I Think My Husband Might Be a Murderer - Chapter 13

The idea that I could negotiate with a loan shark was pure delusion.

No, the very notion of having a normal conversation had been wrong from the start.

First, I checked the authenticity of the seal on the loan agreement. Unfortunately, it was genuine, with no room for forgery.

“There’s something I have to say first. An interest rate of fifty percent is absurd.”

I brought up the point I felt most compelled to address.

“But your father agreed to those terms, and now, regrettably, you’re the one left to repay it. There’s nothing we can do—just employees, after all.”

The answer was consistent. Finn Schneider spoke again with a sympathetic expression, “Let’s go over the conditions we’re offering. I hope you’ll understand they’re quite considerate of your situation, Miss Prim.”

He slid a paper across the table, still wearing that affable smile.

I picked up the contract they handed over. As soon as I read the contents, a dry laugh escaped me.

“…Sell my body or surrender the house.”

They were telling me to choose one of the two.

I looked back and forth between the two men with a hardened expression.

Finn Schneider raised his chin toward Pavid, who was standing, and asked playfully, “Pavid, how much do you think she’d fetch?”

He gestured toward me as if I were an object. Pavid narrowed his beady eyes and began scanning me up and down.

A flicker of greed passed through his gaze. Licking his lips, he replied, “Hard to say. We’d need to strip her down to know for sure, but on the surface, she’s top-tier.”

His coarse voice grated on my ears, and I involuntarily grimaced.

“You heard that, right?”

Finn Schneider met my eyes again. His slitted eyes curled upward.

“Either repay the money right now or choose one of those two options.”

“……”

“The choice is yours.”

I should have protested such outrageous terms right away, but I was so stunned, no words came out.

And I had no idea what they might do to me.

I shouldn’t have let them into the house.

I was in too much of a rush to end the conversation and get to work. I hadn’t thought it through.

“As I said earlier, we’re just employees. We have to show results. We can’t return empty-handed, can we?”

I tried to think of a way out.

If I gave up the house, I’d have nowhere to go. I couldn’t just abandon the place I’d shared with my father.

But I had no means of repaying over 100 million Berks. And the other option…

Should I scream?

“Miss Prim, judging by that expression, you’re thinking of yelling, aren’t you? You think we’re new to this?”

“……”

“The less cooperative you are, the worse the terms will get.”

Finn Schneider dropped his gentle smile and gave an order to Pavid, “Lock the door.”

Pavid stomped across the floorboards toward the door.

I ground my teeth so hard the sound was audible.

“You call this work? Deceiving and threatening people like this?”

“Generally speaking?”

Finn Schneider chuckled.

“We’re pretty gentlemanly, actually. Polite and nice, aren’t we? You don’t often find this level of good looks either.”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

This man was spouting nonsense that had nothing to do with the situation.

He was so full of vanity he probably didn’t even know what a real gentleman was.

Johannes Schultz…

Come to think of it, I’d only seen him at the naval headquarters or at work. He was probably even more gentlemanly in everyday life.

Compared to him, Finn Schneider couldn’t even imitate the ‘gentle’ in gentleman.

“Did you just scoff?”

“No, of course not.”

I quickly wiped the smirk from my lips. But Finn Schneider was clearly offended.

“You definitely scoffed. In situations like this, we’ve got a trick we like to use.”

He looked truly ruffled.

I must have struck a nerve.

“Pavid, what’s taking so long! Pavid!”

Finn Schneider turned around with a sour expression and headed toward the door, throwing a warning back at me.

“Stay put. If you try to run, I’ll sell you off on the spot.”

His bony finger looked like it might pierce me.

I was terrified, but this was the perfect chance.

If I ran out the back door and bolted down the opposite street, or made it to Mrs. Pensler’s house, or caught a carriage to the ducal estate…

I waited for him to move away, then bolted for the back door.

But when I opened it, I froze on the spot.

“Duke Schultz…?”

***

“Pavid! Pavid!”

Finn Schneider ran his hand through his hair repeatedly as he rushed to the front entrance. When he took in the scene before him, his face turned ghostly pale.

“W-what…!”

The burly Pavid was being held by the scruff of the neck, struggling uselessly. His face had turned a deep purplish red, like he was about to pass out.

Men in crisp white military uniforms blocked the doorway completely. They were Dochilia’s navy.

The navy? Here?

The police weren’t a real concern. If you paid them off or made friends, they worked with you.

But the navy was different. They didn’t bend.

And while they were concerned with public safety, they never involved themselves directly like this.

Finn Schneider bit his lips nervously and took a step back. But it didn’t take long for him to stop—once he felt the presence of a large shadow looming over him.

“Damn it!”

He slowly turned around and looked up at the man blocking his path, face full of shock.

His expression turned to outright horror.

