Chapter 20: I Am Not Upset!

“Father!” Eli yelled.

“Eli, that's not how a lady should behave,” Count Shadowstep frowned.

Eli had had enough of playing pretend. She had to make her stand now.

“I couldn't care less about that! You knew you shouldn't have done this, right? How could you let John sell his daughter to you?!” Elidranthia shouted. Her glare fixed on her father. Even Rodrique was taken aback.

“That's not your business, my daughter. Let the adults handle it,” the count said. But his eyes wavered. He no longer held the same arrogant confidence he had before—but Eli was too angry to notice.

“How is it not my business? Alicia is my maid—the first friend I ever had! We've had a great time together, and now you're telling me she's our slave?!”

“Isn’t it good? You can be friends forever,” the count said, completely missing the point.

“I don’t want that kind of friend! What you did is illegal, Father. You must realize—enslaving mages is illegal!”

“...”

“...”

Eli didn’t break eye contact with her father. After a long silence, her father sighed.

“Lady Elidranthia,” Rodrique said, stepping forward, “you’re more mature than most kids your age, so I hope you can understand. We did all this not because we wanted to take advantage of Alicia. We wanted to protect her.”

“You lent money to that scumbag of a father so you could put Alicia into debt slavery, right? What else could it be, if not taking advantage?! That’s against the law!”

“Lady Elidranthia,” Rodrique said calmly, “John was in huge debt. Not to us—but to Duke Luca.”

“I see… so you paid her father's debt?” Elidranthia cooled slightly once she understood her father's motives. She sighed, already thinking about how she’d explain this to Alicia tonight. A little ember of fury still rages within her, but knowing that Alicia's father was not a total scumbag put her at ease.

“No. Duke Luca is a notorious loan shark. No matter how much money John had, he could never pay it off,” Rodrique explained.

“Rodrique. That’s a secret. We should tell no one about this,” Count Shadowstep said.

“My apologies, milord. But I couldn’t stand seeing Lady Elidranthia berate you without knowing the reason. I believed she was more mature… and she seemed to understand that we meant well. Also, my name is Rodrique, milord,” Rodrique added, bowing slightly.

“Hm? Why keep it a secret? How much was John’s debt anyway?”

“His debt now stands at over 1000 gold,” Rodrique said.

Eli gaped at the staggering number. That was more than a thousand years of a peasant’s wages. Even Count Shadowstep had never seen that much money.

“And it will increase by 200 gold next month. And 220 gold the month after.”

Eli felt her jaw hit the floor at Rodrique’s merciless calculation. Compound interest… This is why it was so dangerous. It sounded harmless at first, but if ignored, it spiraled beyond control.

If someone owed 1 gold with twenty percent interest, next month it would become 1.2 gold. The next month: 1.44. Then 1.72. And by the fourth month, 2.06 gold. In just four months, the debt would double.

It sounded manageable on paper—but it could grow to over a thousand gold in less than four years.

“At first, John’s wife only borrowed a single gold coin from Duke Luca. She wanted to open a bakery and patisserie. But it failed. The store went bankrupt and she couldn’t repay her debt. Well, it was a foregone conclusion. No matter how successful her bakery was, it was impossible to repay that kind of loan in just one month,” Rodrique explained coldly.

Eli was speechless. The horror of inescapable debt had wrapped around her best friend like a noose. Alicia was dragged into the deep abyss of what the world called usury.

“Then, what should we do? Wait… the one who took the debt was John’s wife, right?” Eli asked, trying to find a solution. In the USA, debt usually dies with the debtor. She knew John’s wife had passed away. Was it the same here? Was John a cosigner?

“Was there some kind of usury law? This can't be legal!”

“Yes. But only here. Usually, debts are inherited—unless one formally denounces the rights. John wanted to denounce the inheritance. Since he was under Duke Bron, he had the legal grounds to refuse the debt. With that, the debt should have died with John’s wife.”

“Good! Hmm? Then why did we lend him 150 coins?” Eli’s brow furrowed. Their statements didn’t align with what had recently happened.

“John wanted to go to the Justiciar. Do you know who the Justiciar are, Lady Elidranthia?”

“Erm… no. Are they like local guards and stewards… but in the capital?” Eli guessed. She tried to match the term with her limited understanding. She could’ve said “police” or “judges,” but that came from modern Earth. Here, matters were settled by the lord, his steward, or town hall officials.

“Well, you’re not completely wrong. Nobles must answer to higher nobles, and those higher nobles must answer to the king…” Rodrique explained.

“So, how will the Justiciar help John’s father?” Eli asked. She had only been in this world for less than a month. No matter how much she studied, she hadn’t yet mastered its politics.

