The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 219

The first light of day touched the city of Redford.

The Earl of London quickly got into his carriage.

The meeting with the Golden Bank was in the same city, but 100,000 gold coins was too much to carry by hand.

The carriage bounced and swayed on the rough road, making the gold coins inside clink together.

Redford, the capital city, was in bad shape. The country had not managed its money well, so even the capital looked like a poor village.

Inside the carriage, the Earl of London stared at the gold coins.

He had risked his lands and family treasures to get this money, and he planned to use it to help the country through its crisis.

People who knew what he was doing thought the Earl of London was crazy.

They didn’t understand why he would risk everything for the country.

If he ignored the country’s problems and just looked out for himself, the Earl of London could live a comfortable life, no matter what happened to Redford.

The Chronos Empire was kind to people who left their own country to join them.

If he betrayed his country and joined the Empire, he wouldn’t have to live such a difficult life.

He knew it.

Business people think about money first, but the Earl knew some things are important even if you lose money.

“The debt to the Golden Bank is just the beginning. With this, I will change Redford for the better.”

Once the debt was paid…

…he would visit the King.

If the King still didn’t accept his plan to save the country, he was ready to overthrow the government, even if it meant being called a traitor.

Until recently, he had pushed away thoughts of rebellion.

But a few days ago, he had already talked to the Prince, the King’s son, and the Prince agreed with his plan.

“Earl of London, our country is about to fall apart,” the Prince had said. “If my father’s rule leads to the end of Redford, then I, as the future king, must do what’s right for our country.”

The truth was…

…the King of Redford wasn’t always like this.

Before he became addicted to gambling to forget his sadness, the King of Redford was a good and caring ruler.

The people respected and truly admired him. But a few years ago, a tragedy happened that broke his spirit.

The King had three children.

The oldest son died in a riding accident, and soon after, the youngest daughter, heartbroken over her brother’s death, killed herself.

Tragedy after tragedy.

The King fell into despair.

He spent his days drunk, finding pleasure in gambling.

The excitement of winning money, the thrill that pushed away the pain of losing his children, became an addiction he couldn’t escape.

Because of this…

…the Earl of London didn’t want to give up on the King completely.

Besides knowing that bad people might take over if there was a rebellion, he couldn’t bring himself to point a sword at the King.

But now, he had reached his limit.

He had paid off the Golden Bank by borrowing money from the Dimitri family. If this last chance was ruined by more debt, Redford would truly be doomed.

Rebellion.

He felt complicated, memories of the past swirling in his head.

Just then…

Rattle, rattle.

The carriage shook violently.

The horse screamed, the carriage stopped, and it became noisy outside.

Soon…

“Protect the carriage!”

“Attack!”

The knight shouted.

The outside of the carriage was instantly filled with chaos.

On the wide road, at a quiet time when there were few people around, people jumped out of the alleys and rushed forward.

“Attack!”

“There’s gold inside!”

Hundreds of people, their eyes gleaming with greed.

They were dressed in rags and carried crude weapons, but their numbers were overwhelming, filling the soldiers of the London family with fear.

The soldiers quickly raised their shields.

They stood close together to protect each other, but they didn’t expect to be attacked in the middle of Redford.

In the end, the people rushed in.

Seeing the angry mob so close, the knight of the London family raised his magical power and shouted.

Rumble!

“Protect the carriage!”

“Attack!”

The battle began.

As soon as the soldiers met the mob, dozens of people screamed.

They wore shabby clothes, not even leather armor.

The soldiers’ spears and swords cut through their thin clothes, killing them instantly. But the people kept running with crazy looks on their faces, stepping on the dead bodies.

Thwack-

An arm flew off.

Some had their necks cut.

Blood and death were everywhere. Finally, someone stabbed a soldier in the heart.

Squish.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Chaos broke out.

The soldiers, unable to fight against so many, began to die. The knights of the London family gritted their teeth and used their special fighting skills.

The attackers were just ordinary people.

They couldn’t beat soldiers with magical swords, but some managed to slip through the chaos.

Thud.

“…?!”

The knight’s eyes widened.

A thorn stuck in his neck.

Someone had shot it.

This meant there was someone dangerous hiding among the mob, but he was already dying and couldn’t do anything.

His body swayed.

The knight swung his sword, cutting down enemies until he fell. Blood splattered on his face, and his whole body was torn apart by the mob.

Plop.

The knight’s death made it clear they were losing.

The Earl of London looked out and saw what was happening. His face turned pale, and he shouted.

“Stop right now! The money in this carriage is to help our country! If you are citizens of Redford, you must not attack us! Please, please stop! If you steal this money, Redford has no future!”

The Earl wondered, “Why are they attacking us? Is it just for the gold?”

Count Rondon sensed it was about money, and his heart sank. He shouted, his voice cracking with panic, veins bulging in his neck, but his words were lost in the sudden chaos. Then, a heavy *thud* crashed into the back of his head.

He staggered, his legs giving way, and the world spun wildly around him. With a grunt, Count Rondon slammed face-first into the rough stones of the street. He tasted blood, warm and salty, as it trickled from the back of his head, staining the dusty ground.

