Gerhard felt a cold, sharp dread slice through him. He was a Captain and a Baron''s son, born to privilege, but here, under the heavy shadow of Viscount Leopold, he was nothing.


    A target.


    If the Viscount decided to strike, Gerhard''s pride, his bones, and his carefully constructed world would shatter.


    He could only endure the beating, retreat to his room, and weep the slow, agonizing tears of utter defeat.


    "Sir, is the woman truly your sister?"


    Leopold''s eyes, cold and merciless, bored into him. "I just met her an hour ago. But I say she''s my sister, and that''s exactly what she is. What in God''s name is it to you, you little insect!"


    A sharp, open-handed crack echoed through the private room. Leopold''s p sent Gerhard''s head whipping sideways.


    Now, everyone present knew the chilling truth: Viscount Leopold hadn''te for an argument; he was hunting trouble, and Gerhard was his prey.


    Yet, the question hung heavy in the air: Why? Why was a Viscount, a man of such power, tearing into Gerhard?


    The restaurant manager burst into the room, tripping over his own frantic pace. "Sir! Viscount Leopold! Please, I beg you, a moment''s calm!"


    Leopold roared, "What?! Are you siding with this spoiled little bastard?"


    "No! Absolutely not, sir!" The manager held up cating hands, his professional demeanor barely masking his terror.


    "This is the tinum Room. Everything here the wine, the food, the service-it''s ruinously expensive. Before you... before you break him and send him to the grave, I need to ensure he settles his tab. We can''t have him blowing his payment on a hospital bed instead of our food!"


    Leopold sneered. "Fine. Make it quick. I haven''t had my fill yet."


    The manager scurried to Gerhard, "Sir, please. Pay the bill now. Settle your debt to the house before you try to settle your debt to the Viscount."


    Gerhard''s face burned crimson, a mix of pain from the p and sheer, burning humiliation.


    He was being made to pay after being assaulted, and it was all happening in front of Renata, the very woman he had hoped to impress with his supposed grandeur.


    "What? We haven''t even finished the meal! Do you think I can''t afford this? Don''t you know who I am!"


    The manager leaned closer, "You know, I think you''ve asked that exact question more than ten times since you first walked in here. Do you have amnesia? Or maybe a severe personality disorder that makes you need to ask every soul on earth for confirmation of your own name?"


    "You..." Gerhard was speechless, a burning knot in his throat.


    What the hell happened? He was usually the star of the show, but suddenly, every face he encountered today looked down on him-forgetting him, dismissing him, and casting him aside like trash.


    The manager didn''t wait. He thrust the bill forward. "Two million dors. That is the total cost of the food and beverages. Pay it. Now."


    A silence, thick and suffocating, descended on the room.


    Gerhard had to blink several times, trying to focus on the impossible number,


    before he could force a single, hoarse word from his lips: "What?"


    Beatrix, Conrad, and Annabe stared, jaws ck with disbelief.


    Two million dors. That colossal sum could buy ten respectable homes, yet they were expected to spend it all on a single, disastrous lunch.


    "Impossible," Gerhard finally choked out.


    The manager remained unmoved. He tapped a sleek bracelet on his wrist, and the full itemized cost instantly disyed on every screen in the room.


    "This is the documented price for the food and service. You are free to cross- reference this bill at any branch of this establishment. If you find our prices are higher than anywhere else, we''ll not only refund the difference—we''ll pay you back double the overcharge. Check all you want. You won''t find a penny out of ce."


    "But," Gerhard stammered, his face pale beneath the lingering sting of Leopold''s p. "I booked the Golden Suite! The maximum price there is barely half a million!"


    "This is the tinum Suite," the manager corrected him, his tone dripping with contempt. "Can you not even read the que on the door?"


    tinum Suite?


    No wonder the air tasted of old money, the dishware gleamed like museum pieces, and the wine felt like liquid velvet.


    It was a level of luxury they hadn''t just afforded-they had stumbled into it.


    A cold, greasy sweat slicked Conrad''s forehead. The tinum Suite was a fortress of exclusivity; he was barely qualified to stand near its door, let alone dine within it.


    "Are you certain it''s tinum?" Gerhard insisted, desperation creeping into his voice. "We never ordered this room!"


    The manager allowed himself a brief, chilling sneer. "You are correct, sir. This room was reserved for the Marquis Saint-ire. But seeing as you insisted on taking it, and the Marquis was generous enough to let you, you should count yourselves lucky."


    Beatrix, trying to grasp at a lifeline, interjected sharply. "Then is Alex not responsible for the bill? If this was his booking-"


    "The Marquis Saint-ire only drank theplimentary tea, so he owes us nothing," the manager sneered.


    "And as for Lady Renata Winter, Mr. Alex has already settled the cost of her meal. The two-million-dor bill is strictly for you, the uninvited swine who smashed into this room and gorged yourselves on food you couldn''t afford!"


    Gerhard''s mind reeled, the pieces of the puzzle snapping together into a terrifying picture.


    "What?" he sputtered, his voice choked with disbelief. "How in the name of God could Alex have secured this room? And paid Lady Renata Winter''s share of the meal?"


    The manager''s cold voice delivered the final, crushing exnation.


    "It''s simple. This entire restaurant, the entire establishment, owes the Saint-ire family a debt of honor-a promise made long ago. We swore to grant the heir onest, significant wish to fulfill that old promise. He used that single, priceless favor to secure this room and invite the Lady Renata here."


    The manager straightened. "Right now, your idiotic question is irrelevant. You need to focus on what matters. Pay the money first. Stop thinking about things that won''t save you."


