Became the Owner of a Poor Estate
Chapter 8
Donghee felt it was unfair since she had only been looking around out of curiosity, but there was nothing she could do.
“I understand.”
When she reached the first floor, three or four servants were already waiting, standing in polite postures.
Her conscience pricking her, Donghee hurried past them with her head held high, terrified they might notice something strange about her.
Seeing Chloe’s quickened pace, a satisfied smile spread across Thelma’s face, as if she were finally relieved.
It was just as Donghee was about to head outside.
“My Lord!”
A middle-aged man called out to Chloe desperately as he came clattering down the stairs. He was leaping down two or three steps at a time, as if there were a dire emergency.
Watching the scrawny man flail his bony legs as he ran down made Donghee feel strangely anxious. She only felt at ease once he had reached the bottom safely.
She didn’t even know who he was, but the fact that she felt uncomfortable the moment she saw him suggested he wasn’t someone the original Chloe had liked.
“Huff, huff. Oh, I’m going to die.”
He seemed out of breath to the point of exhaustion; as soon as he arrived, he bent ninety degrees at the waist and began to gasp for air.
“Are…, are you alright?”
She hesitated over whether it was okay to speak casually to someone who looked quite senior, but seeing as he called her ‘My Lord,’ it seemed acceptable.
At Donghee’s question, the man snapped his reddened face up, blinking his large eyes. His pupils, staring intently at her, were the color of aged pumpkin.
As if asking if he was alright was some monumental event, the man stared at her with eyes wide, looking as though he’d heard a shocking rumor.
Donghee waited a moment longer for him to catch his breath.
“I heard… huff, huff… that you were going out for an inspection of the fief.”
“Yes. Thelma said I absolutely had to go out today.”
When Chloe brought up her name, Thelma’s rounded chin lifted a bit higher than before. Her expression was filled with the pride and arrogance typical of someone who had accomplished something no one else could.
“But why are you leaving me behind?”
The man asked with a resentful expression. Since it felt like being scolded despite having done nothing wrong, Donghee’s mood sank even further.
“Should I be taking you with me?”
“How could you say that…?”
Donghee had only asked because she was genuinely curious, but the man looked truly hurt.
Donghee hesitated on how to handle it and glanced at Thelma with a look that pleaded for help.
Thelma let out a deep sigh, then looked at the man, who seemed on the verge of tears, and spoke in a gentle voice.
“Butler, the Lord only said that because she was worried you might still be uncomfortable, since it hasn’t been long since you suffered from that cold. Isn’t that right, My Lord?”
Thelma asked with a bright smile.
“Of course. Exactly! The Butler is a very important person who mustn’t fall ill. Hahaha!”
Donghee had only just learned the man was the butler, but she laughed it off with feigned delight.
Her own wooden acting made her skin crawl.
Donghee smiled awkwardly, feeling her cheekbones stiffen unnaturally. She wondered who could possibly be fooled by such awkward acting.
It was then.
Ting!
Above the old butler’s white hair, a tiny heart popped up for a split second before vanishing.
-Current Fief Residents’ Favorability: -189,370.
With a single word of insincere concern, her favorability had risen by 10.
Excited, Donghee took on an even more worried expression and asked the butler.
“Are you feeling better now? Your complexion still looks poor; shouldn’t you rest a bit more?”
Please go up, go up.
Even as she spoke, Donghee kept glancing above the butler’s head in anticipation.
“I have rested enough. I shall accompany you today.”
Ting!
-Current Fief Residents’ Favorability: -189,390.
What!
Suddenly, her favorability dropped by 20.
Now that she looked, the butler’s expression was full of suspicion. It seemed her insincere words had backfired instead.
Donghee felt a pang of regret as she watched those precious 20 points fly away before her eyes.
Having expected a grand carriage fit for a Lord, Donghee was left speechless, standing with her mouth agape for a long time at the sight of the dilapidated carriage before her.
She hadn’t expected a glamorous pumpkin carriage like Cinderella’s, but she thought a noble’s carriage would at least be stylish. She never imagined it would be this run-down.
Fortunately, it only looked old; nothing seemed to be broken.
As Donghee approached the carriage, a knight standing nearby quickly opened the door and offered his hand.
Though she felt a bit awkward receiving an escort for the first time, Donghee naturally took his hand and climbed the steps.
