Chapter 476
Gustav was yanked forward by Count Oskar, the man’s grip cold and unbreakable.
“Call your father,” Oskar growled. “If you don’t pay a single cent, I’ll sell your organs one by one p>
“I-I’ll call him! I’ll call my father right now!” Gustav stammered. With no escape left, he fumbled for his bracelet phone, terror shaking his fingers as he dialed.
As this unfolded, Alex stood quietly on the side, watching Count Oskar.
No one else noticed it—but Oskar lowered his head slightly, a tiny nod of respect.
Their oath to hide Alex’s real identity still held. Whenever they crossed paths in public, they kept their connection distant.
For Alex, who had just obtained Prussian citizenship, the stakes were high.
Any hint of involvement with the criminal world—or any violence traced back to him-could get his citizenship revoked.
He needed at least three clean years without a single stain on his record.
So Alex left quietly. Felicia and her husband had already gone home ahead of him.
When Alex arrived, he expected Felicia to be celebrating, smiling, thrilled.
Instead, nothing had changed. She was in the middle of another shouting match with Albert.
“You’re the one who sold Pauline, so YOU should pay the debt!” Felicia screamed.
Albert snapped back, “How the hell am I supposed to pay when I don’t even have a job? Why don’t you ask Sofina to pay it p>
“She just got promoted to deputy. If we ask her for a huge sum right now, my Baroness will fire her! We can’t disturb her at least not this month p>
Meanwhile, Pauline sat in a chair off to the side-silent, hollow, hopeless.
She was just a child. Their child. The one they had tried to sell.
She had returned from high school only to hear she’d been sold like an object. And there was nothing she could do. She simply sat there, accepting whatever fate her parents threw at her.
Felicia suddenly turned her fury to Alex.
“How can you be so useless?! Look at what you’ve caused! You can’t even help us fix this p>
Alex lifted his hands, incredulous. “Whoa, whoa, whoa-ma’am, I didn’t make any mistake. I helped you yell at the credit union, remember p>
“And I’m pretty sure you were the one begging Count Gustav for help. Didn’t he already agree to become your guarantor for the loan p>
“Guarantor?!” Felicia exploded. “They forced us to settle the loan by THIS AFTERNOON! If we don’t pay, Count Gustav’s father will cover it first-but that means WE owe him! And his interest is even HIGHER than the credit union p>
She jabbed her finger toward the floor, voice shaking with anger and fear. “We walked out of the lion’s mouth straight into the crocodile’s jaws p>
“Then I believe you can pay it,” Alex said with a thin, cutting smile. “I saw you collect ten grand from about fifty people. That’s already half a million. You can pay your loan, right p>
“Damn you!” Felicia snapped, her voice shrill and shaking. “They asked for ALL their money back just now! We’re broke―completely broke p>
“Now tell me, how much money do you have to help this family?! I heard you already took the Saint-Claire property and sold it p>
Alex let out a harsh laugh. “Wow. Where did that lie come from? And why should I, the outsider, fix your mess? You took the loan. You spent the money. You even put your own daughter as collateral. So you pay it p>
“Shut your mouth! You have work—I’m jobless!” Felicia snapped. “Better idea- we’ll pool our resources p>
Alex let out a slow, razor-thin sneer. “Oh? And how much do you have?” “Nothing,” Felicia said without shame.
Alex dragged a hand down his face. “And Albert p>
Albert lifted his hand like a student answering roll call. “Less than nothing p>
“So your grand plan,” Alex said, voice tightening with a rising headache, “is to combine zero… with negative zero p>
“I’m working for the Eden Group as a gardener,” Alex said. “They pay me three thousand a month. Tell me how many months do you think I’d need to save up to pay four hundred thousand dollars? I’m not a genius, but even I know that’s impossible p>
Felicia’s rage twisted into something uglier. She spun toward Pauline.
“My daughter… it’s not that I don’t want to help you. Look-your step-brother-in- law refuses to help you. We can’t do anything for you. If you want someone to blame, then blame Alex. He’s the reason you were sold p>
“Impressive! You’ve reached a new level of parental responsibility: outsourcing your own crimes.” Alex turned away. He refused to get dragged deeper into their madness.
In Prussia, emotion was weakness. Situations like this weren’t rare. A child sold into debt slavery had only a few possible outcomes-most of them grim.
For girls, it depended on their luck… and their beauty. If the girl was attractive, she’d be kept as a slave until she paid off the debt-something nearly impossible. Whatever salary she earned would be swallowed by “fees” for food, lodging, and punishment. It meant a lifetime of slavery.
