The Duty Of An Academy Student Should Be To Study - Chapter 73
Episode 73
The inn to which Rose was dragged and held by the men was quite close to the crowded gambling houses in the slum.
Unlike the neatly arranged main streets of the capital, the area around the inn was filled with various garbage and filth. A foul smell wafted up from the nearby sewer.
The man standing to Rose’s right spoke in a harsh voice.
“Get in.”
His rough palm pushed Rose’s back. Though Rose knew she had no choice but to eventually enter the inn, she resisted, tensing her body in a small act of defiance.
“How insolent.”
The man, seemingly annoyed, roughly grabbed Rose’s sleeve as if he were about to tear it apart. In the struggle, two buttons at the end of the sleeve fell onto the filthy ground with a thud.
“Ah…”
One of the golden buttons rolled on the dirty ground and fell into the sewer. Even one of these delicately crafted buttons was worth quite a bit.
Rose looked hopelessly at the item with the emblem of Berkley Academy disappearing into the sewer. As a tingling sensation welled up inside her and she staggered, she was pushed into the inn.
The moment Rose set foot in the inn, she felt an ominous presence. Although it appeared to be an ordinary inn on the outside, there was a strangely chilling and dark atmosphere. The first floor was operating as a pub, but it was still early afternoon, so there weren’t many people around.
An inn employee noticed Rose and the men but turned a blind eye without saying a word. Even though it was a situation where two large men were dragging a schoolgirl, it seemed oddly unremarkable.
‘Are they all in on it?’
Rose might not have realized that the whole inn could be a territory of the men who brought her here.
The men pushed Rose to the most secluded corner. Rose sat on the edge of a chair and tried to calm her breathing. She didn’t want to show fear like a child.
One of the men who brought Rose spoke in a rough tone.
“Wait until Khan comes with the documents.”
“What documents?”
“Don’t annoyingly ask every little question. Hey, kid, you’re not here to have fun!”
The man grimaced and sneered. Rose was deliberately trying not to shrink, exerting force on her body.
The men immediately ordered various foods and drinks. Soon, the table was filled with roasted pig trotters, sausages, beer, and more. They were too busy stuffing food into their mouths to even acknowledge Rose’s presence.
Although Rose hadn’t had lunch, seeing the food made her not hungry, but rather nauseous. The smell of meat made her nose twitch, and the men ate disgustingly, ignoring any table manners.
Glancing around surreptitiously, Rose suddenly noticed a large cockroach crawling, and she shut her eyes tightly.
Just a few minutes ago, she was at Berkley Academy. The neat and beautiful scenery felt like a distant dream.
For a moment, it felt like George Bell’s stern voice echoed in her head.
“Know your place, Rosalie!”
Rather than Berkley, this dirty and old place suits her better. She thought George would say that if he saw her like this now. Even the little remaining affection she had for her father completely disappeared.
‘…I can’t forgive you.’
Being defiant toward the father, who was the head of the household and the most important figure in the empire, was considered an unforgivable act. However, Rose had decided not to think of George as her father anymore.
To some, she might be seen as an unfilial daughter, but it didn’t matter.
That’s when Rose was silently suppressing her anger. Khan came into the inn holding documents.
“These brats couldn’t wait and started drinking.”
Khan came closer to Rose, his tongue clicking, and roughly tapped her shoulder. Then he gestured with his eyes to an empty table nearby.
After Rose took a deep breath, she moved to the new seat. As Khan sat opposite her, he spread the paper he was holding on the table.
“Read it and sign.”
At Khan’s abrupt command, Rose’s eyes shook. The letters on the paper seemed blurry like ripples for a moment. Soon, an employee brought a quill pen and ink.
In a hesitant voice, Rose asked.
“…What is this document?”
“A debt repayment agreement.”
With her finger pressing firmly on the end of the paper, Rose slowly began to read the contents. The essence of the agreement was for Rose Bell to fulfill George Bell’s debt.
The deadline was one month, and it was written that if the debt amount was not compensated even after that, Rose Bell’s fate would be determined at the ‘Redmark Summit.’
‘Redmark?’
The name seemed familiar, something she had heard before. After searching her memory, a newspaper article came to mind.