Unlike its exterior, the inside of the carriage was quite spacious and cozy.
The seats were thickly cushioned, so it didn’t seem like her backside would hurt during the journey.
After Donghee boarded, the butler followed her into the carriage.
As soon as he sat opposite her, he pulled a bundle of documents from the worn leather bag tucked under his arm and began his explanation.
“Today, you will be visiting Morta Village.”
“Morta?”
“I know you dislike that place, but Morta is also your territory. There are residents there who must be looked after.”
The butler spoke as if pleading.
“Yes. I understand.”
“Pardon?”
When Chloe readily agreed, the butler’s eyes widened as if he’d heard something impossible.
It was a moment that allowed her to guess exactly what kind of Lord Chloe Grace had been. It seemed there would be a lot of work to do.
Apparently, being born with a heavy workload was something she couldn’t escape anywhere.
Ten knights of the Grace Territory, mounted on horses, rode alongside, surrounding the carriage Donghee was in.
Donghee felt strangely good, as if she had become someone important.
Seen through the carriage window for the first time, the manor was actually a quite large castle.
Built sturdily of solid stone, the castle looked to be about five stories high at a glance.
Because of the moss clinging to the stone walls and the withered vines, the castle looked as gloomy and depressing as Count Dracula’s castle from an old movie.
The carriage left the main castle and rattled along toward the high outer walls without pause.
Donghee couldn’t take her eyes off the carriage window, surveying her surroundings incessantly like a tourist visiting an ancient castle.
Donghee, who had been full of excitement while looking around, gradually saw her expression turn heavy at the sights before her.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
“Why are the houses so ruined?”
There was hardly a house within the castle walls that was intact. She could clearly see people moving about and working, but in many places, doors had fallen off or thatched roofs were stripping away. Furthermore, on the grassless ground, clouds of dust kicked up every time the carriage passed.
When the Lord’s carriage passed, the working people bowed their heads in greeting, but she could feel that not a single one was happy to see her. The gazes fixed on the carriage were sharp and cold.
-Current Fief Residents’ Favorability: -189,400.
-Current Fief Residents’ Favorability: -189,450.
-Current Fief Residents’ Favorability: -189,470…….
.
.
-Current Fief Residents’ Favorability: -189,850.
Crazy!
Her favorability had dropped by 460 just from the residents seeing the Lord’s carriage.
Donghee squeezed her eyes shut and slumped back against the seat.
Even with her eyes closed, she could hear the frantic ting, ting of her favorability dropping.
She began to think it might actually be better not to leave the house at all.
The noise that had been ringing for a while stopped the moment they crossed the drawbridge. It was simply because there was no one left to look at the carriage.
Once the noise—audible only to her—subsided, Donghee clutched her battered heart and summoned the status window.
She needed to check exactly how much her favorability had fallen.
-Current Fief Residents’ Favorability: -191,150.
The favorability had plummeted so sharply it was a relief it hadn’t broken past negative 200,000.
Just what kind of life did you live, Chloe Grace?
Donghee called out the name of the original owner, Chloe, feeling dazed.
As she sat there, all motivation drained, surrendering her body to the jolting carriage, the blue status window floated up before her eyes.
-User’s current remaining points: 60.
Would you like to check the items available for purchase in the Hidden Shop with your remaining points?
She had thought the Hidden Points she received earlier might have vanished due to the sudden drop in favorability, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
Donghee gave a slight nod, hoping for a change of pace.
Glancing across from her, she saw the butler, who had been studying his documents so hard, now nodding off with his head tilted back and his mouth open.
Shwaaaaaa!
The chart that unfurled vertically was so long she had to tilt her head back quite a way to see it all.
The items at the very top were so far away she didn’t think she could even read them.
Following her habits, Donghee placed her finger on the screen and swiped from top to bottom.
The chart moved smoothly in the direction her finger moved.
“It’s a touch screen.”
It was fascinating how it moved here and there despite feeling nothing at her fingertips. It felt a bit like handling a new model of a smartphone.
-Remaining points: 60.
“Is there anything I can buy with this?”
As Donghee searched through the list, moving it up and down, she realized she could only read a very small portion of it.
For items that required more than 61 points, she could only read the point cost; the abilities were blurred out and unreadable.
-Would you like a list organized by price range?
The status window blinked, and new text appeared.
