Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 247
The mountain had only one path. Even if the two of them had suddenly veered onto a side trail, they wouldnāt have been able to go far. At the very least, there should have been some soundāyet there was nothing. Not a single trace.
Still unwilling to give up, Count Rhodiam had started scanning the path ahead when he noticed somethingāthe landscape in front of him was distorted.
Having done some study on dungeons to better understand how to sell Irene for a high price, the Count immediately recognized the phenomenon.
It was a precursorāa sign that a dungeon was about to appear.
Or worseāit had already manifested.
At that realization, he had run.
Run as fast as he could to escape.
āWhat the hell just happened? Did they both get caught up in it?ā
But that night, Irene and Michael reappeared in Brewa.
The Count didnāt approach them immediately.
For one, he feared Sir Michael. But more than that, what held him back was the distortion he had seen on the mountain path.
He had always prided himself on having good instincts.
And those instincts told himā
That if he recklessly approached Irene, something very, very bad would happen to him.
So instead, he wrote her a letter, as politely as possible.
To his surprise, he received a reply. A response with Michaelās name written on it.
The message had said that if he came to this place today, he would get what he wanted.
So he had expected Sir Michael to meet him in Ireneās stead.
Yet now, seeing Irene standing before him alone, his greed flared up again.
He had thought he could intimidate her like before and get what he wantedā
Butā
What is happening right now?
The Irene standing before him was no longer the girl who trembled at his every word.
She had already seemed strange when she first left for the fortress, but now she was completely different.
Not a trace of fear remainedāonly an unshakable confidence in herself.
Faced with that overwhelming certainty, the Count instinctively shrank back.
Cold sweat trickled down his spine.
If things continued like this, he might not even be able to recover the money he had spent on her.
āYour money. Do you want it back?ā
While the Count hesitated, Irene spoke.
Her voice dripped with disdain.
Even sensing her contempt, the Count nodded frantically, as if possessed.
At his desperate eagerness, Irene let out a small laugh and opened the bag she had brought.
A moment later, gleaming coins rested in her palm.
At a glance, they resembled gold coinsābut when he noticed the subtle flashes of a different-colored metal in the center, the Countās eyes widened.
They were fortress-issued coins.
Currency made from dungeon metals, each worth a hundred standard gold coins.
A single one was recognized by every nation, valued at 10,000 gold.
Irene placed them on the table one by one.
Ten in totalā100,000 gold.
The exact price of her ransom.
The Count lunged for them, hands shaking.
Completely oblivious to the fact that they were in an upscale restaurant, he frantically shoved the coins into his pockets as if someone might try to take them away.
Only after he had secured all ten coins did his greed stir once again.
Irene had paid off 100,000 gold so effortlessly.
And she still bore the name Rhodiam that he had given her.
If he didnāt let her goāif he continued to hold on to her, he could extract even more money from herā¦
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Irene picked up another fortress coin.
āIf you remove the name Rhodiam from me, Iāll give you one more.ā
āButāā
āAnd if you sign a contract stating that you will never appear before me again, Iāll give you another.ā
The Count hesitated.
His original plan had been to keep her tied to him for as long as possible.
To use every legal claim recognized by continental law to keep her bound, extracting every last coin he could from her.
But that wouldnāt be easy.
Now that she was a key figure in the fortress, the Alliance of Kingdoms would side with her.
In that case, simply taking what she was offering now might be more advantageous for him.
If he just did as she asked, an enormous sum of money would immediately be his.
Rather than a long, exhausting battle, it was far moreā¦
Just as the Count was about to agree, Irene smiled and lifted three more coins into view.
āBut if you kneel and publicly apologize for everything youāve done to meāso that everyone here can hearāIāll give you these as well.ā
The Countās pupils wavered.
By now, everyone in the restaurant was watching them.
He had to choose.
Would he protect what little dignity remained in his title as a Count?
Or would he take the gleaming gold before him?
The answer had already been decided long ago.
