Chapter 28

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Chapter 28

Chloe arrived at the bank.

There were armed security robots on patrol. After they gave her a simple body search, Chloe went inside. The process wasn’t difficult because she wasn’t carrying a gun.

Guns had become common ever since Eric’s factory started manufacturing them. Mass production had become possible—the proletariat each bought one gun each to protect themselves, and aristocrats each bought several guns for their luxury. Thanks to this, gun-related incidents went rampant.

There were many from the working class and the aristocratic class who suffered damage. Eric and his factory were the only ones who benefited from the guns.

Chloe knew how Eric was being called—a dog who’s crazy about capitalism.

She agreed to some extent. After he became prominent and his factories began to be built, the gap between classes widened.

Furthermore, his factory gave low wages. There were times when left-wing individuals protested for their right to survive, but Eric did not even blink at this. That’s right. He was a dog. A dog of capitalism.

However, Chloe had no intention of criticizing Eric. He made his own choices under his own reasons. And living like that didn’t mean he had a lot of money…

Chloe didn’t know how the factory was running, and more than that, she didn’t know how much profit capitalists made. So, she naturally thought that Eric was poor. Anyone who’d see his old mansion would think that!

Anyway, Chloe had to pay off the debt she owed to Eric. Only then will she be able to revitalize his scarce life.

She sat face to face with the banker according to the instructions. Surprisingly, however, the banker was a woman she knew. It was Anne, a maid who attended to Chloe while she was still unmarried.

“Anne?”

“Milady?”

Anne also called to Chloe, her eyes wide open in surprise.

“Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I’m meeting you here, Milady! But you know, a few days ago, Milady appeared in my dream. I think it’s because I heard that you came to the capital. You gave me some cookies just like before in my dream. It was really good… No matter how many cookies I eat now, it doesn’t taste like how it did then! I think it’s because of Milady’s love, right?”

Anne began to talk in her uniquely easy-going manner.

“By the way, I really missed you, Milady. Oh, right! It’s not Milady anymore. I have to call you Madam now, right? Madam, my Madam. How have you been?”

With the unexpected encounter and the unexpectedly friendly words, Chloe could feel her warmth spreading in her heart. Chloe smiled softly and placed her hand over Anne’s.

“That’s right, I’ve been well. How about you? Are you still seeing that womanizer?”

“Ahh! Please don’t even mention him! It’s been a while since we broke up, but you’re still mentioning him!”

“Do remember that the last time we saw each other was five years ago.”

“It ended more than three years ago. What a terrible man he was. How long did it take me to get rid of him? But it’s over now.”

Anne sighed.

“Hmph. It’s goodbye to him now. But really, Madam, it’s been five years since we saw each other! Time really flies. But you really haven’t changed at all. You look the same then and now. Oh, this isn’t the time. If we keep talking like this, the general manager will scold me. I’ll be sending a letter to your residence later.”

“Alright. I’ll be waiting.”

“Yes! But what brings you here?”

Anne schooled her features back to a banker’s expression and showed a businesslike attitude. With a small smile, Chloe took a piece of paper out of her bag.

“I came because I wanted to sell this mine.”

“Milady—I mean, Madam, is this the Wesitt Mine you have here?”

“Yes.”

Anne didn’t quite understand. The Wesitt Mine was not very profitable, but if it had a good location, then its price would definitely rise.

There’s no way that the Madam didn’t know this, but why was she trying to sell it now? Even if she were to sell it now, it wouldn’t even sell for two million pounds. Anne muttered inwardly, but that didn’t mean she could say it openly.

She rummaged through the documents and pulled out a sales contract.

“You’ll need a guarantee before you can buy it. Would you allow me to check your bank balance?”

“Go ahead.”

She was a little worried that Anne would know she had no money, but it couldn’t be helped. Seeing Chloe give her consent after she nodded, Anne left her seat for a moment.

After fiddling on an abacus-like machine several times, Anne soon printed a document. She walked back to Chloe with a rather bright expression.

“You have 800,000 pounds. I believe the Madam can sell it right away after receiving a guarantee.”

“…What?”

Chloe was surprised. 800,000 pounds! Such a large amount of money couldn’t possibly be in her account. Chloe shook her head.

“I checked not long ago while I was in the north, and the account was empty. Please check it again.”

