The Billion Lark Debt

"It's fine to hover so close as my personal guard, but must you do it without making a sound?"

"Have you finally lost your mind? Why would I ever guard you, Young Master?"

"···."

She called herself my exclusive escort knight, after all.

"This is surveillance. Do not misunderstand. More importantly, I can no longer overlook this. Release the children at once."

The sound of Silvia grinding her teeth echoed sharply through the quiet library. Her hostility was unmistakable. It had been like this since morning.

It dropped when I made Charlotte and Julia run laps.

It dropped again when I fed them after training.

It dropped when I had the maids bathe them.

And it dropped once more when I put them to bed in the guest room prepared underground. No matter what I did, her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠favorability kept plummeting without fail. Thanks to that, it was now sitting at a staggering -38. Utter contempt.

"She is my slave, a gift from my sister. A mere knight working for the family has no right to comment on how I treat her."

"Treat your slave like a slave, then. Only then will I have no reason to overstep."

"I will treat her however I please. What is the problem with that?"

"That is···! Grr! How shameless!"

Silvia finally lost her temper and raised her voice.

"I know exactly what you are doing! Despair grows larger the greater the happiness one once possessed. The fall of someone who knew nothing but happiness must be far more devastating than the despair felt by those who have nothing left to lose. You intend to exploit that, do you not? You give those children happiness only to snatch it away later, harvesting the negative emotions born from that loss as dark energy···!"

Her face flushed red, her body trembling. Her crimson eyes burned with hostility. She truly hated me. She wanted to cut me down right here and now. Only the contract binding her prevented it; her hand looked ready to draw her sword at any moment.

As expected, it is exactly like the game.

In the game, Silvia eventually joins forces with the protagonist and betrays Aslan. Even at the cost of breaking the contract, she could not serve such a villain. And when the protagonist, consumed by rage, could no longer think straight, Silvia took his place and cleaved Aslan in half. Some say it was the protagonist's way of sparing Aslan from walking the same path of torture and villainy. My interpretation is slightly different. Though she betrayed him, perhaps killing Aslan painlessly was her final act of loyalty to the family she had served her entire life.

She was the very image of a just and loyal knight. Naturally, she and Aslan were polar opposites. It was no wonder her favorability had crashed through the floor.

"Kuhuhuhu···."

"···!"

Damn it. I only meant to laugh inwardly. Silvia's eyes widened, mistaking it for mockery, and she glared at me with renewed humiliation.

"How can you be so···!"

"That is enough. I do not wish to hear any more."

"Hah. And what will you do if I continue? Activate the brand?"

"···."

Silvia sneered, pointing at the brand on her neck. So that was the mark of the contract binding her to the Belmont family. Using it, I could inflict pain and physically subdue her··· but that would be a mistake. Once Silvia decided to betray me, she could remove that brand at any time. Doing so would bring immense pain and leave her with only ten years to live, but if she truly resolved to remove it, nothing could stop her. It would be better to act as though the brand no longer existed. I needed to make Silvia trust me genuinely. Enough to overcome this villainous atmosphere and tone of mine.

···The difficulty is absurdly high.

"If you want to free them, do as you wish."

"Pardon?"

"The door is open. No one will stop you. I already said you may do as you please."

Just as Silvia stared at me in disbelief and began to step forward, I added,

"But only if you are prepared to take responsibility for those children once you leave with them."

"···."

"You have talent, so you should be able to see it. Those children are no ordinary orphans. Can you guarantee you can keep them out of the hands of villains once you take them outside?"

"You dare speak the word 'villain'? If one were to name the most evil man in this world, it would be you···!"

"You are so foolishly honest and upright that your ability to think seems rather lacking. Is it not better to keep them beside a villain you can see than to release them into an uncertain world where unknown evils may lurk? That is what I am saying, you dull woman."

"···."

"Just watch. See whether I truly cast those children into the depths of despair as you believe. If your prediction proves correct, then take them and leave. After tearing off the brand and cutting my throat, of course."

"What···!"

