do so after the entire principal and interest have been fully deposited into your account.’

How on earth… could someone possibly enforce that? Even if the three of them worked like dogs for the rest of their lives, it seemed impossible to repay even the principal. Were the extended branches of the Haklan family forced to participate in repaying the debt? I doubt it.

Pulling his head away from the vibrating wall, Lino shook off the useless worries. Lord Grondil will handle it well. Even if I care, I can’t reduce their principal or interest.

You reap what you sow.

Sipping the fruit juice placed before him through a straw, Lino surveyed his surroundings.

‘They really know how to party sickeningly hard. Don’t they ever get tired?’

He hadn’t been here for even an hour, yet he desperately wanted to escape. The noise vibrating through his entire body couldn’t possibly be good for the babies in his belly. I don’t have any close friends or even acquaintances here, so why do I have to stay?

Sighing and preparing to stand up, Lino’s eyes caught sight of an awkwardly sized banner hanging at the club’s entrance.

[Farewell Party for Lino Cliff, the Pride of the Order of St. Margia]

Ah, I want to burn everything to the ground.

That was his immediate thought the moment he saw the banner. The only reason it was hanging there was because, without it, this gathering would look exactly like a degenerate meeting of men completely consumed by debauchery, rather than Lino Cliff’s farewell party.

He kept telling himself, ‘They came all this way to see me, I should at least stay for a few hours before leaving,’ but—

“Booze! Bring more booze!”

“We don’t have an even number over here! Bring someone over, man or woman, it doesn’t matter!”

—Listening to these drunken demands made him feel like his ears were rotting, intensifying his desperate urge to leave immediately. 

Let’s just leave. 

Making up his mind, Lino shot up from his seat. He sucked down the last drops of his fruit juice. Popping a single ice cube into his mouth and crunching it loudly, he squeezed through the swarming crowd toward the exit. There was no need to announce his departure. He had merely lent his name to an unhinged, debauched bender for knights who had been locked away training deep in the mountains.

“Oh, excuse me!”

“?”

Having dodged the crowd to finally reach the exit, someone grabbed Lino’s shoulder. They called out, ‘Excuse me,’ but the hand grabbing his shoulder was faster than the greeting. It was rude physical contact.

Turning around, a neatly dressed man stood before Lino. Judging by his frame, which was larger than Lino’s, and his shortly cropped hair, he looked more like a career soldier than a holy knight.

“Can I help you?”