I headed towards William’s mansion, sinking deep into thought.
“How much money can I squeeze out of him? 20,000 dollars is probably too much, huh? 10,000? 15,000?”
But what if he’s planning to hire a gunslinger to take me out instead?… I could use that as leverage to blackmail him for even more money.
Either way, one thing’s for sure—I’m making big bucks tonight.
This brings me one step closer to going back home.
Just imagining it makes me so happy I start dancing, but then I remember what Jet said earlier.
“…Aren’t you worried at all? Do you know what could happen to Emma in such a dangerous place?”
When Jet asked that, I told him I wasn’t worried about Emma.
And I was right.
Emma’s smart, quick to assess situations, and she’s learned from me—she’s a great shot.
I wasn’t worried about her.
But still…
“…Hmm.”
Even in the midst of this exciting money-making opportunity, something feels off in the corner of my heart.
Logically, I know Emma can handle herself… but my heart feels uneasy, like it’s worried about her.
“…Eh, I’ll make sure she’s fine tomorrow morning.”
In the end, I ignored the uneasy feeling and headed to William’s mansion.
My motto, “Money first, Lady second,” remained unchanged.
Money was always the most important thing to me.
*Creak.*
“Welcome.”
As I arrived at William’s private estate, a Black servant opened the gate for me.
I walked past him towards the mansion.
Since it was getting dark, naturally, there were no workers in the tobacco fields.
*Whoosh.*
The wind blew, making the dark tobacco fields look eerily desolate.
But what was even more unsettling was the mansion itself.
“……”
William had invited me for dinner, but the mansion was strangely dark.
Not a single light was on in that massive house, making it look like a haunted mansion.
“…Weird.”
I felt suspicious from the moment I entered and stepped inside.
“Welcome, the master is waiting for you inside.”
Once again, a Black servant greeted me.
I politely asked the servant who welcomed me,
“Isn’t the butler of this house Mr. Janssen? Where is he?”
“…Huh? Oh, that’s…”
Normally, the butler should be the one greeting guests.
But no matter how hard I looked, Janssen, the butler, was nowhere to be seen.
When I pointed this out, the servant looked flustered before finally answering.
“Uh, Mr. Janssen is sick… He’s resting right now.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes, yes…! And the master is in the dining room, so please head there…”
“……”
The servant’s expression made it seem like if he didn’t send me to the dining room, he’d die.
So, I obediently followed his lead and walked to the dining room.
And as soon as the servant guided me there…
“…S-sorry.”
“……”
He made a pitiful face, repeatedly apologizing to me…
*Thud.*
Then he left, leaving me alone in the dining room.
I first scanned the dining room.
It was empty except for me, with a single candle on the central table and a plate of roasted chicken from the oven.
“Hah, what a lousy way to treat a guest.”
*Rustle.*
*Rustle rustle.*
Just then, my sharp ears picked up the sounds of many men moving outside the dining room and near the windows.
15? 20?
I couldn’t pinpoint the exact number, but it was definitely more than enough to take down one person.
I had a feeling, and sure enough…
William had no intention of letting me live after I failed to carry out his request and started blackmailing him.
‘They’re planning to shoot me all at once from behind the windows and doors, huh?’
I calmly assessed the situation and walked towards the central table.
“Huh? What’s this?”
Now I noticed a card placed on top of the roasted chicken.
Curious, I picked it up and read what was written inside.
And after reading it…
[If you don’t die here, I’ll kill everyone around you, including your woman, right now.]
“……”
I couldn’t help but pause for a moment.
But the guys outside didn’t wait for me to stand there dumbfounded.
*Bang-!!*
*Bang bang bang-!!!*
*Bang bang-!!!!!*
*Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang-!!!!!*
Soon, the sound of gunfire that could shake the earth started coming from all directions.
*Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang-!!!!!*
Deafened by the gunfire, William hid in a corner of the room, nervously sipping tea.
‘Did they get him? …Yeah, they must have. How could they not kill one measly gunslinger with that many people?’
Bert, the leader of the Rush and Gold Gang, had sent William 10 gunslingers.
On top of that, William had hired 5 more gunslingers in addition to the 3 already stationed at the mansion.
A total of 18 skilled marksmen.
They were even armed with shotguns, sharps rifles, and more—fully equipped.
To top it off, Bert had taken the person closest to him hostage to shake him psychologically.
Overwhelming numbers, firepower, and a hostage.
Even William thought it was the perfect trap.
William imagined the best gunslinger he knew, Django, in this situation.
Even Django wouldn’t stand a chance against 18 gunslingers in such an isolated place.
And if his beloved daughter Josephine was taken hostage?
He’d probably surrender without even resisting.
But still…
William felt uneasy despite the perfect setup.
In his mind, he could imagine Django falling, but he couldn’t imagine Noah falling.
