The thought occurred to him in an instant.
For Aidan, who had been a mercenary for a long time, killing one or two people was no problem at all.
Viscount Orte had a lot of flesh compared to his short height, so a sword wouldn’t go in all at once.
It would be more efficient to aim for the head where there was less fat.
‘Where did I put my sword…?’
Aidan searched with his eyes for the spot where he’d left his blade, but then he snapped out of it and shook his head.
How long had it been since he left the bloody battlefield, and here he was thinking about killing someone again?
A sense of self-loathing crept in, dispersing the anger that had made his head spin.
Whether he noticed Aidan’s internal struggle or not, Viscount Orte smiled thinly and snatched the note back from Aidan’s hand.
“Aidan.”
“What is it?”
“I know that paying back the debt is a huge burden for you. And I know what this house, where you grew up since you were young, means to you.”
‘If you know, could you please just take the principal and get lost?’
Seeing Aidan’s grim expression, the Viscount lowered his eyebrows and tried to soothe him.
“Oh, Aidan. Do you really think I would do something bad to you, someone I think of as a nephew and a son?”
“Isn’t telling me to get out of my house a bad thing?”
“Why are you making assumptions without even listening to the end? That is a very bad habit.”
As if teaching a three-year-old toddler, Viscount Orte emphasized each syllable: “Bad. Ha. Bit.”
He even opened his mouth wide to show the movement of his tongue, as if telling him to pay attention to the pronunciation.
At that oily display, Aidan blew away the self-loathing he had felt a moment ago and began to seriously consider his plan to murder the Viscount.
Right, if I lived as a mercenary for that long, violence and murder are basically habits anyway.
Indeed.
The comrades who had jeered that a caterpillar must eat pine needles when he left the group saying he was tired of violence and murder were right.
What “peaceful life”?
That was only permitted for people born that way.
First, let’s take that note from the Viscount’s hand.
Immediately after deciding, Aidan silently approached the Viscount and reached out.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch the paper, Viscount Orte’s hand—which had been still until then—flicked moved and shoved the note deep into the inside of his coat.
Left in a strange pose after swinging at empty air, Aidan was subjected to a weird look from the Viscount.
Out of embarrassment, Aidan pretended to stretch and asked the Viscount:
“So, what else do you have to say?”
“It’s nothing much. I just want to ask you for one small favor.”
“A favor?”
“Yes. If you do this favor for me, I will return the ownership of this house to you, not to mention the debt Leila owed me.”
Those were words that made his eyes widen.
When Aidan asked again if he was serious, Viscount Orte nodded firmly.
Confirming it wasn’t a lie, Aidan immediately asked for the details.
As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot.
Before he began cleaning the dusty house in earnest, he wanted to settle this “favor.”
After all, isn’t it obvious what someone would ask a man who just returned from being a professional butcher?
It would be either killing someone or breaking their bones.
“What is this favor?”
“It will take some time, but it’s a simple task,” Viscount Orte said nonchalantly.
“It will take some time?”
“Yes. You have to go into a Count’s estate.”
A Count’s estate?
Surely the person he wanted dead wasn’t a Count.
Drip.
An unknown sweat ran down his spine.
The feeling of his hair follicles standing on end and a chill on the back of his neck was something he had often experienced on the battlefield.
Something bad always happened then.
Surely.
“Why go to a Count’s estate…”
“Mmm, it’s nothing much. You just have to take one class in someone’s place.”
If it’s nothing much, why are you dragging your words like this?
Aidan lowered his head to look into Viscount Orte’s eyes, but the man avoided his gaze like a rabid dog seeing water.
It was a reaction that suggested he was hiding something.
“Whose place, and what kind of class do I have to take?”
“You’re more persistent than you look. Do you really need to know that?”
Viscount Orte’s tone sharpened. Usually, people with something to hide get angry first to smooth over a disadvantageous situation.
Rather than disappointment or anger, the thought ‘I knew it’ came to mind first.
There was no way the task he was assigning in exchange for cancelling the debt and returning the house would be that simple.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Aidan etched that life truth deep into his heart and pressed the Viscount.
“I need to know the details so I can prepare or do whatever is necessary.”
“Will you do it?”
At those words, Aidan hesitated for a moment.
The fact that this shameless man was being so cautious was as good as proof that it was a fairly dangerous matter.
“Is it, perhaps, a life-threatening job?”
At Aidan’s cautious tone, the Viscount’s head snapped around like a windmill.
“No, no! It’s nothing like that! I swear that on my honor.”
Since you’re going that far, it feels even more ominous.
It was suspicious. If it were a job requiring strength, the Viscount didn’t have to come to Aidan.
Even if Aidan had a good height, build, and strength, it wasn’t that hard to find someone larger.
Even if it were a life-or-death matter, there would be plenty of guys willing to do it if offered this house as payment.
Yet, the fact that he stubbornly sought out Aidan meant it had to be Aidan.
Why did it have to be him?
And what was this class he had to take at the Count’s estate for a long time?
No matter how much he thought, no answer came.
On the contrary, his mind only grew more complicated.
Aidan took a short breath and made a decision.
The choice was already set anyway.
He couldn’t just hand over this house, which was steeped in memories of his childhood and his parents, to the Viscount.
“I’ll do it. So tell me properly. Whose place am I taking, and what class am I going to the Count’s estate to take?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Viscount threw both arms into the air.
Then, overcome with joy, he stomped his feet and shouted.
“Yes! Yes, Aidan! Thank you! Thank you! Since you’ve decided, I’ll tell you right now. It is…”
“It is?”
The Viscount’s voice, heightened with excitement, flowed out rapidly.
“In place of my daughter, Olivia, you are going to the Count’s estate… to take ‘Bride Lessons’.”
What?
