The people began closing in around Felicia, desperate, anxious, half-strangers acting like lifelong friends.


    "Felicia, we''re all your friends, right?" one woman pleaded. "Can you ask this handsome man to help us too? The credit union wants to take our organs-this is insane! It''s illegal!"


    Some were real acquaintances. Most were just passersby pretending to know her. Others were just hoping proximity could save them.


    Felicia lifted her chin, smug and untouchable.


    "Oh, that''s not up to me. Count Gustav is here to help me. He doesn''t know any of you. Why would he help total strangers?"


    The crowd shifted toward Gustav like water finding a new path.


    "Mr. Klein, please! Be merciful, help us!"


    "Yes, we''re Felicia''s closest friends!"


    "We always treated her like a sister!"


    Gustav found them irritating-people who borrowed money and then cried when the bill came due. But Felicia''s glowing pride amused him, so he offered a smooth smile.


    "Well," he said, slow and casual, "if you''re Felicia''s friends, then helping you isn''t impossible. But only if Felicia agrees."


    Heads snapped back toward Felicia. Dozens of faces stared at her, begging for a scrap of hope.


    Felicia smirked, savoring the moment.


    "I''ll help you—but only if you promise to pay me ten thousand each."


    "What? Why?" someone protested. "We''re here to shut down the credit union! If it closes, they can''te after us anymore, right?"


    Feliciaughed in their faces.


    "You think a big credit union like this can be shut down by a street protest? The most that will happen is they''ll erase my loan-not yours. You''ll still owe every cent. If you pay me ten thousand dors each, I''ll ask Count Gustav to help all of you. eptable?"


    The reaction was instant. Most people owed hundreds of thousands at least. Ten thousand felt like a bargain next to losing an organ.


    "No problem—I''ll give you ten thousand, just remember my name!"


    "Yes, yes, we''ll pay-just help us!"


    Felicia''s heart shot straight into the sky.


    Nearly a hundred people were crowding the credit union entrance. If each one paid her ten thousand... that was a million.


    A million dors.


    She felt dizzy with joy. She had never imagined a protest could turn into the most profitable day of her life.


    Just as Felicia was bursting with excitement, Gustav raised his voice for everyone to hear.


    "Everyone, calm down. I''ll go in and speak to them now. Wait here for my good news."


    The crowd perked up, and Felicia practically glowed. With Gustav at her side, she felt invincible-untouchable. She blurted out, breathless and thrilled,


    "Gustav, I''ming with you!"<fnd338> The rightful source is find[?]ovel</fnd338>


    Alex stepped in quickly. "Felicia, you should stay out of this. If Gustav can''t fix it, you might get dragged into trouble."


    "Bah!" Felicia snapped, rage burning in her eyes. "How dare you question Count Gustav''s ability, you useless loser? He can hit anyone he wants and no one dares hit back. What on earth do I have to fear?"


    The crowd stiffened. They were hoping Gustav would clear their loans.


    Alex''s warning didn''t sit well with people hanging onto desperate hope. Their res turned sharp, irritated, unfriendly.


    Alex felt the weight of their hostility but stayed calm.


    "I just don''t want Sofina upset," he said tly. "If something happens to her mother, she''ll be devastated. It''s better if you wait here. Count your money. Be a bystander."


    Felicia recoiled as if his voice itself was filth. "Shut your disgusting mouth! This is not your ce to speak!"


    Gustav''s arrogance dripped off him like cheap cologne. He stepped forward with a


    sneer.


    "You''re jealous because you''re good at nothing. Do you think I''m like you-a pathetic loser who stands here and whines?"


    Alex saw Felicia wasn''t going to listen. He let out a slow breath and shrugged.


    "Fine. I''ll tell Sofina I did everything I could to stop you."


    Felicia didn''t understand he was genuinely trying to protect her. She shot him a murderous re, then turned to Gustav with syrupy devotion.


    "Gustav, don''t mind anything that loser says. I trust youpletely..."


    Gustav shed a smug, triumphant grin.


    "Don''t worry, Felicia. I don''t lower myself to a wimp''s level."


    Then he straightened his jacket, squared his shoulders, and nodded toward the credit union entrance.


    "Felicia, let''s go."


    "Alright!"


    Gustav pushed through the crowd with Felicia clinging to him like a trophy, and marched straight toward the entrance of the K?nigsberg Credit Union.


    The moment he reached the doorway, he nted himself there like he owned the building and barked at the employees inside.


    "Listen up! Go tell your boss to clear their loans right now! If he doesn''t, I''lle back with my legal team and my security detail, and we''ll tear this door off its hinges. I''ll have you and your boss dragged out in handcuffs!"


    Felicia jumped in, her voice sharp and shrill.


    "You heard him, you clueless idiots! I''ve got someone powerful backing us now! If you refuse to clear our loans, Mr. Klein will throw every single one of you in


    prison!"


    The employee at the front a young man clearly not paid enough for this-went pale. He raised his hands nervously.


    “I—I''m sorry, sir. I''m only customer service. I''m not authorized to clear any loans." Gustav''s expression iced over.