But if the girl was less attractive-plain, or painfully unattractive-her fate was
even worse.
She’d be put on the first list.
The list for selling organs-because real, original organs are far more valuable than synthetic or machine-made ones. And the rich always want them. The demand never stops.
Pauline’s fate was obvious-one hundred percent certain.
She would become a slave.
She was beautiful-maybe not on Sofina’s level, but undeniably striking. Felicia had been a model when she was young, and Pauline inherited that beauty.
Alex walked up the second set of stairs and let out a long sigh.
Pauline’s expression stayed burned in his mind-the shock, the fear, the way she tried to choke back every negative emotion.
It hit him harder than he expected.
Behind him, Felicia kept talking-loud, careless, cruel.
“Pauline, we’re really sorry,” she said, though there was no remorse in her voice. “We can’t pay their money back. You used that money too-for food, for living here. And now the loan is due p>
“I’m not taking Count Gustav’s father’s loan. If we do, it’ll double and we’ll never pay it. I’m sorry, but we have to let you go. And the one holding the loan now is Count Oskar-you know how dangerous that man is p>
Albert jumped in, piling on without hesitation.
1.n
“Pauline, you know we’ve taken care of you for so many years. You lived a happy life here. All of this happened because your stepsister Sofina. married that idiot Heinrich and again the idiot Alex. If offly shed married the rich Count, we wouldn’t be this poor p>
“He’s right,” Felicia said immediately, eyes narrowing. “Pauline… let me ask you
one last favor. One last act of gratitude for all our kindness p>
She leaned closer, voice turning poisonous.
“Take a knife… and stab your step-brother-in-law. If he’s gone, our lives will finally
get better. Everything will get better p>
“Yes,” Albert echoed. “Our life will be better. Please, help us, my daughter. If you help us this time… when you’re sold as a slave, we’ll visit you. We’ll give you whatever you want p>
Pauline stared at them, too shocked to process any of it.
Just hours ago, she was living her normal life-the admired girl at school, the
beauty queen of her class, the one everyone praised.
And now? Now her world plunged straight off a cliff.
Her parents were selling her.
It wasn’t rare-many families did this when debts crushed them-but she never
imagined it would happen to her.
And if she truly became a slave… what then?
Would she be forced to serve people she knew? Enemies from school? Former
friends?
She wanted to cry, but she held it back. Crying was weakness.
She tried to stay strong.
But strength didn’t matter.
Because there was no hope left at all.
Pauline’s thoughts spun in circles, desperate to land on someone-anyone-she
could blame. And now Felicia and Albert were handing her the answer, pouring every accusation onto Alex.
They even placed the knife right in front of her.
“Pauline, please… kill Alex,” Felicia whispered. “Do it for us. All your bad luck, everything you’re suffering-it’s all because of him. If he wasn’t here, your stepsister would’ve married a ich Count, and you’d be living a good life p>
Pauline’s voice was flat, drained of everything. “He’s a good fighter. I can’t win
against him p>
“Don’t worry,” Felicia said quickly. “If
he tries to hit you-if he even scratches you-we’ll report him. They’ll strip his noble title and deport
him back to Xia. And then Sofina will have to divorce him if she marries a rich Count, we’ll have the money to pay your debt and free you from slavery p>
“Yes,” Albert echoed. “Please, daughter. Help us p>
Pauline exhaled slowly. She had no choices left.
Her life was collapsing, and her parents were pushing her toward the only path
they saw.
She picked up the knife.
Her feet carried her to the second-floor landing-empty, numb, moving without
thought.
She didn’t feel fear. She didn’t feel anger. She didn’t feel anything at all.
Then, as she reached the top of the stairs, she heard Alex’s voice.
He was on the video call.
“Count Oskar,” Alex said calmly.
“Yes, Master,” Count Oskar replied through video call. “First, allow me to
congratulate you on your Marquis title. What can I do for you, Master Alex p>
Alex let out a tired sigh.
“There’s a loan under Felicia’s name, with collateral listed as Pauline Bauer p>
“Yes, Master. I believe they owe four hundred thousand dollars,” Oskar answered.
“I want you to clear the loan p>
“Yes, Master. The loan is cleared p>
Pauline froze outside the room, the knife hanging loosely in her hand.
She was stunned.
What game was Alex playing?
Was he… actually calling Count Oskar to pay off her debt?