Chapter 20

Elina went around looking at small houses in the secluded corners of the commercial district.

Strangely, most of the houses in the commercial district were owned by the old man she first met. It seemed almost intentional, as if someone had planned it.

If all of this was Floyd’s consideration, it would truly feel miserable. He said he was letting her go but hadn’t completely let her go.

Regardless, she had to choose a house to live in for the rest of her life today. A house with a large room for the child to use when they grow up and a fireplace that wasn’t built long ago.

And she had to buy the cheapest house possible.

“This house is 2,000 gold. It’s newly built, so it’s very sturdy! It has a loft and a garden!”

The houses introduced by others, not the first homeowner she met, were all expensive. Well, it couldn’t be cheap for a mansion in the commercial district.

When she visited here on an errand for Madam Rasiche, she heard merchants complaining that business was good, but the rent was too high.

Elina reluctantly asked the coachman who was moving Floyd’s bag of gold from the Rennes Grand Ducal residence something she was curious about.

He might curse her behind her back, calling her a woman obsessed with filling her pockets. But it was an issue related to her immediate livelihood.

“Do you know how much gold is in the carriage…?”

She felt so pathetic asking the coachman this that she wanted to hide in a hole if there was one.

If Floyd hadn’t helped, she might have ended up on the streets with only her parents’ keepsakes, starving to death a few days later.

Even though she came out to protect the child in her womb….

“There are many valuable items that could fetch quite a bit if sold… but I believe there’s about 5,000 gold in coins alone.”

Having inquired about house prices earlier, she found out that with 5,000 gold, she could buy a small house even in the expensive central empire outside the commercial district.

It was by no means a small amount. When she stayed at the Valois residence, she received a nominal 20 gold monthly for maintaining dignity….

“With that money, I could have bought a hundred chocolates from that chocolate shop….”

Looking at the sign of a chocolate shop not far away, Elina calmly organized her thoughts. Even if she bought a house, she had to save as much money as possible.

In this situation, where she had left her family and had no one to help her, she couldn’t engage in family-related businesses like Madam Rasiche, and lacking any special skills, it would be hard to find a job.

She also had to raise the unborn child alone, making it difficult to work….

She never thought the complaints she overheard from maids leaving the Valois residence after getting married and having children would be useful now.

“The first house I showed you is really nice, Miss. It’s spacious and well-maintained even if it’s not new. Just so you know, there haven’t been any murders or ghosts.”

“Is a house like that usually cheap?”

“Yes. People avoid them, so they are cheaper.”

She hadn’t even thought about that. People were scarier than ghosts, but living alone with ghosts….

She followed the old man who owned countless houses in the commercial district and carefully looked at more houses, but her heart was already set on the first house she saw.

She had walked so much that her legs were starting to hurt, and as a woman she had never seen before toured the commercial district looking at houses, people’s eyes began to gather.

“If you’re not feeling well… perhaps you should see a doctor, Miss.”

“It’s just that my legs hurt a little… It’s fine. You can go back now.”

“I’ll stay until you choose a house….”

The coachman seemed to react sensitively to Elina’s condition, perhaps due to a special request from Floyd. The child in her womb would be more comfortable now than when at the Rennes Grand Ducal residence.

She had suspected it, but the coachman in front of her didn’t seem to be a real coachman. Maybe he was just a knight who drove well….

She needed to send him back quickly.

“Grandfather. Can we make a contract for the first house I saw?”

Elina pressed her hardened legs and rose to tell the kind-looking old man who had been following her about her final decision.

It was a whopping half-off at 500 gold. Other houses introduced by the old man were reasonably priced, and there were many pretty houses owned by others.

But who knew what might happen later, so she had to save as much money as possible. The 500 gold discounted house was a two-story house with three rooms.

As they negotiated the terms, the homeowner mentioned that he could sell the entire mansion if she wanted, but 500 gold only would be difficult. Instead, his wife lived on the first floor, so she would help if any inconvenience arose.

Even buying a single floor for 500 gold was rare in this area, and Elina didn’t feel the need to use the entire mansion alone, so she nodded.

Additionally, the first-floor wife would help if any inconvenience arose.

