Christine spoke with an innocent face as if she knew nothing, but when Duff heard about it, he put down the glass of beer he was holding. His expression crumpled as if he had never acted arrogant.
‘Of course, it would get to him. He’s the one addicted to gambling and even used his customer’s gold.’
The deceased Baron Goldman, Duff’s father, made a lot of money through banking, taking fees in exchange for keeping his wealthy clients’ assets safe.
However, his son, Duff, was not as sincere as his father, and more recently, he was into gambling. At first, he only gambled with the money he had earned while running the guild, but now he was also using some of his customers’ money.
It was the day after Christine’s twenty-second birthday that the businessmen who found out about this came to Duff’s mansion in a rage.
‘It’s a lie that I heard this while processing the request, but whatever.’
It was rewarding bringing up this conversation because Duff turned pale at the mention of the businessmen plotting to take his life. He moved his eyes around, thinking, then got up from his seat.
“Ahem. I remembered something urgent.”
“Yes, Master.”
Christine replied, feeling satisfaction. The already angry businessmen had secured the testimony of Duff’s visits to the gambling house and that he used gold bars from time to time, so it was already impossible to sort out the situation.
Because of what she said, Duff would feel extremely nervous and anxious until the businessmen stormed into the mansion tomorrow. When she remembered what he had done to her, she felt a little better inside, even though it couldn’t even be called revenge.
Christine got up from her seat with a small smile. She kept getting hungry with the smell of food, so she thought about waiting for Uncle Allen outside.
Just then, a roughly cracked voice stopped her.
“Why don’t you eat something before you go? Some might think that the food in my restaurant is terrible.”
Christine smiled as soon as she saw Allen. He was a middle-aged man with a large physique like Duff, but instead of being scary, he was just cheerful.
Allen dragged Christine, who wanted to talk outside, into the restaurant’s VIP room, then ordered her enough food that one person couldn’t possibly eat. He was one of the few people who knew that Christine was a big eater, eating twice as much as most adult men.
“Oh, Uncle Allen. How can I eat all of this?”
“You won’t get anything out of me even if you try to act cute, kid.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve been getting so many requests to extract information that I’ve gotten into the habit of being coy.”
Christine grinned and reached for the wine glass. Allen tapped her hand and brought the wine glass in front of him.
“How dare you. No drinking.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Enjoy the meal and don’t leave any leftovers. It’s your birthday, after all.”
“…”
Christine’s nose tingled as she heard Allen’s remark. Even though her vision was becoming blurry, her heart felt warm, unlike when she was beaten by Duff. He was the first person to remember that today was her birthday.
“Thank you, Uncle.”
“Don’t cry if you’re thankful. People will think I’m the kind of guy who makes his friend’s daughter cry.”
Allen hurriedly took a handkerchief out of his inner pocket and held it out.
The handkerchief his now deceased sick sister had crookedly embroidered his name on, which he had kept in his pocket for ten years.
Christine relaxed and joked, finding it a little funny to see him readily lending it to her but then fidgeting for fear of his precious treasure being damaged.
“Can I blow my nose too?”
“If you do that, you’ll have to wash these dishes.”
Christine burst into laughter at his immediate reaction. Tears welled up as soon as she received the handkerchief. It was a paradoxical thing.
Christine smiled brightly, saying it was a joke, and then began to taste the lavish meal in front of her.
Allen looked at her with a bitter smile.
When did that little kid become a grown-up who is used to hiding her emotions and pretending not to know anything?
He remained silent for a while, then opened his mouth when she finished eating.
“Christine, it may be presumptuous to say this since we’re not related by blood, but… thank you for growing up so bravely. It must have been difficult for you to handle everything on your own.”
Christine, who had just finished her dessert, listened to Allen, each word filled with sincerity. Although his way of speaking was clunky, Allen had always cared about her and her mother like this.
“I say this every time, but if there is anything I can do to help, I hope you can tell me. Your father also saved me from a burning house the day I almost died, so don’t feel burdened.”
“Uncle…”
Christine thought to herself every time she heard Allen say this. She wanted to get help too, but this was not a situation that could be solved with his help anymore.
As long as she and her mother used the Chimera’s Tears that Duff had to survive, she would just be giving away Uncle Allen’s fortune to the greedy Duff.
But it was different now.
“Uncle Allen, please help me just this once.”
YOU ARE READING
Beast in the Woods, Deep in the Night
Romance{ +18} Christine was an elite member of a guild who had excellent commissioning skills, but she couldn't break the curse that caused abnormalities in her body. She suffered her whole life and was only exploited by the guild she worked for. She infi...
