Living as a Butler to the Northern Duke chapter 53

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But riding a horse was different from riding a turtle.

He could feel the thrill of speed, and since the Grand Duke seemed to enjoy horses, he thought they could have fun watching the horse races together.

With that in mind, Ed forced his sleepy eyes open and left the mansion.

He wanted the Grand Duke to enjoy the festival, so he moved quickly, thinking that the early bird catches the worm.

Although the premium seats were sold out, tickets for first-class and below were still available if you lined up.

So, Ed yawned as he took his place in line in front of the racetrack.

There wasn’t any special reason why Ed went to such lengths for the Grand Duke.

‘Since the Grand Duke treated me to delicious beer and food last night, this is my way of returning the favor.’

He had wanted to get premium tickets, but not only were they expensive, he couldn’t even find any available.

It was a bit disappointing.

‘Still, I managed to get second-class tickets. I hope he likes them…’

Ed tucked the tickets into his coat and hurried back to the mansion.

He planned to take a carriage after walking to the path through the grove.

As he passed through the square and exited onto the main road toward the path, it happened.

“Ed.”

He heard someone call his name from behind.

‘Who could that be?’

Ed tilted his head in confusion and turned around.

“Ugh.”

At the same time, a sudden attack hit the back of his knees.

Someone struck his lower body with a hard boot.

The force caused Ed’s legs to buckle, making him stagger.

Ed’s eyes shot wide open at the unexpected pain as he tried desperately to regain his balance.

Then, the man who had kicked his leg grabbed his arm, yanked him towards himself, and then shoved him back hard.

As his body lurched, Ed realized something.

‘He’s trying to create distance to strike me somewhere else.’

This guy was a professional.

Not wanting to give him any opening, Ed braced himself, trying to resist.

But the man grabbed his arm again and pulled him forward with such force that Ed couldn’t resist being dragged along.

These men clearly knew exactly how to subdue and handle people.

“Argh.”

As Ed dug in his heels and tried to resist, the man kicked his ankle, knocking him down to his knees.

It was only then that Ed could see who his attackers were.

There were two of them.

One was a stout man with his hair slicked back, and the other was tall with a sharp, menacing expression.

They stood blocking Ed’s path from both the front and the back.

It was clear from the way they cut off both his escape and his line of sight that they had done this before.

Ed narrowed his eyes.

‘Where have I seen them before?’

Their faces were familiar, but he couldn’t quite place them.

That’s when the stout man let out a small chuckle.

He pulled out a crinkling piece of paper from his coat, rolled it up, and tapped Ed lightly on the head with it.

“If you borrowed money, shouldn’t you repay it and then disappear? Right, Ed?”

“…”

“When you needed it, you acted like you’d grovel at our feet, but now that you’re doing alright, you think you can wash your hands of it all? Life sure is easy, huh? For you, at least. Not for me, though.”

At the man’s sneering tone, Ed finally realized who they were.

‘…Ah, these must be the people Ed borrowed money from.’

But it didn’t make sense.

He had seen Ed’s ledger and knew that before he possessed this body, Ed had borrowed money from a notorious trading company to pay for the treatment of the Director’s illness.

The contract from the trading company was ridiculous, with absurd interest rates and terms that were all unfavorable to Ed if he failed to make payments on time.

But to take Rosie, who was coughing up blood, to the doctor, Ed needed the money.

No matter how hard he searched his pockets, there wasn’t even a single silver coin to his name, let alone gold.

In such dire straits, Ed had no choice but to borrow money from them, even under such unfavorable terms.

So, despite the high interest rates, Ed had borrowed money from that crooked trading company.

The reason he had gotten involved in the shady world of buying and selling information was to pay off that debt.

But that kind of work wasn’t easy for a novice.

That’s why Ed, after doing grunt work for a low-level informant, finally managed to pay off the debt when he got a job with the Count of Herins.

With his basic needs taken care of and a modest salary, he felt relieved.

And after I, Lee Seonyu, possessed Ed, the first thing I did was check the contract and focus on paying off the rest of the debt.

