Predator Heart

Since 20 years ago, it has been common for nobles to divorce based on their wishes.

The old kingdom had fallen, and noblemen were willing to leave their families just to save their titles as nobles.

By the time Ellaine was born, Marquess Harris Davies and his wife were also divorced.

Shortly after her birth, her father abandoned her mother. Davies needed a wife who came from an imperial noble family.

Her mother, who had nowhere to go, could only take Ellaine to the convent.

Her mother always advised her about her father 'For people like your father, a wife is like clothes. It's easy to change.'

Little Ellaine admitted that fact without much sympathy. Growing up and living with her mother at Daybreak Abbey is all she knows. Her mother was sickly with heart disease, and by the time Ellaine was 8 years old, her mother had died. And she was left alone in the world.

She continued to live in the abbey, and although she was lonely, she was able to eat and study. She thought her father did not exist as long as she lived.

She never complained about living as an orphan. She felt that the life she lived was worthy and calming.

Her life was completely peaceful before being destroyed by her father, a man she never knew. Her feelings are full of fathomless resentment and detestation.

The news of her mother's death actually reached The Ducal of Necrosis.

"Now there are 16,000 gold coins to pay, and I suddenly became your daughter?" A teenage girl is shocked when an official letter is shown on her face to arrest her.

The Ducal of Necrosis was a prosperous family throughout the empire. From the most expensive real estate in the capital to the smallest shops in the countryside, there is no place where their influence doesn't touch.

They were a greedy wolf family. The family consumed everything.

The family's eldest son, Oliver, was the one who captured Ellaine.

"You are now Lord Davies' last remaining blood. Congratulations on becoming a Marchioness. First, sign here. You must pay for all the debt your father owed."

At Ellaine's only 15 years of age, she became a Marchioness with nothing but an absurd amount of debt.

Ellaine sat on the floor carelessly, forced to be bound by her cursed blood and bad luck. The succession ceremony to replace the seat of the Marquess took place right then and there.

She was locked up in the corner of the vast Necrosis estate. It was where women who had become contract maids were brought in like Ellaine.

Women in her situation are called 'collaterals'.

Not only her who became collaterals but dozens of young women who had the fate of her, enslaved because of their family debts.

All the women belonged to Oliver, the eldest son of the Necrosis family. Oliver was their first master, and if he died, collateral ownership people would be transferred to another family member.

***

After capturing the young girls, Oliver hands the collaterals to the head maid for the division of labor.

Luckily the head maid put Ellaine to work in the laundry.

She wasn't too surprised when she had to do laundry. She even did well. But what often makes her think is the debt she suddenly has to pay.

"What are you looking at? Come on, move your hands! There are still 4 buckets of laundry waiting for you. Your tasks will pile up the more you like to laze around!"

The maid shouted at her, pulling her out of her reverie.

Even though she is a 'Collaterals', her position is no higher than that of a maid. So they work under the supervision of the maids.

Ellaine's hand moved with a deep sigh but quiet.

It's been one year since her move to the land of Necrosis. Even though she was paid every month, the debt didn't decrease.

Just as she finished two buckets, a cute, pale-skinned girl came to the laundry.

Ellaine recognized her face. She was a girl who came a few months ago and was called "Lyra". She was also placed in the laundry with her.

Lyra came late because she had to do some gardening in the Necrosis Mansion's yard.

"Are you okay? You look weak lately. I thought you were dying."

"I'm fine. Not sick anymore." Ellaine answered while silently sorting through the collection of all the dirty items in the mansion.

Dealing with laundry is a pain she has to go through. The terrible stench she had to inhale every day made her fall sick several times.

"Working in two halves is really exhausting. I felt like dying, but gardening helped me reduce my debt."

"That's all we can do. Even dying is difficult because of debts."

Lyra came over and tapped Ellaine's shoulder and asked.

"You suggested that I look for additional work. But I don't know how much debt you have until you have 3 additional jobs?"

Ellaine shook off the laundry while answering expressionlessly.

"16,000 gold coins."

A commoner family could use one silver coin to eat in a week. Ten silver coins were equal to one gold coin.

Out of everyone in the mansion, Ellaine was the girl who had the most debt.

"Haahh! That's really bad. Even if you spend your life working here, you still won't be able to pay it back. That's an unreasonable debt if you're a commoner. What family are you actually from?" Lyra widened her eyes when she found out how much debt Ellaine had.

16,000 gold coins could buy a fairly large land.

"This is a debt my father hasn't paid."

"...Debt? That much?!"

"10 years ago, my father applied for a loan of money to the Necrosis Family to build his territory. But because the interest was too high, my father couldn't pay it off until his debts piled up that much."

Instead of her father, who died, the responsibility, including the debt, fell on Ellaine.

Lyra was silent for a moment after Ellaine finished speaking.

"So, you are noble."

Only a noble would be willing to spend a lot of money just to buy land.

"Although I have never seen my father, I used to be the daughter of a Marquess. That was before the old kingdom collapsed. Now, I am Marchioness."

Lyra gawked with wide eyes, not expecting that the girl who had been doing laundry with her was a noble.

She was truly amazed to see a noble lady doing laundry with such humility.

"Does your beauty originate because you come from a noble family? A cute face with shiny silver hair and pure white skin. Seeing you here is truly a terrible fate."

Being pitied by a girl with the same fate made Ellaine want to laugh.

"At least I'm grateful that Oliver was kind enough to let me pay off my debt this way. Otherwise, he might have asked me to sell my body."

Hearing Ellaine's story made Lyra feel like a lucky girl.

"I owe 1,000 gold coins. Although the amount is still too much for me, at least my situation is better than yours."

"Is your father also burdened with interest on loans and can't pay them like my father?"

"I don't know if it's worse than your dad or not. But my dad sold me here because he's addicted to gambling." Lyra replied flatly.

"You're being sold?! Gosh, that's a lot worse than I thought."

"Despite being sold, Oliver let me out of here after paying 1000 gold coins... Tch, if I knew this, I would have killed him when I had the chance!" Lyra looked furious as she remembered the time she was sold to the Necrosis family.

"...." Ellaine was silent when the cute girl suddenly said a cruel thing.

"Even if we work all day, we'll only earn one silver coin... Although this is quite expensive for the contract maids' fees, it's still not enough to get us out of here."

"Pay off the debt of 16,000 gold coins... When can I pay off the debt?" That thought often bothered her when she was at work.

"Ah, have you ever heard of someone paying off collaterals?"

After their long conversation, Ellaine finally took her eyes off her task and looked into Lyra's eyes.

She was interested in the story but was aware of her condition and tried not to expect the impossible. "My debt won't be repaid. It will take me 444 years. That's without dying. That's how long it will take me to pay it off."

"Hah?" Lyra was surprised when Ellaine answered her question with something else.

"Even though it's a true story, I don't believe there is someone who can pay my debts. Even for a Marquess, it's a huge sum."

Ellaine explained it calmly. Even though he has worked for a year, his debt has not decreased.