The Whipping Maid of House Calley - Chapter 113

“Where and to whom did you plan to marry her off?”

“Well… that’s something I was going to look into gradually….”

Smack!

The moment the lie left Fred’s mouth, Cedric stepped forward and slapped him across the face.

A man who lived entirely off Sheila’s wages wouldn’t have come all the way there to force her to quit immediately if he only planned to look into it gradually.

By coincidence, Fred was struck again on the same cheek as before, and hot blood streamed from his left nostril.

“Ugh…! It’s a match a friend was going to introduce. It would be a waste to miss it!”

Fred protested indignantly, blood dripping down his face.

“I asked where,” Cedric repeated.

Once he knew who the groom was, he could roughly assess the situation.

After hesitating, Fred said, “Nothing specific has been arranged yet, but I heard the Hayek family might soon be looking for a bride….”

“Which member of the Hayeks?” Cedric asked, recalling the members of the Hayek family.

“Well… that is… Baron Hayek recently became alone again….”

Only after hearing Fred’s words did Cedric finally understand the situation.

As far as he knew, neither the baron nor his sons were unmarried. And Cedric had no reason to know which servants might be suitable for marriage to a commoner like Sheila.

So it meant the position of the baron’s new wife….

“Hah.”

Cedric let out a hollow laugh in disbelief and stepped toward Fred again.

His pale gray eyes were more murderous than ever.

Cedric knew Baron Hayek well.

Ironically, it was thanks to Allen.

At the appointment ceremony, Cedric had seen Allen fawning awkwardly over a certain woman at the jousting arena and later called him over to ask who she was.

The reason was simple. Allen shouldn’t behave improperly toward guests, especially noblewomen, at the appointment ceremony.

After learning she was Baron Hayek’s wife, Cedric ordered Rufus to conduct a brief investigation and discovered that she was the baron’s second wife and had a poor reputation. There were even rumors she was a commoner who had falsified her background.

Now, hearing Fred’s words, it seemed she’d been driven out of the household. And in her place, Sheila…!

Thud!

Before Rufus could stop him, Cedric’s fist slammed into Fred’s face.

As Fred collapsed, Cedric stepped on his torso.

He’d intended to repay only exactly what Sheila suffered, setting aside personal feelings. But hearing that Fred intended to sell Sheila to a man nearly sixty made Cedric’s fury surge uncontrollably.

Thud! Thud!

“Ghk!”

“Young Count! Young Count!”

As Cedric raised his fist again, Rufus noticed the madness in his eyes and hurriedly intervened.

Fred’s hut stood isolated, and the men who’d followed him were watching the surroundings. Rufus wasn’t afraid of the incident being discovered. He was afraid Cedric might kill Fred.

Just before Cedric could crush Fred’s head, Rufus barely managed to pull him away.

“Please restrain yourself, Young Count!”

Cedric looked down coldly at Rufus, who clung desperately to his waist.

“Let go.”

Still holding Cedric’s waist, Rufus looked up to confirm his master’s face and saw that Cedric’s cold gaze had returned to normal.

As Rufus slowly released his grip and stood up, Cedric spoke, “Bring out the document.”

“Yes, Young Count.”

Rufus quickly took out the document he’d prepared and placed it on the hut’s table.

Meanwhile, Fred, who had been beaten thoroughly, groaned, “Ugh, I’m dying,” but no one paid him any attention.

“Get up.”

“Yes.”

Cedric ordered him to rise so he could finish the task he’d come to do.

When he was beaten earlier, Fred thought it would be his last day alive, but fortunately, it didn’t seem Cedric intended to kill him.

“Ugh, agh!”

Even while groaning aloud, Fred cursed inwardly.

‘You cowardly noble bastard.’

Coming with his secretary just because he was a noble and beating an innocent man.

“Stop groaning. I’ll compensate you with money for the beating.”

Compensate…?

Fred’s eyes widened. He’d endured it because Cedric was a noble, even though he resented it.

“Name the amount yourself. How much are your injuries worth?”

At Cedric’s words, Fred, still kneeling, quickly calculated.

‘Damn it. Nothing’s even broken. Bruises like this would heal with a one denis ointment.’

Fred, who grew up in a place where compensation rarely amounted to more than ointment money, thought carefully.

“Th-three! No, give me five solids, and I’ll forget everything.”

Fred squeezed his eyes shut and raised the amount.

He wouldn’t have been able to complain even if he was beaten more for naming such an absurd amount.

