The Baroness blinked, clearly confused.
"…Really?" she asked, uncertain.
Matruska nodded slowly.
"Yes," she answered briefly. "I was surprised."
She paused for a moment, then continued, her tone turning slightly more serious.
"But that wasn't the only thing that surprised me."
The Baroness frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Matruska let out a soft breath.
"Why," she asked, looking straight at the Baroness,
"is your son fighting with a Hoe?"
The Baroness fell silent for a moment.
"I… I don't know," she said quietly. "I don't know when he even started owning that Hoe."
She let out a small sigh.
"But he once won a wager against moneylenders," she continued. "With that Hoe."
Matruska raised an eyebrow.
"…How?"
The Baroness explained briefly.
"The wager was about postponing the repayment of the family's debt," she said.
She briefly recounted the bet over who could lift the Hoe from the floor, and how the moneylenders struggled to lift it.
She gave a bitter smile.