The terms were outrageous: if Ed didn’t repay on time, his entire body would become the property of the head of the trading company, from head to toe…

Ed felt uneasy and gathered every penny he had, but it wasn’t nearly enough to clear the debt.

To make money, Ed recalled that in the original story, a horse named ‘Thunder’ was the fastest horse at the Southern Central Racetrack.

Ed began investing all his meager wages in Thunder.

Thunder was the fastest horse at the auction, but it was also the most troublesome.

It only ran when it felt like it, but once it started running properly, nothing could catch it.

So, though Ed lost some money, when he won, he made back more than double what he lost.

Thanks to that, Ed was able to not only repay the debt but also save a bit extra.

Afterward, Ed had gone to the trading company on his own and handed over the money, clearing the debt.

He had even received a loan repayment confirmation from them.

But now they were talking about some leftover debt?

What debt?

That stout man—now Ed remembered seeing him sitting on the sofa when he had come to repay the debt.

He had been chewing on a cigar, taking the money himself, and issuing the repayment confirmation.

Why was he doing this now?

What the hell was going on?

Confused, Ed squinted up at the sunlight filtering through the leaves above.

“I paid off my debt. What do you mean now?”

The head of the trading company sneered, waving a white piece of paper in Ed’s face.

The glaring sunlight reflected off the paper, making Ed squint.

“Paid it off? You still owe money. Here’s proof that you borrowed it.”

“When? How? When did I supposedly borrow this?”

“Why’s your tone like that? You were like this last time too. If you’re gonna talk, finish your sentences properly. You can’t just leave things half-done like going to the bathroom and not flushing, huh?”

‘That’s because I don’t even want to have a conversation with you.’

And I sure didn’t want to be polite about it.

Ignoring Ed’s thoughts, the head of the trading company waved the paper again.

Ed followed the movement with his eyes, and as soon as he saw an opening, he snatched the paper from the man’s hand.

According to Ed’s memory, there shouldn’t be any remaining debt.

He had double-checked that fact several times when he had gone to repay it.

He had to check.

How much had Ed supposedly borrowed, and when?

“…”

Ed furrowed his brow as he examined the contract.

There was no date, no amount, no signature—just a blank sheet of paper.

Baffled, Ed looked up at the head of the trading company, who gave a strange laugh as he snatched the paper back from Ed’s hands and cleared his throat.

“Ed, think carefully.”

Think carefully? About what?

Ed was already planning to stand up and escape from this place, ready to straighten his knees and seize any opportunity to leave.

But before he could move, the man’s large, heavy hand pressed down on Ed’s shoulder, forcing him to sit back down.

Ed’s eyes narrowed sharply.

The man’s hand was like a giant iron lid, so thick and strong that he couldn’t budge.

“I hear you’ve found yourself a generous sponsor recently. Now, when you land a big fish like that, you should’ve come to me first. I could’ve shown you how to strip them bare.”

Ed let out a weary sigh as the guild master clicked his tongue, clearly unimpressed by Ed’s demeanor.

“Ed, do you think opportunities like this will come around again? You need to milk this for all it’s worth. Honestly, how long are you going to live like this? Just cleaning up after others? Haven’t I told you before? If you’re strapped for cash, steal some trinkets from the House of Herins. I’ll double whatever you get!”

“……”

“But this time, it’s even better. You’ve caught the eye of someone much more powerful. This is the perfect chance, Ed! For both of us to live well!”

What nonsense is he spewing?

The guild master clapped his hands together, his voice dripping with satisfaction.

“You know that phrase nobles love, right? Noblesse oblige. It’s not that complicated. When the high-borns throw coins to us commoners, that’s all it is.”

With a smirk, the guild master patted Ed’s shoulder gently, then suddenly grabbed Ed’s right wrist, trying to force his hand open.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Well, if you don’t want to join in on my brilliant plan, then I have no choice. We’ll just have to seal the deal with a slave contract.”

He was forcing Ed’s hand open to stamp it on a white sheet of paper.

Afterward, they were clearly planning to scrawl out the contract however they pleased.

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