The Arrogant Duke Buys the Devoted Love of the False Saintess - Chapter 3

One early morning, unfamiliar men stormed the orphanage, loan documents in hand.

It was Lily who encountered them.

Fortunately, it was before she left for work.

If the headmistress had been the one to deal with them, given her quiet nature, she would undoubtedly have been talked into a corner.

Even young Lily might not have been much help, but luckily, the men turned out to be surprisingly reasonable.

“Here are the loan documents,” declared a man in an expensive-looking suit, pushing up his black-framed glasses with one hand.

His fiery red hair was neatly slicked back, and his appearance was immaculate. Among moneylenders, he seemed relatively legitimate. At the very least, not unscrupulous.

The men standing behind him were similarly well-dressed and precise. There wasn’t a hint of coarseness about them, which made them all the more unassailable.

There was absolutely no room for excuses.

The story from the lead man—Seigard Barnes—was this:

Anshim, who grew up in the orphanage, had developed a gambling addiction and incurred a massive debt.

He had designated the orphanage grounds as collateral.

Currently, Anshim was missing, and the loan repayment deadline had passed. Therefore, they had come to seize the land put up as collateral.

Anshim!?

While internally seething with anger at the name of that simple, quiet boy from the orphanage, Lily, who had initially planned to appeal for sympathy with tears, quickly changed her approach.

“Wait, please. The orphanage isn’t owned by any single individual. It’s wrong to arbitrarily use church property as collateral.”

Taken aback by her unexpectedly rational rebuttal, Seigard, standing directly before her, allowed his plastered-on smile to falter.

“Unfortunately, while the church land belongs to all who reside here, there is a claim that a portion was transferred. There was a precedent—another orphanage graduate borrowed money in the same way before. That’s why the document review passed.”

“A precedent?”

“That individual completed full repayment, so it likely never became public. I cannot disclose client information, but it’s probable he received advice from someone.”

The orphanage was everyone’s family.

The downside of their commitment to support each other when family was in trouble was now manifesting in this way.

The orphanage had a rule that you had to leave once you turned fifteen, the age of adulthood. Lily remained only because she worked there as staff. But few were eccentric enough to stay on at an orphanage that didn’t pay wages; most went out to work somewhere and became independent.

Anshim was originally a timid man. Lily had heard that even after leaving the orphanage, he kept visiting others from the same home. While it was hard to connect that to him falling into gambling, she could easily believe he had friends who gave him such ideas.

“How terrible… So, it’s only a portion of the land, right?”

“Well…”

The man rummaged in the bag slung over his shoulder and produced six more documents.

All were the same loan agreement. Only the dates differed.

“There were about seven loan applications in total. It seems he borrowed money using the same method from other lenders as well, not just us. We consolidated them. After calculating, the only part of this land not put up as collateral is the area around that giant tree in the courtyard.”

“…………”

So, they were supposed to live—fifteen children, the elderly headmistress, and herself, seventeen people—clinging to that giant tree that looked ready to snap any moment?

That was utterly impossible, no matter how you looked at it.

While tracking down Anshim and beating him to a pulp was important, above all else, they had to deal with this massive debt first.

“I understand the situation. Anshim must have had a hard time too. That child… he’d cough terribly when it got cold, and he wasn’t very strong… I wonder if he’s living well now…”

In terms of age, Anshim was about five years older than Lily, but in the ‘Holy Mother of Mercy,’ everyone was a beloved child.

Even if she was internally strangling Anshim in her mind, her exterior was flawless.

With practiced tears welling in her downcast eyes, she asked Seigard. He clouded his expression sympathetically and shook his head.

“We truly don’t know what condition he’s in. We are also searching for him with all our might. We’ll contact you as soon as we find him.”

“I see, thank you. Also, I will find a way to get the money, so could you please give us just a little more time? This is all so sudden…”

“Hey, don’t go making promises you can’t—”

As a single tear trailed down her cheek while she pleaded, one of the men behind Seigard flared up. Seigard stopped him.

“Enough.”

“But at the very least, we should seize any valuables. If we give them time carelessly and they flee with assets, we lose everything. How could a rundown orphanage like this possibly raise that kind of money anyway? Why did we come here early in the morning with a full team? Let’s at least secure the assets and start arrangements for demolishing the building.”

Ah, Lily thought, impressed. So, the sudden seizure was to prevent them from hiding any valuables. If that was the case, it wasn’t a problem. There were no valuables here to begin with.

But having the orphanage building demolished was a problem. They would lose their place to sleep.

“If we aren’t being evicted immediately, you are welcome to go inside as you please. However, I must explain things to the children first so they don’t get frightened.”

She was in a mood to say, go ahead, seize whatever you want.

“My subordinate apologizes. Actually, I’m a fan of yours, ‘Holy Mother of Mercy.’ I was truly moved to find you living in such a place, looking ready to collapse any moment.”

Seigard, who had appeared calm, seemed to have been excited internally all along. His cheeks flushed a shade similar to his red hair, and his hazel eyes sparkled. Lily stared at him wordlessly.

When he brought the loan documents, it was truly fortunate she hadn’t swung a broom at him shouting, “Don’t mess with me!”

She was grateful to Heinrich, who had repeatedly drilled into her that image was everything.

Even if she had just been utterly bewildered by the suddenness of it all.

“Then, allow us to just take estimates today. If you can prepare the money, there’s no problem, but it will be a considerable sum. Let’s set a deadline of one week for now. If you cannot manage it, we will have to demolish the building and sell the land. Please consult us anytime.”

Seigard pushed up his glasses once more and delivered his words, as if reining in his excitement.