    "Then call your boss," he snapped. "Tell him Count Gustav Klein of the Klein family in Winchester is here, and he''d better deal with me personally. Don''t say I didn''t warn him."


    His arrogance filled the entrance like smoke. The Klein family wasn''t the most powerful in Winchester, but a count was still high-ranking nobility.


    Meanwhile, K?nigsberg Credit Union was owned by a viscount—a mediocre title attached to apany with a reputation as a well-dressed fraud.


    The employee, rattled and sweating, didn''t dare ignore Gustav''s demand. He made the call immediately.


    Momentster, a small elderly man hurried out, adjusting his suit as he approached.


    “I am Viscount Friedrich Albrecht," he said with professional courtesy. “How may I assist you, Count Klein?"


    Gustav didn''t bother with pleasantries.


    "So you''re Friedrich. Good. Imand you to clear these people''s loans."


    Friedrich nodded calmly.


    "Of course I can clear their loans-once they repay the money."


    "You bastard!" Felicia exploded. "You were going to take my daughter if we didn''t pay! Do you think that''s legal?"


    Gustav''s temper snapped.


    "You bastard!" he roared as he struck Friedrich across the face. "I''m your count— when I say clear the loans, you clear them!"


    Friedrich, a mere viscount with far less authority than Gustav, staggered but kept hisposure. He straightened his suit, eyes cold.


    "Count Gustav," he said, voice firm and official, "are you personally responsible for these people''s loans?"


    "No," Gustav answered without hesitation.


    Friedrich nodded once then turned and pped Felicia so hard she hit the ground.


    "You worthless fool!" he barked. "You borrow money, you pay it back. You signed


    the papers. You saw every line of the fine print. And you agreed when you spent the damn money!"


    Felicia stared up at him, eyes wide with disbelief. "H-How dare you p me?"


    "p you?" Friedrich sneered and swung again, striking her a second time. "You''re nothing but the daughter of a Baroness Don''t you evere to me making demands: Bring me my money and shut your mouth!"


    In Prussia, the hierarchy of nobility was absolute. Higher ranks could do whatever


    they pleased. Lower ranks suffered in silence.


    But Gustav wasn''t silent.


    He lunged forward and punched the viscount straight in the jaw.


    "What the hell do you think you''re doing to her?!"


    Friedrich wiped the blood from his lip and spoke with icy authority.


    "Sir, unless you take responsibility for her debt, you have no right to interfere She owes me money. We have a legal contract if you''re not assuming her liability, then don''t put your nose where it doesn''t belong."


    Count Gustav trembled with rage-being talked down to by a viscount felt like an insult he couldn''t swallow. He struck Friedrich again, fury exploding through him.


    "I told you to stop! Clear the loan!"


    Friedrich raised his hand again and struck Felicia hard across the face.


    “I already told you only payment clears your debt. So bring me the damn money,


    or your loan will never be wiped. And when the timees, I''ll take your daughter exactly as the contract states."


    Felicia trembled on the ground, eyes burning with fear and rage.


    Count Gustav felt his pride copse. He had brought Felicia here to show he could solve everything, to prove his strength.


    But this viscount refused to bow, refused to back down. Every second made Gustav look weaker.


    "Fine!” Gustav shouted, voice shaking. “I''ll be the guarantor. I''ll take her loan— and everyone else''s loan too. Just stop hitting her. And clear them now!" Viscount Friedrich nodded calmly, as if he had expected this.


    "Very well. You must legally sign the contract stating you assume full responsibility


    for her loans—and the others. Once that''s done, I can consider clearing them."


    From his bracelet, Friedrich projected a glowing three-dimensional document into


    the air-legal terms spinning like cold machinery.


    Gustav hesitated. Sweat gathered at his brow.


    Felicia scrambled to support him, desperate and maniptive.


    "Sir Gustav, this kind of loan is inhuman. Once you take over the debt your noble rank gives you the authority to dere it illegal. You can close the case. The owner is only a viscount. They can''t fight you."


    Gustav clenched his jaw. "Fine."


    With an angry flourish, he signed the contract-epting Felicia''s loan and the


    loans of several others.


    "Now," Gustav demanded, "clear them."


    Friedrich''s mouth stretched into a thin, cruel smile. "You''ve signed it, so it''s legal.


    But I''m sorry to inform you..."


    He stepped aside, and his voice dropped into mocking politeness.


    "I''m no longer the owner. I sold the entire K?nigsberg Credit Union. To Count


    Oskar Winterhagen. A few minutes ago. I only worked for him"


    A tall figure stepped forward-Count Oskar himself. Before Gustav could react,


    Oskar grabbed him by the hair and yanked him down.


    Then came the blows.


    p!


    p!


    p!


    Hard, echoing, humiliating strikes across Gustav''s face.


    "You owe me money now," Oskar snarled. "And you think you can erase debt just


    because you feel like it? Who the hell do you think you are?"


    He jerked Gustav up by the cor.


    "You''re a count? So am I. And now you''ll pay everyst damn cent you owe."