Became the Owner of a Poor Estate
Chapter 15
15화.
-Mission: Revive the Impoverished Territory!
Please transform Grace Territory (Village 1) into a livable place.
You’ve secured funds by raiding a jewelry shop! Hehehehe.
What will you start with first?
The status window that popped up out of nowhere shimmered brightly. Seeing how it blinked flamboyantly, as if decorated with colorful lightbulbs around its border, the status window seemed to be in a very good mood.
Judging by the label "Village 1," it looked like Village 2 and 3 would appear in due course.
She had the money, and she had the means. Somehow, Donghee felt her fighting spirit ignite, and her mood became as bright as the blinking status window.
* * *
As Scrooge stepped outside, Thelma, who had been waiting with an anxious expression, strode toward him and gripped his arm tightly.
“What happened? What on earth happened in there to make that boar-like man leave with such a grin on his face?”
Every time Gold Rich visited Grace Castle, the territory’s balance would be drained dry.
She had a feeling he was taking far too much money compared to the items he left behind, but she couldn't press him for details when he claimed the price of nobles' jewelry fluctuated wildly every time. Above all, she felt that if she tried to argue with Gold Rich, she might die instantly if she got hit by the hulking man he brought along.
Thelma could only watch Gold Rich’s retreating back with eyes full of resentment as he left with a beaming smile. Thus, the moment Scrooge emerged, she rushed at him, desperate to figure out the situation.
She thought that if the Lord had been ripped off like a fool again this time, she would do whatever it took to get the money back.
However, Scrooge, who she expected to start ranting and foaming at the mouth immediately, just stood there with a dazed expression as if he were possessed.
“Butler!”
“Yes? Ah…, yes. I’m listening.”
Perhaps snapped out of it by Thelma’s shouting, Scrooge’s eyes regained a bit of focus. However, he still looked like someone who had been hit hard on the back of the head.
“I’m asking what that man did to our Lord before he left. Did you just stand there and watch, Butler?”
Thelma felt even more frustrated because she hadn't been called, so she couldn't even go inside.
“It wasn’t like that.”
“I told you to keep a close… what?”
Thelma stopped mid-sentence as she belatedly processed Scrooge’s words.
Scrooge’s face, which had been blank as if his soul had left his body, slowly began to regain its vitality.
“Why, what’s wrong with you?”
Though she didn't say it aloud, Thelma looked at Scrooge’s face and thought the man had finally gone mad.
Scrooge eventually broke into a wide grin, grabbed the hands of the bewildered Thelma, and shouted.
“1,100 gold!”
“Pardon?”
“Our territory finally has a budget!”
Even at Scrooge’s hearty laughter and words, Thelma still wore a puzzled expression.
Without ever getting tired of it, Scrooge explained what had happened inside to Thelma several times. Only after repeating the same story eight times did Thelma finally grasp the situation properly, sinking to the ground with a sigh of relief.
“But…, where on earth did the Lord get those jewels? She didn't steal them from somewhere, did she?”
“It didn't seem like that. It’s likely another hidden inheritance. Our territory is saved!”
To be honest, it didn't seem impossible to find out if he dug into it one by one, but Scrooge decided to turn a blind eye. Besides, the Chloe he knew might be a bit lacking, but she wasn't someone who would commit a wicked deed.
* * *
Midnight that night.
Dong, dong, dong….
As the grandfather clock in the hallway struck twelve times, a blue light suddenly reappeared in the empty room.
Donghee, whose stamina was depleted from being out all day, had already fallen into a dead sleep.
In the midst of the blue light flickering over the bed, a silver-haired man emerged, cutting through the glow.
It was a starkly different appearance from during the day when he had been stood on the floor as if thrown.
-She’s better than expected, isn't she?
The status window that had spat out the man had shrunk significantly more than usual.
However, the letters etched within it were clearer than at any other time.
“She might give up soon.”
Standing by the bed and gazing down at the sleeping Chloe, the man’s voice was languid, devoid of any expectation.
The moonlight seeping through the window softly illuminated the sleeping Chloe’s face.
He found it absurd and strange that a woman who had been dropped into an unfamiliar place overnight could sleep so soundly with such a peaceful face.
-Which user is she?
“The seventy-fourth.”
The man answered the status window’s question in a monotone voice.
Even as he spoke, his gaze never left the woman lying asleep on the bed.
