Reborn Financier-Chapter 16: The Chains of Fear

Princess Sofia’s hands trembled as she flipped through the last pages of the book, her face darkening with every line. The open corruption, the embezzlement, the discriminatory taxes—she had expected all of this.

But what she had not expected was its extent.

Her head reeled at the thought of the figures. Profound wealth of gold, diverted into secret coffers. Outrageous taxation in the guise of "rebuilding" when rebuilding had never happened. The Aschelians were being manipulated, assuredly, but they were drained of their very vitality.

Her fists were tight, her nails biting into her palms.

"How. how is that possible?" she seethed to herself.

Across from her, Local Lord was reclining in his chair, his face shifting from feigned innocence to mirth. The fear that had crossed his face when she first entered was nowhere to be found.

A smile spread across his face.

"Do you have something amiss, my lady?" I asked, my tone thick with affected worry.

Sofia slammed her ledger shut, rising to her feet. She glared at Alric with venom.

"Lord Alric Veldon!.I asked for the actual ledgers," she answered. "Not your fabricated nonsense you present as fact."

Alric laughed, drumming his fingers idly on the arm of his plush chair.

"My lady," he spoke smoothly, "I assure you, these are the original account books. Every transaction, every tax, every expenditure is accounted for. If you require more proof, I would be more than happy to provide it, and if you want first hand review of the people, you can always do."

He was teasing, but the condescension that underlay his words was evident.

Steven, as Sofia, gritted his teeth, restrained himself by a thin thread. He had seen corruption before, but never so openly paraded. It was skillfully disguised as remodeling and reconstruction, but yet every gold coins meant for the constructions where somehow stolen with different people getting killed for it. In the eyes of the law, the Lord was innocent and uncountable for this degrading of the city.

Sofia realized that it was futile to keep arguing. The books were flawless—too flawless. There were no inconsistencies, no contradictions, no loopholes that she could even use. Even if she wanted to keep insisting that they have a more thorough investigation, it would be years, even months, before they could unravel the tangled threads of deception.

And Lord Alric understood it.

She clamped her teeth together and whirled. "We’re going."

She stepped towards the door but was halted by Alric’s voice.

"Departing so early?" he said in a voice of pretended dismay. "Let me at least offer you a meal. It would be rude of me not to entertain a guest of your stature."

Sofia brushed him off, her pace unbroken—until she stopped.

Her eyes darted to the young maid servant girl who stood to one side of the door, head bowed, hands tightly clasped together.

Bruises stained her white skin. Her frail body was shaken by a feeble tremble.

Sofia stood before Alric once more, her voice cold.

"The girl. She’s coming with me."

The mood shift was instantaneous.

Alric’s self-satisfied face dropped, his features twisting into a scowl. "My lady, this is outrageous! You can’t simply steal my servant!"

"Steal?" Sofia repeated, venom in her voice. "You speak as if she were property." "She is mine own," he cried. "She is mine own! I have done nothing but try to be kind to her, and now you will take her from me with your foolish charity? I have tried to be polite to you, and now you will use your cleverness to steal from me what is mine?"

Steven interrupted her, placing a soothing hand on Sofia’s shoulder before she could respond.

"My lady," he spoke softly, "let us let the girl decide for herself."

Sofia’s nose widened even further, but she nodded.

"Very well," she replied. "Let her decide."

Alric snorted but did nod in agreement.

"Okay," he told her, turning to the girl. "Erina, step forward."

The girl flinched when she heard her name being called, taking a moment before proceeding into the center of the room.

Steven spoke softly.

"Erina," he told her, "this will likely be your last chance. Choose wisely. Do you want to stay here, bound to this man, or go with us—where you will never have reason to fear him again?"

Erina’s mouth hung slightly open, but nothing came out.

Her hands twisted together, her entire body trembling.

The answer would have been simple. Self-evident.

And she did not speak.

Because with Erina, the decision wasn’t easy.

Her thoughts were in a turmoil. If I go... what will happen to my family?

Her parents remained here, imprisoned in this city, at the mercy of the anger of Lord Alric.

If I accompany them... he will punish them on my behalf.

Her chest tightened, her heart thudding.

She slowly swallowed the lump in her throat and could hardly muster a quivering smile on her lips.

"My lord has been kind to me," she replied, her words barely above a whisper but firm. "I... I will not leave him now."

A victorious smile sat on Alric’s face.

"See!" he exclaimed proudly. "She remains because she wishes to."

Steven’s fists were balled at his sides.

Sofia’s entire body seethed with anger, yet she could see it. The truth behind Erina’s false smile.

Her eyes were brimming with fear.

The manner in which her hands shook.

She wasn’t there because she wished to be.

She was residing there as she had no alternative.

Sofia breathed in deeply, exhaling slowly.

She was unable to do anything else.

Until then.

"Steven," she said, her tone sharp, "we’re leaving."

They paced about, and Alric laughed at their backs.

"A waste of time, my lady," he replied with a sneering smile. "Perhaps next time you will think twice before you meddle in things you have no control over."

Sofia didn’t even glance back.

She stepped out of the mansion, her feet firm, but defeat weighed heavily on her shoulders.

What’s next?

She had no way of eliminating Alric Veldon without evidence.

With evidence, his offense would be shrouded under the drapes of spurious pretenses.

And the worst of all—she had not managed to save Erina.

The young woman, hardly older than eighteen, had been left with wrists tied with chains she could not take off.

The journey to the castle by carriage was bleak.

As Sofia gazed out over the ruined city, her jaw was set.

No, this wasn’t done. That was just the beginning. To be continued...