Silvia's eyes widened. She looked shocked that I had seen through the secret measure she had been counting on—breaking the contract and fleeing. She pressed her lips together and stared at me in silence. The hostility in her gaze had already diminished considerably.

She is suspicious.

Yet the flames of doubt in her eyes burned even fiercer. Of course she would be suspicious. After all, I was doing something I had never done before.

"Understood. I will watch and see."

"Good. You thought well. That aside, your pay for this month is cut by fifty percent."

"···."

"Did you really think you could talk back to your master and bare your fangs without consequence?"

There was no need to rush. No matter what I did, Silvia would dislike it anyway. If I mistreated the children, she would rage. If I treated them well, she would rage about that too. There was no way to change that foolish knight's mind right now. Only time—long, patient time—could solve this. Whether it would work or not, I had to try. I had no desire to be split in half by that sword.

This girl··· Was she a masochist who enjoyed having her salary cut?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

***

"Time to wake up!"

"Ah. I did not get a single wink of sleep···."

The morning sun had risen. Awakened by the lively chatter of the maids who had come to collect the bedding, Julia opened her eyes. She had stayed up all night again. Beside her, Charlotte was still sound asleep, having had her blanket and pillow stolen away.

"Get up. It is time for morning training."

"Sir Knight···."

"Do not bother asking me anything. I do not know, and even if I did, I would not answer."

"···."

Silvia, was it? A curt female knight. Yesterday and today alike, she carried out Aslan's orders without complaint. She must be one of his closest aides. A person to watch carefully. When Yuri eventually returned, Julia would need to gather as much information as possible so they could escape immediately.

Keeping her guard up, Julia moved to the training ground.

"Ten laps, same as yesterday. Begin."

The same routine as yesterday. She ran the ten laps she had failed to complete the day before, sweating profusely. Then she dragged her exhausted body to the bath to wash up. Surrounded by strangely excited maids, she was made to change clothes dozens of times. After that, she enjoyed a feast that tasted several times better thanks to the exercise···!

"Mmm! Delicious! Right, Julia?"

"Yeah. This tomato pasta looks questionable, but the quality is actually quite··· Huh? Wait, this is not right!?"

Julia jolted in shock upon realizing she had been devouring the pasta with sauce smeared around her mouth. This was wrong. This was not how it should be. Since when? Since when had she started accepting this as a normal routine? At this rate, she was playing right into Aslan's hands. That could not happen. She did not know what he was plotting, but it was definitely dangerous. She could not afford to let her guard down.

"Charlotte."

"Mmm, mmph."

"Char-lotte."

"Mmm, what?"

"Stop eating and help me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠come up with a plan. A plan to get out of here."

"Can't we just ask that Aslan guy to let us go?"

"How would that work!?"

Julia felt like her soul was leaving her body at the carefree reply. She had clearly seen dozens of bills changing hands when the payment was made. There was no way he would simply release slaves he had paid such an exorbitant sum for. Well, technically they were not slaves···

"If you wish, you may leave at any time."

"Eh?"

Aslan answered without even lifting his eyes from the book he was reading in the library. His reaction was as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Charlotte shrugged as if to say, See? while Julia's expression turned dumbfounded. Really? He was really saying they could just leave?

"Then right now—"

"Provided you pay the full one billion larks in ransom money."

"O-one billion?!"

"To avoid misunderstanding, I will say this in advance. That is per person. One billion each."

One billion···? Was that not the price of a small mansion? How were they supposed to pay that? It was nonsense from the start. There was no way two uneducated commoner orphans could be worth that much. The slave trader had only received about a million larks at most···!

"That means we can never leave! We do not have that kind of money!"

"Of course you do not. So earn it. Do you think I am running a charity, feeding and housing you? Work ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and pay for your meals. Once you have saved up one billion, I will sell you your freedom."

"Grr···."

The book was casually set aside, revealing Aslan's eyes. He spoke in an arrogant tone, wearing the most wicked smile imaginable. In that moment, Julia was certain. This man was truly an irredeemable piece of trash.