So, William’s hands trembled…
‘No, no. Don’t worry about nothing. He’s definitely dead.’
He managed to calm himself down.
After all, even the best gunslinger is still human.
‘Yeah, as long as he’s human, he’s dead.’
If he’s human, there’s no way he could survive that perfect trap.
Thinking that, William finally felt his anxiety fade.
Come to think of it, there hadn’t been any gunfire since the initial burst.
That must mean the ambush was successful.
Right?
And the ambush being successful meant that the guy was dead.
“Alright, seems like the plan worked.”
William let out a sigh of relief and took a sip of tea, relieved that the arrogant gunslinger who had been threatening him was dead.
He had been so tense while drinking tea that the teapot was already empty.
“Janssen, go get some more tea.”
“I’ve gathered all the servants in the annex, so I’m the only one here. I’ll have to go to the kitchen myself. Is that okay?”
“The situation seems to be over anyway, so it doesn’t matter. Go ahead.”
“Yes, then.”
Thud.
As Janssen left for the kitchen, William leaned back in his chair.
He had been restless for the past week, unable to sleep at night, but now he finally felt at ease.
But then.
Bang.
“…?”
Just when he thought everything was over, a gunshot rang out.
Startled, William looked up…
Bang bang bang bang bang.
“…Huh?”
Five more gunshots echoed.
And that wasn’t the end.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang-!!
“…Huh? Huh?”
Bang bang bang bang bang bang-!
The gunfire crazily echoed through the mansion again.
William, overwhelmed by anxiety, curled up.
As he got up and hid behind the table, the gunfire miraculously stopped.
‘…Damn it.’
The end of the gunfire meant the battle was decided.
Unable to guarantee his side’s victory, William, hiding behind the table, pulled out his revolver.
Shaking.
Though William was skilled with guns, having enjoyed hunting, today he could barely pull the trigger.
‘…Our gunslingers must have won, our gunslingers.’
William, trembling, could only hope that his gunslingers had won.
Then.
Thud.
“…!”
Someone started climbing the stairs to the second floor where William was.
‘Hey, is that Janssen? It must be Janssen.’
Earlier, his butler Janssen had gone to the kitchen to get tea.
William, hoping it was Janssen, called out into the air.
And the person was…
“…Janssen? Is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
‘…Damn it!’
To anyone’s ears, it wasn’t Janssen’s voice.
Thud, thud, thud.
The guy, having located William, quickly approached the room.
William aimed his gun at the door, waiting for the opponent to come.
And as the door opened.
Bang-! Bang-!
Bang-!
William managed to fire three shots in a panic.
But Noah, who entered…
Bang bang bang.
Casually pulled out his gun and intercepted all of William’s bullets mid-air.
“…What the hell.”
Seeing something unbelievable, William slumped back.
Noah, covered in blood, slowly approached, looking down at him.
“Mr. William, I’ve come for the money.”
“…!”
Seeing a glimmer of hope to survive, William shouted.
“I’ll give it…! $20,000…! Just wait a week-! I’ll really go to the bank and get it!”
“No, the price has gone up. $40,000.”
“…Huh?”
William thought about how much money he had left in his bank account.
He had enough for $20,000, but not $40,000.
To make up $40,000, William would have to sell either his mansion or his tobacco farm.
‘Th-that can’t happen…!’
William’s family had already lost much of their fortune moving from the South to the West.
The tobacco farm and the mansion.
Unable to lose either, William began to make a clumsy threat to Noah.
“Y-you have someone dear to you held hostage by the Rush and Gold Gang! If you act this forcefully, they’ll kill her!”
But…
“Ah, are you talking about Emma? Go ahead and kill her.”
Noah’s reaction was more indifferent than expected.
And that indifferent reaction…
“Life would be inconvenient without Emma, but what can you do? But here’s the thing.”
Soon turned into a terrifying threat.
“If that happens, $40,000 won’t be enough. If you touch Emma, you’ll have to pay around $100,000. Any shortage will be made up with your life.”
“…!”
“So if you don’t want the price to go up again, just hand over Emma quietly. I’ve said all I need to say, so I’ll be going now.”
With that, Noah, covered in blood, turned around as if he had no further business.
Of course, he didn’t forget to leave William with a final warning.
“$40,000 in five days. If you’re late again, who knows what will happen.”
“…Ah.”
How could he stop someone who couldn’t be stopped by 18 gunslingers?
This was nothing short of a death sentence for William.
In despair, William cursed at Noah’s retreating back.
It was a small act of defiance he could muster.
“You inhuman bastard-!!”
“…”
…Or so William thought.
“…What?”
At William’s last words, Noah stopped and turned back.
“Say that again. What did you say?”
“…Huh? No… w-wait…”
Everyone has something that should never be touched.
Money first, Lady second.
Unknowingly, William had touched Noah’s top priority.
