***

Meanwhile, at the same time.

“Did Lady Blanche return safely?”

“Yes. I confirmed that she left in a carriage.”

“Good. You may go now.”

“Yes, sir.”

The knight who had answered respectfully bowed and left the room.

After confirming his departure, Noel leaned back deeply into his chair.

Yvette had told him it was their first meeting, but Noel had known her identity from the moment he saw her face.

Since she claimed not to know him, he had simply played along.

‘…Whether that was an act or genuine, I’m not sure.’

Noel chuckled, recalling Yvette’s flustered face.

It seemed too clumsy to be the former, yet too absurd to be the latter.

‘It doesn’t seem like she approached me intentionally.’

Noel tapped the armrest with his fingertips.

“I just… want to live.”

He closed his eyes, remembering the tearful voice drunk with alcohol.

The smile had disappeared from his face, replaced by a chilling aura.

‘…Well. Whether it’s the truth or not, I’ll find out soon enough.’

If she had pretended not to know, it meant she was hiding something from him.

And if she really didn’t recognize him…

‘That would be interesting in its own way.’

Noel slowly closed and opened his eyes.

A sharp glint flashed in his blue gaze.

***

“…You’re looking for an empty mansion? At this time?”

The broker with palm-sized glasses perched on the tip of her nose blinked blankly.

She was surprised in many ways by the customer in front of her.

It was already surprising that a customer had come to her little-known agency where business was slow.

And to top it off, to ask to see an empty mansion that could be moved into today, of all things.

She couldn’t help but be bewildered by the situation.

“We do have some properties available… but what price range are you thinking of?”

The broker asked with a professional smile.

After a moment of consideration, Yvette cheerfully replied.

“Hmm, let’s see. How much do rich people usually spend when buying a mansion?”

The broker fell silent for a moment at the customer who answered a question with another question.

Such a question meant that this was a novice who didn’t know much about real estate prices.

The broker quickly calculated in her head and flashed a bright smile.

“Ahem, well. For a mansion that would satisfy distinguished individuals, you should consider at least 100,000 gold as a minimum. It could go higher than that.”

“Is that so? Then let’s set the budget generously at around 200,000 gold.”

After leaving Baron Larishi’s house, the first place Yvette headed was the bank.

As soon as she arrived at the bank, the first thing Yvette did was check the account in her name.

The empire’s banks used a stone-like magical device to verify identity.

After going through that process, one could access the account in their name.

After checking, Yvette found out that she had enough money in her name to buy a couple of mansions and still have some left over.

It was quite a substantial amount, even considering what Baron Larishi might have embezzled.

“Well then, shall we get started?”

Once the budget was set, the broker, with an enthusiastic face, took Yvette around to various places.

After looking around for quite some time.

Yvette finally chose a two-story mansion with a small garden on the outskirts of the capital.

The mansion she chose was somewhat modest in size for a wealthy noble to live in.

Moreover, it had a simple design without any special decorations or embellishments.

The broker kept glancing at Yvette’s expression while introducing the mansion.

She seemed conscious about showing such a mansion to a noble, even if it was what the client wanted.

However, Yvette was firm in her decision.

‘I’ll be living alone, so I don’t need an unnecessarily large house. It would be hard to manage too.’

In her view, this house seemed most suitable for living alone.

“I’ll take this house. I can move in today, right?”

“Yes. You can move in anytime. The previous owner has delegated all contract-related authority to me.”

“Then I’ll sign the contract right away. I need a place to stay starting today.”

As soon as Yvette stamped the contract, the broker handed her the keys.

The contract was concluded swiftly.

“The mansion interior should be clean. The previous owner hired a caretaker to maintain it until a new owner appeared.”

“So, is there a caretaker living in the house now?”

“Yes. As far as I know, there’s an elderly grandfather and his young grandson, two people living there. I heard the grandfather used to be a butler for a noble family but left due to some circumstances.”

After finalizing the contract, the broker hurried away, citing a prior appointment.

Left alone in front of the mansion, Yvette hesitated at the entrance.

She had come out impulsively, but now faced with the reality of living alone, she felt overwhelmed.

‘…Maybe I should go inside and think about it.’

After all, she needed to inform the caretaker about the change in ownership.

Having made up her mind, Yvette opened the mansion’s front door with determination.

***

“What kind of tea would you like?”

“Um, anything is fine.”

“Then I’ll serve Darjeeling tea. If it’s before your meal, shall I skip the snacks?”

“Yes. I don’t have much of an appetite right now, so tea alone should be sufficient.”

Yvette replied with a troubled expression.

Her eyes, unsure where to rest, wandered aimlessly.

Currently, she was sitting alone at a table that could easily seat over ten people.

And standing beside her was an elderly man neatly dressed in butler’s attire.

His hair, combed back, had long since turned white, and his kind face was deeply wrinkled.

His black butler’s uniform was so well-maintained that not a speck of dust could be seen on it.

He was the mansion’s caretaker that the broker had mentioned earlier, and his name was ‘Herbert’.

‘Didn’t they say he used to work as a butler for a noble family before quitting?’

Yvette glanced at Herbert.

Somehow, he had already prepared a steaming cup of tea and was setting it down in front of her.

His skilled movements exuded the aura of a competent butler.

“If the tea is too strong or too weak, please let me know. It’s been a while since I’ve served tea to an esteemed guest, so I’m not sure if it will suit your taste.”

As Herbert spoke humbly, Yvette shook her head, saying it was fine.

“This is excellent.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Herbert smiled gently and continued.

“You said you’re the new owner of this Wheatley mansion, correct?”

“Yes.”

Just as Yvette nodded in response to his question.

“No! This is our home!”

Along with a shrill cry, a teaspoon flew towards her head.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

“…Eden! What are you doing!”

Herbert, who had barely managed to deflect the teaspoon, shouted.

It was a swift movement for a man nearing seventy, but Yvette was too startled to notice such details.

After looking around for a while, she finally found the culprit.

“I don’t like that person. Tell her to get out of our house!”

The culprit who had thrown the teaspoon at Yvette was a red-haired boy who looked no older than seven.

The boy was glaring at her with eyes full of wariness, holding teaspoons in both hands.

He looked quite solemn, holding finger-sized teaspoons in both hands.

Upon seeing the boy, Yvette couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

‘…He’s not threatening at all.’

Unless one was strong enough to embed a teaspoon into a wall with bare hands, it would be difficult to harm someone with just a teaspoon.

‘He wants to drive me out of the mansion but doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Is that his mindset?’

She could understand his feelings to some extent.

But funny as it was, rudeness was still rudeness.