    He stood over Gerhard, waiting. "Are you paying, or not?"


    Gerhard knew, he couldn''t cover the bill. "Sir, it''s not that I refuse to pay, but... this is an issue of Justice..."


    "You gorge yourselves, then refuse to pay, and now you have the gall to scream about justice?"


    The manager turned his desperate gaze to Viscount Leopold.


    "Sir Viscount, it seems my hand has been forced. I need your professional service once more. Collect the money from him. I''ll remit twenty five percent of the total cost to you, right usual."


    Leopold smiled, a predatory sh of teeth. "You can always depend on our efficiency," he said, his voice deadly smooth. "Bring the fool to me!"


    Before Gerhard could even register a defense, two hulking men-hard as granite and moving like trained dogs-yanked him from his position. They dragged him across the polished floor.


    "What in hell are you doing?! Let go of me!" Gerhard screamed, his panic shattering hisst sliver of dignity.


    "Shut your damn mouth!" One brute snarled, driving his steel-toed boot into the back of Gerhard''s knee.


    Gerhard shrieked, the sharp pain forcing him onto his knees, directly at the feet of Viscount Leopold.


    p!


    Leopold''s signature move-a lightning-fast, bone-jarring blow-smashed into the side of Gerhard''s head. The sound was sickeningly loud.


    "Are you going to pay the debt, or not?" Leopold thundered.


    Gerhard swallowed hard, trying to regain hisposure amidst the chaos. "This


    is a misunderstanding! I reserved the Golden Suite in advance! I even paid a five- hundred-thousand-dor deposit!"


    Beatrix pushed forward. "That''s right! Gerhard booked the Golden Room! The manager led us here! He''s running a scam! Don''t you people have any rules against fraud?"


    Leopold snapped his fingers with a sound like a pistol shot. "Rules? Of course we have rules."


    The two burly men immediately left Gerhard and descended upon the women.


    One seized Beatrix''s head and mmed her face down onto the cold, unforgiving tabletop. "Remember this rule, littledy: Don''t speak unless you''re allowed to." Conrad watched his wife being assaulted, his face contorted in a mask of impotent rage. "You-"


    Before he could finish the usation, the second brute smashed his fist into Conrad''s face. "And you? You don''t speak if you haven''t been asked."


    "You ate the food, now you settle the debt." Leopold''s gaze bore down on Gerhard, his expression turning to stone "Pay off the bill. If you do everything smooths


    sever right now and nobody else gets hurt. Who among you is going to cough up the two million?"


    The room went utterly silent. No one dared to utter a word.


    Renata nced from the beaten, kneeling Gerhard to his terrified, silentpanions. She realized with a sudden, bitter rity that Gerhard was not the


    cool, powerful man he pretended to be.


    He was a boastful liar, incapable of settling this monumental debt. A wave of profound disappointment washed over her.


    "I will pay for them." Renata stepped forward.


    The manager immediately intervened, "Miss Renata, please. Your bill is already settled by the Marquis Saint-ire. Do not invite trouble. That is two million


    dors."


    "That fortune could equip your


    father''s soldiers with superior


    weapons and armor, purchase crucial security drones, or provide food for your starving vigers. It would be a damn insult to your people to waste it on these undeserving men."


    Renata bit her lip. The manager was right. Two million was a fortune for her


    Duchy-it meant seeds in the ground, armor for the guard, a better life for her people.


    She couldn''t sacrifice her duty for these pathetic fools.


    She turned to Alex, herst hope. "Alex, can you not help them?"


    Alex merely sneered. Before he could utter a word, the manager cut


    in, delivering the final, crushing blow of information. "Miss Renata, this restaurant opened the tinum Sujte for Mr. Alex and his guest-you-as a single, one-time favor."


    "The Saint-ire family patriarch once rendered a great service to our Chairman,


    and our Chairman promised to repay the favor to his heir, once."


    "He has used that sole wish entirely on your meal today. There is nothing left for


    him to offer, unless he has the cash to cover the bill himself."


    Renata bit her lip until she tasted blood. Alex had spent his family''s ultimate favor —a powerful, priceless debt of gratitude-just to secure her lunch. "Now," Viscount Leopold said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous growl. He grabbed a heavy, empty wine bottle from the table. "Gerhard. Pay the money, or don''t. I''m going to take a hand for the debt either way."


    "Grab him! I want to teach this boy a proper lesson!"


    The two muscr men pinned Gerhard to the floor. He was utterly helpless, unable to twitch even a finger. In a sh of lethal speed, Viscount Leopold swung


    the bottle down.


    CRASH!


    The ss shattered directly against Gerhard''s skull. He saw stars, then blood.


    Leopold didn''t stop. He picked up the jagged, spiked neck of the broken bottle-a


    weapon now—and mmed the sharp edge down onto Gerhard''s outstretched hand.


    "Aaargh! My hand! My God, my hand!" Gerhard''s scream was a raw, animal sound of pure agony. His body convulsed, drenched in cold, mmy sweat.


    Conrad, Beatrix, and Annabe watched the grotesque scene, their faces drained of color, pale as bone. Their hearts hammered against their ribs. Viscount Leopold hit Gerhard a few more times with the heel of his boot until the screaming finally stopped, reced by the ck silence of unconsciousness. Leopold wiped his hands dismissively on a linen napkin, tossing it aside as he surveyed the unconscious Gerhard. "What a weakling," he spat.


    He turned his chilling gaze on Beatrix, Annabe, and Conrad, making them flinch like struck animals. "Who''s next?" he drawled, a cruel smile touching his lips. "Don''t worry. Every one of you will get your turn until the entire price is paid."