Volume 15 Chapter 3-2 Side Story Annabella and Miriallia’s Meeting
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Black Dagger family money, or Annabella’s money, I don’t care. I just want the money I lent back!”
Gonzalo grabbed the purse hard from my hand and took the big silver coins inside. I tried to pull it back and grabbed his arm, but he was too strong. He pushed me away, and I fell on my butt.
That money was important. Lady Miriallia trusted me with it… I can’t let someone like him take it away.
I held onto Gonzalo’s leg, but he kicked me and walked away fast.
”Give it back! Please, I beg you! Just that much, please forgive me!”
”Annabella, I’ll count this as your interest payment. Starting next month, 7 silver coins every month. Take care, haha!”
I lay on the ground, crying from frustration. Even with a pretty face, I live in a dirty house. Lady Miriallia, a kind but naive noble, trusted me with money. But now, a moneylender like Gonzalo took it because of my situation.
That day, I didn’t even have the strength to go to my shop. I just walked slowly back to my husband’s parents’ house, mumbling to myself.
Tomorrow, I must apologize to Lady Miriallia first. I have no choice but to work for free to pay back what was taken.
I lay in bed thinking about tomorrow. I couldn’t sleep at all.
At sunrise, I went to Lady Miriallia’s mansion. When I got there, I opened the door and went to the reception room I cleaned yesterday.
I found Lady Miriallia sleeping on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket. It felt rude to wake her, but it was urgent.
”Lady Miriallia… please wake up… Lady Miriallia.”
”U-uh… Hmm. I just came back from Abyss Vena… Who’s waking me so early?”
”It’s me, Annabella. I was hired yesterday.”
She looked at me blankly and scratched her head. She looked very different from the sharp lady I saw yesterday.
”Annabella… Oh! I need to clean today too. Good morning. I always fall into deep sleep when I come back to town, but not during hunting.”
She recognized me and woke up properly.
”Actually… I am sorry, but I used the money you gave me for something else… I’m sorry. I will work for free to pay it back. Please forgive me.”
”Annabella, do you have debt? You have a scar on your face too.”
She looked at me worried. I quickly bowed to hide the scar.
”I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t use the money like that. Please forgive me.”
”Tell me the truth. I don’t think you’d use it just like that. There must be a reason.”
I pressed my head against her, begging.
”Please forgive me… I’m really sorry… really.”
Suddenly, I heard a voice from the garden.
”Hey, is this place really Miriallia Blackdagger’s mansion? Looks like a junk house to me.”
It was Gonzalo, the moneylender. He knew I worked here and came to demand payment again.
”Do I have a visitor?”
I held Lady Miriallia’s legs as she stood and walked toward Gonzalo. If she found out about my debt and the stolen money, I might lose this job. I was scared.
”No, it’s nothing. He came to see me. I will talk to him. Lady Miriallia, please wait here.”
”Is he someone you know?”
I avoided Lady Miriallia’s eyes and ran to Gonzalo.
”Mr. Gonzalo, please. I paid this month’s interest with the silver coin yesterday! Please, don’t come!”
”Annabella, you still owe me interest from past months. You work for the richest family in Abyss Vena — there must be something valuable you can sell. Just sell it and pay me.”
He wanted me to commit a crime. No matter how poor, I wouldn’t become a criminal. Betraying Lady Miriallia’s trust would be the worst.
”I-I can’t do that!”
Gonzalo grabbed my collar and lifted me. My cheap dress tore, and I fell hard.
”Just obey me! You’ll never pay your debt anyway. I’m giving you a way to pay!”
He kicked my stomach, pressing down hard.
”Ugh… I-I can’t…”
Suddenly, a small knife appeared in his hand.
”Ahhh! It hurts! Who did this?!”
”I saw a man hurting my maid, so I stopped him.”
Lady Miriallia threw the knife. Gonzalo pulled it out and tried to attack her. Then a strong wind blew, slicing his jacket to pieces.
”What the… is this for real?”
”If you challenge me, an S-Class Hunter, be ready to die.”
Lady Miriallia pulled a dagger and pressed it to his throat.
”Please don’t kill me! It’s a misunderstanding. I came for Annabella’s debt. She said she won’t pay, so I threatened her. Please believe me.”
Gonzalo was scared of Lady Miriallia’s killing look.
”Debt? Is it true, Annabella?”
The worst moment: Gonzalo told Lady Miriallia about the debt. No point lying now.
