The next morning.
The capital's sky hung heavy and gray, like a slab of lead. The air was humid, as if rain could pour down at any moment.
Rubia had been moving since dawn.
She changed into the shabbiest—but most practical—dark gray outfit she owned, then pulled a wide-brimmed hat low to hide her pallor.
"Miss… are you really… really going there?"
Lily asked with a miserable face. Her hands trembled as she clutched Rubia's travel bag.
"They say there are ghosts! You can hear laughter at night. And there's even a rumor about a headless ghost wandering around!"
"Lily."
Rubia slid on her leather gloves, voice calm.
"Do you know what's scarier than ghosts?"
"Huh? Cockroaches?"
"No. Poverty."
Rubia pressed a small gold coin into Lily's palm—the last emergency money she'd found under the carpet.
Poverty wasn't visible like a ghost, but it gnawed people down far more cruelly.
"Go call the coachman. We're leaving."
Firth Trading Company Headquarters.
Or rather—what used to be headquarters.
Now it was an eyesore everyone called the haunted house.
The carriage stopped in a sparsely populated back alley on the outskirts of the capital.
The building looked tragic.
The signboard hung half-detached, creaking in the wind. The windows were all shattered and patched over with wooden planks. Ivy swallowed the walls like a monster trying to devour the whole structure.
A vicious warning had been slapped onto the entrance in red paint.
[NO ENTRY: HAUNTED BY EVIL SPIRITS]
"Ugh… it's creepy. Miss, can't we just go back?"
Lily shuddered like a leaf. A cold gust blew, and the old sign shrieked with a metallic squeal.
Rubia, however, only narrowed her eyes—bright, calculating.
"Location isn't bad."
It wasn't in the bustling district, sure, but it sat right along the route leading to the Royal District, where nobles kept secret villas.
A back alley's natural privacy.
Perfect for high-ranking nobles who didn't want eyes on them, or VIPs who needed discreet transactions.
And best of all—
The ghost rumors had driven the price into the ground.
That, Rubia liked most.
Creeeak.
The rusted hinges screamed as the heavy door swung open.
Inside was a disaster.
Cobwebs hung like curtains. Dust lay thick as snow. A rat squealed and darted into a corner.
"Cough—cough!"
Lily pinched her nose. The smell of mold was overwhelming.
Rubia covered her mouth with a handkerchief and walked in.
In the dust, vague shapes seemed to sway. Was it really haunted?
To Kim Heejin—the monster of capitalism—this wasn't a haunted house.
It was an undervalued blue-chip asset.
"Alright," Rubia said. "Let's start cleaning."
"W-What?! Just us two? I'll die!"
"No," Rubia replied, dead serious. "Cleaning should be left to professionals."
"Professionals? We don't have money to hire a crew!"
"There are professionals who don't cost money."
Rubia pulled a magic scroll from her pocket—a communications scroll.
But she didn't call some expensive labor guild.
"Hello? Is this the Holy Purification Order? Yes, I'd like to report an evil spirit manifestation. A very powerful one."
She launched into full performance mode—voice trembling, breath hitching.
"The location is the Firth Trading Company building. Oh—yes. I heard you're running a 'Free Exorcism Service' campaign? That's correct? Please come quickly! The spirit is grabbing my ankle—Aaaah!"
Click.
Rubia ended the call, then casually brushed dust off her sleeves.
"M-Miss… what did you just—"
"Temple priests. Free labor."
The Holy See had been losing followers recently, so they'd started a "Free Public Service" campaign to rebuild goodwill.
Exorcisms were part of it.
Chase out ghosts, deep-clean the building, and earn the title of 'Blessed by the Church'.
A triple win.
Thirty minutes later, priests in white vestments arrived in a swarm.
"Begone, evil spirit!"
They sprayed holy water like a fire hose and spammed purification magic while scrubbing every corner.
Old dust and webs dissolved under holy light. Rats fled in panic. Mold burned away.
Sunlight began to filter into a building that had been dim for years.
"Thank you for your hard work, Fathers."
When it was done, Rubia served the sweating priests water.
"Um… where is the evil spirit?"
No matter how they searched, there was no trace of it.
"Oh," Rubia said sweetly. "It must've gotten scared and fled when you arrived. The moment the light came in, it vanished. Your holy power is incredible."
"Hoho… is that so? Indeed, the power of the Divine is great."
The priests left looking proud—after doing an entire job for free.
Rubia smiled as she surveyed the now-sparkling building.
Hardware: secured.
Now all she needed was content.
"Lily. Bring me paper and a brush. We're doing marketing."
Rubia raised the brush and wrote boldly.