“Johannes Schultz…? Why are you here, sir?”

Finn Schneider’s voice trembled miserably.

Wasn’t he supposed to be letting me off?

“How far am I supposed to let you off the hook?”

Suddenly, that ice-cold voice struck through his mind.

Finn Schneider was the illegitimate son of Count Schwaben, born to a courtesan.

He couldn’t even inherit the count’s surname—a half-baked noble.

He tried desperately to imitate gentlemen. Yet, perhaps due to his mother’s profession, he never abandoned his wretched street manners.

Naturally, there was only one path for him.

Though he would never be recognized as nobility, he still demanded every privilege and lived a debauched life.

That’s when he opened Banux and began stripping women bare, drowning himself in liquor. One day, while indulging, a group of navy men burst into the shop.

He happened to hear someone mention “Colonel Schultz” and glanced over, meeting Johannes Schultz’s eyes by chance. That was back when Johannes still held the rank of colonel.

Johannes warned him, as though fully aware of his despicable schemes.

He told him to tread carefully, since he knew Count Schwaben was backing him.

So, from then on, Finn acted more discreetly, operating illegally in the shadows while pretending to know his place—so why?

He didn’t know the reason. But what was clear now was that he had just landed himself in a deep pit.

***

“Duke Schultz…?”

I stood there in a daze, startled when I noticed the navy officers surrounding the house.

I wasn’t curious how or why he was here. I just felt relief.

Without understanding what was happening, I followed behind the Duke of Schultz as he stepped decisively into the house.

He came to a halt before Finn Schneider.

“Johannes Schultz…? Why are you here, sir?”

I couldn’t help but frown as I watched Finn Schneider’s increasingly idiotic expression.

Then I let out a short scoff.

Soon, he clutched his forehead in disbelief. It was the first time I saw the weak side of a man I hadn’t thought capable of showing it.

Then it happened.

Thud. Pavid collapsed to the floor. The sight made Finn Schneider tremble even more violently.

What a surprise. That hateful face no longer frightened me in the slightest.

I could almost hear the frantic gears turning in his head.

After brooding for a moment, he suddenly brightened and shouted, “I thought the royal family stripped the Schultz family of their summary judgment authority… didn’t they?”

“Looks like those eyes of yours are just for show. Too bad.”

Duke Schultz scoffed.

“That’s why I came as a colonel.”

Finn Schneider, quick-witted as he was, abandoned what little pride he had left and dropped to his knees. “P-please, just this once. If I’m arrested, my father… my father might actually kill me.”

“That’s your problem.”

Finn reached trembling hands toward the Duke’s pants leg. At that, the navy officers kicked his shoulders away.

Finn Schneider sprawled across the floor.

“I didn’t expect you to still be pulling this filth. Didn’t I warn you?”

Duke Schultz’s voice was frigid. He then turned to face me, his blue eyes locking on mine. Still, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

His lips, tightly sealed until now, parted. “Right now, I can’t offer you any help, Miss Prim.”

His voice was softer than I expected. I thought it would be cold, as always…

But the relief I had begun to feel—the hope that things might return to normal—faded like mist.

Of course. Johannes Schultz had no obligation to pay off my debt.

I felt ashamed for the brief moment I’d clung to such a selfish thought.

At his signal, Sir Fret stepped forward from among the navy men and spoke, “To be precise, what they’ve done is indeed illegal. It’s a common tactic, though explaining now would take too long.”

“Then…!”

“But proving it in court will take time. Until then, we can’t legally stop them. Unless you pay the amount they claim, you’ll lose the house.”

Sir Fret glanced around the interior. When I made a despairing face, he continued with a sympathetic look, “The law is frustratingly unfair. Even the Colonel can only lend up to fifty million Berks to a civilian.”

“But if we were in a position where helping me required no compensation… things would be different,” Johannes Schultz cut in smoothly.

I fell silent. I knew exactly what he meant.

After acting like he had never proposed, he was now suggesting marriage again.

Why?

I looked up at him, confused. He leaned slightly closer.

And asked, “Do you want help?”

“……”

“Practically speaking.”

His piercing blue eyes gleamed for a moment. I nearly laughed.

“Practically speaking.”

He was throwing my own words back at me.

It was a thoroughly unromantic proposal. And yet, perhaps more romantic than any other.

Who else would propose to a penniless commoner while throwing away 135 million Berks?

And the man offering it was Johannes Schultz—the man every noble lady longed for.

Even if his face hadn’t been officially revealed, everyone in high society surely knew him.

A small laugh slipped out.

One way or another, I had to protect this house. I had no room left for pride.

This wouldn’t come free.

But no matter the conditions he set, I was the one at a disadvantage.

Now that he’d proposed, at least he wouldn’t sell me or take the house.

With firm resolve, I answered, “Yes. Desperately.”