“John plans to report to the Justiciar that Duke Luca trespassed into the domains of Duke Bron—and mine. John is my citizen. Here in Shadowstep, we do not accept usury. Interest may only go up to 200 percent of the initial debt over a lifetime,” Count Shadowstep stated.

“By the way, that rule came from Duke Bron. So it’s not originally ours,” Rodrique added.

"So, Duke Bron's law and Duke Luca's law clashed and John needed Justiciar to solve it."

Eli nodded and smiled. Now that she knew her father wasn’t evil, she regained her composure and etiquette.

“Good. I am honored and glad to know there is still justice in this land. If you don’t mind me speaking, I can only hope the price could be lower than 150 gold coins.”

Then, she tilted her head. “Why all the secrecy, then? Shouldn’t we strive to enact justice openly? I’m sure John isn’t the only one burdened with this kind of unreasonable debt.”

“Eli, I’m glad you are a righteous child,” Count Shadowstep said. “But we are fighting a duke here. Commoners like John and Alicia normally don’t stand a chance. It is simply because Alicia is a level 7 mage that we can pursue this. With Duke Bron’s support, we may free John from the debt.”

Technically, Alicia wasn’t a level 7 mage—she was level 8. However, the mana measurement device could only measure up to level 7. That’s why everyone mistook her level.

“I see.” Eli nodded. The realization hit her. This world didn’t run on laws like modern Earth. At least in the Althemer Empire, nobles and kings were the law.

If John and Alicia were to stand a chance, they would need the support of a more powerful noble.

“I understand. It would be best if John and Alicia could win their case and then serve Duke Bron and us, right, Father? In that case, wouldn’t it be better to waive her debt right now?”

“If we win the dispute, that money will be reimbursed by the Justiciar, and Duke Luca will be punished. The debt is only temporary,” Count Shadowstep explained.

“I see,” Eli said again, nodding. She was still uneasy about how expensive it was, but she understood the logic.

There was only one final question in her mind.

“Can we win?”

“It should be possible. Level 7 mages are incredibly rare. There are barely thirty mages in the entire Althemer Empire who have reached that level.”

“In that case, wouldn’t it be best to amicably explain this to Alicia?” Eli asked.

“What’s she so angry about? She gets to stay in the mansion for free! She barely did any work, didn’t she?” Count Shadowstep scoffed. “Besides, her father just needs to come back in a month or a year, and it’ll all be over. There’s no need to explain anything to a kid. She just needs to hold off on buying sweets or whatever monster lottery picked her interest for a year. Until the trial is done. What, just because she’s a mage, she thinks she gets everything she wants? Do you think obtaining 150 gold coins is easy? Even I had to lower my head to the surrounding barons and neighboring viscounts to borrow that kind of money. Luckily, Duke Born supports me.”

Elidranthia sighed.

The count wasn’t entirely wrong. She had been seeing Alicia as an adult—because she was a reincarnator, she was supposed to be an adult at least in spirit. But her father didn’t know that. To him, Alicia was still a child. And she acted like one too, most of the time. To them, this was just a tantrum over sweets and freedom.

“I see. I’m thankful that you trusted me with this information, Father. I’m glad this was all just a misunderstanding. I apologize—I certainly acted immaturely with my earlier outburst.”

“It’s good that you understand. Now go. And don’t forget to attend your lessons properly next time,” Count Shadowstep said, waving her off.

Elidranthia went through dinner in silence, deep in thought about how she could approach Alicia. This was a delicate matter. She couldn’t be careless. They were up against a duke—someone with nearly the highest authority in the Althemer Empire, second only to the king himself.

To stand a chance, they needed Duke Bron’s support. Fortunately, Alicia was a level 7 mage. Duke Bron would fight tooth and nail to earn her loyalty. If Eli could just explain things properly, Alicia would surely understand.

“I can’t believe I’d see such hatred directed at me in this world,” Elidranthia muttered remembering the eyes she had betrayed and assassinated.

As night fell, she slipped quietly through the hallway and made her way to Alicia’s bedroom. Her knuckles hovered before gently tapping the door.

“Alicia… can we talk?”

There was no answer.

Eli hesitated, then placed her hand on the doorknob. The door creaked open, revealing Alicia sitting at the edge of her bed, gazing out the window at the night sky—completely still, completely silent. She looked lost in thought, as if the stars were the only things that still made sense.

Eli stepped inside. She opened her mouth to speak but couldn’t find the right words. What could she say to comfort her?

“Um… about my father. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your father’s mistake. It’s mine,” Alicia said quietly. Her voice didn’t tremble, but the weight behind it crushed Eli’s heart. “I was just stupid. I let myself get taken advantage of. But it’s fine. If I work hard, I can get out of this debt, right?” she added, finally turning to meet Eli’s gaze.

