The Crown Prince's Courtesan - Chapter 7
“You, why are you here?”
“What do you think? I came to collect. Was real disappointed when you ran off like that. But you made a bit of a name for yourself in the capital, so you were easy to find.”
Collect?
Her stomach dropped. She braced her muscles just to keep from collapsing.
There was no one left to catch her if she fell. She had to stay sharp.
“Take your hands off my sister. Now.”
Marie stormed inside and slapped away the man’s hand from Freya with a sharp smack. The men burst out laughing like they’d just heard the punchline to a good joke.
“Well, now. That hand’s got bite. Guess you’re not much like your dainty mama after all, huh?”
“What are you doing here?”
The man who had been shaking with laughter suddenly sobered and said coldly:
“I told you already. I’m just here chasing down the b*****s who skipped out on their debt. Nothing wrong with that, is there, sweetheart? See, when the parents mess up, it’s the kids who pay. So who do you think ought to repay that debt? That’s right — it’s you. Isn’t it?”
Marie didn’t flinch.
“Don’t talk nonsense. My aunt paid off everything before we left. The house, the estate — you already took it all! I don’t need to say it twice. Get out, before I call the authorities.”
The man grinned lewdly.
“Oh, is that so? You sure there’s no debt left?”
“Father is already dead! Are you seriously trying to threaten me with debts owed by a dead man?”
“Heh heh… Yeah. A dead man can owe a debt too!”
Even as Marie trembled with fury, the man showed his yellowed teeth in a grin, eyes gleaming with malice as he looked her up and down. Her heart felt like it might stop from the sheer revulsion of that smile.
“Get. Out. Now.”
Pulling her sister behind her, Marie quickly scanned the room. The man, his two lackeys, and the carpet beneath their feet, now stained with mud. The silence in the house filled her with sudden dread. Her aunt… where was her aunt? Had those men done something to her?
“Ah, don’t worry. That old lady, your only real source of money right now, we didn’t touch her. But you, sweetheart…”
The man’s face twisted into something cruel as he lunged, gripping Marie’s shoulder and yanking her toward him.
“Ah!”
She didn’t want to show weakness, but the roughness of his grip contorted her face in pain.
“It’s all fine and well to flash your claws to protect yourself. But you should really learn who you’re flashing them at. Do I look like someone who wouldn’t hit a girl?”
“N-no—Argh!”
Marie struggled hard, his grip painful and demeaning. There was no reason, no justification for this humiliation. Shaking her head, she caught an opening and sank her teeth deep into his hand. The man let out a hiss of pain and shoved her away with force.
Disheveled and breathless, Marie grabbed her sobbing sister and held her tight, shielding her as best she could.
“Ha! You’ve got some bite after all, sweetheart.”
The man licked his lips, his voice slow and mocking as he stared her down.
“Good. Might as well be careful, since your body might be mine soon. You’re a submissive, aren’t you? Pretty little thing like your mother. You’ll fetch a nice price. So keep those mutts off that sweet little body of yours. Wouldn’t want to damage the merchandise, right?”
“Shut your mouth!”
She couldn’t understand a single word coming out of that madman’s mouth. He stepped closer, his whole body trembling with grotesque excitement. The bulge forming in his trousers was revolting. Marie glared at him with sheer disgust, and in response, the debt collectors broke into raucous laughter.
“Hah, I just love it when girls glare at me like that. Feels like I might burst, it’s so damn thrilling.”
The man let out a vile giggle, and the lackeys beside him openly scanned Marie from head to toe, their eyes dripping with lewdness. She felt her little sister shivering violently in her arms, frozen with fear.
‘We can’t get caught here.’
Even as fury and humiliation churned in her gut, a cold clarity took hold. Their words were outrageous lies, but the fact they had marched into her home like this meant they must be relying on something. Something dangerous.
And ominously real.
“I’m not your product.”
“Wrong, sweetheart. You are. Your daddy put you up as collateral.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Is it now? Heh! That old debt wasn’t the end of it, y’know. Let time pass, and debt snowballs. You didn’t know that, did you? Lucky for us, you turned out to be a submissive Omega!”
“…What?”
Absurd. Completely absurd. Her vision turned red with rage. Marie screamed, her voice raw and sharp.
“If you’re going to lie, at least do a better job!”
“A lie? Hah! Listen to this one, acting all noble and innocent just ‘cause she’s got some title. That’s not how this works, missy.”
“Ack!”
Her hair was yanked back violently. Tears sprang to her eyes. Laughter echoed above her as something was shoved in front of her face.
And Marie froze.
This…
What the hell is this?
“Here, Marie Alphrose. Look closely. See that seal? That’s your father’s signature. Check the date, too.”
“…”
That damned contract — the one that had dragged her family into hell years ago. This one was similar, yet different: there was an additional invoice. One with a ludicrous sum and an impossible repayment deadline.