A face he had seen so often over the past hundreds of years that he was sick of it.
Countless human souls had passed through that body, to the point where he worried that small frame might wear away to nothing.
Would it be any different this time?
Skreeee—, skree-hee-hee—.
The faint, wicked cries carried on the wind grew steadily clearer and louder.
The man gazed at the woman sleeping oblivious to the world, then flicked his fingertips toward the window.
A light as transparent and bright as his silver hair flew out the window as fast as an arrow.
Phut!
A moment later,
Gwaack! Thump!
Along with a death cry, there was the sound of something bursting.
As if it were a trivial matter, the man glanced out the window, stared at the hourglass on the back of his hand, and then scattered into blue light.
It had happened exactly 70 seconds after he appeared.
* * *
The next morning, Thelma, who had come to Chloe’s room without much expectation, was so startled to see the Lord already awake and preparing to go out before being woken that she rubbed her eyes several times. She couldn't tell if she was seeing things or if she hadn't woken up from a dream yet.
“My, my Lord?”
“Why are you so late? Come here quickly and do something about this hair. It’s so long I don't know what to do with it.”
Donghee, who had woken up at the crack of dawn and even finished bathing, had tried her best to tie her hair, but it wouldn't go her way.
It wasn't like there were elastic hair ties; at most, there were just flimsy ribbons. How was she supposed to tie her hair with these?
She was on her seventh attempt and had failed, so she was at the point where she didn't even want to look at a ribbon anymore.
“Yes. I will go call Anna.”
“Alright.”
She didn't know who Anna was, but judging by the context, she seemed to be the dedicated maid who helped with grooming. But Thelma had helped her yesterday?
Tilting her head in brief thought, Donghee went back to combing her hair while looking in the mirror.
“She really is pretty.”
Despite her hair being a mess because she couldn't comb it properly, the face was more beautiful the more she looked at it.
The dark brown eyes, looking like melted chocolate, were the same color as her glossy hair.
Her flawlessly white face was a perfect oval, and the nose situated in the center of her face was as perfect as an "after" photo from a plastic surgery clinic. Her lips, red and alluring like cherries even without makeup, were as dainty and charming as a single flower.
Knock, knock.
“My Lord, I am coming in.”
While she was lost in narcissism looking in the mirror, she heard a knock, and Thelma entered with a maid she had never seen before.
The maid’s eyelids were so fleshy that it was hard to tell if her eyes were open or closed. Underneath a modestly worn bonnet, frizzy yellowish-brown hair poked out like springs.
“Anna?”
“Yes, my Lord. I just arrived this morning. Thanks to you, my Lord, I was able to hold my mother’s funeral without issue.”
She’s swollen from crying.
Donghee felt sorry for having stray thoughts about the swollen eyes for a moment, so she gave an awkward smile.
“I, I see. I’m sorry for calling you so early when you must be tired.”
“Pardon?”
Anna’s eyes went wide as if she were listening to a foreign language she couldn't understand.
Seeing her arch her eyebrows while looking at Thelma by her side, she was clearly struggling to figure out what was going on.
Even in the midst of this, her hands remained politely folded in front of her.
“Just make my hair a little less cumbersome, and then you can go back and rest.”
“……Am I being fired?”
Anna asked with reddened eyes, as if she finally understood what was happening. As tears welled up, her small, round nose turned pink.
The hesitant voice was so pitiful that guilt surged automatically. Donghee hurriedly waved her hands.
“No, nothing like that. I just said so because you look tired.”
“No! I’m not tired at all. I can work as much as you need. My Lord, I have five younger siblings.”
She’s the girl head of the household.
Donghee felt a pang in her heart out of pity.
“I have absolutely no intention of firing you, so just tie my hair and go get some good rest. You can start working from tomorrow. Got it?”
Donghee spoke slowly on purpose and made direct eye contact with Anna so she wouldn't misunderstand.
Whether her effort to speak as sincerely as possible worked, she could see Anna’s tearful expression gradually begin to calm.
“Then, can I really keep working?”
Anna asked, still rubbing her pink-tinged nose.
“Of course!”
At Chloe’s brisk answer, Anna, who had been pouring out words like a broken rapid-fire gun, finally took a slow breath and nodded.
A single tear that had been brimming finally rolled down her cheek.
My Lord, oh my Lord. Just how have you been living?
