Lucas stared at the system notification hovering in his vision. Three hundred Villain Points. That was way more than he'd earned from any single quest so far.
Which ant the System considered this quest extrely difficult.
"Lucas?" Marie's voice pulled him back to the present. "Are you alright? You zoned out for a second there."
"I'm fine. Just thinking." He focused back on her. "When did you say the wedding is?"
"Two months. Why?"
"Two months is a long ti. A lot can happen in two months." Lucas said.
Marie shook her head. "Lucas, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but..."
"Accept the quest," Lucas said quietly, speaking to the System rather than Marie.
[Quest Accepted!]
[Ti remaining: 58 days]
Marie was looking at him strangely. "Did you just say sothing?"
"Just thinking out loud." Lucas stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the beautiful estate grounds. "Tell more about Lord Rathek. Tell everything you know."
"Why? What difference does it make?" Marie asked.
"Humor ."
Marie sighed but complied. "Lord Rathek Al-jack. Third son of Duke Al-jack of Jazhad. Twenty-eight years old. Known for his... lavish lifestyle. Gambling, drinking, expensive tastes. There are rumors about how he treats his servants, but nothing confird."
"What kind of rumors?"
"The kind that noble families quietly pay to suppress." Marie's voice was bitter. "Accusations of cruelty, of inappropriate conduct with staff mbers. But his family has enough money and influence to make those stories disappear."
Lucas felt his jaw tighten. "And your father agreed to marry you to this man?"
"My father had no choice at all!" Marie's composure finally cracked completely. "Do you think he wanted this? Do you think my mother wanted this? They've been trying to find another solution to the problem for years, but the debts kept piling up and the Al-jack family kept waiting!"
She collapsed back into the chair, tears streaming down her face. "I'm their only child, Lucas. Their only leverage. If sacrificing my happiness ans saving everything they've built, everything our family has worked for generations to create, then that's what has to happen."
Lucas moved to her side, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and offering it to her with a smile. "I'm not going to let that happen."
"You can't stop it."
"Watch ." He said it with such certainty that Marie actually looked up at him in surprise.
"Lucas, you're a seventeen-year-old academy student. What exactly do you think you can do against a duke's family?"
"First," Lucas said, "I need to understand the exact terms of the contract your father signed. Is it possible for to see it?"
"That's... I don't know. It's probably in my father's study, but he's not here right now. He left this morning for Jazhad to finalize so business arrangents with the Al-jack family."
"When will he be back?"
"Three days, maybe four."
Lucas nodded. "That gives us ti. Second question: what are the specific debts your family owes, and to whom?"
Marie wiped her eyes with the handkerchief. "I don't know all the details. My father handles the finances. But I know we owe money to several rchant guilds, so private lenders, and there's a substantial loan from the Royal Treasury that my father took out to rebuild after the fire."
"How substantial?"
"I heard him ntion the figure once. Twenty thousand gold pieces."
Lucas tried not to visibly react to that number. Twenty thousand gold was an enormous sum. Even with his family's wealth, that would be a significant expense.
[System notes that Host's current Villain Points, even at maximum theoretical accumulation, would not be sufficient to simply pay off the debt. Alternative solutions required.]
Yeah, I figured that out myself, thanks.
"Third question," Lucas continued. "Are there any conditions under which a noble marriage contract can be nullified?"
"Only a few. Death of one party, proven infertility, discovery of a prior betrothal, or..." Marie hesitated.
"Or what?"
"Or if one party is proven to be fundantally unsuitable for marriage. But that's almost impossible to prove against a noble family with resources. They can suppress any evidence or testimony."
[System suggests Host investigate Lord Rathek's activities thoroughly. If he is as degenerate as rumors suggest, evidence may exist.]
Lucas began walking around while he thought through possibilities. "Marie, I need you to trust on this. Can you do that?"
"Lucas, I..."
"Can you trust ?" He stopped and looked at her directly.
She t his eyes, searching for sothing. Whatever she found there must have been convincing because she slowly nodded. "Yes. I can trust you."
"Good. Then here's what we're going to do. First, while your father is away, I need access to his study. I need to see that contract and understand exactly what we're dealing with."
"That's... if anyone catches you..."
"They won't. Second, I need any information you have about the Al-jack family. Letters, business correspondence, anything that might give us insight into their operations or Lord Rathek's behavior."
Marie was quiet for a mont. "There are letters. Lord Rathek has been sending them for weeks. Courtship letters, supposedly, though they make my skin crawl. Rathek Al - jack is just too creepy."
"I need to see those."
"They're in my room. I'll get them." She stood up, more composed now that she had sothing concrete to do.
While she was gone, Lucas addressed the System. "Any advice on what I should be looking for in these docunts?"
[System recomnds Host search for:
1. Contractual loopholes or unclear language
2. Evidence of coercion or undue influence in the contract signing
3. Any indication of Lord Rathek's unsavory activities
4. Financial irregularities in the Al-jack family's dealings
5. Political motivations behind the marriage arrangent]
Marie returned carrying a small wooden box. "Here. All his letters."
Lucas opened it and imdiately understood why Marie said they made her skin crawl. The first letter he took up started cordial enough but quickly beca increasingly inappropriate in it's content and implications.
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