"I have a wife, I have a wife, hehehe..."
Castina was sitting in front of the dressing mirror, lost in thought, when suddenly she heard a silly voice coming from the corridor behind her. She couldn't help frowning and wondering to herself if her prospective fiancé was a fool. She shook her head slightly, clicked her tongue, and then frowned and looked sideways towards the door of the room.
Heavy footsteps approached, and then the door was pushed open with a bang. A short and fat noble young master appeared at the door.
He had a mushroom haircut that was popular in the noble circle. His appearance was really unique, just like a European version of Men-chan, with a round face and small eyes, and a face full of fat. He was wearing an exquisite silk robe. His body was like the Michelin Man, and on his feet were a pair of pointed-toe long boots that were popular but looked very funny in the noble circle. No matter how you looked at it, he seemed very awkward. At this moment, he had a silly expression on his face, staring straight at Castina in front of the dressing mirror and giggling non-stop.
Castina originally thought that the person she was going to marry in this alliance would be a shrewd and capable knight merchant. She never expected it to be such a character! She was speechless in her heart, while this noble young master couldn't stop smiling. His eyes first rested on Castina's face and then moved to her chest, which was tightly wrapped by the clothes but still outlined an extremely voluptuous curve, as if it was about to burst out of the fabric. He even swallowed saliva.
"My elder brother said before."
"Women with big breasts can have many children."
"You are my woman now. We will have many, many children, hehehe..."
Hearing these words, Castina looked at the noble young master in front of her and felt extremely disgusted. As a woman, especially a woman like her who was heavily in debt and forced to make a living by gray means in the market, she had encountered countless rogues. But generally speaking, those people just peeked at her through the clothes and said a few vulgar jokes to tease her. But the disgust brought by this fool in front of her far exceeded all the rogues she had encountered before. That feeling really made her nauseous.
She lowered her head slightly. Her beautiful face was full of discomfort, her eyebrows were tightly knitted, and her lips were slightly pursed. Her fair hand was tightly grasping the back of the chair, listening to the fool chattering endlessly about the so-called "advantages" of women with big breasts that his elder brother had told him. She shook her head slightly and sighed helplessly.
She really didn't understand what her father was thinking. He actually wanted to solve the problem through marriage alliance. This was simply putting someone's life at risk. This definitely wouldn't work. But it was a pity to just let this fat sheep go. Marriage alliance was definitely not an option. So she had to think of a way to get some gold coins from this fool.
The old butler, Delsson, usually followed his young master closely. Although his young master was born dull-witted, he had watched him grow up and regarded him as no different from his own grandson. He was originally discussing the legal and territorial matters of the Marquis' territory with Marquis Hall. In a blink of an eye, his young master disappeared. After a search, he found that his young master was in his fiancée's boudoir. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
In Castina's boudoir, his young master and Castina were squatting on the ground playing marbles. This scene made a smile appear on his old face. It wasn't the first time they had tried to form a marriage alliance with a down-on-their-luck noble. But none of the noble ladies before treated his young master sincerely. But this Miss Castina in front of him not only didn't dislike his young master's low IQ but also could accompany his young master to play children's games with laughter and conversation. This made the old butler extremely happy. In his opinion, Miss Castina was really a gentle, kind, tolerant and loving woman. His young master's future was finally settled.
After persuading his young master to leave the boudoir, the butler Delsson smiled and said to Castina with satisfaction, "I'm very sorry, Miss Castina, for causing you trouble."
"Considering my young master's situation, I thought you would dislike him..."
Castina shook her head with a smile and said softly, "It's okay. I think the young master is very nice. He is simple-minded, just like a child. I like him very much."
When the old butler heard this, the smile on his face became even brighter. He nodded repeatedly and kept thanking her. He never expected that this Miss Castina, who looked extremely virtuous and seemed to possess all the virtues of a woman in the late Middle Ages, had actually almost stripped his young master of all the valuable things he had.
As soon as the old butler left happily, Marquis Hall rushed into the room in a hurry.
"Tina, that fool didn't do anything to you, did he?"
Castina looked at the nervous expression on her father's face, shook her head slightly, and said with a helpless smile, "What could he do?"
Then, Castina took out all the trophies she had won from playing marbles with the fool from her pocket and slapped them on the dressing table. Looking up at Hall, she said, "You should stop this. You know my situation. Marriage alliance is like killing someone."
"Look, a gold ring, gemstones. I estimate they are worth at least twenty or thirty gold coins."
"That's not a small amount."
"You have to find a way to call off this marriage alliance."
At this time, Hall looked embarrassed. He lowered his head and was silent for a while, as if he felt guilty towards Castina. Castina frowned when she saw this.
Hall sighed deeply, looked at Castina, and said with a dejected and helpless expression, "The Sare Circus, they are going to leave the free city of the Anson Marquis' territory and go to the neighboring North Marquis' territory."