There was a shared garden with the first floor, though smaller than others. It was a small house located in the corner of the commercial district as she wanted, and the surrounding environment was good.

There hadn’t been any murders, and no ghosts… supposedly.

“Young lady, you made a wise choice. Haha, good. Let’s go make the contract.”

She had already been tempted by the price and thoroughly checked the first house, so there was nothing more to consider. After quickly completing the contract, Elina turned her gaze to the coachman.

The coachman brought the heavy bag of gold from the carriage parked far away and handed it to the homeowner.

Exactly 500 gold. The coachman weighed it on a scale and showed it, then moved the remaining gold bag and items loaded in the carriage into Elina’s new home.

“Thank you. Please tell Floyd… I mean, His Grace, that I’m really grateful.”

“Do you really intend not to see His Grace again?”

“Well….”

Elina stood on the stairs connecting the first and second floors and looked around the house filled with various items. It was still unfamiliar, but she would get used to it as she lived there.

She no longer hated Floyd, but she still couldn’t imagine being by his side. Still, the thought that maybe she could change her decision to never see him again crossed her mind.

“Later, tell him to come see the child… but nothing more.”

“Oh… understood. I’ll happily convey that message.”

“I didn’t say it happily.”

“And… if anything happens, please contact the Grand Ducal residence, Miss.”

“I won’t. I really intend to live as if I’m dead, not causing any trouble to His Grace, so I hope we don’t meet again.”

“His Grace is worried about you… Miss!”

Thud. The door finally closed, which had been about to close but hadn’t. Elina leaned against the solid door and slid down to sit on the floor.

It was all over now. The heavy bag of gold piled in the living room, the valuable items that seemed to fetch a lot of money if sold. And inside, there was only herself.

To add, there was a kitten meowing.

Already exhausted today, she decided to organize her belongings tomorrow after sleeping, when something caught her eye.

“I guess I don’t have to return this….”

Floyd’s coat, which she wore when leaving the Rennes Grand Ducal residence and getting into the carriage.

A beautifully embroidered jacket with the Rennes Grand Ducal family emblem… a beige jacket that suited him well.

She didn’t want to take it, so she had thrown it in the carriage, but the coachman seemed to have packed it. She didn’t want to leave it in the new house, but she couldn’t just throw it away.

“Are you going to keep playing with this?”

Meow. The kitten, which she had been holding all day, jumped out of her arms and burrowed into his discarded coat on the floor.

It seemed there was a connection between Floyd and this kitten….

Elina eventually gave his coat to the kitten as a toy and threw herself onto the bed with the softest bedding in the largest room.

It wasn’t as soft as the bed at the Rennes Grand Ducal residence, but the size was decent and not bad. The old man said he had maintained it until now, and it seemed true.

“Put that down and come here. I’ll give you something tasty, okay?”

When Elina shook the cat treats from the envelope next to the bed, the small kitten wagged its tail and approached the bottom of the bed.

She picked it up as it couldn’t climb onto the bed due to its short legs, and it turned its head and chewed its mouth.

“Don’t try to act cute. It won’t work on me.”

While looking at the house during the day, she bought ingredients for dinner, snacks, and things the kitten could eat and returned to her new house.

She spent a gold coin to buy a lot of ingredients, a chocolate, and something for the kitten.

She realized how large the 5,000 gold Floyd gave her was, as there was still money left.

Of course, now that she bought the house, about 4,500 gold remained.

“Maybe I shouldn’t bother making dinner. I’m tired… you eat that, and I’ll just eat chocolate and sleep.”

Elina lay on the blanket, blinking her eyes. 

Could I handle the trial with Madam Rasiche alone? At least I should give birth to the child first….

The kitten, which had been lapping at the bowl of cat food with its small face, now full, ran to Elina.

The black fur that fit in her hand was soft. It was warm, too.

“Is it better to just forget everything? Live quietly here until I die. Without meeting anyone.”

People living nearby wouldn’t recognize her as the woman who had such a relationship with the Grand Duke. But… if just one person recognized her.

She wasn’t confident she could endure their gaze and voices. She didn’t want to get entangled with Floyd again because of that.

Was this really the end? I wanted to make the least worst choice in the worst situation, but was this really the right thing?

Elina talked to the small, speechless creature all night.