ITD

CHAPTER lV

The dining room was dimly lit, not even by magic lamps, but by candles—lamp oil was too precious to waste.

As evening arrived, the members of House Devon trickled in one by one to sit at the table. Frederick’s seat remained empty, likely because he had gone gambling again. Courtney let out a sigh as she stared down at the pitiful meal.

The watery soup was worse than what an average commoner family might have.

The bread, having been bought instead of made at home, was so stale that it had turned hard. Apart from that, there was a piece of unidentifiable meat and a small serving of beans—that was the entirety of the evening’s menu.

Patricia voiced her complaint about the meager meal.

“Courtney, isn’t this a bit too harsh?”

The reason her mother’s dissatisfaction was directed at Courtney was that, ever since Devon Count had fallen for yet another scam, Courtney had been managing the family’s finances.

As expected, the ledgers were full of debt with not a single asset in sight, and they hadn’t even been properly maintained. Courtney had taken it upon herself to reorganize the debts by repayment dates and create a tight budget based on the meager income from the estate. Since there wasn’t much coming in, there was no choice but to cut back on expenses.

Courtney pursed her lips in frustration and responded bluntly to her mother’s childish complaint.

“Harsh? This is more than enough. Thanks to Martha, we’re even managing to have a proper meal at all.”

Patricia’s gaze shifted to her husband, as if pleading for him to do something. Stripped of any authority over the family’s finances by his sharp-tongued daughter, Count Devon silently moved his utensils.

“Honey, say something to her. We shouldn’t have to live like this, especially when it comes to food.”

Unfortunately, he was far too weak to mediate between his wife and daughter, especially with the guilt he carried. The Count glanced back and forth between Patricia and Courtney before reluctantly speaking.

“Courtney, perhaps you could consider your mother’s opinion. The estate taxes that came in last year could—”

“And if we use all of that, when exactly will we pay off our debts?”

“At least we could maintain some basic living standards…”

“Even eating and sleeping in this house is a luxury right now! None of this would’ve happened if YOU had managed things properly from the start!”

Courtney’s voice rose in frustration. She had obediently trusted her parents to handle things, thinking they would surely have a plan—yet look at where that had led them. Courtney wasn’t willing to give an inch anymore.

The Devon couple lowered their heads in shame, unable to respond. Courtney stifled another frustrated sigh as she looked at her parents.

Frederick and Courtney’s father, Hendrick Devon, the current Count of Devon, was not a man driven by greed or grand ambitions. People generally regarded him as a good-natured man.

The problem, though, was that he was too much of a goddamn pushover. His tendency to invest in unfamiliar businesses and lose money stemmed from his inability to say no to others’ requests.

Only young Edvard quietly ate his meal without complaint, steadily finishing the food on his plate. His mother, Elise, too busy sniffling, didn’t even tend to her son. As usual, she brought up a tiresome, tear-filled subject.

“Courtney, we can’t go on living like this forever. My… my husband says he’s found a great investment opportunity, but we just need some seed money…”

“Seed money? More like gambling money.”

Courtney snorted loudly as she sharply rebuked Elise. Having been verbally struck down, Elise lowered her head, following the example of her in-laws.

Now, the dinner table was filled with gloom instead of harmony.

Her incompetent family members seemed nothing but kind on the outside. Yet, in trying to take care of them all, Courtney felt like she was gradually becoming the villain. Her mood sank lower and lower, deep into the depths of despair.

Her gaze fell on Edvard. His plate was already more than half-empty. Courtney scraped the remnants of meat from her plate and moved them to his.

“Eat some more, Eddy.”

“Yes. But Auntie, you should eat too.”

Edvard smiled brightly and continued to eagerly move his fork. The only sound in the silent dining room was the clinking of utensils.

How much longer could they endure this?

Courtney felt like she was slowly losing herself.

***

Late at night, Courtney sat at her desk, poring over the ledgers again and again.

What she focused on most closely was the list of debts. It wasn’t just the things Devon owed, but also the money her father had given away without ever being repaid.

Some had left proper promissory notes, which was better than nothing, but many entries showed money lent without any repayment, followed by more loans given to the same people.

But since most of these were dubious business ventures, the whereabouts of those who had taken the money were unclear.

Courtney tapped the ledger lightly with her pen. There was still one way to deal with all the accumulated debt at once, though it wouldn’t leave them with much.

They could sell the last piece of the Devon estate remaining in the southern region. That bit of property was the only reason their creditors hadn’t pressed them harder yet.

But…

Courtney thought of Edvard’s innocent face.

If they sold the land, the family would retain their noble status, but they would lose the title of Count. She didn’t care if her brother died destitute in a ditch somewhere, but was it right for her to decide her nephew’s future? The thought left her uneasy.

There was also the option of selling the mansion in the capital and moving the whole family to the countryside. They wouldn’t be able to clear all their debts, but if they paid them off little by little, they might be able to hand over clean ledgers to Edvard by the time he came of age. However, this plan had been vehemently opposed by her mother.

No matter how much she stared at the ledgers, no clear solution emerged.

Courtney slapped both her cheeks lightly with her palms, trying to refocus.

She decided to deal with the most urgent matters first. She would have to ask the creditors with looming due dates for more time and contact the estate manager to see if there were any remaining valuables they could sell.

The flickering candlelight illuminated the side of Courtney’s face as she wrote letter after letter.