Chapter Eighteen: Broken Souls and Forbidden Debts
Edward stood before the girl, but she didn't respond at first, as if she were drowned in a world of pain where only the echo of her sorrow could be heard. After a heavy silence, he asked in a calm voice, "Don't you have a home to go to? Don't you have a family to return to?"
The girl slowly raised her head, her eyes carrying an indescribable brokenness. She said in a choked voice, "My whole family is dead... I have no one left."
Edward felt a pang in his heart and replied with regret, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to stir your wounds. I, too, have lost my family, and I no longer have anyone to rely on in this life."
The girl looked at him in surprise, as if she didn't expect to find a nobleman sharing the same pain. She asked cautiously, "Did this happen to you because of those scoundrels?" Edward asked sharply, "Do you mean the Ravencroft family?"
She nodded and replied, "Yes... they opened gambling dens everywhere and lured people with gifts just for entering. They told everyone they could borrow money to play, and indeed gave them the funds, but with one condition: the money had to be spent in their dens first. They manipulated the results; they would let someone win a round and lose the next until they became addicted to the game. That is how everyone became indebted."
She continued, tears streaming down her face, "And when it was time to repay, they took the debts with violence. Those who had no money were sold as slaves, or killed and had their homes and everything they owned confiscated. My father borrowed a large sum and was paying regularly, but one month he stumbled... They wanted to take me and sell me as a slave. If it were just me, I would have accepted, but they leave no one behind. After they take what they want, they kill everyone. My father hid me before they arrived, and when I came out of my hiding place... I found nothing but wreckage and corpses."
Edward clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white. Now he understood why Tula insisted on cruelty; because the world he faced knew no mercy. He looked at the girl and thought to himself: Ravencrofts... from this day on, wreckage will not be the fate of the poor alone