But Cedric only scoffed at the trivial amount.

When Cedric extended his hand, Rufus placed five solids onto it.

Cedric tossed the money at Fred without hesitation.

Fred, who had been groaning in pain, hurriedly grabbed the gold coins rolling toward him.

“I’ve given you more money than you deserve. Aren’t you going to thank me?”

“Th-thank you, thank you, Young Count!”

Startled by Cedric’s remark, Fred bowed submissively.

Not wanting to touch that trash any further, Cedric dragged over a chair, sat down, and spoke arrogantly, “How much were you planning to receive from Baron Hayek?”

“Th-that…”

Fred glanced between Cedric and Rufus, calculating.

Seeing even Rufus’s expression turn cold, Fred spoke obediently, “Even after paying the broker’s fee, it would be about five hundred solids….”

Five hundred solids was the estimated amount Ernest had mentioned. It was only possible because the buyer was a noble.

Sheila was beautiful, but even selling her to a wealthy merchant might not bring in two hundred solids.

“Double it.”

“What?”

“I’ll give you one thousand solids. Hand Sheila over to me.”

“O-one…! One thousand solids?”

Fred’s eyes widened in shock.

“Too much?”

“N-no… I mean….”

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of giving less,” Cedric said.

Compared to this worthless man, Sheila was far too valuable to be measured in money. That was why Cedric deliberately named an amount that would shock Fred.

One thousand solids was an amount Fred could never earn in his lifetime. Of course, it still couldn’t compare to Sheila’s true worth.

‘But there’s no reason to give more money to this trash.’

Thinking of how Sheila had suffered day and night because of this worthless man, Cedric felt a dull ache in his heart.

Cedric wrote the amount of 1,000 solids on the document placed on the table.

It was a sales contract he’d prepared in advance.

It was obvious Fred had come looking for Sheila because of money after he started frequenting the casino, and it wasn’t uncommon for someone consumed by gambling to sell even their own family.

He didn’t like putting a price on Sheila and buying her like property, but this was the easiest and most certain way to take her away from someone like him.

After Cedric finalized and wrote in the amount, the document was handed to Fred through Rufus.

“Can you read?” Rufus asked Fred. It was a question he had once asked Sheila as well.

“A-a little.”

“Good. Then I’ll explain only the key points.”

Rufus began explaining.

“The moment you sign this document and receive one thousand solids, all responsibility and authority over Miss Sheila will transfer to Young Count Cedric Calley. Simply put, you should consider yourselves complete strangers from now on. No, it would be better if you forget you were ever her brother at all. Of course, you understand that you must not speak about this contract or attempt to contact or seek out Miss Sheila.”

Rufus continued explaining in a clear and considerate tone so Fred could understand.

“We didn’t bother writing what will happen if you violate these terms. After all, the contract won’t have any effect once you’re in the afterlife.”

At the chilling warning that breaking the contract would mean he would no longer belong to this world, Fred nodded quickly.

But what filled Fred’s mind wasn’t fear. It was excitement at the thought of soon receiving one thousand solids.

Taking the pen, Fred signed the document with trembling hands.

“We’ll keep the contract on our side. You have no objections, correct?”

As Rufus moved to take the contract, Fred grabbed the edge and asked.

“Yes. Th-then the money…?”

Cedric took two bundles of banknotes from inside his suit pocket and threw them in front of Fred.

“One hundred notes of ten solids each.”

Fred immediately released the contract and grabbed the two bundles of banknotes.

Each bundle contained fifty notes, and each note had a face value of ten solids.

Banknotes were issued only by a few private banks, making them rare for commoners. Commoners usually used coins made of gold or silver.

Simply holding banknotes made one feel wealthy, and Fred now held not just one, but a hundred of them.

“I’ll say it again. Never contact Sheila again, and never appear before her.”

“O-of course not.”

Clutching the bundles of money, Fred grinned despite his battered appearance.

Seeing that trash smile, Cedric clenched his fist again.

Thinking of how Sheila had suffered because of that bastard—though it was to get rid of him, of course—made his stomach churn once more.

“Let’s go.”

Barely restraining himself, Cedric left Fred’s hut, where Sheila’s traces had long since vanished.

Cedric gave additional orders to the men guarding outside, and they nodded before disappearing into the darkness.

Cedric boarded the carriage prepared to return to the mansion that same day and headed toward the train station.

Noticing the bloodstains from Fred on his clothes belatedly, Cedric’s handsome brow furrowed.