“But…”

Perplexed, Anne held out the documents to Chloe.

“The deposit was made under the name of Marquis Aslan. Here, please take a look.”

Anne underlined her husband’s name on the document, where also the details of the deposit as of yesterday afternoon were written. Chloe gently bit her lower lip. A sigh of anxiety came out.

“I think I should come back again another time.”

As she organized her bag, Chloe stood up. Her actions made her look like she was in a hurry, but this didn’t mean that she was clumsy. If it was possible to still be elegant despite being in such a hurry, then that was Chloe.

In awe of Chloe’s graceful appearance, Anne brought her hands together.

“It was nice to see you again, Anne.”

“Yes, Madam. Please be careful on your way.”

After receiving Anne’s greeting, Chloe left the bank, and while she was on her way to the exit, the security robots searched her once again. Until then, Chloe was still dazed.

Why do I have money, because my husband deposited the money, why did my husband give me money, what is he thinking, what on earth…

Like fragments, her thoughts were terribly scattered. They couldn’t be linked together properly. Right then, Chloe thought that she should return home as soon as possible to meet Eric. She hurried into the carriage.

After returning home, Chloe immediately went to Eric. When she heard from Daniel that he was in the lab, her steps led her to that place. Looking at the spider webs and moss in the hallway the whole way, Chloe was thrown into a state of distress once again.

Chloe vowed to bring in a housekeeper to clean this place one day. Eric certainly wouldn’t like it, but as the lady of the house, she couldn’t just let this happen.

What would others say when they see this? Just thinking about it made her nauseous. Chloe pushed the visible trash with her feet and briskly strode forward.

“May I come in?”

Soon after, she heard Eric’s answer. Chloe pushed open the lab’s creaking iron door. As soon as she did, the pungent smell of gunpowder overpowered her senses. Chloe went inside and covered the lower half of her face with a handkerchief.

Eric had a neat appearance. The disorganized countenance she first saw before was nowhere to be seen. While glancing at his clean vest, Chloe walked closer to Eric.

“What is it?”

Eric said this without hiding how he felt bothered and displeased by her.

“I told you to refrain from meeting me while I’m in the lab.”

“I have something to say. I don’t think it can wait until dinnertime.”

“Is it urgent?”

“To me,”

Chloe cleared her throat.

“Did you transfer some money to me?”

Eric didn’t answer. And to Chloe, this silence was enough of an answer. She took in a breath, recalling the details of the deposit that Anne had underlined.

“Why did you do that?”

“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t do that?”

Eric asked back. Chloe’s brows furrowed.

“You always do this. Whenever I try to talk to you about anything, you always turn around my words and answer with another question. Isn’t your attitude the same as avoiding the matter?”

“It can’t be helped if that’s what you think. But you should know that I’ve always had this manner of speech. It can’t be changed now.”

“Darling!”

Chloe raised her voice.

“I’m serious. I’m telling you that I can’t receive this money. I can’t.”

“Why? It’s not against the law for a husband to give his wife money. Just the same as inheritance tax.”

“Because we’ll soon be divorced.”

At Chloe’s determined words, Eric scowled. Chloe didn’t stop.

“We’re going to divorce anyway. What will I do with that money?”

“Don’t you just have to spend all that money until we get divorced?”

“Then the burden I carry in my heart will only grow bigger. I can’t take this money. I’m not going to use any of it.”

“It’s not a burden that you carry in your heart,”

Eric let out a sigh as he swept back his fringe.

“Isn’t it because you don’t want to owe anything to someone like me?”

“What are you talking about!”

“Correction. Even if it isn’t a bastard like me, you don’t like being indebted to anyone at all. Isn’t that because you’re the youngest daughter of a duke? Isn’t that the vanity of acting superior over others?”

Eric glared persistently at Chloe as he said this.

“Did I say anything wrong?”

Chloe bit her lower lip. Eric wasn’t wrong. Chloe hated to be indebted to others, and she had been like that since birth.

However, she couldn’t agree with what he said about vanity—that she thought she’s superior to others. This thought never crossed Chloe’s mind, and she knew for a fact that she would never act like that, even unconsciously.

But of course, even if she had this conviction, uncertainty still lay underneath.

Because she didn’t trust herself.

So, instead of answering, Chloe avoided Eric’s gaze and looked away.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────