90. Preparations 2

Sofia hardly got any sleep that night. That man was familiar, he looked like that Count they met at the dinner party! What happened between the two of them? It was so bad that when it was morning, Sofia jumped out of bed the moment she heard some noises from the room next door.

Kiara woke up and was still in her nightwear when Sofia barged into her room.

"Lady Kiara!" Sofia asked. "I have questions!"

Kiara blinked at Sofia. "What is it? It's so early in the morning-"

"Who was that man in your room last night and what were you two doing?"

The knight snapped out of her sleepy state and looked at the soldier-captain. "Captain Sofia, were you- were you eavesdropping on us?"

She blushed, and then nodded. "Yes."

"What did you hear?"

"You two- you two-" Sofia stammered, unable to repeat what she experienced last night. Somehow the soldier was unable to repeat the things that happened, so she redirected the question. "Did he blackmail you?"

Kiara looked at Sofia in shock, and shook her head. "Nothing like that. I- what do you know of the Kenarias family, Captain Sofia?"

The knight then led Sofia to a small living area in the room, and the two sat down. Sofia then began to recite what was commonly know about the Kenarias family, the lands they ruled and all that, and the recent collapse and failure.

The knight nodded. "Exactly. My father- he- let's just say he made some really bad decisions and got involved with the wrong type of merchants, and ever since then my family is in a massive, massive debt. A debt so large that if the great merchant banks came for me, I would be sold as a slave to recoup their investment."

That horrified Sofia, but the power of the great merchant banks was well known. The King could stop the merchant banks, but if they wanted Kiara's head, they would get it. Especially if the debt was to the tunes of hundreds of thousands of gold coin. "I- I didn't know-"

"That is unsaid. The dirty secrets of the noble families are kept under wraps." Kiara sighed, as she lamented the state of her family. "Then, they wanted my mother. If they got their hands on us, the Kenarias family would end."

Sofia blinked, as she felt for the lady. If someone came for her family, she too would put many things on the line. "Oh no."

"Moy mother somehow got Count Edmund Natar to step in, perhaps out of some admiration for my mother, but the amount of money is large, and there is unlikely any way the Kenarias territories would generate enough returns to repay the sum in the next few years. The only thing we could offer was ourselves."

Sofia stopped. "Wait, so he blackmailed you?"

"Nothing like that. It is a deal, we agreed to it. Better him, than be sold as slaves and reduced to a prostitute. With him, I can still be myself, and we can preserve the family legacy. In the future, I would have children who would inherit the Kenarias family from us." Kiara said. "This is our sacrifice for the decisions of my father. At least, there will be a Kenarias family in the future, and at least, it will be of noble blood."

Sofia stopped, as she quickly reassessed the woman. All this while, Kiara seemed as if she was a money-minded woman who wanted a share of the treasures, but now that she knew the background, and what she had to sacrifice, Sofia felt touched. "So- how- how long does this arrangement last?"

"A few years." Kiara said, but Sofia saw glimmers in her eyes as if she wasn't sure.

"Are you sure?" The soldier insisted.

"Yes. Probably."

"You trust him to keep his word?"

Kiara blinked. "Honestly, I don't know. But at this point, he is the only that can help me, and at terms that I can agree with. Anyone else, the sums involved are so large that my fate will be worse."

Sofia sat, and took a moment to digest it. "Debts are insane. It's so unfair that you have to do that."

Kiara sighed. "Such is the fate of nobility. We derive prestige and use the resources of our noble house, but we also suffer the consequences for mismanagement."

"Can't you just disown the family name?"

"And leave my mother?" Kiara countered. "My mother is now the rightful head of the house Kenarias."

"Ah. Sorry. I didn't mean that. Is- is there really no other way?"

"If I can raise treasures to pay it back, then it may be shorter." Kiara said. "Can you keep this a secret, Captain Sofia? This involves the name of my family, and- especially, can you keep it away from Aman? I- I don't want the hero to know about this."

Sofia understood why, and nodded. "Okay. I will do that."

"In honesty, a part of me thinks I should leave the party, after what I have done, a person like me should not be a member of the hero party." Kiara thus confessed. "But Count Edmund suggested I stay back and help the hero."

Sofia blinked, and shook her head. The two barely knew each other, but somehow she felt compelled to reject her idea. "Count Edmund is right. We need all the talented people to help fight the demons! So- so- what if you have an affair with a Count!"

Kiara smiled weakly at Sofia's suggestion.

"It- uh- It's normal. it's perfectly normal! Like Priestess Nysta suggested, we're women and the goddesses clearly want us to uh-"

Kiara thought Sofia's ideas were getting out of hand, and cut in. "I think it's not that extreme, Captain Sofia. But yes, we are normal people, even if we have a bit of the goddesses' blessings, and we have needs that need to be satisfied. Things we need to do."

"Exactly!" Sofia's face was red as a tomato.

"Good. Is there anything else, Captain Sofia? I would like to get changed and help train the soldiers for the coming battle."

"Ah. No. Not at all. I'll- I'll see you outside."