It mentioned how gangs, once simple violent groups, had transitioned from mere criminal organizations to actively engaging in business ventures.
These gangs, though seemingly operating like regular businesses on the surface, still had their roots deeply embedded within the gang. A prominent example of this was the Redmark Summit.
While they used to blatantly commit illegal acts when they were just gangs, now they cleverly engage in illicit activities and make money, skirting the law with a subtle difference.
These ‘upper echelons’ for show no longer openly kidnapped people as they did when they were just gangs. Instead, they circumvented legal issues by coercing individuals to sign legal documents through threats.
Despite being called business entities, they were essentially gangs that had become a bit more cunning and sophisticated.
‘…So, they’re involved with a gang.’
Rose felt suffocated. When she precisely saw the amount of money George had borrowed, it felt like her throat was tightening.
The debt amount equaled four years’ worth of tuition at Berkley Academy. She felt utterly clueless about how she could come up with this money within a month.
Khan pushed ink and a pen towards Rose, indicating she should sign quickly. After swallowing a dry gulp, Rose spoke.
“What happens if I can’t repay the debt within a month?”
“We’ll figure that out ourselves. Just sign quickly.”
“I’m still a student. I don’t have the means to repay such a debt.”
“Then follow our instructions when the time comes.”
“…What if I refuse to sign here?”
Khan chuckled.
“Try refusing and see. You won’t be able to leave here until you sign.”
Rose glanced nervously around the inn. Khan spoke with a mocking tone.
“For now, this is our territory.”
Rose closed her eyes tightly and opened them.
‘…Did they buy the whole inn?’
Redmark’s headquarters were on the western coast, but it seemed they had decided to use this place as their base since they were now staying in the capital.
Everyone in the inn seemed to be affiliated with Redmark. Even if she asked for help here, no one would come to her aid.
‘They probably brought me here without any intention of letting me go from the start.’
The issue started with George borrowing money from the gang. It was a problem because it wasn’t just an ordinary money lender, and gangs don’t easily let people go.
‘What was he thinking…?’
Rose felt a rush of emotions, her throat heating up. She couldn’t stand George, the resentment was overwhelming.
‘If he’s going to be ruined, let him be ruined alone.’
Due to George leaking information about the family to the gang, they had come to Berkley Academy. Now, a contract that would undoubtedly ruin her life lay in front of her.
Rose’s long, slender neck trembled. In a choked voice, she spoke.
“A month is too difficult. Please give me a little more time.”
“Hey, we’re going through a tough time too. Did you think you’re the only one suffering?”
“…You mentioned Redmark Summit. I’m a Magic Engineering major. I’m considered the top student at the Academy.”
“What do you want us to do about that?”
Khan’s eyebrows twitched. Rose calmly continued her explanation.
“To expand the business in the future, you’ll need technology. I can provide that. Just wait until I graduate. Even if it’s unpaid, until the debt is fully repaid, I can work for the upper echelon…”
She wanted to say she’d work without pay, but her lips trembled. She had said this, thinking about the best option available to her at the moment, but in truth, she didn’t want to.
She hadn’t studied all this time to join a gang and be exploited. Staying at the academy was not merely for that kind of life.
‘I don’t want to…’
Rose’s shoulders trembled. Life had twisted because of her father, again and again. Now, she was fed up. More than ever, she desperately wanted to break free from the shadow of George Bell.
As Rose fell silent and stood still, seemingly frustrated, Khan forcibly tried to place the pen in her hand. Rose’s wrist was held tightly in his brutal grip.
“Ugh!”
Rose winced in pain as her wrist twisted. She couldn’t escape Khan’s grip no matter how hard she tried.
Khan growled as he spoke.
“I don’t know about technology or anything. Just sign the contract already!”
Moisture welled up in Rose’s desperate eyes. The noise from outside the inn reached her ears.
Thud! Suddenly, the sound of the door rattling echoed. The door, which had been locked since Rose entered, shook back and forth.
Khan momentarily released his tight grip on Rose’s wrist and stood up.
“What’s going on? Who is it?”
Bang! Again, a loud noise rang out, and the latch of the door began to shift. Someone outside was forcibly trying to break the latch.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Khan gestured to the men who were drinking. Three of them simultaneously pulled out small pistols from their jackets.