Chapter 76
The one knocking at the door was an elderly man, the chief steward of Black Dragon Castle.
In his hand, he held a letter that looked unusual from the very appearance.
The crimson seal had melted and hardened in streaks, and the paper was creased as if it had been crumpled violently.
‘Even from afar, it looks like whoever sent this is furious…’
Just as I was thinking that,
“A letter has arrived under the name Pehin Solana.”
“Ch-chut?”
Pehin Solana… That was a name I had often heard in Gelende.
Kenihe and Yeloise’s expressions hardened upon hearing the name, and Gerard and the old steward also turned pale, clearly surprised.
‘Who on earth is this?’
According to Count Albon, he was a famous one-eyed pirate from the south.
He was said to control the southern casinos with enormous funds.
Apparently, the nobles who owed him money weren’t just Count Albon’s heir.
“Chut…”
I tried to peek at the contents by standing on tiptoe, but Kenihe crumpled the letter in just a second.
Sunlight streaming through the window caught a glimpse of the paper.
‘It was just a few lines…’
But among them, two words caught my eye:
Death.
Wait.
“Ch-chut…”
What on earth is happening now?
Not even a single moment of peace in this Black Dragon Castle!
I froze like a squirrel statue, blinking my eyes nervously.
Kenihe, frowning more seriously than ever, raised his head and looked at Gerard.
“Bring my sister.”
“My lady? She seems busy with the guild’s business, but should we bring her?”
Gerard asked cautiously, as if testing his superior’s intent.
Instead of answering, Kenihe pointed at the crumpled letter rolling on the floor.
Gerard reluctantly unfolded it and saw its contents.
“…Ouch.”
He closed his eyes tightly, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t.
“There’s nothing here that can be spoken aloud.”
But it seemed that wasn’t all.
“She’s on her way. For now… have her brought here. We’ll need to prepare to receive our guest, so it’ll be busy.”
Just as Gerard finished speaking and was about to leave,
BOOOOM―!
A thunderous noise shook Black Dragon Castle as if it were about to collapse.
“Chuut!”
Without thinking, I climbed onto Kenihe’s shoulder, my tail quivering.
“It’s alright.”
Kenihe only patted my back.
And muttered roughly in a low voice.
“Chut?”
He even swore! Kenihe… impressive.
I marveled quietly as Gerard whispered, looking like his soul might leave his body any moment.
“There’s no need to prepare to receive a guest. It seems they’ve already arrived.”
The sound coming from the castle entrance gradually approached the duke’s office where we were.
Thump thump.
Angry footsteps reverberated loudly down the corridor, yet no one blocked the intruder.
Soon, I understood why.
“…Sir, smoking in the corridor is—”
“Shut up!”
Apparently, no one could stop the unruly guest.
By the time I was thinking that, the barbaric, rough presence had already stopped in front of the office door.
And then—
KWAANG―!
A deafening sound erupted as if a cannon had been fired.
“Chuut…”
Whether fortunate or not, I had already sensed the situation.
I covered my ears with both hands.
Thanks to that, I managed to save my precious hearing.
Glancing at Gerard, he was doing the same.
We hid behind Kenihe’s table, only standing up after the door was blown open.
‘This guy’s pretty strong…’
‘Cherry too.’
For a brief moment, our eyes met in midair.
But our attention soon turned to the thunderous noise shaking the entire castle.
“Kenihe Kreutz!!”
Naturally, the voice belonged to the intruder who had broken through the office door.
‘A pirate…!’
But an old pirate!
My eyes nearly popped out as I looked at him—a pirate or perhaps a gangster grandfather.
With copper-toned skin tanned under the southern sun, his graying hair didn’t match his hulking frame.
He almost looked like a rock monster rather than a human.
The scar across his left eye only made him look even more intimidating.
There was no need to explain who he was.
‘Pehin Solana.’
Everything matched perfectly.
I hesitated, frozen in place, when suddenly—
“What’s this rat again!”
The old voice was directed at me.
“Chuuuut…?!”
A rat?! I’m a squirrel!
I squealed almost inaudibly and dove into Kenihe’s jacket.
“I’ve heard of bringing a kitten into Black Dragon Castle, but a rat…!”
A rat—!
I had no idea why the trouble had fallen on me, but the pirate grandfather screamed as if he had seen something filthy.
He seemed to think I was the same as a sewer rat.
‘You’re too harsh…’
I wriggled inside the jacket, and Kenihe tapped the pocket I was in.
His gentle touch seemed to say, Don’t take this seriously.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“How can I not worry when a rat’s fur is flying around my castle!”
The pirate grandfather shouted as if he might collapse from the anger.
I thought our eardrums might be torn apart, but it seemed more likely he’d pass out from high blood pressure.
‘My castle…?’
I peeked out from the pocket at the strange words.
And met the pirate grandfather’s eyes.
Just looking at him felt like I could be eaten—
‘Golden eyes!’
A trait inherited through the Kreutz Duke family line.
Could it be that this pirate grandfather before me…?
I couldn’t bring myself to speak, my mouth just parted in shock.
“Grandfather!”
A sharp voice rang through the office as Yeloise entered, her long red hair flowing to her waist.
“What do you mean, ‘my castle’? You shirked work and handed it over the moment I came of age!”
Yeloise blocked the way between Kenihe and the pirate grandfather—or rather, Lord Ferdinand.
“Chut…”
I couldn’t help but admire Yeloise’s back.
It felt reassuring, as if she were telling Cherry to step over her first.
Halfway out of the pocket, carrying Kenihe and Yeloise on my back, I muttered,
“Chut, chut… I’m not a rat. I’m clean, and I barely shed any fur.”
Of course, I couldn’t face Lord Ferdinand directly, emanating a dragon-like aura.
“Ha, is that tiny thing talking back to me…?!”
Ferdinand raised his voice, astonished, but couldn’t withstand the combined pressure from the Kreutz siblings.
“You’re right. This is no longer my grandfather’s castle; it’s mine. So let’s sit and talk.”
Kenihe gestured toward the reception table.
“You came all the way from the south to the Kreutz estate without resting, didn’t you?”
“Are you mocking me?! This is all your fault!”
Kenihe’s fault?
It seemed related to the dealings between the alias ‘Pehin Solana’ and Count Albon.
‘Huh? Didn’t this all end yesterday?’
Indeed, a letter from the count had arrived yesterday, thanking them that his son returned safely.
But there seemed to be untold backstory I didn’t know.
“I bet you blocked my funds!”
“My grandfather was using an alias to fleece nobles. Could I just stand by as his grandson?”
“You have quite the smooth tongue. Is it because I refused your request?!”
Ferdinand huffed angrily.
“Requesting a debt cancellation. Is that even reasonable?”
‘So he didn’t repay the debt… he asked for it to be forgiven…?’
I swallowed lightly with a small “chut.”
Piecing it together slowly—
Kenihe had offered to pay off the debt owed by Count Albon’s son.
Specifically, the interest had multiplied several times the principal.
Then he asked Lord Ferdinand to forgive that debt.
In short, Kenihe consumed the village of Gelende without spending a single coin.
This is the so-called creative economy…?
A scoundrel… no, a dragon scoundrel.
But the story of grandfather and grandson wasn’t over yet.
“After raising him, the grandson makes this old man a swindler?!”
Ferdinand raised his voice as if he might collapse from anger.