”Yes… about 2 gold coins left from my husband’s debt. Monthly interest is 7 silver coins, so I can’t pay.”
I answered nervously.
”I see…”
I was too scared to look at her and stared at the ground. Lady Miriallia kicked Gonzalo and pressed the dagger again.
”Your name is Gonzalo, right? Sorry, but can you clear Annabella’s debt with one large gold coin?”
”W-wait, one gold coin! Are you really going to pay?”
Gonzalo looked shocked with a dagger at his throat and a kick on his side.
”But in return, you never come near Ms. Annabella again. If I find out you do, I’ll kill you. You know I was in the Dream Demon Assassination group, right?”
Lady Miriallia pressed the dagger against Gonzalo’s temple. He was lying on his back, frozen with fear.
”I-I know! I won’t go near Annabella again! Please, don’t kill me!!”
Gonzalo wet his pants out of terror. I just stood there, dumbstruck, watching everything.
…A large gold coin… lending such a big amount to a commoner woman I just met yesterday…
”If you bring this letter to the Hunter Guild, they’ll exchange it for money.”
Lady Miriallia wrote the name, the amount, and her signature on the paper. Then she forced Gonzalo to hold it in his mouth and kicked him hard.
”Fuguuuuuuuuuuuu!”
Gonzalo couldn’t shout because of the paper, just groaned, then passed out. Lady Miriallia turned to me.
I shrank back, feeling shame and embarrassment.
”Ms. Annabella… that’s cold. If you had debt, you should have told me. Borrowing from some sketchy guy won’t end well.”
”I-I’m sorry… I can’t pay even one large gold coin back right now…”
”About that—can I change your job from commuting to living here? This money will be your moving-in fee.”
I looked up, surprised by Lady Miriallia’s offer.
”Lady Miriallia! Who pays a full gold coin just to hire a maid? I’ll repay that from my salary! And you’re too naive! Do you really think I’d run away with your money, teaming up with Gonzalo?”
I started lecturing my benefactor, all fired up.
”And if you hire a live-in maid, you usually get a background check from the Hunter Guild and watch their work for months! It’s crazy to have me, someone you just met yesterday, living here!”
Suddenly, I realized I’d just called Lady Miriallia unreasonable. A cold sweat broke out on my back.
…Oh no… I forgot she saved me from Gonzalo, and here I am complaining…
Lady Miriallia froze, looking surprised.
”Is that so? I’ve never hired anyone properly before, so I don’t know… The hunters I hired always saw the house and ran away. And everyone’s afraid of me, no one ever talks back…”
I remembered the rumors—’strongest solo Hunter of Abyss Vena,’ ‘the lonely monster hunter,’ ‘the essence sucker.’ She used to hunt with a party, but after one member died, she went solo. People whispered she was hard to get close to.
”I-I’m sorry! I was too blunt! Even though you helped me…”
”It’s fine. I have few friends… I want you to be my friend, Ms. Annabella. It’s rare to meet someone who speaks their mind without fear, and since you seem sharp, I want you as a live-in maid.”
Lady Miriallia helped me up and brushed dirt off my knees.
”Really hiring someone like me?”
”Yes, I have high hopes. You start living here tomorrow, so quit your night job today.”
…Looks like I won’t regret dedicating my life to her… I’ll tell my parents-in-law I’m living in now…
”Understood. I’ll tell my parents-in-law. And I’ll repay that large gold coin, I promise!”
”Then give this to them.”
She handed me a large silver coin.
”I can’t accept this… I can’t take more…”
”It’s fine. If you move in, your parents will have trouble. Consider it a nuisance fee.”
I remembered my family’s tight money situation this month—Gonzalo took away my living expenses.
”…I’m sorry. I’ll take this month’s salary as an advance…”
I bowed deeply.
”Money comes fast. What matters more is fixing this house. We’re cleaning today, right?”
”Yes, the entrance first.”
And so, I became the Blackdagger family’s live-in maid. I cleaned their garbage dump of a house, managed Lady Miriallia’s loose money, and handled tasks while she was away. I built trust until people said, ‘Annabella is part of the Blackdagger family.’
By the way, I think hitting level 50 in the [Maid] job in five years shows how hard I worked to repay her kindness.
Seeing Lady Miriallia smile as she brought her fiancé home made me happy, too. If she hadn’t brought me here, I’d probably be stuck in a rundown brothel, crushed by Gonzalo and despairing.
Thinking about that makes me wonder about how strange and mysterious human connections really are.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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