Charisma 100: My Academy Life As A Heartbreaking Commoner-Chapter 192: Debts and Confessions

The letter arrived at dawn.

Aegis recognized the seal immediately. House Harbell. The wax was applied sloppily, like whoever sealed it had been shaking.

[Oh this might be fun.]

She broke it open.

Lady Starcaller,

I need to see you immediately. It’s urgent.

Lord Harbell

No pleasantries. No formal address. Just raw desperation bleeding through every word.

[Well. That didn’t take long.]

She sent a reply and was at his estate by noon.

Harbell Manor was... sad.

Oh, it was grand enough from the outside. Three stories of pale stone, manicured gardens, the whole noble aesthetic. But Aegis could see the cracks.

The gardens were overgrown in places, like the staff couldn’t keep up. The stone facade had chips that hadn’t been repaired. And when a servant led her inside, she noticed the furniture. Good quality, but old. Decades old. The kind of pieces you kept because you couldn’t afford to replace them.

[He’s been hemorrhaging money for years.]

The servant who greeted her looked exhausted. Dark circles under her eyes. Uniform slightly rumpled. Probably covering multiple roles because they couldn’t afford a full staff.

Lord Harbell was waiting in his study.

He looked worse than the last time she’d seen him. Unshaven. Clothes wrinkled. He stood when she entered, and she could see his hands trembling.

"Lady Starcaller. Thank you for coming."

"You said it was urgent."

"It is." He gestured to a chair. Aegis sat. He remained standing, pacing. "I... may have understated my situation. At the dinner."

"How badly?"

He stopped pacing. Turned to face her.

"I need ten thousand gold by week’s end or I lose everything."

Aegis kept her expression neutral.

[Ten thousand. That’s a lot. But not impossible.]

"Tell me everything."

It all came out in a rush.

The gambling debts, worse than he’d admitted. A loan from the wrong people, with interest that had been compounding for months. He’d been juggling payments, selling assets, cutting staff. But now the deadline was here and he had nothing left to sell.

"If I don’t pay, they’ll take the estate. My family’s home for six generations." His voice cracked. "My wife doesn’t know how bad it is. My children... they think everything’s fine. I can’t—"

He stopped. Swallowed hard.

Aegis let the silence stretch.

Then she leaned back, crossing her legs.

"I could lend it."

Hope flared in his eyes.

"You could?"

"I could." She tilted her head. "But what’s in it for me?"

The hope dimmed slightly. He’d known this was coming. Nobody gave away ten thousand gold for free.

"What do you want?"

"Three things." Aegis held up a finger. "Your vote on the Noble Council. Whatever issues come up in the next year, you vote the way I tell you."

"Done."

A second finger.

"Your public endorsement of House Starcaller. At events, in correspondence, whenever it comes up. You sing my praises."

"Of course."

A third finger.

"And you introduce me to your merchant contacts. All of them. Full access to your trade network."

Harbell didn’t hesitate.

"Done. All of it. Whatever you need."

[That was fast. He really is desperate.]

Aegis stood, extending her hand.

"Then we have a deal, Lord Harbell. I’ll have my steward deliver the funds by tomorrow morning."

He grabbed her hand with both of his. His grip was tight. Shaking.

"Thank you. Thank you, Lady Starcaller. I won’t forget this."

"I certainly hope so."

She extracted her hand and headed for the door.

"Oh," she added, pausing at the threshold. "And Lord Harbell? Maybe lay off the cards for a while."

He let out a sound that was half laugh, half sob.

"Yes. Yes, I think that’s wise."

---

Back at the manor, Aegis found Scarlett and Kanna in the training yard.

The exhibition tournament was in three days. Both of them had been drilling constantly, pushing themselves harder than usual. Aegis approved. House Starcaller’s reputation would rise or fall based on how they performed.

She watched them spar for a while and noticed that something was off.

Scarlett kept glancing at Kanna when she thought no one was looking. Quick, furtive glances. And every time Kanna got close—adjusting her stance, correcting her form—Scarlett tensed up like she’d been shocked.

[Interesting.]

"Take a break," Aegis called out. "Both of you. Hydrate."

They separated, grabbing waterskins from the bench. Kanna wandered toward the other end of the yard, stretching. Scarlett stayed close.

Aegis sidled up to her.

"So," she said casually. "What’s going on with you?"

Scarlett choked on her water.

"What? Nothing. Nothing’s going on."

"Uh huh." Aegis crossed her arms. "You’ve been weird for days. Jumpy. Distracted. Every time Kanna comes within five feet of you, you look like you’re about to spontaneously combust."

"I don’t—that’s not—"

"Scarlett."

Scarlett’s face was turning red. Very red.

"It’s nothing."

"It’s obviously not nothing."

A long pause. Scarlett glanced toward Kanna, who was still stretching at the far end of the yard. Out of earshot.

"Okay," Scarlett said, voice dropping to a whisper. "Okay, fine. But you can’t tell anyone."

"Scout’s honor."

"I don’t know what that means."

"It means I won’t tell anyone. Spill."

Scarlett took a deep breath.

"The other day. After you left. Kanna said... something. And then she walked off to cool down. And I went to check on her, and..." She trailed off, face now approaching the color of a ripe tomato. "I saw her."

"Saw her what?"

"You know." Scarlett made a vague gesture. "Doing... stuff."

Aegis stared at her.

"Stuff."

"STUFF."

"Scarlett, I need you to use your words."

"She was jerking off, okay!?" The words exploded out of her in a harsh whisper. "I walked in on her jerking off. In one of the side chambers. Hand on the wall, hand on her... you know. And I just stood there like an idiot and then I ran away and now I can’t stop thinking about it and I don’t know what to DO."

Silence.

Aegis processed this.

Then she grinned.

"Wow." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"DON’T."

"That’s hot."

"AEGIS."

Scarlett punched her in the arm. Not hard, but not gentle either. Aegis laughed, dodging back.

"I’m serious! What do I do!?"

"I don’t know, maybe talk to her? Tell her how you feel?"

"I can’t do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because—because—" Scarlett sputtered. "Because what if she doesn’t feel the same way? What if I make it weird? We have to work together. We’re both your retainers. I can’t just—"

"Scarlett." Aegis put a hand on her shoulder. "She said ’she’s not wrong’ when I told you two to kiss. And then she went off to jerk off immediately after. I don’t think you need to worry about her not feeling the same way."

Scarlett opened her mouth. Closed it.

"I... huh."

"Yeah."

"But what if—"

"Talk to her."

"But—"

"Talk. To. Her."

Scarlett groaned, dragging her hands down her face.

"I hate you."

"There, there." Aegis patted her shoulder. "Now get back to training. Tournament’s in three days, and I expect you both to win."

She walked away, leaving Scarlett standing there looking like her brain was trying to reboot.

[Those two are going to be the death of me. But at least it’s entertaining.]

She headed inside to check on the Harbell funds transfer.

More pieces were falling into place.