# 18
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He tore open the sealed envelope in confusion.
The village head slowly began reading the documents.
But at some point, the pace of his reading quickened.
“What… what is this?”
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
The old man noticed the village chief's unusual reaction, so he got up from his chair and asked.
The village chief raised his head, his lips and chin trembling.
“The bank called demanding payment of my debts.”
"…What?"
“They say the creditor demanded it. If I don’t pay within two weeks, all my accounts will be seized!”
The village chief shouted in an angry tone.
The papers he was holding fell from his hand.
But unfortunately, the crisis that befell him had only just begun.
* * *
To harass someone, one needs psychological relief.
What if that comfort were removed?
The village chief had run a large business in his youth, but retired about five years ago, leaving everything to his son.
Unlike the village chief, who was good at business, his son had no talent for making money.
He began to reduce profits little by little, and then he began to deplete assets.
“Meditation shoes that help awaken mana?”
“This is my main business product this time.”
“Main product? So you bought a factory to make these worn-out shoes?”
“This time I will definitely succeed. You know how much people admire magicians. You will l like fire.”
"Oh, my God."
“But, Dad, I used more money than I expected to buy the factory land... Can you lend me some money?”
“Where do I get the money?”
“You have friends, right? I can't borrow from anywhere else... I swear it's going to work. It's going to be a hit!”
The village chief could not ignore his only son's request, so he borrowed money in his name.
It did not stop at one time, but was repeated two or three times.
All the borrowed money went to his son's business.
The village head was worried, but he composed himf when he saw his son working hard.
He was also reassured because the creditors who lent him the money were long-time business partners.
But suddenly, they demanded payment of the debt through the bank that signed the guarantee.
And that's not all.
Contacts came from the municipality, the merchants' union, and various other places.
All full of pressure on him.
"What's going on? What happened suddenly?"
In the midst of messages pouring in like a natural disaster, the village chief could not regain his composure.
Of course, matters concerning Elinor were put on the back burner.
He no longer has time to worry about the former village head's request, he is busy finding a way out for himf.
With the fire under his feet, he didn't have time to pester a strange single mother.
Matthias received a report from one of his followers and was very satisfied.
“Very easy.”
Can it be that easy?
If James had listened when Matthias threatened him politely and verbally, his father would not have met this fate.
Everyone dug their own graves.
Matthias ordered his followers to continue watching and returned to the inn in a better mood.
He wanted to show off his accomplishments to Elinor.
“At first, she was definitely afraid of me. But now, she seems to be ignoring me a little.”
Throughout his life, no one dared to ignore him.
Everyone respected Duke Hilliard, who had wealth and power.
He was a man who could not be dealt with easily.
But Elinor sometimes seemed to forget that he was the only duke in the empire.
Otherwise she wouldn't be able to look at him like he couldn't handle an insect properly.
“Um. Baby’s mother, are you in the room?”
Matthias knocked on Elinor's room door.
But instead of responding, he heard the sound of the baby crying from inside.
The loud crying did not stop easily.
Is the child alone in the room?
Mathias quickly opened the door.
“Ah, Mr. Matthias.”
Contrary to his expectations, Elinor was in the room.
But her condition seemed a little strange.
Her eyes were cloudy as she held the baby.
Her body seemed strangely heavy, and her movements were slow.
Matthias frowned.
“How are you? Did you stay up all night?”
“Heh, night...”
Elinor laughed hollowly.
"If I had just stayed up all night, it would have been better. I would have been carrying the baby all day."
"Ow...! Ow!"
"Okay, it's okay. Stop crying, okay?"
Elinor's face, as she shook her arms, was devoid of life.
Matthias's expression froze.
“Why is the baby crying like that? He was fine yesterday.”
"It was like this a few days ago. But today it's worse."
“Is he sick?”
“He's teething.”
Elinor replied in a harsh voice.
“A small front tooth has grown, like a grain of rice. Babies at this age become sensitive because of teething,” Sophie said.
“Ooooh...!”
"Yes, well. Baby, can't sleep? Can you get some sleep?"
Elinor looked very tired.
This is to be expected, as the child had never bothered Elinor before.
Her nephew was so cute that she wondered if he was an angel descended from heaven.
Even when he refused food or sleep, it was over quickly. It never lasted more than ten minutes.
Mostly, he played alone the rest of the time.
“But where did that cute kid go?”
Now, all that was there was a child demon from Hell, who seemed to want to devour Elinor.
“Ow!”
“Tch, give me the baby.”
Matthias couldn't bear to see her like this, so he extended his hand.
Elinor's gaze wavered.
There was a conflict between her desire to rest even a little and her caution against handing the child over to the evil Duke.
‘But the Duke is taking good care of the child.’
Since he has five younger brothers.
Since he is more experienced in raising children than anyone else, couldn't he solve the teething problem as well?
Her exhausted body finally found an excuse to hand the baby over to Matthias.
When she handed the baby to him, Matthias held him steady.
"Here is."
"Ow! Ow!"
“Yes, yes.”
Matthias gently patted the crying child's body.
He found the baby's handkerchief on the table and turned around.
“Where are you going?”
“To the kitchen.”
Elinor quickly followed him without telling her why.
In the kitchen, Matthias filled a bowl with cold water.
Wet the clean tissue, wrap it around his finger, then carefully insert his little finger into the child's mouth.
His hand was very large, even his little finger was a bit big for a child.
“Oh.”
“Yes, was the pain caused by the tooth?”
Matthias whispered gently, gently massaging the baby's gums.
After a moment, as if by a miracle, the baby's crying calmed down a little.
Elinor's eyes widened in surprise.
The baby stopped crying.
Even though she held him all day, soothed him, and ed him, nothing worked!
“Did you feed the baby?”
“Oh, no. He was constantly crying and complaining… He didn’t want to drink milk.”
"With a toothache, it's normal for him to have no appetite. But how can you not feed the child well?"
“I didn't mean that...”
“I saw earlier that the baby loves apples. Do you have apples?”
“There must be some apples you bought last time.”
“Look for him.”
Mathias ordered arrogantly.
But Elinor, astonished by his miracle, ran off to look for apples as if she were a junior soldier in a cavalry.