Truth Society, third-floor office.
Charles Hoorn sat behind a large desk, his fingertips gently brushing the exquisite dolls arranged on its surface.
The dolls were exceptionally well made, lifelike in every detail, from their silk gowns to their meticulously carved faces. Every joint moved freely.
One glance was enough to tell they had been custom-made.
"What remarkable craftsmanship..." Charles murmured appreciatively.
"Unfortunately, their owner is a foolish vampire."
He picked up a lady doll dressed in an elaborate gown and gently stroked its hair. Its crimson eyes gleamed softly in the lamplight.
These dolls were all Emlyn White's "treasures."
Under the rules, collateral without a fixed value could secure a loan worth no more than half its purchase price.
Long-lived species often had peculiar tastes, and Emlyn White, a vampire, happened to be especially fond of these dolls. He was even willing to pay a fortune to have them custom-made.
"Foolish vampire..." Charles sneered.
Emlyn White had clearly believed that, as a Sanguine, he could never fail to repay a debt of a mere thousand-odd pounds. That was why he had pledged his beloved collection to the Society.
But he had been wrong. He had defaulted.
According to the contract, once he defaulted, the collateral became the Society's property.
And these dolls... Emlyn had preserved them so well that they were practically new, and even more exquisite than those available on the market. The Society could easily resell them, even doubling its money outright.
Most importantly, Emlyn had commissioned these dolls from the Artisan Workshop affiliated with the Society.
Indeed! The Society had vast holdings and plenty of businesses catering to the public, including numerous handicraft workshops run by Artisans.
This transaction had merely moved money from one hand to the other, successfully letting them profit twice from the same