Eli flinched.

“She’s going to kill me…” she whispered under her breath.

Alicia’s eyes weren’t teary. They weren’t confused. They were filled with something much colder—hatred. And Eli knew that look. She’d seen it in her past life—on the faces of children forced to become spies, on victims turned into weapons. And maybe, on herself.

“Alicia… your father loved you. This was all just a misunderstanding,” Eli said softly.

“Are you seriously saying that the man who sold me to nobles loved me?” Alicia’s voice cracked like a whip. “Are you really going to stand there and say that being enslaved to you is somehow better than working honestly in a mage guild? That I should feel honored to serve you for the rest of my life?”

Each word struck like a dagger. Eli took a step back, her chest tight.

They were false words. Somehow the false words, The script her former FBI and Secret Service bosses had fed her came back to her. She didn't know why she used those words. The mask has certainly become her personality. If you believe the lie strong enough, it will eventually become the truth. They’d dressed it up with kindness, told her she was special, that she was being protected. But it was all indoctrination.

Eli could hear those old lines echoing in her mind—and hated herself for saying them now.

Alicia stood up. There was a knife in her hand—not raised, not pointed. Just held. But her grip was firm. Her eyes blazed with betrayal.

In her last life, Alicia’s parents had never been there. They didn’t abuse her. They didn’t beat her. But they didn’t care, either. Their careers came first. Always.

There were no bedtime stories. No warm dinners waiting. No “I’m proud of you.”

Alicia had never expected anything from them. And because there were no expectations, she had never hoped.

But John… John had been different. He smiled. He listened. He told her she mattered. For the first time, Alicia wondered if that warm, fuzzy feeling had been love.

She had let herself believe it was. She had let herself hope.

And now that hope was burning in front of her, leaving only ashes behind.

That was why the betrayal hurt so much.

John hadn’t just failed to give her the love of a parent—he had thrown her away for a bag of gold coins.

How could he?

Alicia remembered the way he left that arrogant cunt's office. She remembered the bulge of that leather bag in his hands.

He must have sold her then. That was when it happened.

How could he caress her head so tenderly afterward? How could he hug her with tears in his eyes and whisper those sweet promises—that he would become a better father?

Why did I even trust him to begin with? Alicia whispered to herself

Alicia barely knew him. A part of her had screamed that it was too good to be true. She should have known better. All humans were evil. That was a truth her past life had hammered into her soul.

Instead of chasing after fantasies like love or family, Alicia should just finish her task and run. She could disappear somewhere else—anywhere but here, away from this wretched kingdom.

“...I remember hearing those words too,” Eli said softly, pulling Alicia from her thoughts. “Even though my adoptive parents cursed me behind my back for being an invalid.”

Her voice trembled. “They’d pretend to be kind in front of others… but once the doors closed, I was nothing but a burden. An eyesore.”

Alicia stared at her, still holding the knife. Her fingers tightened around the handle.

She considered it—just for a moment. End it here. Take her chances on the run.

But then her mind flashed to the goddess—the only one who had ever truly trusted her. The goddess had chosen her. The goddess had approved of her restraint and had praised her for sparing Eli.

If she struck now, that trust would be gone. That blessing would be lost.

No. Not yet.

A debt of 150 gold was crushing, yes—but not impossible. Not for a mage. If she worked hard, saved everything, maybe gave up five… ten years of salary… she could make it. It would be like a student loan in America. Terrible, but survivable.

The plan wasn’t over yet.

She could still prove herself—to the goddess, to the world, to herself.

“Your father only took the loan to pay off a debt collector, Alicia,” Eli said carefully as if speaking to a wounded animal.

“It wasn’t even his debt—it belonged to his wife. Your mother. She passed away, and he tried to protect you from what was left behind. So… you see, he’s not at fault. Instead of hating him… maybe it’s time to support him?”

“Really…?” Alicia’s voice was hesitant, unsure. Her grip on the knife loosened.

“Yes, it’s true, Alicia. If you’d like, we can talk again with my father and Rodrique tomorrow. They know everything. They’ll explain it better.”

Alicia was silent.

Then… slowly… the cold fire in her eyes began to dim. The tension in her shoulders softened. A sliver of light returned to her gaze.

Eli sighed in relief.

A single thread of hope was all it took.

Should she be grateful Alicia was so easy to sway—or terrified?

At the very least, Alicia was calm now. That was enough for tonight.

But even as Alicia stared blankly at the floor, an epiphany struck her. Something didn’t add up.

And once that thought took root in her mind… she couldn’t ignore it.