Chapter 1 - The Count's Daughter is currently without any money

.The Count’s daughter is back home, currently with zero money.

“Miss Gertrude, I offer my deepest condolences on the passing of your father. In the hope of providing some comfort, I would like to extend an invitation to you to attend a tea party at my house, the House of the Viscount Beltzline…”

I turned around at the voice.

Having finished my classes, I was on my way to the academy’s entrance hall in a hurry to go home.

The House of Viscount Beltzline? Who was that again? Ah, right, it’s the second son of the viscount, one year above me. A typical Prince Charming type with blonde hair and blue eyes. Uhm, what was his name again?

I looked up at his blue eyes, smiled a little awkwardly, put my hands on the skirt of my uniform, and bent my knees slightly in greeting.

“Thank you for the invitation. However, I’m sorry to say that due to the sudden passing of the head of the household, we have been forced to vacate the premises left behind.”

“V, vacating the premises?”

“Yes, the head of the household lost everything he owned, including his entire estate and even this townhouse in the royal capital, in gambling before he passed away.”

“Huh, um, all of the estate?”

The second son of the Viscount’s family’s eyes suddenly wander.

I rest one hand on my cheek and tilt my head slightly.

“Yes, therefore, we must vacate the townhouse as soon as possible.”

“Th-that’s become quite a serious matter. Um, in that case, you must be very busy, so you don’t have to force yourself to attend the tea party…”

“Yes, it’s a pity…” I said, smiling sadly, as the second son of Viscount Beltzline hurriedly left.

At his retreating figure, I couldn’t help but glance back.

And then, the maid Narissa, who was standing nearby, whispered with a smile fixed on her pretty face.

“If he’s going to show such blatant disregard, it’s rather refreshing, isn’t it?”

“Well, but that’s just how it is, isn’t it?”

I let out a small sigh and whispered to Narissa, “Having lost everything, including our estate and possessions, all that remains is the name of the Count’s family. Once they understand that, I doubt there will be any gentlemen bothering to court me.”

I honestly thought that there was no way that any man would court me for anything other than status and wealth, since I’m a plain-looking, short, flat-chested girl with no glamour whatsoever, but Narissa didn’t seem to think so.

“That’s not true.”

Narissa shook her head stubbornly. “Until now, it may have simply been that Miss Gertrude’s presence wasn’t known in noble society. Perhaps in the future, not only gentlemen from noble families but also wealthy commoners such as merchants, will take notice of Miss.”

At Narissa’s words, I unintentionally made a face unbecoming of a noblewoman.

There are no male heirs in my family to inherit the count’s title.

The head of the household has long declared that if no sons were born, he would marry off his younger daughter, Adelina, instead of me, the eldest daughter, to ensure the succession.

However, as the head of the household’s son was not born, and furthermore, he passed away before making a formal will, according to the laws of the Kingdom of Rexgarze, it was determined that my spouse, as the eldest daughter, would inherit the title of Count.

As a result, it seems I am now entering a completely bothersome and calculating period of popularity.

The quickest way for the second son or younger son of a noble family who can’t inherit the family business to obtain a title is to marry a daughter with a title and become the son-in-law.

Honestly, I’ve been stripped of everything, and I don’t have time for that. Just figuring out how to scrape together enough money to live on for the time being is already overwhelming my mind.

Of course, Well, I couldn’t say something so blunt to Narissa, even though she’s a young and incredibly capable maid. We often have quite candid conversations, but there are some things I just can’t bring myself to say.

“Please give me a break. It’s true that I need to deal with merchants from now on, but…”

Narissa gave me a sly, mischievous smile in response to my blunt reply.

“For now, the way we do business with the merchants will likely be decided by tonight’s transaction.”

One after another, carriages entered the driveway in front of the academy’s entrance hall. When the carriage bearing the crest of my family, the Count Kurzereich family arrived, Narissa and I got in.

This carriage will only be available for free use until today. The driver is retiring at the end of the day.

Most of our household staff left as soon as it became known that the head of the household had passed away suddenly after losing all his fortune in gambling. This coachman, however, happened to take a little longer to find his next job.

It’s fortunate that the autumn break begins tomorrow. It means I don’t have to hire a rental carriage or a temporary coachman to get to the academy. Right now, I really need to cut down on all my expenses that I can.

Because I’m not joking, I have zero money. Really nothing!

Wow, you gambled away all your money? That’s a real mess you’ve created for yourself.

Can you believe that even the Count’s household is in a situation where we’re getting food on credit?

Well, I guess it’s still better than not having anything to eat even if it’s on credit… But the thought of what would happen if we couldn’t pay off those debts is seriously making my stomach ache.

Ugh, I have to pay this coachman his wages up until today on a pro-rated basis, but I’ll have to ask him to wait until I have the money.

Of course, all the staff who left were also waiting. Thanks to Mother diligently writing recommendation letters, it seems they all found new jobs quickly.

At this point, I’m grateful that most of the servants quit quickly.

The message from the lawyer representing Duke Exstein, our creditor, was that there is no specific deadline, so we should carefully consider our options before contacting them. But even if they talk about considering our options, it’s not like we have many.

Whether it’s gambling or whatever it may be since there’s a formal document, the only thing to do is to hand over the entire estate as stated in that document. What else can we possibly do?

Generally speaking, the other party is a Duke, you know?

I looked it up in the aristocratic directory in the academy library, and the current head of the Duke of Eckstein family is His Majesty the King’s brother-in-law. In other words, the queen is the older sister of the current head of the Duke family. He’s the uncle of that crown prince, who is one year ahead of us at the academy and I occasionally see from afar.

By the way, the Duke apparently has another older sister, but she’s married into another Duke family.

A ducal family and the royal family. Who would dare to defy such noble figures perched high above heaven?

Well, I was surprised that such a noble person would gamble and strip someone of all their clothes!

Arriving at the townhouse located in one of the prime areas of the noble district in the northwest of the capital, I got off the carriage with Narissa.

As I stood at the front door, it opened before Narissa could lift the knocker.

“Welcome back, Miss Gertrude.”

“I’m back, Joseph.”

I nodded to the elderly butler who greeted me and entered the house.

Joseph said as he took my bonnet.

“Mr. Klaus has arrived. He’s waiting in the living room with Madam.”

At those words, I brace myself.

Tonight was a big gamble.

I had to get as much cash as I could!

“Mother, I’m back.”

When I entered the living room, Mother, who was sitting on the sofa, stood up to greet me.

“Welcome back, Rudy.”