As darkness crept in at the edges of his vision, he blinked, trying to focus. Who had done this? He struggled to see through the haze, desperate to identify his attacker before his senses faded completely.

“Check inside the carriage!”

“It’s gold! There’s gold inside!”

People shouted in glee.

Among them was Jacqueline. He, who started as just a small thief, had bravely attacked the Rondon family’s carriage right in the capital city.

“…Plea… Please.”

He couldn’t speak any further. He wanted to stop them, but his fading voice was lost to the ears of the excited crowd.

Suddenly, Roman Dmitry’s words came to mind.

When he said that he didn’t need help with the meeting with Golden Bank, Roman Dmitry had handed him a box containing 100,000 gold coins, saying:

“Be careful. You made a mistake in showing leniency when you should have taken action. It doesn’t matter what stories the people who attacked the mansion have. The moment the Rondon family, the Redford Kingdom, realize that the wall is not as high as they thought, anything can happen from then on.”

He knew what Roman Dmitry meant, but he ignored them. At least, he didn’t want to accept that this country had fallen so far.

And now, he gasped for breath on the cold floor. Watching Jacqueline take the gold coins, he could only open and close his mouth, unable to make a sound.

And so, with his mind fading, Count Rondon lost consciousness.

This attack originated from information provided by the owner of the tavern.

“Jacqueline, I heard that the Rondon family is trying to embezzle the country’s wealth early tomorrow morning. A servant working for the Rondon family told me that they are planning to move their assets to a safe place in preparation for the fall of Redford. Meeting Dmitry is an extension of that. They are clearly planning to defect to the Dmitry Duchy, not the Chronos Empire.”

At those words, Jacqueline was furious. The people of Redford knew that the country was collapsing but had no way to do anything about it, yet the wealthiest man in Redford was thinking of running away first.

It was unacceptable. The money that the Rondon family had earned by ruining others needed to be taken back for the sake of this country, at least.

“Dirty traitor. We can no longer stand by and watch the atrocities of traitors.”

The last incident, Count Rondon had backed down. Even though he had presented crude farming tools, his willingness to compromise so easily instilled confidence in Jacqueline’s mind.

So, he robbed the carriage. Jacqueline moved the location and checked the gold coin box, his eyes widening.

“H-How much is this?”

“It must be worth at least tens of thousands of gold?”

A wave of anger washed over Jacqueline. Seeing so much gold, he thought of all the people in Redford who were hungry and poor. Count Rondon was trying to steal enough money to feed families for years!

His judgment was right. This money, which contained the blood and sweat of the Redford people, being used for a trash like a traitor was not in line with the world’s justice.

He headed to the square. Watching the people starting their day, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Everyone, gather here! From now on, I will distribute the gold coins stolen from the traitor Count Rondon one by one!”

Jacqueline didn’t think of himself as a common thief, but as a righteous thief. An existence that returns the money stolen from the wicked to its original place.

People flocked to him. At the word gold coins, people with gaunt faces who couldn’t afford to eat ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

He handed out gold coins to them, one by one. Watching the rapidly dwindling gold coin box, a bright smile bloomed on Jacqueline’s face.

At that time, Jacqueline firmly believed that he was doing the right thing.

Time passed. As Count Rondon didn’t show up even after 9 o’clock, the time they had promised to meet, a man showed a displeased expression.

“Finance Minister, I think Golden Bank has been understanding of the Redford Kingdom’s situation. They trusted His Majesty the King and lent a large sum of money, exempted part of the interest, and waited patiently until now, even though we haven’t repaid the principal or even the interest. But what is going on now? Why hasn’t Count Rondon shown up even though the scheduled time has passed!”

Belonging to Golden Bank was a bailiff. He was a powerful man who could plunge Redford into the abyss with a single word, and so the Finance Minister spoke urgently.

“I’m really sorry. Count Rondon is not the kind of person to break a promise. Something must have happened on his way here….”

“Stop talking nonsense!”

He threw the documents down. The Finance Minister’s eyes shook greatly as the documents scattered in all directions.

The bailiff said, “We also know about Count Rondon’s reputation in Redford. His reputation as a man who ruins those around him with his cruel business acumen and takes care of his own interests is widespread. Even so, Golden Bank does not judge people based on reputation alone. If our relationship had been amicable, I might have trusted your words and waited, thanks to my personal capacity as a bailiff. But what has Count Rondon done to keep his promises so far? He has been postponing the repayment date after taking on this task on behalf of Redford, and he hasn’t even shown up today, when we promised to meet. Trust is not formed in an instant. Rather than your words that something might have happened, I think that Count Rondon abandoned Redford and is trying to save his own skin.”

He got up from his seat. There was no reason to wait here any longer.

“From now on, Golden Bank will classify the ‘Redford Kingdom’ as a bad debtor. We will use any means to repay the debt, and we will formally protest this issue to the international community as soon as possible.”

“B-Bailiff!”

He turned around abruptly. The Finance Minister desperately got up and tried to grab onto his trouser leg as he watched the attendants following him.

It was then, the servant’s voice was heard.

“The heir to the Dmitry Duchy, Roman Dmitry, is entering.”

And as the door swung open, everyone’s eyes turned to one place at the same time.