[URGENT NOTICE: GRAND OPENING — FIRTH AUCTION HOUSE]— The thing you've been searching for is here.— A secret auction held in a mysterious manor where ancient spirits linger.— Admission: 100 gold (First 50 guests only)
"Auction house? But… we don't have anything to sell!"
"The guests will bring the items," Rubia said. "We just set the stage."
And then—
BANG!!!
A deafening crash shook the building.
The front door—still freshly cleaned—exploded inward, splintering into the room. Wood shards flew. Dust billowed.
"Eeeeeek!"
Lily screamed and hid.
Rubia narrowed her eyes.
Another door.
Did people in this world not know the concept of knocking?
A massive shadow stepped through the dust cloud.
A man draped in beast hide, a greatsword strapped to his back.
Each step made the floor tremble.
His body was smeared with dried blood, and from between tangled black hair, red eyes flashed like a starving predator.
The Northern Grand Duke.
Kaelus von Ragnarok.
"Hey."
A voice rough enough to scrape the bottom of hell.
Lily fainted on the spot.
Rubia didn't even blink.
"Pay up."
Kaelus growled.
Killing intent flooded the room, crushing the air until breathing felt difficult.
Rubia, however, simply propped one leg over the other and started tapping a calculator.
Click. Click.
"Who are you?"
"…What?"
Kaelus's brow furrowed.
"I'm Kaelus of the North. Kaelus von Ragnarok. The Duke of Firth said he'd send his daughter as collateral—are you that daughter?"
His gaze swept over her: frail body, pale face. A woman who looked like she'd snap with one punch.
"Pathetic. Not even worth the price. Selling you by the pound as meat would pay better."
"Your Grace."
Rubia set the calculator down with a sharp tap.
"Let's be precise. This isn't a 'body price.' It's debt repayment. And I don't appreciate being compared to meat."
"It's the same thing. Shut up and come with me. Go dig potatoes in the North."
Kaelus stepped forward, reaching for her wrist.
"Wait."
Rubia raised a palm, then held out a piece of paper.
"What's that?"
"An invoice. Door repair, compensation for disruption of business, and medical fees for Lily. Total: 500 gold."
Kaelus stared.
His red eyes blinked once.
Twice.
In his entire life, he'd never met a debtor who demanded money from him.
"Hah. You're insane. Lost your fear?"
"I'm not insane. And there's more."
Rubia pulled out another document—stamped with a red seal.
"This is the main point."
"Your Grace," she continued smoothly, "you own the rights to the Calaman Desert in the North, yes?"
"…Why would you want that useless wasteland?"
"Sell it to me."
Kaelus let out a hollow laugh.
"With what money? Your father practically told me to go die. Don't tell me you plan to pay with your body."
He stepped closer, smiling with a dirty edge.
Threatening.
Rubia didn't retreat.
She smiled back—wide.
"No cash."
She tapped the scrap of paper on the table—the future news clipping that read:
MANA-STONE MINE DISCOVERED
"But I'll repay your debt," she said, eyes gleaming, "with interest. Ten times over. Within one year."
"…Ten times?"
"Yes. But there's a condition."
"A condition?"
"Recognize me as the owner of this trading house. And become my bodyguard knight. For one year."
Kaelus's red eyes wavered.
A bodyguard?
The Grand Duke of Ragnarok—serving as someone's guard?
This woman had to be crazy.
And yet—
There was something strange about her.
That fire in her eyes inside a face that pale…
It was… interesting.
"Why would I do that?" Kaelus muttered. "I could kill you and seize everything."
"Because."
Rubia grabbed the collar of his bloodstained armor and yanked him closer.
The scent of iron and dried blood—and beneath it, a faint rose fragrance that slipped between them.
"You need money," she whispered. "And I need your strength. Sounds like we'd make a pretty good team."
Her smile sharpened.
"Don't you agree, partner?"
It was temptation.
Kaelus swallowed without meaning to.
His heart thudded—an unfamiliar tension, something he'd never felt even on a battlefield.
"Fine," he said.
Then, with a grin that showed the hint of fang—
"Bark."
"…What?"
Rubia blinked.
"You said you needed a partner, but what you really need is a dog. So bark."
Ah.
She was doomed.
She'd basically walked into a line from the original story.
But Kaelus was smiling—twisting his mouth like a beast amused by fresh prey.
"Interesting," he said. "I'll hear you out."
He slammed his greatsword into the floor.
CRACK.
The marble split.
"But don't try to scam me. If you steal my money… I'll bite for real."
"Don't worry," Rubia said sweetly. "I probably won't taste good."
Deal made.
The moment a dirt-cheap trading house gained its new owner—
And the Empire's strongest brute, the "Mad Dog," became a 100-gold-per-hour part-time employee.