"A few days ago, they sent people to demand repayment of the debt. The debt of one hundred and fifty gold coins must be paid off this month."
"Otherwise, otherwise they will take you away..."
"I... I don't want to harm anyone's life either, but those villains of the Sare Circus, I really don't want you to fall into their hands!"
When Castina heard about the Sare Circus, her heart skipped a beat. The two words "one hundred and fifty gold coins" and "Sare Circus" kept circling in her mind. She stared blankly at her father's helpless and dejected face with her coquettish eyes. Her beautiful face was expressionless, but her heart was full of despair and fear.
The Sare Circus, in name, was a circus, but in fact, its business was extremely complicated. It involved casinos, usury, brothels, freak shows, human trafficking, kidnapping, robbery. They would do anything as long as it could make money. Each of these businesses was filled with the blood and tears of the common people in the Anson Marquis' territory.
The reason why such a cruel and inhumane organization could exist and expand blatantly was mainly because there was no law in the Anson Marquis' territory, and there were no law enforcers. The order of the territory was maintained by the local nobles. The common people paid a security tax to the nobles in exchange for peace. But due to the extravagance of Castina's ancestors from generation to generation, they couldn't afford to keep noble guards, let alone enforce the law. The Anson Marquis' territory was even worse than Myanmar's northern region on Earth.
As for this debt, it was all because of Castina's grandfather, who was a complete gambler. After losing all his money in the casino under the Sare Circus, he went to borrow usury, and as a result, Castina's grandmother and aunt were all mortgaged. Castina's father, Hall, also had a very miserable childhood and youth. To survive, he was forced to learn theft, deception and other means and barely managed to make a living. It took him half of his life to pay off a large amount ofdebt and redeem this knight's fief, and then he lived a normal life. Later, he married a peasant woman who was fleeing from famine in other places. Unfortunately, his wife died of dystocia, and only the father and daughter were left to depend on each other.
Now, the neighboring North Marquis' territory is in turmoil and famine, which is a golden opportunity for the Sare Circus, a gang like this, to develop and expand. This is a debt passed down from generation to generation in the family, and it must be paid off in one lump sum, otherwise they will take people away. But how could it be so easy to come up with one hundred and fifty gold coins?
In the evening, the setting sun was shining.
The orange-red sunset shone through the thin clouds and poured down, and wisps of cooking smoke rose under this glow. The smell of burning firewood, the fragrance of wheat, and the aroma of soup were all mixed together. The sound of chopping firewood, the barking of dogs, the nagging of peasant women scolding their husbands, and the perfunctory responses of tired husbands all combined into one. The evening with the setting sun was the most pleasant and relaxing moment in this village and town. One by one, the farmers finished their day's hard work, and one by one, the hunters returned to the village and town with their spoils of the day. The peasant women were preparing dinner, and the children were playing together in groups. There was an air of peace and harmony everywhere.
Castina was wandering aimlessly in the village and town, walking silently through the still bustling market in the village and town. Her long wine-red hair fluttered in the evening breeze and looked a bit hazy under the setting sun. Her face, which usually had a charming temperament, was now full of loneliness. She lowered her head, walking without a purpose, and seemed out of place among the hustle and bustle around her.
Along the way, many villagers greeted her enthusiastically, and there were also some nosy peasant women who teased her about the marriage alliance. But Castina ignored them all and just walked on silently. In her mind, she was still echoing the matter of the one hundred and fifty gold coins. She knew very well what would be waiting for her if she couldn't come up with the money. Even if she had the "talent" of being a husband-killer and wouldn't be sent to the brothel, they would surely torture her in various cruel ways and turn her into an exhibit in a freak show. By then, even dying would become a luxury. Now, this matter had escalated from simply swindling money to a matter of life and death.
She glanced sideways and saw the old butler she had seen before taking the fool of a young master to buy snacks from the confectionery merchant in the village and town. After casually buying a big bag, the young master tasted one and said it was not good, so he threw the whole big bag directly on the ground and left angrily. The old butler naturally wouldn't bother with the candies on the ground. He leaned on his cane and hurried to chase after his young master, constantly soothing him, and several burly guards were following closely behind him.
Castina quickened her steps, bent down, picked up one and put it in her mouth first, and then picked up the candies on the ground one by one. From the perspective of Li Si, who grew up in modern society, these candies were really awful, far worse than Kinder or Dove chocolates. But for Castina, they were indescribably delicious. Although she had made a lot of money by swindling and cheating, almost all of it had been used to pay off the interest, and there wasn't even enough to buy food, let alone snacks. She had almost forgotten what sweetness tasted like.
She chewed the candies, with a lonely look in her eyes, and sighed softly. No matter how things would develop, let's eat something sweet first. After all, life is really too bitter.